We woke up Monday morning in a hotel room in El Paso, Texas, Had events gone according to plan, we would have been in Phoenix, but instead, we were still six hours away.
We gassed up the cars and must have had some unmemorable breakfast before it was time to get back on the I-10. I always found it interesting that the I-10 interstate is a straight shot from Houston to Phoenix. In fact, it's actually a straight shot across the country from Jacksonville, FL all the way to Los Angeles, CA.
On the I-10 going westbound, the last big city before Phoenix is Tucson. I remember we stopped at a 7/11 in Tucson where Jim made it a point to procure and use oral hygiene products. I'm not sure why he wouldn't have already had a toothbrush and toothpaste, but this is the reason I remember for the brief stop.
In the time that Jim and I were in Houston, Jim's fiancé Rach had already moved to an apartment in Chandler. This would be Jim's first stop as soon as we got to town. Recall that Jim and Rach had just gotten engaged before he left for Houston, and they had not been apart this long since they had been a couple. Our little side mission in Ozona further extended their separation, and Jim couldn't WAIT to finally see Rach again.
Somewhere on the I-10 in the final hour of our journey, I checked the rear-view mirror and saw a car had slipped in between my car and the purple bug. I looked closer to discover that it was a cop car, and he turned his lights on. Lovely. I had no clue why I was being pulled over. Speeding would be the first thing that comes to mind, but I generally don't speed and wasn't speeding then.
We had the usual interaction. He asked me if I knew why I stopped him. By the way, always say no. Cops are just looking for another reason to give you a ticket, and the less info you give them the better. In this case, I truly did not know why he stopped me. He said that I was crossing over the white line on the freeway. Obviously to a cop, this would be a red flag that he's got a drunk driver. It was clear that I was not driving under the influence. I told him that I had some car trouble on the road and that I lost my power steering. I don't recall going over the white line, but if I did that may be the reason. He replied, "Are you saying that this car is unsafe to drive? Because if so, we'll get a tow truck here and get it off the road." That escalated quickly. I told him the car was safe to drive, but we had been driving long hours over multiple days, and I was tired and almost to the destination. When I mentioned "we," I gestured up ahead where the purple bug was parked patiently (or probably impatiently) waiting for the outcome. Thankfully, the cop let me off with a warning and we were free to continue our final approach to Phoenix.
It was mid-afternoon when we finally reached the metropolitan Phoenix area. I remember seeing the Chandler Blvd exit, and I watched as the purple bug achieved near light speed as Jim sped away to arrive at Rach's apartment within a few minutes.
I continued on looking for a place to grab a bite to eat and get my bearings. I took the University Blvd exit thinking there must be a lot of stuff on such a road. It was a weird industrial area, and I started thinking I may need to turn around. Then I saw Oregano's, which was my first stop in Phoenix. I had a delicious sausage sandwich that hit the spot.
Food out of the way, I retraced my drive back to the industrial area where I saw some auto-salvage yards that my brother calls "boneyards." I managed to find one that allowed me to pick any part I needed from any cars in the lot. I asked them if they had any cars that matched mine and they did. I was anxious to find the missing piece for the power steering wheel pulley, and sure enough, I found it. I was able to put the power steering belt back on with the salvaged part. I was not going to mess with the AC belt, and within a day or two, I had found an auto repair shop that replaced it for me. At least the Toytota Celica was back in business shortly after my arrival in Phoenix.
We gassed up the cars and must have had some unmemorable breakfast before it was time to get back on the I-10. I always found it interesting that the I-10 interstate is a straight shot from Houston to Phoenix. In fact, it's actually a straight shot across the country from Jacksonville, FL all the way to Los Angeles, CA.
On the I-10 going westbound, the last big city before Phoenix is Tucson. I remember we stopped at a 7/11 in Tucson where Jim made it a point to procure and use oral hygiene products. I'm not sure why he wouldn't have already had a toothbrush and toothpaste, but this is the reason I remember for the brief stop.
In the time that Jim and I were in Houston, Jim's fiancé Rach had already moved to an apartment in Chandler. This would be Jim's first stop as soon as we got to town. Recall that Jim and Rach had just gotten engaged before he left for Houston, and they had not been apart this long since they had been a couple. Our little side mission in Ozona further extended their separation, and Jim couldn't WAIT to finally see Rach again.
Somewhere on the I-10 in the final hour of our journey, I checked the rear-view mirror and saw a car had slipped in between my car and the purple bug. I looked closer to discover that it was a cop car, and he turned his lights on. Lovely. I had no clue why I was being pulled over. Speeding would be the first thing that comes to mind, but I generally don't speed and wasn't speeding then.
We had the usual interaction. He asked me if I knew why I stopped him. By the way, always say no. Cops are just looking for another reason to give you a ticket, and the less info you give them the better. In this case, I truly did not know why he stopped me. He said that I was crossing over the white line on the freeway. Obviously to a cop, this would be a red flag that he's got a drunk driver. It was clear that I was not driving under the influence. I told him that I had some car trouble on the road and that I lost my power steering. I don't recall going over the white line, but if I did that may be the reason. He replied, "Are you saying that this car is unsafe to drive? Because if so, we'll get a tow truck here and get it off the road." That escalated quickly. I told him the car was safe to drive, but we had been driving long hours over multiple days, and I was tired and almost to the destination. When I mentioned "we," I gestured up ahead where the purple bug was parked patiently (or probably impatiently) waiting for the outcome. Thankfully, the cop let me off with a warning and we were free to continue our final approach to Phoenix.
It was mid-afternoon when we finally reached the metropolitan Phoenix area. I remember seeing the Chandler Blvd exit, and I watched as the purple bug achieved near light speed as Jim sped away to arrive at Rach's apartment within a few minutes.
I continued on looking for a place to grab a bite to eat and get my bearings. I took the University Blvd exit thinking there must be a lot of stuff on such a road. It was a weird industrial area, and I started thinking I may need to turn around. Then I saw Oregano's, which was my first stop in Phoenix. I had a delicious sausage sandwich that hit the spot.
Food out of the way, I retraced my drive back to the industrial area where I saw some auto-salvage yards that my brother calls "boneyards." I managed to find one that allowed me to pick any part I needed from any cars in the lot. I asked them if they had any cars that matched mine and they did. I was anxious to find the missing piece for the power steering wheel pulley, and sure enough, I found it. I was able to put the power steering belt back on with the salvaged part. I was not going to mess with the AC belt, and within a day or two, I had found an auto repair shop that replaced it for me. At least the Toytota Celica was back in business shortly after my arrival in Phoenix.
We woke up Monday morning in a hotel room. Had events gone according to plan, we would have already been in Phoenix. Instead, we were still six hours away in El Paso, Texas.
I love how when you offload the cause of your traffic infringement to the car to save your own ass you just open up a can of new worms for the cop.
One of my favorite lines:
I remember seeing the Chandler Blvd exit, and I watched as the purple bug achieved near light speed as Jim sped away to arrive at Rach's apartment within a few minutes.
Also I've never heard of this great restaurant. Glad it's still in. business. Maybe we'll get to eat a non keto meal there one day together.