Home at last

We knew this weekend would be a tough one because it was going to be a whirlwind trip up to our friend's wedding at Whidbey Island and back in 1 day....but we weren't expecting the extra delays of our car breaking down.

Here's how it happened.

My friend Liz was carpooling with us up to the wedding. Nate couldn't leave Oregon until after work (around 6pm). It was a late night getting up to Seattle because of traffic and multiple stops for Char.

We finally got there at midnight. Char didn't sleep well all night = we didn't sleep well all night.

Saturday morning we drove out to the wedding and just made the ferry in time for the ceremony. It was raining and we were all sick with colds, so we stayed indoors as much as possible.

The wedding was gorgeous! We got to talk to the bride for only about 2 minutes, but it was good to see her so happy. It was a great wedding ceremony and a great venue.

Knowing we had a long drive ahead of us, we took off early from the reception. On our way out of Seattle we were in the middle lane of a 5 lane hwy. The car made a horrible noise that sounded like a motorcycle with muffler problems=). Then it just quit working. Right in the middle of Seattle traffic in the middle lane.
Power steering went out. Nate could just barely get the car over to the far left shoulder before it completely quit. Then engine was smoking. The car wouldn't turn over.

I called a tow truck and gave them our location. Turns out we were at my Uncle's exit. We called him too to see if we could crash at their place that night. As luck would have it, it was also his anniversary night. I felt so bad that they canceled their dinner reservations to get us. But we were so grateful to have a comfortable place to stay and rest.

It took over an hour for the tow truck to find us. I was stressed out that we would get hit by a car while we were sitting there, but that didn't happen thank the Lord.

Car got towed. The blue Crown Victoria was loaded up and taken to a car place. I really think she took her last drive that day. We're still waiting to get a diagnosis, but it's not looking favorable for her.

We stayed at my Aunt and Uncle's place while they went out to a different restaurant for dinner. I'm glad they did that.

We rented a car the next day and headed home. We got home around 9pm...long weekend. My parents are letting us use their car for the week as a loaner until we find a new one.

Things are working out.

I really liked our Crown Vic. She was a comfortable ride, but she was on her last leg and we knew it would be soon.

We are grateful to be safe. God protected us. And we are grateful for family who took care of us.
Here are some pictures of our adventures.