Let's see, where did I leave off, day one of insulation? It was 2-3 days of mad frenzy of insulation and stealth setup when another incident occurred and it was to the road for me, ready or not!
...mostly not.
10 minutes into my trip out, I was stopped at a sign when the van began rolling -- the already-braked brake pedal released way back into the floor, almost further than I could reach. The van finally stopped again as I balanced the runaway pedal on my tippy-toes.
Hmm, that's weird. A brief thought to return to was immediately banished. Cautiously, I released the brake and tried again, this time it behaved normally, as if it knew it had just been playing a cruel prank. Several minutes of wary driving later I was satisfied that it had just been a fluke.
Except it happened a few times the next day, while idling at turns. Not often, just enough that by the end of the day I was researching, calling knowledgeable friends and determined to get it looked at first thing Monday.
Morning rolls around and it's 3 occurances within the first 5 minutes of driving, one of which was not from an idle. Careening down a busy road with little breaking power to speak of is a lovely adrenaline rush, you should try it sometime. I desperately pulled off into the first empty parking lot I saw, jerking through the turn way too fast and haphazardly hogging two spaces as I pressed the petal to the floor with all my might and willed the van to stop in time.
It did.
Once the initial shock wore off, I dared to adjust the van's parking to a more suitable position. During which the brakes behaved perfectly normal. They mock me, I swear.
Still shaky, I climbed out and took stock of my unfamiliar surroundings. Turning a slow, sweeping 360 degrees I stopped, turned back. Double-take.
Are you serious? My eyes refocused, and a short walk confirmed it:
I had 'crash landed' directly across the street from an auto mechanic's shop.
Well isn't that handy.
What was less handy was that they were closed, seeing as it was Sunday. And decidedly less handy that the place ended up ticketing me for parking there - not the police, mind you, but the private "guard" as they told me over the phone sometimes writes these tickets. When I explained my situation the nice receptionist said she'd send him out to come talk with me, but he never showed.
I'm amused that Mr. Guard was too fraidy-cat to come talk with little ol' me who's just trying to drive along her merry own way, dammit!
So I sat with my van to make sure it wasn't towed, afraid to leave even for a restroom break. That made things interesting. My Piddle Pail only holds so much, y'know. I'd have moved across the street, but inching carefully through 5 lanes of traffic whizzing past didn't quite sound like fun. So there I was.
The mechanic turned out to be one of those old straight up easygoing types who don't try to take advantage of vulnerable folk in desperate situations. In fact, he was happy for the additional security of me parking the night there. Turns out the brake's master cylinder had to be replaced. That sort of thing is never fun, but for the price I got the van at it wasn't too painful to absorb. Plus the assurance of knowing there were no leaks in the lines and both front and back pads still have plenty of life in them was a nice perk.
Living off grid in cold, rainy weather without a house battery isn't comfortable, but doable. Haven't managed to get warmer clothing yet so my sleeping bag has been my lifesaver. It seems no matter how bleak the situation, if I can just get warm enough it somehow makes life seem possible again.
Now returned to the grid for a night or two to pick up packages and do laundry with my fancy-schmancy special requirements (joy), another incident has already occurred and I'm sitting here planning which mailing service I'll be using and making final arrangements. I'll count the hours if I have to, but I'm making it. *thumbs up*
Until next time.
