Since we're moving this weekend and I'm returning to the Fox Valley on Tuesday evening for a sub orientation at Neenah on Wednesday, my parents offered to let us take one of their minivans back and fill it up with some more boxes. Things were going pretty good until we got off of US 51/I 39 in Wausau and started west on 29. Suddenly, there was this high-pitched whine that accompanied acceleration and occasionally it would be like we'd dropped into N and the tach would soar a bit as we floundered, then there'd be a little jerk and we'd get moving again. For those of you in the know, or who have or know someone who has owned a Chrysler minivan, this is a familiar situation-the transmission is on the fritz.
My parents encountered a similar situation with another of their minivans and were told to just pull over, turn the car off (apparently resetting the computer or something) and then start up again and head out. We called and spoke with my parents and they suggested this. Well, it didn't seem to be helping, and so, with the hazards flashing, we did a U-turn and decided to head back. We'd just cleared both lanes when we had another episode. Turns out it was the last. The car would restart but as soon as I put it in anything besides N or P we'd ceremoniously die. In the midst of the drizzle, I pushed the car about 500 feet closer to the truckstop at Marathon City a mile or so in the distance and then facing an insurmountable hill, climbed back into the car. Minutes later a gentleman in a pickup pulled over behind us, and then realizing the flashing lights of the police were for us, continued on his way. Soon joined by another, they discussed our options and offered to take us to Edgar or back into Wausau. So, for hopefully the one and only time, Audrey, Jennie and I got to ride in the back of a police car. Kinda fun if you're not sitting on your hands and the "I don't care" sticker isn't for you. I was going to ask for a picture of us all, but figured that would be a little too much. To make a long story short, we ended up waiting at the Mobil/Burger King at NN in Wausau until my parents arrived, and then went to Marathon City to get our suitcase and continued back to EC.
As a side note, my parents are AAA members and called to have it towed. In one of the incredibly brief phone calls with my mom, with our battery dead and the phone constantly powering down, my mom told me about their encounter with the AAA Customer Service. Apparently since my membership has lapsed, and my parents were not physically in the car, AAA could not yet dispatch a tow-truck. My parents would have to go to the van, sit in it and call. And the good news: as my mom told me when they got to Wausau "oh, you're a AAA member now." I feel as bad for my parents as they do for us (especially since I teased my mom about the car being a junker, what with one speaker and a back window/vent not working) hopefully it won't cost too much.
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