Six Months Later...

…We were back in Smith Falls again, this time to pick up the van and bring her home to Ottawa. On exactly the 30^th of April, Doug and I arrived in the storage yard, this time during the day. The van was a sight for sore eyes. She was huge compared to what I’d remembered, but she was still beautiful. For enduring the elements for six whole months, she was in great condition. When we started her up, she turned over without a hitch. We let her warm up while we explored and reacquainted ourselves with her contents. While Doug was pulling up the bed, he found a deteriorating mouse carcass. That got me worried about any other furry friends that might be waiting to skitter around my feet while driving, but thankfully, there were no live mice in the van.

Doug and I set off almost right away. Again, I was following in the van. This time the trip wasn’t so cold. I cranked the tunes and sang at the top of my lungs as we cruised along at 90km an hour. As we came up to a slight rise in the road, I had a line of cars behind me, itching to pass. Someone finally went for it, so I took my foot off the gas a little to make sure he could easily get around me. But when I put my foot back on the gas, it didn’t matter how far I pushed it, the van felt like it was dragging. I realized that the gas wasn’t making it go anymore, so I put on my blinker and pulled over to the side of the road. I waited until everyone passed, and then I tried to pull out onto the road again. The engine roared as I pushed the gas pedal right to the floor, but I barely moved more than a few feet forward. I pulled over again and turned off the van. This time I found my 4-ways.

When Doug came up, we opened the hood and investigated. We couldn’t find any issues so Doug suggested he drive the van and I take the car since he would better be able to feel what was going on. We made the switch, and off I went, assuming Doug would follow. I pulled over around the bend, waiting for him to come around the corner. I waited for ten minutes. Nothing. So I drove back and there he was with the van; it hadn’t even budged.

We checked the engine again, tested the oil, and then, when we finally found it, the transmission fluid, which we discovered was basically completely empty! At that point, I was starting to wonder if the van had a hate-on for me. It was already such a hassle, and I wasn’t even half-way to heading out on my trip! My faith was slowly being eroded. But, Doug and I drove the 40 minutes back to Smith Falls, leaving Cloud 9 on the side of the road, and returned with a funnel and a big bottle of transmission fluid that she guzzled greedily. After about ¾ of the bottle was gone, we figured we could try the engine again. She roared to life and was mobile in a matter of minutes.

Doug drove her to Ottawa while I took the car, just in case. But she was good for the rest of the trip home…go figure.

-Nicole