Bummer. That's Not Good...

It’s a beautiful, sunny day in Northern California. We’ve just driven approximately 125 miles from our home to the mountains of Lake Tahoe to enjoy a day of hiking and exploring on the Desolation Wilderness Trail. It’s the most heavily used wilderness area per acre in the U.S. and contains more than 60,000 acres of sub-alpine forests, glacial lakes and valleys, and granite peaks. In a word, it’s awesome!

A View of Desolation Wilderness - Tahoe

The hope was to give Paige and Taylor the opportunity to experience nature in its most wild state, to enjoy spectacular scenery, and to hike. The hope was to give the twins a glimpse of nature on its own terms where there are no buildings, no roadways. Just rugged trails, streams and rocks to climb and scale.

Our hopes for a wonderful wilderness experience with the twins changed in an instant when driving along in our beloved BMW 3-series, the engine coolant light came on. Given that we were high atop a mountainous, twisting two-lane roadway en route to the Desolation Wilderness Trail, we determined that we would make a slight re-direct in our plans. No big deal. Just a quick stop to make sure everything’s okay with our car. We decided we would continue driving to South Lake Tahoe, stop at a local gas station, check the coolant fluids and then be back on our way to the Desolation Wilderness and our glorious plans for a day of hiking would continue as planned.

No sooner did we pull into the gas station, turn off the engine and pop the hood did we discover a thick, ooozing green liquid seaping out slowly from underneath the car. Bummer, that’s not good. At this point, the grim reality began to sink in that we were not going to be taking in a day of hiking with the twins, we were not going to be exploring nature on its terms and we were stuck 2-1/2 hours away from home with our car hopelessly un-driveable. Bummer, that’s not good.

BMW Breakdown & Waiting for Tow Truck

There was an upside in this break-down however. Eureka! BMW offers GREAT customer service! We called BMW right away. They offered to tow our BMW to the nearest BMW dealership for us, no charge. Phew! That’s right, no charge on the towing!

The bad news however was that our beloved BMW would be towed to the nearest BMW dealership. The operative word there is “nearest” BMW dealership which in these circumstances was to Reno, Nevada. Bummer, that’s not good. So, now the grim reality once again begins to sink in that our car is no longer going to be just 2-1/2 hours from home but it’s going to be even farther from our home; in fact, it’s going to another state entirely. Bummer, that’s not good.

So, by now you’re probably wondering how Paige and Taylor are handling all this. I’m glad you asked. The girls were real troopers. They happily sat alongside of the road in their car-seats watching the world go by while their mom and dad waited alongside them for the car to be towed away and for our rental car to arrive. They waved at the drivers passing by and seemed to enjoy their temporary post on the roadside!

Roadside Hitchhikers Watching the World Go By

Eventually, the tow truck arrived and hauled our beloved BMW away. Paige and Taylor remarked “Oh, no, silver car is sick” and “Oh, no silver car is broken” several times as they watched the tow truck hitch and lift their car away.

More time goes by and our rental car arrives. We load up our things and are on our way. Unfortunately, by this time it’s now nearing 1:00 PM….1:00 is the witching hour for our twins. We’ve spent most of our day at a gas station parking lot, the twins have had no lunch and it is also nearing their nap times. Time is now definitely NOT on our side. We drive to a local pizza shop, grab some pizza and then load up in our rental car. After about 10 minutes in the car, both Paige and Taylor conk out fast asleep in the back seat. Again, the grim reality sets in - there would most certainly be no hiking today. You don’t wake twins from their slumber. We decide to head back home, dreading the 2-1/2 hour drive ahead of us.

2-1/2 hours later, we finally arrive at our home in Northern California. As we pull into the neighborhood, Mike turns to me and says, “you got the garage door opener and house keys out of the BMW, didn’t you?” Bummer, that’s not good. Once again, a new grim reality sets in for us. We have no way to get into our home. To make matters worse, inside of our home awaits a hungry puppy, and a puppy who is ready to get outside and relieve herself after being indoors for much of the day. Bummer, that’s not good. I turn to my husband, “no, I didn’t get the keys or the garage door opener.”

Being locked out of our home at the end of this dreadful day somehow just seemed fitting and terribly ironic. Ironic that the adventure of this day would continue on...The twins were not happy about it either. They could see their home but couldn’t go inside. Oh, the humanity!

Getting ticked....

And, Now...Really Ticked!

At 7:00 PM - many hours after our day began so uneventfully yet changed so suddenly on that mountaintop - we finally got into our home. Thanks to a locksmith and a $150.00 service charge to pick the lock on our front door, we were at last home.

As I do the math to this point, we’ve spent already $250.00 on this 1-day adventure just between the locksmith charges and the rental car charges. We’re now anxiously awaiting the charges of our BMW and are keeping our fingers crossed that the service call we receive from the dealership won’t be as bad as we’re anticipating. However, it’s a BMW – an impeccable car, an ‘ultimate driving machine’, an excellent design – and all those adjectives for a BMW don’t come cheap! So, we wait. Wait for the call. Wait for the estimate to fix our beloved little BMW. And, only after the waiting, will we then have to make a painful 3-hour drive back to Reno, Nevada to bring our car back home to Northern California.