You know those rare people you meet who think air conditioning is a luxury which one can do without? 'I drive around all the time in my old car and do without it...you get used to it man.' These are lunatics! I suppose they also think the incandescent lightbulb is a fancy bit of technology better left alone, so they only use torches and candles at home.
Our otherwise wonderful vacation took an evil turn at its very end yesterday just as we're travelling through Indiana...ye olde hoosier state. As we drive through Indianapolis, a scant 240 miles from home or so, after making nice time from the Lake and Pennsylvania...there is a change in the air. With a small sigh, our air conditioner in the Caravan just decides to stop working. I look up immediately and notice the computer heading says West, 98 degrees. Oh, nice... So much for having your systems checked and fluids topped off two weeks previous! Hey, fancy 4 hours in an oven with your family? And options? Not many. One shudders to think what you do when the dead air conditioner luck combines with that old standby, the flat tire or dead engine luck.
Well, to make a long story short, it sucked and we definitely needed the bag of ice we picked up at a quickie mart. The boys were none too thrilled with the heat and Darlene and I weren't much happier than they were. With an appointment made for Thursday via cell phone, and the problem mostly diagnosed as something we couldn't fix, we just settled in to drive...with the fan going and the windows cracked...and the outside temp now 100 degrees. About 3:30 pm on a hot afternoon on the last day of July and you're sitting in a box of metal with an internal combustion engine churning along at 75 to 80 mph. Oh joy. Hours later we stumbled into the (thankfully) mostly cool house and showered, exhausted and beat... and when I get home today the air conditioner here is on its last legs as well. They'll be out to fix that tomorrow morning, but today we just toughed it out--don't ask why. Remember I'm inherently cheap...the air conditioner is really really old, and I'm hoping I don't have to replace it, but at the same time the service visit alone will cost us more than the car is going to -- go go gadget 'power train plus' warranty, the odds have just paid off on that one. To have them out tonight woulda been a lot more money and I figured we could make it... as I sit here sweating and the house is still 86 degrees (with air circulating, but not cooling), I am second-guessing that call now. I'm also dreading the news that we are propping up an extinct dinosaur of an AC unit...a new one will cost a pretty penny alone, but if you're going to replace that you also ... yeah, new furnace etc... ouch ouch ouch, someone has just kneed my wallet in a bad place.
By the way, Pennsylvania is lovely this time of year... remind me to retire up there some day for all my summers. Highlight of the trip - Cam gets 3rd place in 4-and-under swimming at the Water Sports, good for a trophy! Woo woo! He was lovin' it but I think I was even happier than he was. Super proud papa!
All for now. Hope your air is working. Stay cool San Diego.