DISASTERS d’Joko, This too shall pass
The weekend off. Beautiful, unseasonably warm winter weather. A full tank of gas. Where, oh where in the Evergreen State should I go on the next Tour d’Joko?
My last three trips had been to the east, hiking mountain trails (or trying to) in the Cascade Range. I wanted to see something different this time. Different terrain. Different subjects.
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As you can see by the map to the right, representing the comfortable driving distance from home (the yellow circle) for a Tour d’Joko day trip (recent tours represented by the orange stars), the next trip should be to west. I was also thinking I wanted to see something cultural, something historic rather than just scenic. Out of the woods and off to historical places.
I was hoping to find perhaps a restored Indian fishing village, or something of the like. There are several sites here on the coast where archaeologists have uncovered Native American sites hundreds, even thousands of years old. The ones I knew of were way over on the other side of the Olympic Peninsula. Driveable, but a bit of a stretch for a one day trip.
An island in the Puget Sound (one of almost 200) caught my eye. Indian Island. Aha! There should be relics of some sort there, right? A quick check of the Washington Trails Association’s website, indicated that yes, there is a nature hike on Indian Island. It’s short, and you really can’t go anywhere else from there on Indian Island as Indian Island is closed. Closed to the white man? No. Closed to anyone. 99% of Indian Island is a military installation. A munitions dump, if I remember correctly. No one allowed in. Damn. A whole island?!? What do the Indians think about this?
No worries, as just adjacent to Indian Island is Marrowstone Island, sparsely populated, reachable by bridge and home to Fort Flagler State Park. Aha! I have a yearly pass that allows me unlimited access to state parks! The next destination had been found and off I went!
The first difficulty I encountered was with my equipment. The flip-out screen on my video camera has finally given up is functionality. It’s a bad connection wire. For months now, I’ve had to angle the screen at just the right spot to get a picture, otherwise, it just would go black. Lately, I’ve been unable to see the image of myself if I was pointing it at me (which explains some of the weird framing and zooms in recent videos). Now, basically I just have to point it at what I want to record, and guess. I just hope I’m recording what I want to, because I can’t see it.
I also can’t see if I’m actually recording. There was a point in the video below where things turned for the worse. I had been marching along the old military installation of Fort Flagler, recording beautiful vistas, historic buildings and massive weaponry where I went back to the van to drive over to the other side of the fort. I started the truck and it immediately died. I started it again, there was a screeching noise and then the horrible sound of metal hitting the pavement beneath my engine. Something large and important had just fallen out of engine compartment. The engine was running but making a really bad continuous sound.
Hopping out, I notice also a big puddle of coolant that had not been there before. Under the engine, I found a spring and a fist-sized wheel looking thing, obviously part of the belt assembly. I later learned this was my “tensioner”.
The truck was undriveable, and here I was in a state park, 100 hundred miles from home and maybe 20 miles from the nearest decent sized town.
I’ll spare you the details of the three-hour wait for a tow truck, suffice to say that when they did arrive, the mechanic’s shop my roadside assistance service found for me was awesome. Unfortunately, we didn’t get back to the their shop until after closing on a Saturday night, and they’re closed on Sundays and Mondays. They were nice enough to give me a ride back to the ferry.
I arrived at the ferry terminal just as the boat was pulling away from the dock. I had to wait an hour for the next one.
Turns out my water pump failed, which lead to the tensioner snapping off. Not a huge repair, but significant enough. I won’t be able to get my vehicle back until Wednesday, but they said to just let them know when I’ll be arriving on the Peninsula, and they’d pick me up for free at the ferry terminal again.
The wait did give me plenty of time to record one of my favorite song’s about the water… The Little River Band’s Cool Change.
(BTW, the music video above is uploaded in HDTV. To see it in high-def, click the YouTube icon in the corner, and then star-shaped button for resolution)
To top it all off, I get off the ferry to find I had missed the last bus home by 15 minutes.
Now, when I got home, 6 hours after my car broke down, to top THAT off, I fished around for my house keys and realized I left them attached to the car keys, in the ignition of the car.. 80 miles away. Damn. After failing in trying to break into my own house, I called the landlord… who graciously opened the door for me… an hour later.
I’ll be okay without a car for a few days; I have plenty of practice, right? I broke the bike out of the storage shed today and peddled down the road to go get a payday loan to pay for this car repair. To top all that other stuff off, halfway there, my bike got a flat tire.
I pushed the bike into the service station and bought a can of fix-a-flat. How was I supposed to know that fix-a-flat isn’t for bicycle tires? I ended up with white foam all over the bicycle and me as the stuff just exploded out of the punctured inner tube.
The, to top off all that topping, I get to the payday loan place and… they’re closed. Online, it specifically said they were open Sundays!! Even Super Sundays!!!!
I push the bike over to the bus stop to go home and I had missed the bus… again by two minutes, and had to wait an hour for the next one.
See, all the while today I was patting myself on the back on how well I had handled yesterday’s obstacles. Yeah, it was a difficult situation, but I approached it with aplomb, patience and acceptance. Yeah, a new water pump with labor is going to run me $500, but it’s only money. I can make more. Sure, I was stuck in another county along way from home, but the conversation I had with the mechanic on the way to the ferry terminal was fascinating. Awe talked about music, technology, life and eventually, politics. He was a Tea Party kind of guy, and as much as I wanted to vehemently defend the progressive POV, I had to hold back, knowing my baby was going to be in his hands.
Why relate all these troubles in what has been almost a Job-like weekend of little disasters? Like I said, the money thing sucks, but it’ll pass. This too shall pass. If anything, what upsets me is that the little monologue that I gave in the cab of the can whilst holding the unidentified metal pieces that had fallen out of my engine was NOT recorded because of my camera problems. That would have been one of the best Tour d’Joko moments of all time (and I’ve made a LOT of these travel vids). Money, transportation, material things, these all come and go. The art of the video blog, that lasts forever.
Wow what an unfortunate day you had huh…gez….ya but sometimes we get those ya know….at least you made it home safe,maybe not to sound…lolol….but safe none the less.The Patriots lost today but it was almost a moot point as ….for the first day in well over a year I had nada in the way of pain from my leg….I still don’t know what to call this fact short of a miracle…… :groovy:
But at least your team won…hey it’s something boss….plus tomorrow is Monday and I’m sure everything will be fine in a couple of days for ya….:)……Now that I can walk I am seriously thinking of going to the post office and finally mailing you and Mango that package….lololol hell yes I still have it…talk about the king of procrastination huh….
Freaking Lemurs…. 🙄
Keep the faith J………….
😉
P.S. I sent the geese to keep you company… 😐
Here’s one of my favorite mellow water songs…you know if it’ll help ya any… 😕
I wonder if this would of happened if you had a boat….?….ya most likely huh….oh what the hell….why am I so insistent on you getting a boat J…?
I have no idea….but I still think you should get one…or even better two…. 🙄
Anyways have a restful night my friend 😉
What a day you had, but the video was great as always. Unfortunate events, but it was a beautiful day and you handled it very well.
Always know that it could have been worse. You could have dropped your drivetrain in the middle of the desert, 20 miles from the nearest paved road, 50 miles from the nearest town, with a large thunderstorm headed your way. Just sayin’. 😉
You’re a better man than me. I always get super pissed when things break and I have to spend my hard earned cash. 😡 What do I do? I’m unemployed. 8)
Awwww so sorry that happened..what a shame your van acting up and all the events that followed. I love what you did…you kept your calm broke out your ukulele and played one of my favorite songs “Cool Change” . I am putting this video om my YouTube favorites, the scene was so beautiful. You did the right thing for yourself to just lay back and shrug this all off. And as my Irish grandmother would tell me when this kind of luck happens its a sign for better greater luck to come! BTW I say “This too shall pass” allot…but because of the pain I get sometimes that’s so severe I can not hardly breath. It really works, those are magical words I say!
Sending my love and lots of good vibes to you….K! :love: :love: :love: 😉
Was it the same Flagler that built the railroad to Key West?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_Flagler
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fort_Flagler_State_Park
It seems that everything in Florida is name Flagler.
Sounds like you handled everything fine.
Your cool head and competence got you through. Honestly though, you have had enough practice handling disater… Sending a change of luck… 😉
They always say when it rains it pours…..although I think the lack of rain was about the only thing you had going for you 😯 .
Sure hope your next adventure goes smoother. 8)
I would say you need a do-over button at the very least.
White stuff all over you & the bicycle? Joko’s online dating not successful – have sex with bicycle.
Indian Island is rumored to be a nurturing nesting place for some of our nukes. And a year or so ago, it slipped out that Twilight series author Stephenie Meyer & her family have a summer home on Marrowstone.
When running, that van is a freedom mobile. So wonderful to get around and camp in it.
One of the best investments the owner of a mature vehicle can make is roadside assistance, such as through AAA. An upgrade option provides extra tow miles for out-of-city driving. A tow truck driver on the Port Townsend-Coupeville (formerly called Keystone) ferry route recently told me he was hauling a dead vehicle with upgraded AAA to a dealer shop farther than the nearest one from the breakdown – perhaps because the owner lived nearby. AAA even paid for the vehicles’ ferry ride.
While only anecdotal, a former insurance agent recommended not getting towing assistance from one’s auto insurance company, as he claimed they sometimes use roadside assistance claims to charge more on/or discontinue the whole policy.
bad star alignement,bad moon rising and all the rest,we all feel it one way or another (if that makes u feel better)