Wednesday-Thursday, September 7-8, 2011

Rolling with things….

Yesterday began well enough.  It was the day I was to return home after having been in Las Vegas for the past week.  Usually, I’m short on time, which requires that I fly to and from Vegas.  But this time, I had an extra cushion.  So when a friend, who lives not far from me, mentioned that they were going to be in Vegas and driving home on Wednesday, I decided to cancel my return flight ticket and make the scenic drive with them. 

The morning got off to a good start, another friend joining us for brunch.  Then we three hung out for a bit, exploring Vegas.  That additional friend had a flight back to Dallas, Texas at 5PM, so my friend and I offered to drive him to the airport.  Seemed like a good plan that would then get us on the road and heading back towards Los Angeles at a respectable time. 

On the way to drive to the airport, we realized that the AC in my friend’s car wasn’t working.  We fiddled with it for a bit, hoping it was just the soaring 110-degree weather that was making it seem to not be cold enough. Unfortunately, it became apparent that the AC unit was malfunctioning.  Not a good way to begin a 200 plus mile trip through the desert. 

We tried to get an appointment with a car dealership to have the AC looked at but were told that none could get us in that day.  So, we switched tactics and found a local mechanic that could take a look.  We dropped my friend at the airport to catch his flight and headed to the mechanic. 

Several hours later, we left, hoping that all would be well with the AC.  It wasn’t.  The mechanic had explained that he thought there might be a problem with the flapper door that allows ambient outdoor air into the cabin of the vehicle when the AC is on.  He did all he could by evacuating the system and recharging the AC, which needed to be done, and hoped for the best.  He shared that if that didn’t solve the problem, my friend would need to have the engine removed or a hole cut in the dash to remove the flapper door thingy and have it repaired.

Though it was later in the evening by now, the outdoor temperature still soared, so my friend and I decided to stall till it got cooler to make our drive.  We had a leisurely dinner at a Chinese buffet—nothing fancy, but there was AC inside.  After, we treated ourselves to frozen yogurt and then caught a movie.

By the time we were done with all of that, the temperature outside had cooled down considerably, so we began our drive home.  It was a lovely night.  Not as cool as we would have liked, but cool enough to allow the faltering AC to keep us from sweltering.  The AC would work for about five minutes before that darned flapper door thingy would get stuck open and allow the cabin of the car to fill with outdoor air for the next twenty minutes or so. 

This process continued for the entirety of our 200 plus mile trip home.  Some might have gotten upset—not us.  We’d thought ahead and loaded up with cups of ice and cold beverages to stem off the heat.  And then we settled into admiring the beautiful canvas nature set before us as we drove through the desert, taking in the dark outline of the mountains to the lighter contrast of night sky along with flat desolate land that stretched as far as the eye could discern. 

I wasn’t dropped at my house until around five Thursday morning.  Though I was tired and had to be up two hours later, I was okay with having gotten home later, for my friend and I had managed to make what could have been a miserable drive home a pleasant experience by just rolling with things as they played out.