This morning we start out again. Hopefully all of the drama is over and we can have a pleasant trip from here forward. If not, I’m going to make some assumptions about how the Universe feels about me being in LA. Physically, I’m feeling about as well as I have on this trip..my cough is persistant but I’m feeling good mentally. The solution to the car trouble was to purchase a used car and rent a moving truck to hold all of my junk essential equipment.  The Highlander is toast, as It would have been almost as costly to replace the engine

…with limited time to find trustworthy less expensive mechanics in  unfamiliar territory. We made what I feel was the best decision save for waiting a week or more for any of a number of other options. I give a huge shoutout to my parents. My mom for dealing with this stressful situation and Dad for being a proxy contact and working out what he could from home. And I can’t forget Athena Cosby for hellping me to find the rental truck at a decent rate.
Ideally there will be only 2 more days until we see LA. Here’s to ideal situations. Oh and for all those people who think everything happens for a reason…thanks for your optimism. For me, the jury is still out on that, but I did get a newer vehicle out of all of this and my mom was able to sell the highlander to a car-savy guy with a family who may make great use of it someday. I met some cool people Kelly Boyett, the service guy at Toyota, Gary the salesman, Harold Kane…the guy who stopped to help us when the car broke down…and Adam the tow truck driver. Strange how random this all feels to me, but without it I wouldn’t have gotten this car at this moment…maybe there is some significance in that. Stay tuned.

-E