In memoriam

Today we mourn the loss of one of our dearest family members: Giño. Named for a faulty headlight that didn't flip down with the other, he was a charming addition to our family and liked and respected by all. Recently, however, he began to show his true obstinate and ornery nature. T-rav did his best to tame this wild beast, to no avail. Today, in the graveyard of car parts know as Cedar City, Giño bit the dust. Let us all spare a moment of silence in his memory...

And then break out a bat to smash this piece of crap to smithereens!!!

Here's the story: this weekend we decided to go camping in southern Utah with our friends who recently moved to Arizona. The plan was to meet in St. George and then head to Zions for some hiking and adventuring. Our plan was thwarted. Greatly. And words (at least words that I feel would be appropriate to post on my blog) do not express my anger, frustration, disgust with our rotten little Honda.

We were driving up a hill somewhere between Nephi and Fillmore when we noticed the first signs that something was wrong: every time we tried to accelerate up the hill, the gear would slip out. If we downshifted, the car returned to normal. Or if we returned to flat ground. But anytime we tried to speed our way up a hill, Giño insisted on slipping out of gear...which usually means 1 thing- transmission trouble. And then there was that mysterious steam and stink that emanated from hood of the car when we stopped.

Luckily, we stopped at Cove Fort (= middle of nowhere Utah) where there happened to be a gas station/repair shop that could take a look. After affirming that yes, it was a transmission problem the repair guy eagerly offered to tow us the 80 miles to the closest transmission shop in Cedar City (for a "discounted rate of only $350) which we had no choice but to accept (it was that or leave the car there at the gas station...in retrospect, I think that would have been a better option).

After an interesting ride with a crazy, uneducated, prejudiced small town 20-something, burgers at Brads "Food Hut," a walk in the city park, and anxious minutes wondering what the fate of our car (or rather, our checkbooks) would be, the verdict was....

The transmission fluid has been bbqued, which means in a few more miles, the transmission itself will be dead.

Completely ruined.

Sure, we can put a "new" used tranny in for around $1500, but considering the fact that we didn't even pay that much for the car itself, it just doesn't seem worth it somehow.

Our friends are on their way to come pick us up so we can salvage the remainder of the weekend. Right now I'm sitting at a picnic table at a rather pleasant KOA across from the transmission shop waiting for all the kids to get out of the pool so I can go swim. But basically, this has been the worst day I've had in a long time (sorry to complain- but you all know how much I loathe spending money...especially in a situation like this).

Does anyone feel like driving down to Cedar City to pick us up on Sunday?