The Trip That Almost Didn't Happen

[Hilltown, PA 18944 | 59 miles]

I was seconds away from canceling this whole trip today. I got a good start, leaving earlier than originally planned from my sister's. The 'Check Engine" light was still on from the day before, an on-again off-again problem I've been having for about as long as I've had the car. Just one of those 'ghosts in the machine' i guess and an annoyance more than anything else. But last week, the problem got worse, then just disappeared. It resurfaced Wednesday evening on the way to my sisters, causing uncontrolled bucking at really slow speeds, and a major loss of power. This morning, the problem disappeared again, so I figured it was ok to move onward. I was fine until I got onto the Northeast Extension and I tried accelerating to merge into traffic when the car lost all power. I pulled to the shoulder, narrowly missing getting hit by a truck. Two more attempts until I was able to safely get up to speed to merge with traffic and be on my way. I discovered that my cruise control was also not working, which would alone be grounds for canceling the trip, but I figured a few miles on the freeway to let my city car 'stretch its legs' would clear everything up. I got to the Hickory Run rest area and parked the car for a while. It started right up with only the check engine light on, and some minor bucking at low speeds. I had all the power back, so I continued north also pleasantly surprised that the cruise control was also working. This was going to be just fine. Of course, worring about the car, I missed the I-80 exit only to discover my mistake in Wilkes Barre. Going back south on I-81, I was about to just go back to my mechanic in Philly and cancel this whole thing. But then I put on the "mix tape" CD that my girlfriend made for me and by the 3rd song, I remembered just why I was doing this trip and knew that I could always get the car checked out by a dealer somewhere along the journey. So I pressed on.


So my 2nd stop (and first fill-up) was in Lock Haven. I almost visited back in August, then after learning that my girlfriend went to school there, I had to take the few mile sidetrip to see her old campus and the historic town. The town was really nice with lots of interesting architecture while the school didn't visually impress me. I filled up the tank and made my way back to I-80. My next stop was supposed to be Cleveland OH, but realizing that I really needed to get to a VW dealer, I decided I would drive as far as possible so I could get to a Chicago VW dealer Friday morning. I almost made a run for Gary Indiana (just outside of Chicago) until I was informed that Gary was the Camden of Indiana, so I decided to just stop whenever convenient instead. I drove over 600 miles today and ended in Fremont, Indiana (at the crossroads of I-80 and I-69) and just a few miles from the Ohio and Michigan state lines. Now, for some sleep and a very early start to get to a VW Dealer in downtown Chicago (3 hours away) by 6:30 am. Yikes!