Regina by Tow Truck
Trip Start
May 11, 2008
1
3
19
Trip End
May 24, 2008
Regina,
Saskatchewan,
Canada
Wednesday, May 14, 2008
-we had a great start to our official vacation. Beautiful day with the promise of a warm spring day. It was the first time N had been west of Winnipeg since he was a boy. CD player loaded with Cd's = 3 my choice, 3 N's choice and set on random. We said goodbye with hugs and kisses to K and J (and in absentia to D who had left for work), and headed west. On the other side of the perimeter highway (in Headingly) we stopped at a roadside diner for an old-fashioned-greasy-on-the-road breakfast. (of course, you can see the pics of this great breakfast!)
-with stomach's full, we hit the road once again. 2 hours later, in Brandon, Manitoba, N clicked off the cruise control and we coasted into a Tim Horton's for a bathroom break and another coffee.
-oh-oh! the "check engine" warning light came on ... and even after our Timmy's visit it was still on
Manitoba Legislative Buildings
. Well, our 2007 Endeavor has only been ours for 2 months and came with 10 year warranty and a roadside assistance ... so we dialed up the 1-800 number and told "Michel" what was happening. Of course, he told us where we would have to go the nearest Mitsubishi dealer - Winnipeg. Uh... no... we're going west, not east. Okay, says Michel whats the next city? Regina? We don't have a Mitsubishi dealer in "Regina, Manitoba" (!!) Well... once I gave him Geography 101, Michel - located in London, Ontario, discovered that Regina, Saskatchewan did indeed have a Mitsubishi dealer, and a tow truck would be sent to us. -Shawn from Wheat City Towing (evidently Brandon is known as "Wheat City"... I guess that's better than "Pregnant Mare Urine City" LOL) arrived with a 3 part plan. 1 - get us fixed on the spot 2 - take us back to his garage for a quick-fix OR 3 - tow us to the dealer in Regina (396 kilometers - 246 miles away). Well, as luck would have it, plans 1 and 2 were a wash, and thus a couple of hours later we were back on the road .... this time in the cab of the tow truck with our new SUV riding along on a dolly behind us!
**by the way .... ever see the Steven Segal movies where he is a cook-navy seal? well, we met an interesting guy: tow truck owner-ex J2F/special forces .... and his ex-army grunt driver ... now here's a movie waiting to be made!
- We arrived in Regina at 7 pm, and the wonderful Mitsubishi dealership had their service manager Kevin waiting for us. Kevin checked things over and we made arrangements to be back first thing in the morning as our hotel was (by luck!) just around the corner.
-by 8 pm we had checked in to our hotel and had gone across the street to the Red Lobster for dinner.
-tomorrow we hope to continue on to Lethbridge ... in a repaired SUV, not in the cab of a tow truck!
