Story time before bed.
At least 3 times a year the staff at the Lighthouse travel to South Carolina by van to pick up Upward orders. They do this to save $400-$500 on shipping. This time around, me and my boss, Jim, took the trip together. He just wanted me to become familiar with the trip because I would more than likely do it next time. So, we set out at 7AM on Thursday morning, and little did we know what was to come in the future...
The trip started out normal. We got gas before we got out of Birmingham and we were on our way. We got to Atlanta and we started to hear a weird noise. We kind of looked at each other and decided that it was coming from the big dump trucks that we kept having to pass. Right outside of Atlanta around 10:30AM (AL time) in a town called Buford we got a flat tire. What joy.
We got out of the car and assessed the damage. We didn't just have a flat tire. It was definitely a blow out. We called the church and they called a tow truck. Around 11:15 (AL time) the tow truck shows up. He gets everything situated and we head to Tires Plus. Lucky for us, we were only 1/2 mile from an exit and Tires Plus was less than a mile from the exit. We get to the Tires Plus and our luck starts to fade. The manager comes up to the truck and says they don't have the tire. He called another tire place, Firestone, and they had it. Only bad news is that Firestone is about 5 miles in the opposite direction (south) and then the actual location is about 3 miles off the exit. What joy we experience again.
We finally arrive at Firestone and the manager comes out to the truck. He says that they don't have a tire due to the fact it's a weird size or something. He says they can order it. Which is nice, but it's going to take 3 hours to get there. So we go for it and decide to wait. There is a Sonny's BBQ across the street (which is one of Jim's favorite places to eat). So we go there and eat lunch. Sonny's is located in a shopping center so we go for a walk. We go to Lowe's first and look at some stuff. Then we sit on the patio furniture that is for sale and just talk. I mainly asked him about his wife (how they met, how long the dated, how he proposed, etc.). We did not talk about my love life.
We then head to Wal-Mart and look around in the entertainment section since that is a happy place for both of us. After that we finally decide to head back to Firestone. When we get back we wait about 20 minutes or so and it is finally ready. By this time it was 4:00 (AL time). We talk for a moment about what we want to do, and we decide it is best to go on to South Carolina and save a little money for the day. Luckily, Upward was very generous and gave us a number for two guys that live close to the facility because we would arrive after hours.
We arrive at Upward about 5:30 (AL time) and get loaded up. The nice guy, named Terry, shows me around their warehouse (which was actually pretty neat) and then we hit the road at 6PM (AL time). Jim always stops at the Beacon when he has to come to SC so we did and got our food to go.
We hit the road and head home. We stopped at McDonalds somewhere so I could use the restroom and Jim could get ice cream. The trip back did seem longer, but it was nice to learn a little more about my boss. Where he came from, his family, etc.
We pull into the church parking lot at 12:30AM. We're so exhausted we don't even unload the truck. We get in our cars and go home. In the end, we spent 17 1/2 hours on this trip. About 90% of it spent on the road. Usually the trip takes about 12 hours, and that's when they take their time, sitting down to eat meals and such. So, 5 hours was spent on a tire. And to think all of this could have been avoided if the van we chose had a spare tire. Come to find out, every single other van available at the church had a spare tire. We were just lucky, I guess.
We spent most of the day laughing about what went wrong, and being thankful for the small things. Mostly the weather. If it had been raining, or cold, or both, it would have been a nightmare. But it was actually a very pretty day. So, we definitely found the positive amidst the negative, which is a great way to live life.
Sorry that was so long, but it's pretty much everything that happened. Believe me it is way better if I can tell it in person. But for now, this will have to do. Hope you all enjoyed story time with Sara Lee. Until next time...
The trip started out normal. We got gas before we got out of Birmingham and we were on our way. We got to Atlanta and we started to hear a weird noise. We kind of looked at each other and decided that it was coming from the big dump trucks that we kept having to pass. Right outside of Atlanta around 10:30AM (AL time) in a town called Buford we got a flat tire. What joy.
We got out of the car and assessed the damage. We didn't just have a flat tire. It was definitely a blow out. We called the church and they called a tow truck. Around 11:15 (AL time) the tow truck shows up. He gets everything situated and we head to Tires Plus. Lucky for us, we were only 1/2 mile from an exit and Tires Plus was less than a mile from the exit. We get to the Tires Plus and our luck starts to fade. The manager comes up to the truck and says they don't have the tire. He called another tire place, Firestone, and they had it. Only bad news is that Firestone is about 5 miles in the opposite direction (south) and then the actual location is about 3 miles off the exit. What joy we experience again.
We finally arrive at Firestone and the manager comes out to the truck. He says that they don't have a tire due to the fact it's a weird size or something. He says they can order it. Which is nice, but it's going to take 3 hours to get there. So we go for it and decide to wait. There is a Sonny's BBQ across the street (which is one of Jim's favorite places to eat). So we go there and eat lunch. Sonny's is located in a shopping center so we go for a walk. We go to Lowe's first and look at some stuff. Then we sit on the patio furniture that is for sale and just talk. I mainly asked him about his wife (how they met, how long the dated, how he proposed, etc.). We did not talk about my love life.
We then head to Wal-Mart and look around in the entertainment section since that is a happy place for both of us. After that we finally decide to head back to Firestone. When we get back we wait about 20 minutes or so and it is finally ready. By this time it was 4:00 (AL time). We talk for a moment about what we want to do, and we decide it is best to go on to South Carolina and save a little money for the day. Luckily, Upward was very generous and gave us a number for two guys that live close to the facility because we would arrive after hours.
We arrive at Upward about 5:30 (AL time) and get loaded up. The nice guy, named Terry, shows me around their warehouse (which was actually pretty neat) and then we hit the road at 6PM (AL time). Jim always stops at the Beacon when he has to come to SC so we did and got our food to go.
We hit the road and head home. We stopped at McDonalds somewhere so I could use the restroom and Jim could get ice cream. The trip back did seem longer, but it was nice to learn a little more about my boss. Where he came from, his family, etc.
We pull into the church parking lot at 12:30AM. We're so exhausted we don't even unload the truck. We get in our cars and go home. In the end, we spent 17 1/2 hours on this trip. About 90% of it spent on the road. Usually the trip takes about 12 hours, and that's when they take their time, sitting down to eat meals and such. So, 5 hours was spent on a tire. And to think all of this could have been avoided if the van we chose had a spare tire. Come to find out, every single other van available at the church had a spare tire. We were just lucky, I guess.
We spent most of the day laughing about what went wrong, and being thankful for the small things. Mostly the weather. If it had been raining, or cold, or both, it would have been a nightmare. But it was actually a very pretty day. So, we definitely found the positive amidst the negative, which is a great way to live life.
Sorry that was so long, but it's pretty much everything that happened. Believe me it is way better if I can tell it in person. But for now, this will have to do. Hope you all enjoyed story time with Sara Lee. Until next time...
Sorry I'm just now commenting, but I LOVE story time with Sara. It needs to be a weekly occurrence! I'm sure Windchime gives you some good material. :)
ReplyDeleteHaha, I'm going to wait until I'm at least in my 40's to start telling stories about my cat. If I do it when I'm 24, it'll look like I have no friends and/or life.
ReplyDeleteI am glad you enjoy story time with me :)