A'ight, SO.

I mentioned the car trouble and layover yesterday in our blog.

Well, today we got news it's worse than we thought. As such, more details are warranted.

THE STORY THUS FAR:

We left AR around noon on Monday, feelin' perky and like we could take on the world, so we decided to cut down on our remaining trip time and costs by pushing forward: no motels, just napping in the car on the way, taking turns driving and napping.

We did this for a few reasons, not the least of which was that, despite our good experiences our second night on the road, we *really* didn't want to spend any more time in TX (or OK for that matter) than necessary, and figures that worst case we'd push through to NM.

And push through we did... right up until the bang that sent us leaping into the air, crashing down, and screaming as we struggled to re-gain control of the car and get safely on the verge.

I'll be honest... we don't know what happened exactly. We might have hit something, but what I think I saw Ms. Joyce said coulda been the flash of sparks when something broke loose under the car: it was early morning twilight, and what I saw didn't seem to be there until it was most certainly far too late for us to do anything about dodging it at highway speeds.

So we got a tow truck (after a 3 hour delay.) We knew we had a flat at least. When they got out there we found oil on the ground, and the car couldn't move at all... so yep. On the truck, get it to a shop, and they say the tranny pan is trashed, maybe more. So, we got a room at a motel right next door to the place (quite a nice motel: more details when we get home,) and had to wait for them to get a good look at the car to find out our exact situation.

THE STORY TODAY:

The repair place called back... and yep. It's worse.

That ripped tranny pan turned out to be a *shattered* tranny. And a dead rear left tire. And a warped frame. And some kind of broken control rod. And who knows what else.

We had the car serviced before we left Cali, but the trip back and forth has been filled with pot holes and other things, so who knows: it could very well have been minor damage from any number of things over the trip exacerbated by the over 2000 miles we've driven since Friday.

According to the repair place next door, it's something like a month worth of repairs. At a dealership with all the parts and correct knowledge.

So, here we are. A second night here in NM, while we wait for calls back from insurance, and tow places, etc. Gonna contact a rental car place to get us home, and try and get all of my things out of the car before it's towed to a place Ms. Joyce's insurance approves of for further examination.

Ms. Joyce is handling all of this better than I am. I'm kinda freaking, both because I was driving when it happened and because we wouldn't have been on the road if not for me and... basically, I'm trying hard as I can not to blame myself for what happened.

We could have been home yesterday evening. Instead, we're going to -- at best -- be home late tomorrow, assuming we can get a rental and get moving and don't have any other issues.

What was supposed to be about a 1500-2000 USD trip might end up costing us closer to 18k over time.

Melanie E.