Yesterday as we prepared to leave the amusement park we discovered our van battery was dead. I knew at once it wasn't the battery but the alternator. We got a jump from a park employee and started a scary drive home. As we drove the diods, gauges and lights would die then suddenly pop back on as the alternator kicked in then died.
Each time we watched the battery gauge slowly drop as voltage drained. We cursed every traffic stop, every stop sign, every slow car in front of us. But we made it home. I then went to work taking the air cleaner casing off to see what it was going to take to fix. Luck would have it nothing more than that cover would need to be removed. But I still needed to find a new part. I called around and an O'Reilly's 3 miles away ordered one for me. So this morning I prayed I had enough juice in the battery or maybe the alternator would pop on for a little while so I could make it to them. That decision, to change the part myself, came after I woke up at 7am to call the Ford Dealer across the street from us to see what they would charge to fix it. $444..........Nope, no way. Uh uh.
Well, I set out and one mile later the van went silent. I was on just enough of a decline that I slowly was able to roll to the shoulder. I called AAA and a local cop came in and waited with me. He even called dispatch to help rush AAA along. An hour later the red AAA truck came and I was off to the auto parts store.
It would only take another hour to purchase and install the parts.
In the mean time Jim borrowed a van from the park and picked the kids up at the hotel to get to the park just in time to do the first show. Well. ends up that during the show the sound board fell silent. Jim used his well honed comedy to keep the crowd happy as they dealt with a fried transformer on the AC cord of the Sound mixer board.
A few phone calls and when I got back and finished performing our second show (we jimmy rigged the sound) I was off to Musician Pro where the owner had a great used sound bored with FX and other cool functions. He asked $120 but when we tested it and found one dead line he dropped it to $100 (one of ten lines isn't bad).
While I was fixing the van earlier and Jim was running around getting the kids and getting the first show going Miles was on his way from Berea, Ky to us. Good friend and fair manager of the laurel Co Fair, Doug Phelps and his grand-baby and daughter brought him out to us. Then they got to spend some time reliving Doug's youth as he came here as a child.
Below are un related pictures to the story I just told....but what has been going on....
Olivia wanted to try the mouse trap stunt....she only does a half draw snap.
Jessica helping with sales.
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