This story is definitely blog-worthy. Although it is almost a week later that I finally realize my faithful blog readers (of which there are none) have been deprived of this amazing story.

So first of all -- I lied in my last blog. I wrote that I wouldn't be doing anything special for the three-day weekend. I lied because what I WAS doing was a surprise. Saturday morning my friend Chad (see previous entries for more information) picked me up and we began our (somewhat) impromptu day trip to Provo. After a gas pit stop (which felt VERY strangely like being on a family vacation ... but no snack money... ) we left Rexburg at about 10 or 10:30. We got to Provo about 2, and Chad drove me to Mollie's dorm to surprise her. And I did. It was great. We ate lunch at the Creamery and then tried to go bowling but the wait was an hour long. So Erin Bryce and Will met me at Mollie's dorm. Mollie left for her date (lah dee dah) at about 6:00 so Erin took me back to her house. I played with Will for a while. We think he thought I was Mollie or Erin, but what do I care if it means he doesn't scream and bawl when I try to pick him up. We watched "About a Boy" at Erin's and then Chad called and picked me up around 9:40. After a pit stop at the Provo Wal-Mart, we were back on the road about 10:00. Chad drove until midnight, at which point he pulled over and we switched. I pulled out onto the interstate to find that Chad's car had no high beams, so I'm driving along at 70, 75 sometimes up to 85 mph with these dinky headlights, hoping that the road doesn't take a sharp turn, or something doesn't jump in front of me, because I won't be able to see it in time to stop. I drive for about an hour and a half or so, all the time noticing that the headlights keep dimming -- but they'd come back, so I ignored it. And then about 1:30am as I'm driving down this remote stretch of Idaho Interstate (yes, it pretty much is all "remote") when suddenly it's very dark -- the car completely dies on me. And the really freaky part was that as it did so, the windshield wipers flipped on and skidded their way across the windshield once before dying also. And after staring at the road for so long, their in-my-face surprise scared me to death. I reached over and woke up Chad and told him I had no lights. (Mind you, this all happens in like 2 seconds) I pull over, but really can't see anything, and ended up half in the shoulder, half on the highway. The engine is smoking so we get out only to hear dogs somewhere nearby barking up a storm. And when you're out on this quiet interstate in the middle of nowhere, freezing cold, with no moonlight, nobody around, and you hear dogs barking, it's a little freaky. (After looking around, we notice there's a farm on the other side of the highway and the dogs are fenced in.) So Chad gets out and pops the hood to find the battery literally sizzling. Hm. Now we know what that funky smell was the whole way down and back up. After locking the car and beginning to walk towards the nearest exit (which we later find out is 3 miles away) I remember I'm a AAA member! We go back to the car and I call my parents (where it's 3:30 am and I've scared them half to death by calling so late) to get the AAA number, because, me being the responsible, intelligent person that I am, didn't have the membership card with me. I call AAA and try to explain to them where we are ("uh... 15 minutes outside of Pocatello?") which is when I wished I had paid more attention to the signs I had been driving by. They promised they'd have someone out to me within 1/2 hour because they had a towing company in Blackfoot -- which was assumed to be near where we were. About an hour goes by, and still no tow truck. And I'm freezing, scared that somebody's going to come barreling down the interstate, not see us, and bash into the car. And then Chad says he thought he saw a silhouette approaching our car in the headlights of a passing car -- so we watch for another car to pass, and he claims it was nothing. Yeah, good idea -- let's just begin our horror movie. Not only am I cold and shaken up from the car dying in my hands, but now I'm afraid there's an ax-murderer at my window. Oh but it gets better. So since we've been waiting for a while now, Chad decides he better get out and run up to the sign we can see a little ways off, and see what it says. He leaves me! In the car! Alone! With the ax-murderer and the dogs! You better believe I locked the doors... He was gone for a few minutes, which seemed like an hour, especially since I couldn't see him at all... when the tow truck driver calls me to get an update on our location, which, conveniently, Chad has just determined from the sign is 3 miles south of Blackfoot. Chad gets back to the car and the tow truck arrives within 10 minutes and we are rescued. By this time it is about 3:15. We broke down at approximately 1:35. I am cold, exhausted physically and emotionally, and ready to crash. Well, maybe I shouldn't use that term in the context of this car story. But anyways. They hook up the car, and I climb into the warmth of the tow truck's cab. We got towed back to Rexburg because, being the AAA Premium Plus member that I am, I can get towed anywhere within 100 miles of where I am, and we were only 55 miles from Rexburg. I don't really remember the ride back because I promptly fell asleep, leaving Chad to do the small talk. We got to Rexburg about 4:00, pushed the car into a parking place and finally slept before getting up at 7:30 for church at 9:00. It was an amazing night. When I talked to my mom about it later she said she had thought about cancelling mine and Mollie's AAA memberships since we weren't at home to do any driving. Then my dad told her she might want to keep it because they remembered the car Chad drives. (Which, he would want me to tell you, is not a bad car, but just doesn't look the greatest.) Now, there was no reason for them to think this since I hadn't told them I would be surprising Mollie (I know how surprises in this family work... or don't work, I should say -- unless it's Evan who's keeping the secret) nor would they have any reason to think that Chad would be driving me somewhere. So it was pretty much a miracle. :o)

And anyway -- what is a Dickerson road trip without the car breaking down? ...Glad to find that I'm carrying on the family legacy.

I am happy to report that Chad and I are both alive and well and carrying on with our normal lives here in Rexburg, Idaho. The 1989 Eagle Summit is not doing so hot, but has settled in quite nicely to it's parking place outside of Chad's apartment. There are plans to have it fixed soon though. Supposedly it's the alternator. ;o)