Saturday's Adventure

"Are you sure the car will be okay?"

"Yes!" Steven assured me. "We replaced the radiator and got it all put back together before I drove it home last night. I added coolant this morning. It should work just fine now." Neither Steven nor I know much about cars, but we are lucky to have a friend who does, and he had helped us when our only car's radiator got a crack in it.

With increased confidence, I gathered the library books and the kids who wanted to accompany me and headed out the door. The day was warm; we wouldn't need jackets, but there were storm clouds looming on the horizon as John and Joshua and I climbed into the van and set off. As we approached the library less than ten minutes later, however, I noticed that the car’s temperature gauge was creeping upward, and was nearly to the red by the time I pulled into a parking space. I'd had experience with cars overheating before and I knew that was bad. As we headed into the library, I hoped that the engine would cool down, and that we would be able to make it the four miles home again safely.

I took my time at the library, but eventually the three of us had plenty of books to last us the week, and we headed back to the van. When I started the engine, the temperature gauge instantly rose halfway. It hadn't cooled down completely yet, but I thought we might make it home. With hope, I started the car and pulled out of the parking lot. A couple minutes later, having driven only about one mile, I pulled over. The engine was again overheating, and the pointer was past the red area. At this point, I realized that we were in trouble, and I needed help. 

I called Steven, and when he heard what was going on, he told me he would come help. The boys and I found books to read (luckily we had several to choose from) and sat there in the car on the side of the busy highway, waiting for the engine to cool and for my hero to arrive. Twenty minutes later I saw him approaching, riding his bike, with a bottle of coolant dangling from each handlebar. He poured more coolant into the reservoir above the radiator until it was full, and then loaded his bike into the back of the van and we headed home once again. 

Less than a mile later, we turned onto a residential street and again pulled to the side of the road. The coolant obviously wasn't getting to the engine. Finally, Steven called his friend Michael, the one who knows what he is doing. It was then that we discovered that we had been putting the coolant in the wrong place. Michael offered to help, and we settled in to wait once again for the engine to cool, and for help to arrive. 

While we waited, I called home to check on Peter. Steven had left him under the supervision of a cat when he came to our rescue.  Luckily, Hannah had returned home from her friend's house by then. I let them know what was going on, and that we would get home as soon as we could.

A half hour or so after receiving Steven's call, Michael arrived in his jeep with his wife and young son in tow, armed with funnels and thick gloves. By then, the engine had cooled enough that he was able to open the lid on a tube in the back next to the engine without being scalded or burned. While the two younger boys played together, Michael inserted his funnels into the tube, John held them steady, and Steven slowly poured in the premixed coolant. They filled the tube, watched the thick liquid bubble and disappear, then repeated the process. At one point they had me get behind the wheel and rev the engine a little bit, blowing more air out of the tube and making way for more coolant. Finally the tube was filled, no more bubbles were rising to the surface, and the car, with the engine running, was no longer in danger of overheating. We thanked Michael profusely for his help and then we all climbed back into our cars and once again headed for home. This time, thankfully, we made it.