Blowing a Fuse
Aug. 1st, 2008 09:51 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
kevin_standleeI knew that leaving at nearly 3 PM instead of Noon would mean I'd be hitting heavier traffic, but I hadn't realized just how bad it would be. The first 70 miles took more than two hours. It was stop-and-go from south of Walnut Creek to the Benicia Bridge, and then from near Cordelia Junction into Vacaville. Yow. I finally made it to Yuba City around 7 PM, checked in to the hotel, and headed out to my grandfather's house.
Lisa called me while I was on the road. I'm glad she did, because she was worrying over where she would meet me. I actually changed my voice-mail message so that if that's all she got, she'd hear me saying where I would be tonight. But anyway, I was able to reassure her that everything was okay and that she should come to the hotel in Yuba City, and she knows where it is because we've stayed here before. From where she was when she called, I'll be surprised if she makes it here before Midnight.
I noticed that the charge on my mobile phone was running low, and decided to try using the car charger, which I rarely use. I plugged it in and the radio went *vrrt* and the charger LED did not light up. It turned out to be the old charger anyway, so it was the wrong plug for my current phone. The next time I stopped, I discovered that something was wrong. Every time you turn off the key, the car radio loses its memories, including the clock. The accessory plug was definitely dead as well, as I found when I tried to lower the antennas and could not do so. The radio works when the key is on. Later on, I realized that the dome light wasn't working either. I'm guessing from all this that I blew a fuse on the accessory system, which should be easy to fix, but I'm not going to look at it until tomorrow morning when there's enough light to see what's up. The van works with this particular system disabled; it's just inconvenient.
I spent a couple of hours with my grandfather, having the dinner that my mother (who had come down to visit him on his 85th birthday and help him with some errands) had made and left for me (and him; he'd eaten earlier). Mmm, good fish! After a pleasant evening with my grandfather (and talking with my mother on the phone), I figured I'd better get back to the hotel as we were getting to the start of the window of time when I thought Lisa might get here if she made very good time.
After leaving my grandfather's house, I stopped by Raley's to buy some sunscreen. While driving up through Concord, I realized that I'd forgotten to pack suncreen, and I should have had some today, for I could really feel the sun, and it will just get worse as we head across Nevada tomorrow. Then it was back to the hotel to wait for Lisa. But since I have no idea when she'll get here, I've left a key with her name on it at the front desk, and I will try to get to bed pretty soon, as we have a long day tomorrow.
Lisa called me while I was on the road. I'm glad she did, because she was worrying over where she would meet me. I actually changed my voice-mail message so that if that's all she got, she'd hear me saying where I would be tonight. But anyway, I was able to reassure her that everything was okay and that she should come to the hotel in Yuba City, and she knows where it is because we've stayed here before. From where she was when she called, I'll be surprised if she makes it here before Midnight.
I noticed that the charge on my mobile phone was running low, and decided to try using the car charger, which I rarely use. I plugged it in and the radio went *vrrt* and the charger LED did not light up. It turned out to be the old charger anyway, so it was the wrong plug for my current phone. The next time I stopped, I discovered that something was wrong. Every time you turn off the key, the car radio loses its memories, including the clock. The accessory plug was definitely dead as well, as I found when I tried to lower the antennas and could not do so. The radio works when the key is on. Later on, I realized that the dome light wasn't working either. I'm guessing from all this that I blew a fuse on the accessory system, which should be easy to fix, but I'm not going to look at it until tomorrow morning when there's enough light to see what's up. The van works with this particular system disabled; it's just inconvenient.
I spent a couple of hours with my grandfather, having the dinner that my mother (who had come down to visit him on his 85th birthday and help him with some errands) had made and left for me (and him; he'd eaten earlier). Mmm, good fish! After a pleasant evening with my grandfather (and talking with my mother on the phone), I figured I'd better get back to the hotel as we were getting to the start of the window of time when I thought Lisa might get here if she made very good time.
After leaving my grandfather's house, I stopped by Raley's to buy some sunscreen. While driving up through Concord, I realized that I'd forgotten to pack suncreen, and I should have had some today, for I could really feel the sun, and it will just get worse as we head across Nevada tomorrow. Then it was back to the hotel to wait for Lisa. But since I have no idea when she'll get here, I've left a key with her name on it at the front desk, and I will try to get to bed pretty soon, as we have a long day tomorrow.
