Matt & Dani

Ever have one of those days where you have a weird feeling that something bad is going to happen but you’re not sure what? On Friday, I had that feeling. Now whenever I get that feeling I try to take it easy, not doing anything out of the norm. So Friday came and went without any major disasters… Apparently my sixth sense is a little off because everything happened on Saturday!!

My day started off early. The plan was to get to Turlock by 7am to stop by Jacob & Anna’s garage sale, then head to Grandma & Grandpa’s house in Merced for breakfast and eventually make it to my Dad’s house for a photo shoot and lunch. Well, I made it to my first two stops without any problems but while driving across town from Grandma’s to Pop’s, the truck overheated. Fortunately I was near a gas station when it happened, so I pulled in and opened the hood. I figured it might need some coolant since it’s been going through the stuff faster than when it was new (it’s a ’00 GMC). I grabbed a few rags and proceeded to open the cap where you add the coolant to the engine. All I can say is DON’T EVER DO THIS IF THE ENGINE IS STILL HOT!!! I had a 10ft high geyser of coolant shoot out of the engine all over everything! Luckily I was using a rag so I didn’t suffer from any burns. Without going on and on, I ended up driving it a couple miles to my Dad’s house where we eventually had it towed back to our place.

Soon after I got home Dani called to say she was on her way home from work. I asked her to be careful and that all I wanted to do was stay home for the rest of the evening! So she got in the car and headed northbound on the freeway. She was in the fast lane, only 1 exit away from home, when a Chevy truck on the other side of the freeway crashed into the center divide. The boxes that the truck was carrying were flung across the divide and ended up landing right in front of Dani!! In the split second this happened Dani swerved into the next lane to try to avoid the debris (luckily there wasn’t a car driving next to her). She was able to avoid most of the big stuff but there was damage to the front driver side and possibly to the undercarriage. Long story short, when she filed the police report we found out that the guy had a tire blowout which is why he slammed into the median. Dani also found out that she knows the guy from work!

For having a bad day we were both fortunate that no one was hurt. The truck is at the shop and we’re working with our insurance company to get the car repaired. The first thing I did on Sunday morning was to sign up for AAA. My Dad has the coverage so the tow from his house to ours was free, thanks Pop! I’d suggest checking out their roadside assistance coverage. For < $100/year you can have some peace of mind when these kind of things happen.
-M