Our "Saab Story"

My parents bought a new car a few months ago and no longer had need for the Saab. It is an expensive car to fix and had had it's fair share of problems (which were all for the most part fixed), but they decided we would probably be the best fit for the car (if we wanted it), since Grant is able to fix so much on his own. The obvious problem was getting it from California to Kentucky. We thought about driving it back this summer when we go out, but also didn't like the idea of having to spend 3 of my vacation days driving, since I only get a limited number off from school.

Unfortunately, Grant and I have different Spring Breaks (yes, after so many years at BYU, not even getting Spring Break, and now they aren't even the same week). His was this past week, which even more unfortunately, was my busiest week of school yet (2 tests and so much more). We have kicked around whether we should get the car or not for a while and if we did when and how we should get it. So, Friday night we thought, why not have Grant fly out and drive it back. Thanks to Bryce and Cec, he was able to fly at a reasonable price, buying the ticket the night before the flight. Unfortunately...that also means you're on stand-by, which can sometimes cause problems ;) ...
Grant had the whole week technically to fly out and drive back so worst case scenario it takes the whole week; best case scenario it takes a few days.

The plan... Fly out Saturday afternoon (LEX-Memphis-Minneapolis/St. Paul-Sacramento) sleep for a few hours then hit the road , stop when sleepy, and make it to Bowling Green by Monday night to see some friends then wake in the morning to go talk to some Oral Surgeon offices to collect teeth that he needed for class, hangout with his dentist that he grew up with, and then be home by Tuesday evening.
The reality... Get stuck in the Memphis airport because cancellations of flights caused his flight to fill up leaving no empty seats (he even asked if he could sit in a jump seat...they originally said yes, and then someone else asked if he was a flight attendant, to which he obviously replied no, but he was willing to pass out drinks :) So, needless to say, they didn't let him ride in a jump seat and he had to wait for a flight the next morning. Luckily, he was planning on sleeping in the car during the trip so had packed a sleeping bag. So, he made a bed at the airport and went to sleep. After a couple hours, he was awoken and told he had to move his bed out to the baggage claim area since apparently you can't spend the night in the terminal anymore (they lock it down from the security checkpoint back).
He caught the first flight out in the morning and made it to Sac town just in time for lunch at In N Out before taking off. Don't judge the redneck scruff...he spent the night in an airport :)
The weather was extremely nice in CA, too bad Grant couldn't stay for longer, but he really wanted to get to enjoy a few days of his spring break just lounging at home also. He did send me this picture from my parent's front yard to make me a little jealous, even if he only got to enjoy the weather for a couple of hours.
At this point, he was only a little behind schedule, which in some ways worked better, because he could now get a good night sleep in Salt Lake, where he had planned to load up the car with baby goods that needed to be taken back to KY from Karrie and Al's baby shower in Utah. (Triplets=lots of baby stuff!)

Just as he passed an exit in Wendover, the car just died, like it had run out of gas. It was just before midnight and the car wouldn't start, so he decided to lay down the back seats and sleep in the truck, with his sleeping bag : ) He would worry about getting it fixed in the morning. In the mean time, I wake up that morning a little annoyed that he hadn't texted me when he got to Karrie's the night before (since I had told him to when I went to bed), to which he replied, "I didn't text you because I didn't make it there." He got towed into town, luckily only a mile or 2 (SO grateful this happened where it did, as there was no city within at least 100 miles on either side of him). The fuel pump was broken, and of course no one has one in Wendover had one. Saab dealer has one in Salt Lake, which they said they could have in the next day, but Grant was not going to spend another day in Wendover. Al was way too nice and took a day of his vacation to go get the part in Salt Lake and drive it to Wendover. His day in Wendover has many more stories that involve hookers in tow trucks, winnings at black jack tables, a woman yelling at him to "stay away" as he approached her early in the morning at a gas station, apparently looking rough from having slept in the car... and much more, but in the interest of not typing all day, I'll save details for another time, or let you ask Grant about the specifics.

The car was then fixed and he make it the rest of way to Sandy and spend the night with Karrie and Al at Karrie's parents house. He picked up some stuff my mom had ordered us that was delivered to Holly (really a productive trip already :) He also ate at Cafe Rio for dinner, so even though he wasn't making the kind of time he wanted to, he was doing a great job of eating foods he loves that he can't get in KY. The next day the leftovers were a delicious lunch after being warmed on the dashboard.
He left Sandy in the morning after watching the proposal episode of the Bachelor and getting a great night's sleep. He was on the road by 9:00 am, had clear skies the entire way, without anymore issues. My mom bought Grant a bunch of good treats to keep him going through the LONG trip alone. The bag of popcorn he had was about to explode since it was purchase in Davis CA elevation 52 ft and not opened till about 8000 feet.

The dash is also a great place to keep the peanut m&m's close and handy.

The rest of the trip went well. In short, he left Tuesday from Sandy at 9:00am and made it to Bowling Green at 3:00 pm the next day. Not too bad as far as timing but he was basically 2 days behind schedule. The first 670 miles took Grant 31 hours. The second 1675 miles in 30 hours.

He made it home late on Wednesday night. He had a few more interesting experiences like getting pulled over a 2 am in Missouri for tail lights out, and ended up getting himself and the whole car searched. He slept at a rest stop and slept for 3 hours, feeling fully refreshed upon awakening, and got to see a friend in Bowling Green who had recently had twins. The car is now home, safe and sound...but Grant can probably brag that he visited more states than anyone else during spring break...12 to be exact (including our trip to Cincinnati on Saturday). He's back at it now, no more good breaks til summer. I just have to get through the next couple days and then it's spring break for me next week, unfortunately I still have to work, but it will be SO nice not to have school!