Sunday, February 22, 2009

We're Back!

And we're all home in one piece. I'm sorry I can't say the same about the snowman.

We had a truly grand time in Lake Tahoe. Although the weather report called for an enormous storm to hit during the 10-hour drive up, we had clear skies all the way. Our old Ford Expedition handled the drive perfectly, which was a miracle in itself. Not that it's unreliable. Aside from a few idiosyncrasies (random lights going on and off, gauges that don't seem to have any bearing on what's actually happening in the engine, a suspension that has a mind of its own), it's served us well for many years. But about halfway up the mountain, we got a new warning light. It was for the oil, but since we had the oil changed only a few days before we left, we didn't worry about it. We drove all the way to Lake Tahoe (more than 500 miles), and then spent a week more driving around before we finally decided we'd better actually check the oil before heading home. And guess what? There was not a drop of oil in the reservoir. Apparently, the repair shop emptied the old oil but didn't put any new oil in! Of course, we can't possibly prove it, but there is no other explanation. We put five quarts of oil in before it even registered on the dipstick, and there is no oil leaking or burning. I am astounded that the engine doesn't seem to have suffered any damage and took us home again as smoothly as ever. Go Ford! But I'll tell you what: in the future, I'll check the oil myself before leaving the repair shop.

We stayed in a great house with a big fenced yard that was perfect for snowball fights:

And there was a beautiful sledding hill only a couple of blocks away:


The skiing was fantastic; lots of fresh powder, and warm, sunny skies:

This was the second year the boys went snowboarding, and they're almost able to keep up with us now, so it was a lot of fun...

...and a little tiring.

11 comments:

Anonymous said...

What a great trip that looks like! Perhaps the garage put in new oil but didn't tighten the drain plug sufficiently. I have had that happen. I doubt you could have driven that far with zero oil. But you definitely had the Engine Fairy watching out for you!

sophanne said...

Welcome home- as I looked at the pics and the snow out my window it occurred to me that a snowy vacation is just right for the family that lives in the land of constant sun. I love that snowman- but you knew I would.

Fibra Artysta said...

Glad your vacation was good.

Those pictures look like my backyard. I'll swap with you any time you want. ;-)

Unknown said...

Your title makes me think of POLTERGEIST.
Glad you enjoyed yourselves. How wonderful to be in all that snow.

Anonymous said...

Sounds like a great trip! Love the shot of hubby and dog chillin' on the couch - you can just hear them both thinking "Aaaaahhhhh!" And thank God your engine didn't blow. That is unbelievable.

crochetgurl said...

It looked like a really fun trip! You know I grew up in a place where there was a lot of snow, but I'm ashamed to say that I've never sledded or skied. However, I did enjoy making snowmen. :-)

Did you do any knitting on the trip?

Anonymous said...

Looks like you had a great time! Welcome back!

Anonymous said...

Now, I searching for the best information for lake tahoe~~*

and your Blog are very interesting too

i hope you to don't angry me to post this post for backlink

Please comeback to visit my blog too : lake tahoe

I'm sorry , If you think this is spam. but may i thank you again.

Haley said...

welcome back! can't wait to see how your knitting went since the rest of your trip seems to have gone wonderfully! that's great that you even got to take your dog with you.

Anonymous said...

Looks like you had a great time! Me I prefer my vacations in warm climates. The winter and I are not friends :). I'm nominating you for a Kerativ Blogger award. Check my blog for details.

5elementknitr said...

Talk about "little victories"! It's a miracle your engine didn't get completely fried! Our last oil change, they forgot to put the cap back on. That $7 oil change cost us an extra $10 for a new oil cap.

I'm glad y'all had so much fun!