Sorry for the late post. Travis decided that I needed to cut his hair first thing this morning before he goes to guys week/weekend. I’m not sure if he needs to look good for the guys or if he wants to reduce the chance of getting ticks in his long thick hair. Either way, THAT was a fun way to start a random Wednesday.
Yesterday, we picked up our pontoon boat to put in our lake for the first time here in Valparaiso. We finally have a boat lift, although it’s not the one we actually bought over a year ago, because we still can’t get that one due to lingering Covid supply line delays. Our magical dock guy managed to piece together a different one. Last year, we had the chance to buy a used one from a friend, but passed because we couldn’t figure out how we would run electric out to it. And we were struggling with the transport from Monticello. Oh, what a post that could have been. We will just add that to our list of regrets.
On our way down to pick it up, Travis was typing some work related document and swearing a lot. Bert was making an occasional noise I was unfamiliar with, but he wasn’t doing it consistently enough for me to figure out where it was coming from, and Travis didn’t seem to notice it, so I ignored it. I know, I know, bad idea Jo! But Trav was already in a bad mood and Bert seemed to be driving fine.
So we hummed along towards Monticello to pick up the pontoon, when Travis finally heard the noise as we approached North Judson. This is about 45 minutes into the drive and roughly halfway there. Or, it’s exactly the farthest point from anyone we know. Right at that point, the noise was suddenly much louder, and clearly thumping right as I applied the brakes. So, we pulled into a Subway parking lot so Travis could lay on the ground and slide across the rocky, dirty blacktop to get a look at the front brakes. With the thump so much louder, it was also easy to hear that it was coming from the front driver’s side wheel. I was in the car to turn the wheel and apply the brakes when instructed (unskilled labor). I had the door open so I could hear my unskilled instructions, when I heard him yell, “oh my GOD GOD GOD!!!!” Travis is known for his colorful language when grumbling or yelling, but it never includes God, so I was concerned. He slid out from under the car looking whiter than he is naturally.
He explained that we lost one bolt holding the brake caliper, and the other bolt was loose. He didn’t actually know what would happen if a brake caliper broke loose while driving fast. Maybe it could shred the (brand new) tire. Maybe it could cause the brakes to seize. Maybe it could get tossed into the engine compartment and cause unknown issues. Or maybe some pleasant combination of all of those. Or it could benignly just fall off and we rely on the other three brakes to stop Bert. We could see a Napa store just down the street. After Travis tightened the remaining bolt (and the bolts on all the other brakes, even though they were fine), we rolled over to the Napa store, where Travis was able to get another bolt from some very helpful guys at the store. We had most of the tools he needed in the car, but he bought an open ended box wrench that made the task easier. Again, I turned the wheel and pressed the brakes when instructed.
To be honest, the rest of the trip was uneventful. Well, except that I drove while towing the pontoon, which made Travis nervous enough on those narrow country roads that he could no longer type anything. That, and his computer was glitching and not allowing him to make changes. Could that be user error? I retyped his work stuff when we got home. Finally, something I am skilled at! Travis backed the boat down the boat ramp because we didn’t need to create any new Wednesday posts with me backing it down.
For now, I’m thankful. Thankful that Travis heard the noise. Thankful that we were in a town with an auto shop. Thankful nothing worse happened. Thankful that we didn’t have the pontoon on the back. Have a great week everyone! Enjoy this weather!!!