I got an early start this morning and headed nw towards Chicago. I soon entered Amish country - Middlebury, Indiana to be exact. Just as I entered the city limits, my car beeped at me and lights started flashing. I looked down and the car's screen politely (it said please) asked me to refuel it. Since I wasn't on the freeway, I wasn't sure how hard it would be to find diesel (yes, the car only takes diesel!) I saw a gas station on the horizon and it said diesel - phew! As I pulled in I noticed theg had plastic bags covering the diesel pumps.... apparently they did NOT have diesel right now.
So I drove on.... hungry for breakfast and hoping to find gas. The number of miles of gas left kept slowly going down... and I started passing Amish families traveling in horse and buggy. I debated stopping and seeing if they could give me a lift to the closest diesel statiom, but wasn't sure it would be appropriate to ask someone who doesn't drive a car to help me with mine. So I start getting nervous and keep driving. Suddenly I see another station - phew! Pull in and open the gas tank and try to put the nozzle in and it won't go in!!! Yikes. I'd been warned not all cars are fitted for all hoses but the car dealer assured me it would work. So I try to pump the gas.... and gas spews out and back onto me and the floor. Great. Unsure what to do, I pull out the owners manual.... no luck there. Zero bars for data service on my phone (guess the Amish aren't really into blackberries or cell phone coverage).
As I was about to give up, a man pulled up in a truck on the other side and started fueling up. I noticed he too was using diesel. "Excuse me, is that a diesel truck?" I asked, stating the obvious. "Does that hose just fit into your car? My car is new... and it looks like the hose won't work." The man came over and tried to get the hose into my car. No luck. He then called his son, a car mechanic who also owns a diesel jetta. His son indicated the hose should work. So here I stood with the man and my car, both of us confused as can be. He offered to drive home and get some tools or give me a lift to a shop or something. Just then I tried one last time and wiggled the nozzle and IT WORKED!! I started jumping around celebreating and the man joined in. I then looked at him and asked "I'm not crazy, right? That wouldn't go in before..." He confirmed I am indeed not crazy. We then chatted about my trip, where I'm going and why. He said he is also driving through Milwaukee today for the Harley 101 - apparently there will be a lot of Harleys in town! I told the man I was starving and he pointed me in the direction of Das Dutchman Essenhaus, an Amish restaurant! What lifestyle is probably the most opposite to the one I've been living (attached to work blackberry) - the Amish! After a hearty breakfast and chatting with some locals, I'm ready to hit the road again.
Ps - lesson learned. Refuel before light turns on.
No comments:
Post a Comment