Planes, Trains and Automobiles

Our new car

I'm not quite sure how it all started, but we had a few days that were more than interesting. First off, we decided it was time to sell our car and buy a new one. We put our car in the newspaper, and almost immediately it was sold. We weren't expecting it to sell quite so fast, and there we were with no wheels! The only problem was we were undecided as to which car we wanted to buy. We had test driven a Honda Accord, a Toyota Prius, a Toyota Camry, and a Hyundai Sonata. It was a hard decision, but after much research we decided on the Hyundai Sonata.

The next step was to find the right car, for the right price. So, there I was calling every Hyundai dealer in the Northwest. I had done some research and found out that the best time to buy a car, is either the last few days in the month of April, or the last few days in December. Since it was the end of April, we figured we had a good shot, at getting a good deal, on the car we wanted. After calling every Hyundai dealer in the Northwest on Monday, April 26, our phone was ringing off the hook like we had never heard before. We had dealers calling all day, every day, for the next four days. Finally, on Thursday afternoon, we received the lowest bid we thought could be possible, from a dealership in Eugene, Oregon and now, we needed to move on it. While I was making dinner, Marc made me a reservation on Amtrak for the next morning at 4:30 a.m.. Wow, things were now moving along quite fast, and I had a headache that would not quit!

We were up bright and early Friday morning, and Marc took me to the Amtrak station, where I went by train to Portland. Amas picked me up at the train station that morning, and he took me to their house. Our car was to be delivered there later on that day. I spent the night in Philomath, and I was even able to attend the second half of Brooke's school program, after my car had been delivered.

The next morning, once we were all awake, Cheridy, Amas, Brooke and I began our trip to Multnomah Falls. We had planned to hike to the falls, and then go our separate ways when we were finished. It did not work out quite that way, because it was raining, so I decided to keep moving along and get home as early as possible. However, Cheridy, Amas and Brooke did hike Multnomah Falls. They were drenched by the time they were done, but I heard they had a great time anyway. Thanks, Cheridy, Amas and Brooke for all your help... we couldn't have done it without you.

After I arrived home, it was time to start packing for our vacation. We were leaving the next morning, by plane from Pasco to St. George, Utah. I'm not sure if any of you reading this blog have watched the movie "Planes, Trains and Automobiles"... but that's kind of how I felt when all this was happening.