my favorite misadventures

 

I do not like owning a car and I like it even less when my car breaks down. However, my car troubles have often resulted in some of my more unique adventures, leaving me stranded in a place I would most likely not be talking to people I wouldn't have a reason to talk to otherwise.

Today, Andrew came up with a plan to go find a new water hole in which to swim. I'm not big on swimming but I am always up for new things so we did a little bit of research and headed out to Rowland Lake. We had to stop by Target in Fairview on the way out to get some things and while we were leaving there, the power steering went out. Apparently the water pump seized up and shredded the serpentine belt. There was an auto repair shop near by so we coasted into there and found a mechanic to work on it.

We had all of our lazy swimming day supplies with us so we went to the Salish City Ponds so Ava could swim and we could relax. It wasn't a lake but it worked. I think that if we were parents to a human child, they wouldn't have had any idea that our plans had been derailed since we recovered so fast. And, yes, car repairs suck, but we set out for an adventure and we were having one. Andrew pointed out that I was very optimistic about this and I felt that too. Normally, I would be bemoaning it all but what could I do but make the best of it.

A few hours and $353 later, my car was fixed. It was a little late to keep going out to the lake but the Thousand Acre Dog Park was close by and we could swim in the Sandy River so that was our new plan. It worked out great. The water was chill and deep in some parts. If I gotta swim, I'm glad I got to do it with Ava. She's gotten so good at it. Just within the past few weeks, I've really seen that she's developed a liking for swimming.

We also got to see several other dogs. There was an adorable bull terrier who wanted Ava's frisbee and a pug named Biggie Smalls who walked up and sat in my lap. When we were leaving, we took the main path for a bit and then headed off to a smaller path that was more akin to bush-whacking. When we were close to the middle of it, we ran into Biggie and his canine brother, Bruiser the pit pull, and his human. She thought she was heading out but then turned around and walked with us. Biggie was lagging behind with me and, rather than try to stomp down the underbrush for him to step over, I just carried him.

So, it wasn't what we had planned and I was totally fine with that. We can try for Rowland another day but I wouldn't have traded this day for anything.