The U-Haul
We decided to move ourselves from California to Texas. Usually the military will pack you up and ship your stuff, but we didn't want to wait, so we did what's called a "dity" move. (Do IT Yourself) We rented a U-Haul and took off. With 3 hours, our U-Haul had overheated and broken down on a major section of the interstate in Southern California. We took it in to a local dealer and they said they fixed it. We went to visit Ken and Amy (best man at the wedding), who were station in Los Angeles at the time. We were following a truck that had a couch in the back. Teh couch flew off the back of the truck and we hit it going around 60 miles an hour. Joe couldn't swerve. We were in HEAVY interstate traffic outside a major city. Teh U-Haul promptly shattered the couch. We were towing my Nissan Maxima behidn the U-Haul. It was fine, thank God. Our U-Haul had a bench seat, so Caylea was in her car seat, facing backwards of course, but up front because we had no back seat. We continued on after pulling over to check for damage. There was surpringly little. The couch was demolished. The truck carrying the couch didn't even stop.
The U-Haul over heated again, and by this time we had already had it "fixed," so we were frustrated. It was June and HOT. We called U-Haul and they said not to worry, they'd get it fixed. We drove on to Ken's house slightly faster than we should've because we kept breaking down, and got pulled over. The cop had sympathy for us after we explained our situation. It helps that when he looked at Caylea, she gave him one of her GRINS. We didn't get a ticket, but a cautionary, "Slow down guys. You don't want her getting hurt." We spent the night with Ken & Amy, then got up to get the U-Haul fixed. They "fixed" it again and we took off through the SouthWestern US. We broke down 3 more times. Upon calling U-Haul, they told us to run the heater to keep the truck from over heating. Did I mention it was June and that we were driving through the desert and we had a 7 week old baby who was already suffering a pretty severe heat rash because we had to keep the AC off just to keep the thing running, and now they were telling us to run the HEATER? The U-Haul "main" center was in Phoenix, AZ, which we were passing through to stay with another friend. God provided plenty of friends for us to stay with along the way, praise Him! They put a new something or another on the truck and proceded to tell us that most U-Haul distribution centers won't fix a truck. They'll rent it out, knowing it is broken, in the hopes that hte truck will get fixed elsewhere. (Mental notes taken.)
We broke down a total of 6 times, in 115 degree heat in the middle of no where, but not once did Caylea cry. I did. Te U-Haul girl that he spoke with on the phone cried. Joe yelled and it's the first and last time I ever heard my husband cuss. We made it to Texas, where my parents were waiting for us at our new apartment complex. Joe spent the next week on the phone with U-Haul. He ended up talking to the Vice President of U-Haul and told him, "We have a paper trail all the way from California about your neglect. We have pictures of our daughter's heat rashes, incurred when we had to turn our AC off in the 115 degree desert. You WILL fix this." We got the U-Haul free of charge, and they paid for all of our gas and meals. If we were the suing type, we could've received much more, but we decided to be grateful for what we had, and for our precious baby's health. 2 months later, Dateline News came out with a Special Report, focused specifically on U-Haul. Hmmm...
"Even in the valley (desert), God is good."
The U-Haul over heated again, and by this time we had already had it "fixed," so we were frustrated. It was June and HOT. We called U-Haul and they said not to worry, they'd get it fixed. We drove on to Ken's house slightly faster than we should've because we kept breaking down, and got pulled over. The cop had sympathy for us after we explained our situation. It helps that when he looked at Caylea, she gave him one of her GRINS. We didn't get a ticket, but a cautionary, "Slow down guys. You don't want her getting hurt." We spent the night with Ken & Amy, then got up to get the U-Haul fixed. They "fixed" it again and we took off through the SouthWestern US. We broke down 3 more times. Upon calling U-Haul, they told us to run the heater to keep the truck from over heating. Did I mention it was June and that we were driving through the desert and we had a 7 week old baby who was already suffering a pretty severe heat rash because we had to keep the AC off just to keep the thing running, and now they were telling us to run the HEATER? The U-Haul "main" center was in Phoenix, AZ, which we were passing through to stay with another friend. God provided plenty of friends for us to stay with along the way, praise Him! They put a new something or another on the truck and proceded to tell us that most U-Haul distribution centers won't fix a truck. They'll rent it out, knowing it is broken, in the hopes that hte truck will get fixed elsewhere. (Mental notes taken.)
We broke down a total of 6 times, in 115 degree heat in the middle of no where, but not once did Caylea cry. I did. Te U-Haul girl that he spoke with on the phone cried. Joe yelled and it's the first and last time I ever heard my husband cuss. We made it to Texas, where my parents were waiting for us at our new apartment complex. Joe spent the next week on the phone with U-Haul. He ended up talking to the Vice President of U-Haul and told him, "We have a paper trail all the way from California about your neglect. We have pictures of our daughter's heat rashes, incurred when we had to turn our AC off in the 115 degree desert. You WILL fix this." We got the U-Haul free of charge, and they paid for all of our gas and meals. If we were the suing type, we could've received much more, but we decided to be grateful for what we had, and for our precious baby's health. 2 months later, Dateline News came out with a Special Report, focused specifically on U-Haul. Hmmm...
"Even in the valley (desert), God is good."
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