Home

6,183.6 miles later, we're finally home! No touristy stops - just gas and food driving...lots of driving.

Apparently we needed at least some adventure, so at mile 623 for the day (out of a total 643) we experienced a spectacular blowout of the driver-side rear tire (just NW of Shallowater. I remember the noise, the blur of black bits flying everywhere, and the fact that the car was no longer pointing straight down the highway. Somehow I had the presence of mind to click off the cruise control button rather than punching the brakes. The car was swerving wildly - lots of noise and screeching - I could hear the missus saying something that sounded like a prayer while intermittently (excitedly) encouraging me to "steer into it!"

Within a few short seconds we managed to avert disaster (and the ditch) and pull safely over to the shoulder. While the missus and I were feeling relieved to be alive and unharmed, the response from the munchkins in the back seat was closer to that of Dash after dad manages to 'park' the van in The Incredibles.

After catching our breath we dug through the glove compartment to find the number to roadside assistance (from the extended warranty that came with the car), only to discover that it had expired sometime last year. I got out the car with the intent of changing the tire, but quickly realized that wouldn't be feasible. Since we hadn't quite made it home yet, the car was still packed to the gills. Sure, I could have removed everything from the trunk in order to access the donut-sized spare, but there would be no way to fit the full-size tire *and* all the rest of our luggage back into the trunk.

My employer lives in Shallowater - so I called him on his mobile. He answered...from Disney World...but he encouraged me to go ahead and go by his place to change my tire and stash the blown tire. Fortunately, the tire had only shed its skin (albeit violently) and had not yet deflated - so we limped down the road with our hazard lights on at ~30 mph. We changed the flat, repacked the trunk, and headed back down the road (at 45 mph on the donut) for the final stretch. We made it home just after 9:15 (our critters were mighty glad to see us).

I want to give a special thanks to the two couples (you know who you are) who house/cat-sat for us while we were on the road - we couldn't have done it without you.

We (the entire family) also wish to sincerely express our gratitude for all of those far and near that covered our family with prayer while we were on this journey. When we think of all the places we've been (a hairpin turn on Highway 1) and all the other places the tire 'could have' blown out (rush hour traffic/road construction in a major city), we are especially grateful for the protection we received from harm.

Thank you all - and thanks for reading.

P.S. This concludes the "Summer Vacation 2009" portion of this young blog. I'll still write periodically (perhaps weekly) about the travels and travails of the Wares wherever we may roam (like maybe Muleshoe this weekend ;-).