road trip planning, vehicle repairs & an appeal to masculinity

since returning from the pacific northwest this february, i've been hankering to get back. i put in for vacation time almost immediately upon my return, and am getting closer and closer to beginning an amazing roadtrip up towards my family's home in the san juan islands in washington. as i discuss this trip, i'll refer to it as "my road trip". you may also hear "i'm driving to canada", because i fully intend to drive to canada, as it's close to my actual final destination.

i'm about to lose the clutch in my car. i'm not a mechanic, but i just know this. and i have a hydraulic clutch, so officially, you can't predict when it's supposed to go out, except for a guesstimation based on mileage. it's not like with the other kind of clutch (they have a name, i don't know it) where it's a gradual slippage and you can adjust it. mine can't be adjusted. it's just that one day you have a clutch and then one day you don't.

i'm hoping that i'm not halfway to oregon when i don't.

these are the times that being a single gal is a little rough. and my dad, bless his heart, (really, God, if You're reading my blog, bless his heart) is not all that helpful with stuff like this because the point he'd like to argue is that it's unwise for me to drive to canada by myself. after all, i'm only fourteen years old, i have no friends or family to stay with along the way, i don't speak the vernacular language of the places i'll be traveling through, and i'm a horrible driver. allright, i'll cede him the last point, but damn it, i'm going on a road trip. by myself. i'm stopping, like, every 6 hours to stay with people. tomorrow i'm drawing up my actual plan, and i'll post it. i'd love to know what y'all think. anyway, my clutch. i'm thinking, "what do i do?" i'm a PYT who can't just walk into whatever auto shop and say "do i need a new clutch?" do you know what they're going to answer me? i don't have a reliable mechanic in north county. and even if i did, i'm not looking for a car repair. i'm looking for advice. a consultation. i'm looking for car-love.

dude, i need a boyfriend. wait. that's not true. i need a boyfriend's dad. a temporary father-in-law. or a roommate's boyfriend. a someone i don't have. i suddenly felt really lonely, as i was driving towards church from my grandma's house. how do i have no mechanic-y people? i have artists and musicians and tradespeople and designers for weeks. why is this situation making me want to call the kinda guys that my willpower can usually keep me away from?

then i decided to stop making the moment poetic and to just try to solve the problem so i could get on with my road trip. so, as i pulled into the church parking lot, i ran into willie, who i explained the situation to. i told him that i feel like a pretty self-sufficient gal - i can pay own my bills (more or less), but this was one time when i needed to appeal to masculinity for some advice. willie's a frickin' genius. "take bear with you to the mechanic. and i think he knows one who repairs pastor's cars."

so i'm gonna work on that more this week, and i'll report back. i'll also post my travel plans. but for now, just let me say that i'm driving from Carlsbad to Canada from July 6 to July 19, and stopping in Santa Barbara, San Francisco, Redding, Portland, Seattle, Forks, Anacortes... and... who knows where else!