Vanagon Rescue

Vanagon Rescue

What better time than a long weekend holiday to take a family a road trip!

We were driving north on highway #395 from Los Angeles to Fresno with our three children (10, 8 & 4) in our Volkswagon Vanagon.  Charles and Stephanie were in the back seat and James in the far back cargo area.  This was before the days of mandatory seat belts.  Suddenly, James yelled out

“There’s black smoke coming out of the car!”

Sure enough.  We could see it in the rearview mirror.  We were not near any exits but pulled over anyway. We all got out of the car and stood on the side of the road hoping the car would not burst into flames.

Almost immediately, an AAA (Automobile Club of CA) patrol car pulled up behind us.  (I have never seen this kind of AAA patrol car before.)  The agent said he was just behind us so pulled over too.  We were 5 miles from Waco which is midway between Interstate 5 and Highway #395.  This was the pre-cell phone era so he radioed for a tow truck to fetch us.

The tow truck was driven by a chatty old man who hooked up our van to the tow hook.  All five of us somehow squeezed into the front seat and went for the five-mile ride to Waco.  We were towed to the only gas station with a mechanic on Saturday duty.  We had no choice but to wait for our turn.

The kids and I went across the street to the Kentucky Fried Chicken for some lunch while Rich waited to get the verdict on the car.  This was a good time to pray.

“O God, please fix our car. Amen.”  That was the extent of it.

After almost an hour, we learned that the VW part needed was not available at the only auto parts store in town.  The young man, (I mean “really” young), said he would do his best to at least get us to Fresno to the VW dealer there.  The water cooling system needed a special gasket.

After another hour, we got on the road again carrying a jug of water.  We stopped at every rest stop to cool the engine and check the water.  At the rest stop before Fresno, we all got out for a stretch and checked the car.  We were all looking under the car for leaks.  While doing so, a couple in a Cadillac drove up to offer help.  We explained our plight.  The man offered to take us all to Fresno in his car as he was going past there.  We declined as we did not want to leave the van at the rest stop.  We would just go slowly.  He then offered to follow us to Fresno to assure help should the car break down again.  We gratefully accepted.

We made it to the Fresno exit.  I prepared to get the strangers’ license plates so we could thank them. As the car drove past us, the people waved. There were no plates on the car. It was a new car. Guardian angels?

By the time we got into Fresno, the Volkswagon dealer was already closed.  We would have to wait until Tuesday as Monday was a holiday. We proceeded with our plans for the weekend driving the car carefully, going only short a distance at a time.  We checked out museums and visited with relatives. 

Since work and school resumed on Tuesday, we took the chance to drive 350 miles home with a possible break down again.  We drove carefully, stopping at rest stops to let the engine cool off.  We made it home without an incident.

On Tuesday, I took the car to the dealer.  I was told it would take a week for the part to arrive.  The makeshift fix was so good, it would be safe to drive the car carefully for a week until the new part arrived.

I pondered these questions.

How did the AAA patrol car get there so fast without being called?  How did the tow truck driver get there so fast?  How did that young mechanic know to make a temporary fix on a VW car he had never worked on before?  Who were those people who followed us to Fresno giving us cover?  How did we get home without another breakdown? 

God only knows!  He sets his angels to guard over us.