Re-Learning Lessons

Everything happens for a reason.

So the car started acting up again last night even after we replaced the battery (so our problem is probably the alternator... again). We decided to backtrack a few miles into Iowa City instead of risking a breakdown in the middle of nowhere between Iowa City and Davenport.

Our best bet was pulling off at the Quality Inn to see if we couldn't get the car right and hopefully have a place to stay if we couldn't. We had no luck with the car, and there were no rooms available at the hotel. We came to find out that almost no hotel in Iowa City had any vacancy due to all of the flooding from the past month. Displaced families and FEMA workers are competing over every last room.

Luckily, we were provided once again with a host. Patti G, of the Quality Inn, noticed our situation from the front desk and when she got off around 11pm she came by to help. Calling one of her friends, she tracked down a vacant room for us at the Baymont down the street. She even offered a ride which we were happy to accept given the state of the car.

It was funny, one of the first things she said in the car was, "My mother always said that everything happens for a reason, and she was a very wise woman." It couldn't have been scripted any better.

So she took us to the Baymont to check-in, then we decided to check out the city a bit since she was going out anyway. As we drove across bridges you could see how abnormally high the water level was, and she pointed out strips of buildings and homes that are already being torn down from flood damage. Out West, when we told people we were from "Ohio" they kept mistaking it for "Iowa" and would say, "Boy you sure have had a lot of flooding out there, huh?" This is what they were talking about.

So anyways, we ended up checking out the downtown scene, which is essentially a college town centered around University of Iowa. We had a surprisingly good time and at the end of the night we slept like Kings in our beds and air conditioning.

Today we're going to get the car 5 miles down the road to Sears Auto one way or another to see if we can't straighten her out and get us home.

First, we're going to meet up with Pat Powers and company for breakfast- too bad we couldn't make it to the campgrounds last night. The car made it 820 of 900 miles before deciding to call it quits. Thanks for saving us a spot either way!