We started the evening on January 22nd with a call from my family, letting us know that they've received a parking violation. The violation gave us 24 hours to get the van out of there. Mind you, we've been parked in this driveway for over 6 months.
After a brief moment of freaking out, we had a plan B. To meet the 24 hour deadline, we'd park the van at our family's church. It wasn't a permanent solution, but it would give us the time we needed to come up with a new renovation site. With a plan in place, we hit the road to my parents house! It wasn't how we envisioned our night going... but hey, it could've been worse! Tanner hopped into the step van, and I hopped in the Mazda so I could follow him. The van turns on, all is normal. But then, the van turns off. And then comes the sound everyone is familiar with but no one wants to hear - when you turn the key, and though the engine tries... it can't quite commit to turning on. ![]() So, yeah. That wasn't a great moment. Tanner got out the manual, read some things... I sat in quiet support. At some point we agreed that if the van turned on, we needed to book it to the church so that we could at least get it moved. Whatever was wrong could be fixed later and in a different location. After about half an hour of tinkering, the engine got started again! Immediately, the van was put into reverse and hope was sparked! It was on the move! He began backing out, and about halfway out the driveway the van quits. Just quits. And now? We're blocking THREE cars from backing out themselves. Plan C is to just get it back to where it was... and accept whatever ticket(s) we're given until we can get it moved. Tanner reads more of the manual/googles the problem, I continue trying to support while having no idea what's going on. About an hour later... the van randomly turned back on and got parked back in its original spot. Whew. Around this time is when Wayne, Tanner's dad, shows up for support. It was just like old times. Wayne just so happens to know a mechanic, so they get him on the phone and explain the issue. He suggests that it's probably the fuel filter. They can probably fix it themselves, but they're going to need the right parts to do it. Cue father and son driving to the only open O'Reilly's at 10 p.m. At this point, I decided to move from biting my nails outdoors to biting my nails indoors and let the engineers handle it. After another hour they came into the house, done for the night. I sat patiently on the couch waiting to hear the results. It didn't work. ![]()
And that, ladies and gentlemen, is where we ended our evening. It truly was a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day.
We're both feeling a little doomed. Whatever encouragement you have to give, please share it! We'll take all the prayers and good vibes that this lil' community has to offer.
Till next time... hopefully with better news, The Phillips Pack
UPDATE 1: Wow guys. I got a call from Jim, my step-dad, letting me know that the violation's deadline has been extended to February 1. Go Jim!!!!!
UPDATE 2: Okay what?!? I called Tanner to let him know about the extension... Turns out he took off work and somehow got the van to the church! Still unsure about whether professional repairs are in order.
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