Yesterday was judiang‘s last day in the area, and she wanted to do something she’d never done before – shoot a gun. My dad, owner of several weapons (funny hobby for a pacifist, eh?) said he’d oblige her if we met him at his sportsman club (which we’ve had to become members of to join him for the day). We agreed at 11am to meet.
My plan was to stop at the gas station where you can join the Newport Sportsmen Club and have Judi and I become members. Then meet dad at the range. My car, alas, had other ideas.
When we were just north of Newport, I once again shifted into 5th only to find the gear shift kept on going. And once again, I couldn’t shift into any other gear. Joy joy, I was stuck in 4th gear and no easy way to contact dad. So while driving, I called Baker’s auto shop to let ’em know it broke again, then drove through Newport – the only stoplight being nice to be green when we went through – and on south to the hairpin turn onto the road where the gun club was.
Once I got to the drive, I once again did a quick turn (well, not fast, just trying not to slow down too much) and headed onto the parking lot. My panic brain was still functioning and it was doing a great job in navigating the car in 4th gear, but wasn’t thinking clearly re: tow trucks. When we passed the alcove where dad was parked, I decided I’d turn around at the parking lot & park by him. And after I’d turned around and got back on the drive, I realized how stupid that was from a tow-truck perspective.
So back down the drive and onto the road in the other direction this time. Thankfully, there was a field ahead with a pull-in spot, so I pulled in, turned around, and back on the road, all with very little slowing. (There was an incline during this where Judi and I were sending forth MANY positive vibes to my little car “I think I can! I think I can!”) Anyhoo, I got back to the driving range parking lot and parked in a spot that was very easily accessible by a tow truck.
That adventure paused, we walked down to the range where dad was setting up. We all signed in as members (the check is in the mail, seriously) and Judi was introduced to pistols and revolvers. Dad had three .22s (a 9-shooter and a 6-shooter, both revolvers, and an 8-shooter pistol – a cute little thing), two .357s, and a 45. He fired the biggies, we stuck to the wimpy 22s. 🙂
My favorite of the lot is the 9-shooter, for concept alone. I mean, if you were in a shoot out at the OK Coral, you’d want that 9-shooter there to throw the others off guard. 😉 But both Judi and I did much better aiming with the 6-shooter (longer barrel). When we fired the little pistol, dad moved us up to about 10 feet from the target. But with the others, we shot from 25 feet away.
You might be surprised to learn that Judi turns out to be a good shot! On her Take Home target (the one with bragging rights) she got 10 out of 12 on the target! (I only got 8 out of 12 on my Take Home Target, but I did get several close to the bullseye.) The targets? Old paper plates that dad colored a big black circle in the center of. No expense spared for us! 😉
Anyhoo, the shooting lesson concluded, we returned to Adventures with Automobiles. Dad drove me further south until I had a cell phone signal, where I proceeded to call AAA again. This time with a AAA card on me! 🙂 Although the area with the gun club has no cell phone service, the AAA lady assured me they’d still come to pick up the car. Dad returned me there and then took Judi back to the Lake so she could get our stuff. I waited with my car.
It wasn’t long of a wait – only 20 minutes or so. This time I got a regular tow truck and he had her hooked up quite quickly. Then on to Baker’s for them to look again. It turns out there are TWO cables that run the shifter. And the second one had broken. Although the car was done yesterday afternoon, I haven’t had a chance to get there & pick it up, but I’m guessing it costs the same as the first one. Ouch!
Dad once again loaned me the use of his truck and so I drove us to Friendly’s for lupper (we’d missed lunch thanks to all of the car chaos). And afterward, to the Columbus airport. Judi got off OK (and home safely) and I returned home to some kitty cats in need of attention. 🙂 And then today I worked an 8 hour shift with no lunch break. But Garry (the new tech) took me out for supper at Indians Pizza, so that works for me!