Export thread

I'm posting from a Sheetz outside Newville, PA. The vacation has ended right here. Car has broken down. There is no one available to fix it today, and even if there were, I can't afford to fix the car AN...

I'm gonna leave that as I typed it. Because at that point, my sister called insisting that she get me a rental to continue on and just be delayed instead of canceling.

So now I'm waiting for her to get here from Morgantown because Budget demanded she rent the car in person instead of calling in with her credit card. Once she gets here, we're going to get the car from the Harrisburg airport.

More news as it happens.

I'm already down $95 because all the family AAA memberships had lapsed, and I had to renew. Only to find out there was no possibility of a repair today.

We will see what happens when my sister gets here. Right now she's still two hours out. Until I'm actually pointed towards New Jersey, I'm not holding out a lot of hope.

It's over. Getting the rental didn't work out, and I don't think at this point I'd be safe to drive. So sis and I are headed from Harrisburg back to Morgantown

I'm not licked yet. I'm still deeply upset, but I may have a way to still pull this trip off, just delayed. Depends on cost of car repairs. If it's done early enough in the week, not too expensive, and I can score another reservation, I can pick up the car and continue the journey from that point. Stay tuned. [emoji1]

DarkAudit said:

Until I'm actually pointed towards New Jersey, I'm not holding out a lot of hope.

Click to expand...

You know you're in trouble when New Jersey is your only hope.

Celt Z said:

You know you're in trouble when New Jersey is your only hope.

Click to expand...

I would rather have been going that direction instead of in Maryland headed west like I am now. [emoji17]

I'm back in Morgantown, drained as all get out.

So here's the deal. I was going down I-81 towards Harrisburg, when I noticed the engine getting louder and louder, especially when I gave it gas. when I pulled of at the first available exit, the car was chugging and nearly wanting to die. When I stepped on the gas, I was now getting loud banging from the engine. The idle was very rough with the oil pressure gauge flickering. Sitting to let the engine rest and cool didn't help. Still chuddering and banging when I pressed on the gas. When AAA said no place was open, I gave up trying. So as of now, my car is at a Sheetz in Newville, PA, and the store has the key locked away with my contact information. Tomorrow morning I'll call to arrange a tow and repairs.

Budget was the only rental place in the area open, and since my sister was going to pay for it, they insisted she do it IN PERSON. Commence 200 mile drive. Once she got to me, the trip from the Sheetz to the airport was filled with trying to figure out how to turn the car in right away and then pick up another one Thursday for me to go pick up my hopefully repaired car and come home. Amtrak from Harrisburg to the hotel was also considered. Briefly.

The walk from airport parking to the rental counter made me realize how tired I was. And looking at the damage done to my clothes and arm from holding on to the moving walkway rail was the trigger to make me give up entirely. My hand and arm were completely BLACK. Plus big black stains on my shirt and pants. That was it. I quit. Canceled the hotel room on the way back to the car.

After a while I finally started to realize that all was NOT lost. As long as the damage to the car isn't too great, and I can get repairs completed in a short enough span, there's still hope to get a trip to NYC done during this vacation. Today is only day 2 of 11. I would pick up the repaired car, and then continue the journey to New York from there. And now, I can make arrangements from the familiar territory of my own home.

Please don't be a seized engine because it sounds like it could be a seized engine (or at least one that's somehow forgotten how to oil itself, like a clogged oil filter or something).

--Patrick

Crap.

I guess you should be thankful that this didn't happen in the middle of the Holland Tunnel or something.

I've arranged a tow to a AAA approved repair shop, so that's out of the way for now. All I can do is wait for a call from the shop to find out what's wrong.

Everyone I need to talk to to arrange new plans is still asleep. DAMMIT!

What I've found: we never got to the price of a one-way rental. When checking for a rental this morning, I found the drop off fee would be ~$150.

Round trip of the Amtrak Pennsylvanian from Pittsburgh to Penn Station: about $150.

Hotel in Flushing, Queens, has rooms at the same rate I would have paid for my original reservation, and is reasonably close to the 7 train to not need a cab.

So now I'm just climbing the walls waiting for my sister to wake up so I can divulge this new information.

Short version: for want of train fare and a ride to the station, the vacation may still be rescued.

DarkAudit said:

Short version: for want of train fare and a ride to the station, the vacation may still be rescued.

Click to expand...

Getting around New York without using a car is part of the experience, I find.

Updated update. Even if I have to unload the entire record shelves, I'm doing this. Train tickets have been purchased. Return trip ending in Harrisburg so I can pick up my car (hopefully). Ride to train has been arranged. Now I just have to repack into a different bag.

Hard to know without hearing it myself, but it sounds like it could be your oil pump.

Good to hear you're going to be able to make it work.

He's going to be able to make it work, mainly because of non-refundable stuff. This may be a pass the hat sort of situation. I got some cash I could give in an hour of need.

Dave said:

He's going to be able to make it work, mainly because of non-refundable stuff. This may be a pass the hat sort of situation. I got some cash I could give in an hour of need.

Click to expand...

How do we get it to him in time?

It wouldn't be for his trip. It would be for after when he has to pay for a car tow 200+ miles as well as repair from a place he doesn't know whether or not he can trust. And if the car is dead, then anything we do will help.

We can send it by Mailbox Ferret!

The car is at Hippensteel in Newville, PA. it had good google reviews and a AAA authorized repair logo on the web site.

Although the initial diagnosis just based on me talking to the guy was "it doesn't sound good."

The plan is to take the train only as far as Harrisburg on the way back on Saturday, and hopefully the car will be done by then.

As for right this moment, I'm hauling three crates of records to sell off to try to offset the cost of the train tickets and AAA renewal, about $230. Records are worth more than that.

(and the Weird Al album is staying PUT.)

PatrThom said:

Please don't be a seized engine because it sounds like it could be a seized engine (or at least one that's somehow forgotten how to oil itself, like a clogged oil filter or something).

Click to expand...

fade said:

Hard to know without hearing it myself, but it sounds like it could be your oil pump.

Click to expand...

That's two votes for oil from the armchair mechanics.

--Patrick

DarkAudit said:

The car is at Hippensteel in Newville, PA. it had good google reviews and a AAA authorized repair logo on the web site.

Although the initial diagnosis just based on me talking to the guy was "it doesn't sound good."

The plan is to take the train only as far as Harrisburg on the way back on Saturday, and hopefully the car will be done by then.

As for right this moment, I'm hauling three crates of records to sell off to try to offset the cost of the train tickets and AAA renewal, about $230. Records are worth more than that.

(and the Weird Al album is staying PUT.)

Click to expand...

Think of it this way: half the fun of collecting records is actually looking for them. Now you get to look for them ALL OVER AGAIN!

I'm so, so sorry.

AshburnerX said:

Think of it this way: half the fun of collecting records is actually looking for them. Now you get to look for them ALL OVER AGAIN!

I'm so, so sorry.

Click to expand...

A large number of the records I took in were just lucky finds while flipping through the bins. Once I go through the new purchases, they would tend to sit idle for months on end before playing again. Now they'll be someone else's lucky find.

I didn't get quite what I'd hoped for, but I covered the AAA renewal and train fare. So I'm right where I left off when I got in the car here yesterday morning.

Dave said:

It wouldn't be for his trip. It would be for after when he has to pay for a car tow 200+ miles as well as repair from a place he doesn't know whether or not he can trust. And if the car is dead, then anything we do will help.

Click to expand...

RIP my Suzuki Aerio, 2002-2015. After getting a $3-4K estimate on engine replacement, we've decided not to repair it. We have a Nissan Sentra my mom was driving before her knee surgeries. As of right now, all we know it needs is a jump, a flat tire inflated, inspection and renewed registration. My sister is going to have it towed to our preferred garage in town. I'm going to call the garage in PA now to let them know we will make arrangements to deal with the deceased.

Pouring a little out for your dead homie.

Not unexpected, given the symptoms. If your car stops slopping oil around its engine (like it's supposed to), it doesn't take very much driving of it afterwards for it to pass the point of no return (at least, not without a new engine).

I am sorry for your loss.

--Patrick

I lost a Mazda MX-6 GT the same way. Only, it was a coolant problem, not an oil problem. Still ended with a melted piston head, though.

On board Amtrak's Pennsylvanian. Just left the station in Pittsburgh. ETA at Penn Station just before 5pm.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

DarkAudit said:

On board Amtrak's Pennsylvanian. Just left the station in Pittsburgh. ETA at Penn Station just before 5pm.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Click to expand...

Train derails in 5...4....3....

Bubble181 said:

Train derails in 5...4....3....

Click to expand...

Your post is full of love and win.

About to pull into Harrisburg. Where it all came to an end on Sunday. I will not be happy until the train pulls out again and I'm on it headed east.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

WOO! Let the first full day begin. First off, hauling luggage in a rush hour subway car is not fun. I didn't pay cab fare, so I hoofed it the few blocks to the hotel. Which is TINY. Room is smaller than our smallest room, and way smaller than our standard room. But for where it is, and what I'm paying, it's fine as just a place for me to crash and post stuff like this before and after I start my day.

I made it to the Mets game, got some food and a Gatorade to keep me from passing out from exhaustion, and got to my seat just in time for the first pitch. Nice seats and a good game for the Mets. I wandered a bit after the third inning, and left after the fifth. There was no chance of a no-hitter, and it was an official game. I feel I got my money's worth. (Hey, @jwhouk, who would give absolution for the sin against baseball of leaving an MLB game early? An ump? Can you ask Bob Uecker? Is this case merely a venial sin? )

Eh, it's the Mets. You're forgiven. (Yes, I know they're doing well so far, but still!)

What the ginger said. It's a METS game. You're allowed to leave early.

And I think the OP needs to change the name of this thread...

Could be worse. Could be the Astros.

fade said:

Could be worse. Could be the Astros.

Click to expand...

If he went to the Astros, the Cardinals would know about it.

jwhouk said:

And I think the OP needs to change the name of this thread...

Click to expand...

Satisfied?
The view directly across the street as I exit the hotel...

I said I would visit the Hess Triangle before I went near Times Square, and I did...

I need clip-on sunglasses specifically for browline glasses. I don't think anyone makes them anymore...

Lunch at Fuku. This is the chicken sammich everyone is talking about. Oh man is it good. Add some of their Ssam Korean chili sauce and it's even BETTER. (sauce available at $7.50 a bottle. I need to buy some on Friday before I go home.)


I had to truncate my visit to the Transit museum as my phone was going into the red. Once it's charged up again I'm headed back out for pizza and the Roosevelt Island tram. Skipping Seth Meyers. It's too late for me to make it in time, and I'd be quite hangry by the time it was over if I did go. Oh well.

Obligatory Top of the Rock selfie...

Leaving the Manhattan station of the Roosevelt Island Tram after dark...

DarkAudit said:

Obligatory Top of the Rock selfie...

Leaving the Manhattan station of the Roosevelt Island Tram after dark...

Click to expand...

I can tell how ecstatic you are in every picture.

Ravenpoe said:

I can tell how ecstatic you are in every picture.

Click to expand...

The selfie from Citi Field last night was "near comatose".

Ravenpoe said:

I can tell how ecstatic you are in every picture.

Click to expand...

Come to the top of the rock in the next 30 minutes if u want an ass kicking.

$4.15 for a single hot dog at Nathan's in Coney Island? Nope. I did get an egg cream (YUM) before going to the sideshow at Coney Island USA. (Nola Star... rawr)


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Unisphere at Flushing Meadows-Corona Park. I think everyone is familiar with those two items in the background.

Times Square. Yay. Can we go now, please?

THIS is why I was anywhere near Times Square this morning. The cubano from Margon. Yum.

(Got to talking to one of the line cooks about how so much sandwich was such a bargain, especially in Times Square. I wound up sending him to check out Fuku (that chicken sandwich posted earlier.) He was happy. )

No new marquee for Stephen Colbert yet...

Sideshows by the Seashore, Coney Island.

Can't get any egg creamier than getting one at Coney Island. This was from Tom's Coney Island.

The Parachute Drop Tower. The ride closed in 1964, but the tower was too expansive to move or demolish. While they were still trying to figure out what to do with it, it was designated an Historic Landmark.

Neat!

(benderwithcamera.gif)

There's a few things I'm leaving out this trip, mostly stuff recommended by friends. I'm starting to reach subway burnout.

But there's always next time. And I'll be sure to stay in this hotel again.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

First off, the repairs to mom's car to get it up and running were just new tires and a new battery. Around $500 all told.

Since I wasn't so far out today, I was able to avoid the subway burnout.

From the Staten Island Ferry just after leaving the Manhattan side.

I think we all know this gracious Lady...

Doo-wop guys doing Stand By Me on the Staten Island side of the ferry.

@twitchmoss said check out the Strand bookstore. It was on the way to the subway at Union Square. I wish I had more money and a hotel in midtown. sigh.

Union Square. There was a farmers market on the opposite side of the square not shown in the photo. Distracted me for nearly an hour.

The City Reliquary. A tiny as all get out museum in Williamsburg, Brooklyn.

Those hipsters. They have a different word for EVERYTHING. They even call a fishbowl a "schooner".

(That's a Narragansett Lager. PBR is just too mainstream for Williamsburg. This was at Rocka Rolla on Metropolitain in Williamsburg. Girl tending bar was cute and a little flighty. She said she was originally from LA.)
And finally a better picture of the Unisphere from the main promenade.

Next is hopefully dinner at Raclette in the East Village. If not, maybe more pizza. I'll figure it out. Tomorrow morning is the return trip home. It's about an hour from the hotel to the Amtrak waiting room at Penn Station.

I've been to the Strand a few times. It was an oasis in that rectangular grey city.

--Patrick

On board the Pennsylvanian for the return trip. ETA in Morgantown around 9:30 or 10.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Congratulations on not getting murdered in NYC.

Gruebeard said:

Congratulations on not getting murdered in NYC.

Click to expand...

You're more likely to have your wallet emptied than be murdered these days. Usually voluntarily.

Celt Z said:

You're more likely to have your wallet emptied than be murdered these days. Usually voluntarily.

Click to expand...

This. It took a good deal of self control to keep funds in my bank account. [emoji1]

Really, I got none of the rude New Yorker trope. What I mostly got was "hey, how are ya! Glad you could make it!" Go in treating people with respect, and you get the same in return.

DarkAudit said:

Really, I got none of the rude New Yorker trope. What I mostly got was "hey, how are ya! Glad you could make it!" Go in treating people with respect, and you get the same in return.

Click to expand...

I've been to the USA three times now, last time combined with Canada, and, as a tourist, while I quite often felt people were milking me for all my money, the only place I've ever been treated impolitely/rudely was, contrary to all stereotypes, Montreal.

That sounds like Montreal.

Annnnnd home.

Zzzzz....

Bubble181 said:

the only place I've ever been treated impolitely/rudely was . . . Montreal.

Click to expand...

Well, it is the most European of all our big cities.

Nearly everything that hasn't already been posted to instagram or tumblr. Enjoy.

Bubble181 said:

I've been to the USA three times now, last time combined with Canada, and, as a tourist, while I quite often felt people were milking me for all my money, the only place I've ever been treated impolitely/rudely was, contrary to all stereotypes, Montreal.

Click to expand...

Come to Halifax! We'll take care of you!

Squidleybits said:

Come to Halifax! We'll take care of you!

Click to expand...

What?! He's front of house! No front of house pretty boys allowed!

Great pics!

Bubble181 said:

I've been to the USA three times now, last time combined with Canada, and, as a tourist, while I quite often felt people were milking me for all my money, the only place I've ever been treated impolitely/rudely was, contrary to all stereotypes, Montreal.

Click to expand...

What'd you expect from France-Lite?*


*Ironically, when I was in Europe, the French were easily the most polite. Austrians/Hungarians can generally fuck off.

Ping @Celt Z! I found the name of that dumpling place you told me about. Zhu Ji Dumpling Stall.