We were all set to go on or summer time getaway.
I had arranged for pet care, stopped the mail, & even had a acquaintance coming by to water the plants.
I packed everything the night before into the back of the car except for the food that needed refrigeration. We all piled into the car & settled in for the four hour trip. We had gotten about an hour down the road when my associate and I observed that there was a different aroma in the car. At first, I blamed our son as he had taken off his shoes, however it was more like a chemical aroma, and my partner pulled off the road at the next exit to find a repair shop. When my associate and I pulled in, the adolescents piled out & headed into the store next door. I waited with my partner to see what the problem was with the car. The mechanic took a quick look at the engine & abruptly realized that my associate and I had a major leak in our refrigerant for the HVAC unit. This would account for the aroma that my associate and I had observed. At first, my partner said that my associate and I would just do without it, but, the mechanic said that my associate and I entirely couldn’t do that. EPA regulations require that you have any coolant that is leaking be repaired because of its harmful effects of the OZONE layer. It is also unhealthy for people to breathe in the leaking gases. My first thought was that I didn’t want to drive another three hours in a sizzling car with complaining adolescents. The mechanic said that he could have the system fixed in an hour or so. We gathered up the adolescents & walked to a local diner to have an early breakfast. It was nice to pass the time in an air conditioned space anyway.