Another anniversary celebrated in the company of roadside assistance

"A healthy body is the guest chamber of the soul." ~ Francis Bacon

I am so grateful I got in my workout this morning because after an hour or more sitting along the interstate waiting for a tow truck to pick up our van and another three or more hours waiting in the dealership to have them repair our vehicle, I am exhausted!

Today's incident reminds me of another road trip gone bad that happened sixteen years ago on this same day.  My wife and I were married on this same day sixteen years ago. We hired a limo to take us from the wedding to our hotel in Saint Louis. Unfortunately, an hour into the trip, the limo had a flat tire.  Sixteen years ago a limo wasn't equipped with On-Star, the driver and the passengers didn't have cell phones and apparently you had to pay extra for a car jack and a half way intelligent driver.  

On that particular night the driver waved down a local farmer who had pity on the poor sap. He too came without a car jack but had the decency to take the half witted driver to the closest gas station to call for a wrecker.  Thus the newly weds were left stranded along the side of the road in the back of a limo.  

An hour later the driver returned with help, the tire was fixed and the newlyweds were back on their way to the hotel.  We arrived at two in the morning. The chances our room was still available was unlikely. When we arrived, the hotel clerk graciously checked us in and quickly had us escorted to a hotel suite, a room we had obviously not booked for the evening.  In this case, it paid to be late. 

Although we arrived late in Branson this afternoon, I'm grateful we arrived alive.  No upgrades at the hotel, but some superior service from the fine people at the Thompson Auto Dealership in Springfield, Missouri who took really good care of us while we waited for the axel on the van to be repaired. 

Despite the delay, our plans were quickly back on track. We enjoyed a an evening at the Branson Landing and a swim in the hotel pool.   Our sixteenth anniversary was officially celebrated and we created a "special" memory we will soon not forget.