No Service, part 1

Saturday.

No service is what our cell phones said. That's when it hit me that we could be robbed, kidnapped or worse. Of course my husband wasn't thinking along those lines but he was concerned as we were miles and miles from a phone signal or land line.

Our day trip to the Kinzua Reservoir was wonderful until we drove several miles past the Dewdrop campgrounds and decided to turn around. A couple of jerks when the brakes were applied. an"at oil" light came on as well as a flashing ABS light. The engine was speeding up and slowing down erratically and then it happened, it died. Dead, doornail dead. Subaru dead.

Ok, luckily we got AAA a couple of months ago when we were stranded when our transmission gave out in Pittsburgh. Unfortunately we didn't get the upgrade for the 100 mile tow. And even more unfortunately, when we tried to call for a tow truck we realized we were screwed, No Service.

It was hot, very hot. Boy, I was glad I bought some chocolate strawberries and some pecan turtles from Romolos before we left. We had two diet cokes and one ice pack in the lunch-pail size cooler.

We got out a map and my husband was trying to see how far we might be from a phone. Just then a car happened by and I gave that distressed look and it worked. The man stopped and asked if we needed directions. I told him the car died. He somewhat begrudgingly said he'd come back to help after he dropped his carload of kids off. We waited and waited and waited. It was getting so hot. We decided to start walking even though we knew there was no way we'd be able to walk our way out of that place.

I was trying to make the best of it and took out the chocolate and said we'd better eat it before it melts when the ice pak gives out. So with chocolate faces we headed up the hill.

When the taste of chocolate finally left my mouth my thoughts started turning to the fact that we already drank most of the coke and we didn't have anything to drink after they were gone. Then the thoughts turned to bathrooms. Now what will happen then? I'm not a "go in the woods" type of person. I barely will use an outhouse and that is only after hours of agony before accepting the lesser of two evils.

Then the car comes around the corner but it isn't the man we saw earlier.

to be continued.................