We were headed to Thunder Cove, Prince Edward Island but stopped along the way to watch ducks on a pond. As we pulled away from the roadside, something didn’t sound right with the car. Before long, a light came on and my husband commented, “We have a flat tire on the front passenger side.”
He pulled over and I checked. Sure enough! Since we were in front of St. Mary’s Church in Indian River, we pulled into the parking lot.
Our best efforts to jack up the car and remove the tire failed so we called Roadside Assistance.
It was an interesting experience. The wind was high and on the cell phone, it was difficult enough to hear the other person, especially when the occasional vehicle or piece of farm equipment drove by. In addition, the person spoke with a thick accent.
I always feel bad when I can’t understand other people. They speak English much better than I could ever speak their first language. To compound the problem this time however, the person thought we were in the countryside of Ontario, despite repeated reference to Prince Edward Island. Finally, my husband asked to speak to another person. Bottom line, someone arrived to help 45 minutes later.
If you are familiar with our excursions, you know we always bring a picnic lunch. So, when the tire is flat, the Smiths have a picnic.
It was a perfect location. The only living creatures were the birds, doves on the church roof cooing and robins chirping their happy songs as they dropped by the cemetery.
By the time we finished lunch, Assistance had arrived. Back at home and $200 later a new tire solved the problem.
It was an expensive picnic.
43 comments:
Oh the perils of calling a call centre. Wouldn't it have been awful if the second operator had been a fellow countryman complete with accent lol
Having said that we found some of the Newfies we met during our two visits not the easiest to understand :)
Cathy
It sounds like it all turned out quite well, considering. I had to look several times to figure out what that last picture was, but I finally did! :-)
That was really a very expensive picnic, Marie!
But all is well now. You have a new tire which will last, hopefully, a long time...
Somewhere in Ontario, a drivers assistance person is driving around, muttering "Where ARE those people?"
What a shame; it looks almost a new tire. My mother always turned life into an adventure and a picnic. She would have been right at home with your flat tire.
Yikes, that's quite a divot in the tire! Glad you were safe! Sorry about the expense, though...
A beautiful day for a picnic (albeit an expensive one). Glad no one was hurt.
Yikes on the tire!
Beautiful church.
What a blow out you had...but a perfect, tho expensive, spot for a picnic.
Wow! That's quite a slice in your tire. Glad it turned out well except for the $$. Hooray for cell phones and picnic lunches.
A perfect place for a picnic but a little expensive
At least you got to enjoy your picnic even though it caused an expensive purchase of a new tire. Glad that no one got hurt. Did you have dessert too? :)
Beautiful church! Yes that was an expensive picnic! My husband always checks our tire pressure and today took it in thinking we had a slow leak. Here it was just the cap (or whatever it is called) that needed replaced and the garage didn't even charge him. Andrea
A very expensive picnic. That is a HUGE hole too. Glad that you made the most of the moment.
The last one I had was a blow out and yes that was expensive as well! Take care Diane
Happy that it turned out fine despite the expensive tire and service. Wonderful that you had a picnic right there. That is a beautiful church!
A flat tyre in a front wheel could have ended a lot worse than that, which is a reason to be thankful even if life isn't always a picnic.
Yikes, I wonder what made that hole in the tire. It wasn’t a small hole.
If it had to happen, that seems like a very good spot.
An ecclesiastical picnic spot Marie ☺ I had a similar experience, the flat tire not the picnic ✨
Bless you, Marie. An expensive picnic, indeed, but your attitude about it all will surely add another star in your crown!
The Newfoundland accent can sound Irish or English. It depends on which part of the island one is from. My husband and I have been told we don’t sound like Newfoundlanders. I had a teacher in elementary school who always made fun of how I spoke. It was a cruel thing to do to a child!
It did turn out well Jan.
I’m always thankful we when such things happen and we can afford to repair them Catarina.
Lol. So true Debra.
It was an opportunity to explore the area too Joanne.
It was costly but an adventure SW.
It was a lovely day to picnic in that area Linda.
It was a huge cut William.
It was a perfect picnic spot Mage.
We don’t use our cell phones much. This situation was one of the times the cell phone was helpful Celia.
An unexpected expense but a lovely picnic Barbara.
I always bring dessert for my husband Bill.
Such an uncharged fix is rare these days Andrea.
May as well enjoy the setting EC.
I wouldn’t want a blow out at a high speed Diane,
We made the most of the situation Angela.
Though it can be John. I wouldn’t want to have been on a busy highway when this happened.
We went back and looked RK. A metal stake which had a cross-like head cut into the inside of the side wall of the tire. Such a dangerous thing mere centimeters from the road.
We were fortunate to make it to the church parking lot AC. There isn’t much of a shoulder on our rural roads.
It was a perfect spot PDP.
Why not make the most of the situation Ginnie?
It's a good thing you always have a picnic! :-) I know what you mean about not being able to understand someone on the phone. We used to get one of our cat's prescription from a pharmacy in Canada, and they called a few times about it. The people who called and I are both English speakers, but just the different accents made it a little hard to understand each other over the phone. Anyway, I'm glad they showed up, and you were able to get everything taken care of. It's no fun buying tires, though.
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