Ay Dios Mio
So we wake up and have mosquito bites all over our bodies. Decora drove to a hotel we booked and DJ H20 served as navigator while the rest of us got some sleep. The "Town Place Marriott Suite" was niiiiiiceeee (And surprisingly very very economical). The room had a kitchenette, a nice bed, a sofa bed, a cot and it was cleeeaaann. For the price we paid I expected to see blood stains, dead rodents and flies that kept us up all night. But not this place. It even had an outdoor pool with a lifeguard. Ohhh annddd the coookies...they had homemade cooookkiiess. Mmmmm. Latin like cookies.
Back to the good stuff. When we got to the hotel we had some good ole continental breakfast, (why is it continental breakfast anyway? why not national or countrywide lol) took some much needed showers and some of us got rest while others made phone calls, or caught up on writing. We decided the night before that we'd have a meeting at eleven but we pushed it to noon so that we'd have fresh clear minds. So at 11:55 we all regrouped and began our meeting. We discussed future group goals as well as individual goals in an effort to assure that we build with others as we build within ourselves. In order to create change one must experience change within self. To not do so leaves one at a disadvantage and in turn negatively affects those that one is trying to build with. We developed a number of ideas for the group and future performances that will inevitably leave many breathless.
After the meeting we got ourselves ready and went to fill our bellies We found a restaurant a Mexican restaurant in the area and headed there. Actually, we found ourselves sitting in Bob Evans but we all agreed that we'd rather eat at a "mom and pop" restaurant with better food than microwaved meals. It was our blind hunger that led us to the corporate chemically enhanced nuked food. We made the right decision by going to "El Paso". This restaurant was beautiful. The service was good, food great and portions were amazing. "Steve Prince" should learn a thing or two from them. At the restaurant we relaxed and laughed with each other as we discussed the difference between abstinence and celibacy.
From there we headed to Washington D.C. to pick up Graham. This is where it allllll began. While we were driving along in our happy bus (we realized later it wasn't so happy after all) it stopped running in the middle of fast going traffic. Fortunately, we didn't run into anyone and no one ran into us. Traffic was wizzing by us as we slowly let the car drift in neutral towards the curb. From the engine we heard a loud clacking sound that said; HEY PEOPLE I NEED TO CHILL FOR A WHILE! When we got out we realized that directly to the right of us was the Washington Monument. After popping the hood we saw that the clacking sound was the belt for the engine fan. Without that belt the bus was not going to move. Allow me to paint the picture a little better for you. It's Sunday evening in D.C. across from the Washington Monument and our engine fan belt snapped. There are noooooo auto part shops open on a Sunday evening in D.C. We know this now because we called them all. To get a tow truck we'd have to call a special tow truck for buses that will happily charge hundreds of dollars that we don't have. So the search was on for an auto part shop to be open some where for some reason. Decora and J went on foot while the rest of us stayed home (in the bus) and made phone calls. No luck. As the night reached it's peak of darkness Graham (Producer from Volume 8 Music) stepped to the bus wet and tired. Oh yeah...I forgot to mention that at one point it was pouring rain. When Graham got there it was still raining but fortunately it was no longer a torrential down pour. None of us knew what lied ahead.
We ended up deciding that in order to fix the bus we'd have to rent a car. A cab would be too expensive because we'd have to go from cab to hotel, from hotel to auto parts place and from auto parts place too bus. It was just too risky and inefficient. After seemingly hours of phone calls to rental cars, cabs, and CLOSED auto part shops we Decora and Free hailed a cab and headed towards Reagan airport to pick up a rental car. Reagan airport is the one that had a workers strike years ago. Reagan had the strikers fired and then they named the airport after him. At least that's what I recall. Be sure to look it up for the accurate info. As a matter of fact...don't believe anything I say. Look things up yourself so that you can create your own fountain of information without being tainted by another persons interpretations. Create your own interpretations When Free and Decora got back they decided to take the rental car to a Wal-Mart to see if they would have the part. We called and called but since it was late at night customer service was not picking up. Free, Decora and J headed towards the Wal-Mart but when they got there it was closed. It had closed merely ten minutes before they arrived. The headed back home (the bus) to regroup and plan out the next steps that would be taken. It was agreed that Graham, Decora and J would stay in the bus to get some sleep while Cuttz, Free, DJ H20 and myself (Latin) would head to the hotel room. There we would freshen up, rest a little, use the internet to find out what time the auto part shops would open in the morning (the time was then 2am) and which one would have the part.
We also searched for a YMCA in the area. I'm employed with the New Paltz YMCA and the one in Kingston (their connected) sponsored us by hooking us up with AWAY program memberships. That means that we could use participating YMCA facilities throughout the country for workouts and showers. Being that the guys at the bus hadn't had showers in hours this was going to come in handy. Thanks Lee Anne! The next morning all of us at the hotel cleaned up and had breakfast before we got to work. While I enjoyed my "continental breakfast I worked on sending out an e-mail blast letting everyone know to check out the blog and photo updates on our page. I also searched for a YMCA in the area.
Free and DJ H20 worked on getting the auto part shops on the phone (most of them opened at 7:30am) to figure out who had the part and where. Cuttz was responding to some e-mails and staying in informed with the Free Wi-Fi we had in the hotel. When I was with the e-mail blast I talked to the woman behind the counter (who side I looked like Common....lol) because DJ H20 said that someone told him that there was a NAPA auto parts shop in the area. While I figured out where the NAPA was DJ H20 found a place that had the part fan belt for us on hold. We high tailed (now that's a phrase that makes little sense...high tailed?) over there to pick up the part. Got the part and headed over the guarders of the bus. The doors opened and out came men that looked like they'd been in the trenches of battle. We handed over the part and they got to work. The belt ended up not fitting because it was too short. Sooooo we get on the phone to find the right one. After numerous attempts we find one that says they have the part. J and Free head over there to find the part while some rest in the bus and others take advantage of the opportunity and start trekking D.C. to get photos of the sites.
While the bus is parked a woman in her twenties rammed the side of the bus. The suffered minor scratches and a shake that caught the people still working on loosening parts under the hood. I thought someone had fallen in the bus really hard. She got out of her car startled and Decora asked if she was ok. She was but her car wasn't looking to good. It hard a long white stripe on the passenger side and the rear view mirror fell off. We got some Duck Tape and helped get it back on for her. After a few apologies and informing her about the tour she headed off while we got back to the bus to work on it.
After a few more hours (by now the bus had been parked there for nearly 24 hours) Free and J arrived with the right belt. While trying to get it into place Decora slashed his hand on the alternator (the alternator is what charges the battery). A few more hours of work passed and while some napped, others wrote, while the mechanics kept on working on the bus. Finally, the belt fell into place, it was tested out and we hit the road ASAP. On the road the belt started making the same noise it did right before it broke. So Decora took it niiiiice and eeeeasy. Free and DJ H20 drove the rental car ahead of the bus and we followed so that we could drop off the rental car. That noise was making us all nervous so we stopped and took a look at it but we saw no possibilities of it snapping. J called the shop we got it from and he was told that it needed to be lubricated. We stopped to get some much needed COMIDA (food in español) from another Mexican restaurant called Tostillos. Not as good as "El Paso" but it was till good. There hot sauce was HHOOOOOOTTTT! After our meal we dropped off Free and Graham at a cafe to get some research, and other internet things taken care of. Graham has been searching for housing on couchsurfing.com and needed to find out what the status of some requests were. Couchsurfing.com is website that links travelers with people that are willing to put them up for a night or two in the hops that the favor will be returned one day. It's a network a people helping people...sounds good to me. While Free and Decora worked online the rest of us went Advance Auto Parts to return the belt that didn't fit and get some other things for the bus. All seven of us were now in Alexandria, Virginia and a YMCA was nearby as well. On the way to Advance auto my body began asking if I really needed that much hot sauce on my Pollo El Salvadoreño. I was feeling things that no one should ever feel in their intestinal track. Fortunately Advance Auto had a restroom where I could do some much needed "resting". One of the guys at Advance Auto noticed the bus and pointed it out to his co-workers. He kept yelling; Wow look how cool it is!. Every now then people would walk slowly by the bus and comment on it as well. One guy asked to come in and check it out. He said it was real sixties like and that the journey we had embarked on was real cool. People really appreciate the giving back aspect of the tour. It really feels good knowing that we are giving and not just taking.
An oil change, new oil filter and air filter, new mini mirrors, cleaned windows, adjusted and lubed fan belt later WE WERE BACK IN BUSINESS. The bus was running mmuuuucchhh better than before. We picked up Free and Graham and made our way to the YMCA before they closed. When we found the YMCA we only had 45 minutes to shower. Some worked out, others shaved BUT WE ALL SHOWERED AND THAT... MY FRIENDS... IS WHAT MATTERS ON THIS BUS.
This is another loooongg one...We have another day without performances and then we're in Kentucky people...KENTUCKY!!! WHOOO!
-Latin
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment