What was an annoying, frustrating situation, became a great story. I was driving inland from Lincoln City, Oregon in the rain down the 18, when my clutch (which had been waning) failed. I pulled off the side of the road and assessed the situation. Then I remembered that I knew nothing about cars so I called AAA.
Howie the tow-truck driver picked me up. And as he drove (and in between telling me about local fishing and waving to people he knew in town) he informed me that the place he was towing my car to was going to charge me an arm and a leg and take forever to fix my car. He told me he had a better place to take me… and he did.
Isaac and Brenda run a mechanics shop in Lincoln city and are two of the dearest people I’ve met on my trip. They were such quality and hard-working people and were very good to me. I was planning on just throwing my tent down somewhere and sleeping in it while he fixed my car (which could have taken days). But Isaac and Brenda managed to get me a free room at the local casino/resort. It had a fireplace, and 3 TVs (one in the bathroom).
Then they took me out to the all-you-can eat buffet at the casino. After dinner I took a soak in the hot tub at the hotel and then went back to my room. It wasn’t long before room service came to my door and dropped off a basket of goodies.
Then yesterday I hung out all evening with Brenda and Isaac at the shop until they finished my car (a mere 24 hours after it broke down) and got me back on the road with what drove like a new car.
