Ornamental Hubcaps

It was Friday afternoon, the start of the Long Weekend. The sun was shining as we packed the last of our things into Jenna's car. My mom hands us a jug of water, for if the engine overheats. My dad pats the front right tire, saying "Oh, you'll need new tires soon, eh?" We hop in the car, and hit the road.

Not far into our trip, the road hits us. We failed to avoid a rather sizeable pothole coming up the Snowshed. No more than a minute later, we heard an odd thumping sound. Jenna mutters under her breath "If that's a flat tire..." We pull over. We get out. It's a flat tire. Dang. Now what? We look at each other. 

"My dad JUST gave me a huge lecture about getting a flat tire!" Jenna says, frustrated. 

"Isn't that the tire my dad touched when he said you need new tires?" Karlee asks. We laugh in disbelief. Jenna calls her dad, and we wait for the verdict.

"We have to try to change it. But we won't make it to Kamloops on the spare tire. We'll have to go home, and it'll be slow."

First things first. We have to take off the hubcap. We notice the bolts. We pick up a tool that has a hole the same shape as the bolts. It doesn't fit. We're turning it, and nothing is happening. We each take a turn, but the stubborn things just won't come off. Jenna phones her dad again.

"Okay, there's a chance they could be ornamental." So she picks up one of the other tools lying around and wrenches it off with a flick of the wrist. "My dad was right! It IS ornamental!"

Okay, now we can take the REAL bolts off. Those were no problem. But getting the jack under the car... THAT was a problem. By this time, it's getting a little cooler out, and we are all very frustrated at the amount of young guys in cars honking at us as they go past. Whatever happened to guys pulling over to help pretty girls change a tire??

A side note to all the young men out there... if you know how to change a tire, pull over and ask if they need help. If you don't know how to change a tire, DON'T HONK AT THEM. THAT DOESN'T GET THE GREASE OFF OUR HANDS.

Anyways. 

We tried lifting the front of the car so we could get the jack under, but once we got it under there we couldn't turn it higher. We made a call to Jenna's mom. The cavalry was on its way. Her mom and grandpa were going to come help us change the tire. If we got it changed before they got there, we would meet them in Hope, where we would trade vehicles and continue on our way to Kamloops. 

So we kept trying. Right before we gave up, a tow truck pulled over! Eleah and Karlee jumped up and down for joy. We asked him if he could help, and he said yes. Our Knight in Shining Armor had a REAL car jack, and got the rest of the job done with ease and swiftness. We were back in business. Of course, we had to drive 50K on the freeway to get to Hope, then go back the way we came, the whole ordeal adding about an extra 3 hours to the trip.

Lesson #1 - You need proper tools

Lesson #2 - When dad says "Oh, you need new tires soon, eh?" ... YOU NEED NEW TIRES!