“Chaos is a friend of mine.” - Bob Dylan
Today, RJ, his friend Nick, and I, all embarked on a trip to Tahoe. It was a gorgeous day, and everyone was in a good mood. What could go wrong? Well, here's a list of activities for the day:
General delays, etc. meant that we left a couple hours later than I had hoped;
When we went to go pick up a rental car (4-wheel drive, in case of snow) the agency had lost our reservation. This took (no lie) an hour for them to sort out;
Half way to Tahoe, to my horror - I realize that I don't have my credit/debit cards with me (long story - they were with my hubby, who didn't come along for the trip). I am also without cash. This means, we are half way to Tahoe with no way to buy any food, pay for activities, or even refill the gas tank! The boys were amazingly calm - but I was about a hair trigger away from hysterics;
(Nick and RJ, chillaxin' in the back seat;)
After a long frustrating conversation with my husband - we decide that Western Union is the only way to resolve this situation without one of us having to drive at least four hours (round trip) out of our respective ways;
However, Western Union will not let my husband transfer money online because of some weird glitch, so he has to physically go find a Western Union office;
When he gets to a Western Union in Pleasanton, they tell him that he has to use cash (instead of a credit or debit card) for the transfer - if he wants me to get cash on the other end;
Hubby now has to leave Western Union, go to the bank, and return to Western Union to (finally!) send me a cash transfer;
Meanwhile, I get back on the road - hooray! We see snow. We're getting close... (Of course, I also I forgot my camera - so I am using my phone and the pics are ridiculously blurry!)
Once we get to Tahoe, we stop at the first grocery store we see - and I go in to pick up the Western Union $$. After much hullabaloo - we realize that they can not give me the money, because I am still in California, but my husband transferred the money to Nevada;
Back to the car we go - racing for Stateline - so that we can get to a Nevada Western Union outlet before they close for the evening. (Or else we'll all be eating chewing gum for dinner);
With eight minutes to spare (8!!) I make it into a Safeway on the Nevada side of Stateline, and fill out a cash receipt form. When the customer service agent pulls up the cash transfer - she says:
"Oh, this is for too much. I can't actually give you cash for this transfer - its too much money. I can only give you a check."
I actually started laughing at this point. Maybe we can eat the check for dinner? Or perhaps I can burn it for fuel so that the car doesn't run out of gas. S I G H
Where am I going to cash a check, at 8 p.m., in Nevada? I don't even have my ATM card!!
FINALLY - the customer service agent realizes that she can cash
part of the transfer amount, and give me a check for the remainder. This will work. This will give us enough for dinner, for a couple tanks of gas if necessary, and for a few more meals too. (Our hotel room is paid for, because
I am working on Saturday, on this event.) So, after intending to leave at 9 a.m., we actually got on the road closer to 1 p.m., and didn't end up arriving at our hotel until after 8 p.m. Can you imagine?
PHEW! We made it!
And you know what? Amidst all that chaos - everything turned out ok. The boys were happy - they even got to swim after one of those gluttonous casino buffet dinners:
And, at the end of the day - I am finally able to put my jammies on, put my feet up and relax (see the picture at the very top of posting). While I am not sure I can say that chaos is my 'friend,' today I'd say we found a way to be cordial to one another. One day, soon enough - we'll all laugh about the trip to Tahoe where everything that could go wrong - did go wrong. Well, almost, anyway. In the end it all worked out. And the end, after all - is all that matters.
Have a great weekend everyone!
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