Energy level is at 150%. I am pumped. My brother and I are packed, paddleboard loaded and we are off and on the way for Florida! Nothing can be better on this Wednesday afternoon…I’m pumped to know I’m going back to the water…or so I thought!

Halfway down to the Gulf, we had just passed through Nashville. Tunes are blaring and as all roads trips with my bro, we are having a blast. But as with most road trips with my bro…something always happens. Once through Detroit we almost died in my Jeep had it not been for a good Samaritan warning us as he passed by of an issue with my tire. Then there was the time with my Camaro in Pennsylvania where again we barely made it in to the dealer before we almost lost another tire. Well this time after almost losing a winshield wiper in the rain, we thought we were in the clear.

Wrong!!!

The winds start picking up and next thing we know it feels like I slammed on my breaks. My brother looks at me like “what the heck are you doing”? The car dropped out of gear and now it only would let us get into 3rd gear. I thought, well maybe with the board on top and the wind going up a hill it put a strain on the van.

Boom!

The car lurches forward again and now drops us to 2nd gear.

Ok not good. Time to throw on the hazards and limp off the highway. Luckily, there was a Ford Dealership right off the highway so being it was right before midnight, we figure we will take it in to get looked and in the AM.

7:15 rolls around and after driving the van into the service center for our apt only being able to now get in 1st gear…we know…this might not be good.

The guys at Franklin Ford, were super awesome and even though they were backed up on transmission work for 2 weeks, they worked us in to look at it knowing we were trying to get to Florida. After a short wait, our guy Chris comes out and delivers us the blow…

“Sorry boys. Your transmission is toast. Internal malfunction and it will need to be completely looked at and replaced.”

Or in other words…It’s toast.

So even though they were out of rentals, they called around to hook us with a ride to get my brother back to Ohio. The repairs will at least be a week or so and my window for transportation just closed. On top of that…now I am looking at a transmission repair for my ride, when all it needed to get me was another 6 hours down to the Gulf.

You save for an adventure and just like that…boom…money for a unexpected repair.

So now…when I thought I would be setting off and paddling Florida, I’m left here at the crossroads. What happens from here? Is this the unexpected end of my journey? Do I have to go back to the real world for a bit to save up again?

All those questions now I will have to face . What happens from here…I don’t know.

But always looking to the positive, instead of sulk on the way home we took the chance to make the trip worth while. We stopped to visit the birthplace of Ol’ Abe Lincoln on our way back through Kentucky. It might not have been where I hoped to be, but it was still awesome to get to do something with my bro.

Now I’m back in Ohio with my rental car, again sooner than I thought I would be back in Ohio. Still, I’ll count my blessings that it was only a mechanical issue and everyone is safe. It didn’t happen to my bro on the way back and at least I am able to deal with it. Everything happens for a reason…so now, only time will tell where we go from here.

Oh…you’ve got to love this Big Adventure we call life.