Made it there and back

This car situation has turned into a huge PITA. I had to tow the Jetta down to OKC today by myself since Mark was double turning. (For those of you not married to pilots, double turning means they either have 2 flights, 2 sims or a flight and a sim to fly in one day, so basically they're busy all day.) I worked from 8am to 11am and pretty much the whole time I was at work I worried about getting the car dolly hooked up correctly to the SUV and then getting the car onto the dolly. (The car doesn't run at all right now.) I grew up around car trailers and boat trailers and horse trailers, so it's not like I'm a novice at towing things or hooking trailers up to towing vehicles. When I moved down to FL, I towed the horse trailer FULL of all my junk from WI to FL by myself in a straight 12 hour shot, although a girlfriend did ride with me. But still, it seemed like everyone was so worried about me being pregnant and going by myself, and I was worried about being pregnant and trying to get everything hooked up correctly.

So I left work and went to get the dolly. That was relatively painless since the guy hooked everything up for me and I was on my way. I'd been calling the base auto shop for the past hour at that point, so I was worried about them for some reason not being open. If they hadn't been open, the Jetta would have been locked in the shop and I couldn't have gotten it out. So I was getting more and more nervous every time I called and they didn't answer. I was also worried about getting on to base pulling a trailer. The could not make the entrance to base more curvy if they tried, and sometimes you have to go through narrower areas with curbs on the sides. The dolly stuck out 6-12 inches on both sides of the SUV so I was nervous about making it through the narrow areas without hitting the curb. And I didn't know know if I had to get the trailer inspected (meaning I would have to enter through a different gate). But anyway, I made it onto base without any problems.

At that point, Mark called. Since he was double turning, I didn't want to bother him with anything and I knew he was already worried about me. He told me he had time to go over to the auto shop on base and help me get the car on the trailer, so I headed to the squadron to pick him up. For some reason, when I hung up with him, I just started to cry. I think mainly because I was relieved that he was going to be there for the part I was dreading the most. I sat in the parking lot waiting for him and trying to compose myself so I didn't freak him out, but it didn't work. I lost it all over again when he got in the car and I felt bad. I don't really even know exactly why I was crying, but I was. Stupid pregnancy hormones. After a minor complication getting the straps out of the winches before we put the car on the trailer, we got it on with the help of 2 guys at the shop and I was on my way. I stopped by home to pick up my co-pilots (aka weinas), and I stopped for gas and lunch on the way, but I made it to the dealership in about an hour and a half, and dropped the car off (2 guys got it off the trailer for me) and then headed back, and was home by 4:30pm. I'm glad that's all over. Now I'm keeping my fingers crossed that the fix will be relatively inexpensive.

On a different note, Mark had his form check ride (formation "test" basically) today, and he did really well. He did well on his sim too. I'm so proud of him. He could flunk out of his course tomorrow and I'd still think he was the best pilot I know. I'm slightly biased though. =)