As you may have noticed, our road trip was eventful in all the right ways, complete with a prank call home regarding the irony of driving through Dyer Straits... until this moment. The moment when our trip turned into a ridiculous episode of The Amazing Race.
Team Bartell-Smith find their first Clue!
We were already well into Manitoba when the check engine light came on. The sound of the engine hadn't changed. No changes in how it drove, and we were in the middle of nowhere so I decided to keep driving.
Detour for Team BS!
Just as we rolled into Headingley, we decided to stop for a bathroom break, and as we slowed to roll into the gas station parking lot... a vibration in the engine so big that it felt a little like we had a flat tire. Uh oh... I rolled up to the gas station and turned off the engine, certain that I should not turn it on again.
All of our problem-solving abilities kicked into gear, and we came up with this logical two-stage plan of action:
1. Use the bathroom.
2. Call my dad!
Of course, the most logical plan of action is to call one's father and ask for help. It was only once I was on the phone with him, and realized that there was very little that he could do (either to diagnose my engine or to fix it), and that I didn't even know what I needed, except a shoulder to cry on and someone to just make the problem go away. (Aren't dads supposed to be able to do that?) Dyer Straits began to seem like such a friendly place, and the irony of my little phone call home began to sink in.
Team BS decides to try a different tactic...
It wasn't getting any warmer outside, and Sarah and I were feeling increasingly hungry, and a solution to the problem was becoming ever more pressing.So I did a second mental inventory, and Sarah and I split up the work:
1. We need to know where we are (as at that time, I had no idea what hole-in-the-ground Manitoba town we had landed in).
2. We need to know where to tow the car to... aka - I need a trustworthy mechanic.
3. We need a tow truck to take the car from here to there.
4. We need another vehicle so that I can finish this now-complicated move to Manitoba.
5. We need supper.
Team BS gains momentum... the task is nearly complete!
The cashier at the gas station proved incredibly helpful in providing our exact location, and AMA was cooperative in sending a tow truck that wasn't too far away. My dad and I decided that the Honda dealership would be the best bet for a mechanic because the engine would require diagnosis. Sarah found the address for the nearest Honda dealership, and only car rental place left open in Winnipeg at 6 pm on a Saturday night, so that we could make our way to Otterburne. I recruited my mother's assistance, who recruited Alicia Sawatzky - a friend from waaaaay back in the day who lives in Winnipeg - to pick us up from the Honda dealership once we had dropped the car off and take us across Winnipeg to the Enterprise rental lot. I spoke with the Honda people to make arrangements to drop the car off. Sarah made rice cakes and cheese for supper... a light supper, but food in the belly is something to be thankful for. All in all... a smooth operation!
Jenni takes on the "Who can beat the cold?" Road-block for Team BS
Not too long thereafter, our friendly tow-truck man, Shawn showed up and we hooked Kezzie up to the truck and limped our way over to 1717 Waverley, where a big bold Honda sign stood at the road to greet us. We unhooked and said goodbye to our new friend Shawn. Left a key and a note in the drop-box, and settled in to wait for Alicia. Considered that Alicia may not know how to find one silver Civic in a sea of silver Civics, and pulled out my new white Helly Hanson down-filled jacket (beeeeautiful!), planted my new muskrat hat on my head, and pulled on another pair of wool socks, as we were, by now freeeeeezing! (I know you can't really see the muskrat hat on my head... but it's pretty rad. Sarah hunkered down with her rabbit-fur mittens as slippers (thank you, Indian Head!) for the wait. 
Just as I was pulling my snow pants up so that I could bear the wind and cold and stand out front to wait for her, I saw her drive by, and jumped out of the car to chase her down... without success. She didn't see me or my marvelous warm jacket. But hope against hope, I stood out at the road to see if she'd return, and she certainly did, not more than a few minutes later. I thoroughly enjoyed the unexpected, unbeatable opportunity to spend time with a friend whom I had not anticipated seeing this early in the year. Not only that, but she offered to feed!!!!! us... something that one can't object to when supper consisted of rice cakes and cheese. Sarah takes on the "Who's an arctic road-runner?" Roadblock for Team BS
We dropped into the Enterprise lot just in time to get a little red compact. There was a little confusion about Kezzie's keys, as I realized that I may have locked my spare set into Kezzie before closing the door... where they, and all my other belongings would be stuck until the Honda dealership opened on Monday. But it took only a few minutes for the rational powers that be (aka Alicia and Sarah) to set me straight. With keys in hand, we headed back toward the Honda dealership, following Alicia so we wouldn't get lost. But just before we got back to the Honda dealership, we passed her by, Alicia having waited for us as she thought we were further behind. And Sarah and I sat at the light... not more than a couple blocks from the dealership, and wondered how in the world we were to tell Alicia not to go back and comb the city of Winnipeg trying to find us.
Sarah made a brilliant suggestion, "I'll just jump out and run back there and you go ahead to the dealership. I'll meet you there." Nothing like making a sacrifice for the team. I objected, though not strongly enough, and Sarah jumped out into -40 weather with just a hoodie and a vest on, just as the light turned green. So I got to the dealership and started unloading Kezzie the Civic of her burdens to expedite the process once the girls got there. They did get there... in one piece, though Sarah's lungs were objecting strongly to their little expedition into the cold. (Please note that Sarah's lungs continue to complain throughout the remainder of this narrative, all the way until January 11th when I dropped her off at the airport. Let's be really clear about the fact that I feared I may have given my road trip buddy the gift of pneumonia to take back to Alberta with her.)
Team BS convinces Alicia to join the team and take on the "Load it or Lose it" detour.
We finished the unloading... reloaded it all into Little Red the Enterprise compact, and jumped into the car, and that was when I realized... Uh oh... I don't know where the keys are. (You'd think I would have learned from the first key-loss incident of the evening). I remembered seeing big tag on them saying that if you lose this set of keys, you owe Enterprise $250... but I couldn't remember where I had put the key that was attached to that big you-owe-$250-if-you-lose-them tag. So I revisited my stunning problem-solving skill set and made a plan of action...
1. I checked Kezzie... no keys.
2. I retraced my steps from Kezzie the Civic to Little Red the compact... no keys.
3. I recalled setting it on the back seat. I looked at the back seat, now buried under my belongings.
4. I felt foolish.
So... we set about UNloading Little Red. Alicia ended up hurling herself head-first into the melee with only her feet sticking out the back of the hatchback. We all bemoaned the fact that no camera crew was sent with our team to document this moment. But Sarah scored the key discovery, and we RE-loaded Little Red for the next leg of the journey... to supper.
Team BS finally makes the Pit Stop
...a new adventure that would include a $3500 bill to put a new "used" engine in my car (ouch!), the gift of getting to know a new suite-mate, the challenging adventure of taking new classes at a new school, the sometimes lonely adventure of making new friends in a new place, exploring new church families...
...sometimes I could abandon the new adventure and retreat to the safety and comfort of something more familiar. But it is then that I am reminded that, like Cortez who, after landing on the sandy beaches of the New World, ordered his men to burn the ships, I am committed to following through. Finishing well. So, because I know my fickle heart, I'll burn the ships behind me, and build bridges ahead of me, trusting that they'll lead me full circle and I'll eventually find myself at home.
