Mayday

Mayday
Saturday, after I returned from my vacation, I was on the road again. This time, to a meet n' greet with some online friends I hadn't met in person, in Tacoma.
It was a very nice get together!

Earlier, I had reservations about going, because I was pretty tired from our trip. But some of my friends talked me into it, and I did enjoy meeting so many of my friends.

After my girlfriend and I left, I drove home. It is usually a 75 min to 90 min trip except for rush hours. But late at night, it's usually clear all the way home.
Which I'm thankful for, because...

I fell asleep at the wheel and crashed into the center divide, which woke me up. My gf had been sleeping too.
Thankfully, I managed to veer away from the cement divide but I could tell there was some damage to the car, in particular, the front left tire was completely blown out and I was driving on the rim.
The airbags never deployed.

I made it to a conveniently located exit into Tumwater, which is a small town south of Olympia.
My girlfriend and I were bruised up, but relatively ok, thank God! When Isurveyed the damage it was bad. The rim was trashed.
When I went to change the tire I remembered I forgot to put the container that had all the tire changing stuff, and survival gear back in the truck the last time I took trash to the dump.
So we were stuck...and broke, except for a few dollars.

We tried calling all our friends but most were asleep, and the few that answered couldn't help us for one reason or another.
But at least we had a Seahawks blanket to share, and the car still started, but I only started it for a few minutes at a time since we were low on gas. So, kind of a chilly night to spend in an empty Tumwater parking lot.

The next morning we tried calling friends again, and one of Kaylee's friends drove down from Tacoma and helped us change the tire. Oddly enough his name is Benjamin. :)
After that we drove home, and I noticed the alignment is waaaay off.

We eventually made it home, but we are not going anywhere until I get paid next month. Which is fine with me, I'm tired of driving.
I will never again drive when I'm that tired. It just isn't worth the risk.
Thank God no one was hurt, or worse! Once again, my Guardian Angel deserves a medal for protecting this foolish girl.