Runnin' On Empty

My family is visiting my grandparents in GA right now, about an hour outside of Atlanta. It is so great to be with them and be able to celebrate Father's Day with my dad and grandpa, even though it's one day early!

It has been an adventure of a trip, starting with a call from my mom at 11PM on Wed night, asking if I wanted to join them on a visit to my grandparents. I asked when they were planning to go to which she responded tomorrow morning. They have not been able to plan summer vacations right now, as their lives are monopolized by my brother's traveling baseball games. Wed night his team got knocked out of a tournament in the 1st round, which meant he had the next week and a half off.

Thurs morning we departed. We were just outside of Indianapolis, when my dad ran out of gas. He has this thing where he likes to go as long as possible before he gets gas. He also has a Shell card, which gives him a discount, so he waits till he sees a Shell sign. We stopped just before an overpass and about a half a mile from the next exit. My mom and I navigated through the long grass to stand away from our car, but still close by behind a guardrail, while my dad and Jonathan started hiking it to the nearest gas station. Our men deserted us. Meanwhile, much to our displeasure, my mom and I were getting honked at by passing truck drivers. How did they know that we were stranded on the side of the road for their pure enjoyment? Only about 15 minutes had passed and a car pulled up behind us. My dad and Jonathan got out of the car. I guess the driver had been worried about them walking along the road across the overpass and stopped to give them a ride. He took them to get gas, dropped them off, and then parked aways behind us to make sure we got off ok. What a blessing! Apparently, he told my dad on the way back that he'd be hearing about this for the next 20 years. You would think he had learned, but further along in our trip in TN, he was skirting along the empty line and wouldn't stop till he found a Shell. The first one was closed, so he wanted to go to the next exit with a Shell. And again, it was closed. He caved and we got gas, but not without a lot of grief from my mom and I. It's only been three days...but already he is hearing about it! And now it's recorded for posterity.