We left campus with passports in hand as we
decided to cross the border and into Washington after our hike for coffee
and a look-see at a few of Chloe’s favorite places.
Arriving at the base of Lindeman Lake trail, we discovered that
there was ice and snow covering the parking lot forcing us to park on the side
of the road. This was fine and we began our little hike as the rain started to
fall. Most of the trail took us alongside a stream that was rushing as the rain
has caused the water to rise. The sound of the stream was therapeutic as we
gradually gained altitude. The moss-covered rocks, hidden pathway, log bridge, enormously
tall trees, and cave we found along the way made us feel like we were walking
through a Narnia-esque land.
As we reached the lake, which was our ‘summit’ so-to-speak,
snow had started to fall. It was beautiful watching the wind toss the snow
through the air and play with the branches across the partially frozen lake. We
took in the view, snapped a few pictures, made plans to return, and started our
decent. On our journey back to Chloe’s Washington-plated car called Lucy, we
talked about the Pintrest-worthy couple we saw at the lake. She, sipping a hot
beverage from a thermos while sitting cozy in a sleeping bag and he chopping
kindling with a small hatchet and starting a fire. Our minds started to wander
to the ‘Someday’ category and we distracted ourselves as we strategically
passed through a portion of trail covered in snow and ice where I had slipped
and fallen earlier with no injury.
Making it back to Lucy who was waiting for us on the side of
the road, now sandwiched between two other vehicles, we stripped off our outer
waterproof shells and hopped into the car cozy in our dry inner thermal layers
ready for our second destination….
Bellingham.
We made it through the border and into Washington State
smoothly and soon we were in Fairhaven and enjoying our snacks and coffee at a
mixture of Chloe’s two favorite shops. Our last coffee shop stop landed us
right on the Pacific Ocean. As we were walking back to the car I had the keys
in my hand. As I handed them to Chloe I noticed she had an auto lock button and
asked if she ever used it. She said: “No.” that she never used the buttons
including the panic one, as they had never worked.
Now heading back to the border we talked of travel,
childhood, and rich family culture. After a short wait in the border line up,
we approached the window of a female border guard (who later, we decided, had
something to prove). She asked us the usual questions, and seemed not to
believe our story. We popped the trunk and she took a look. Then wrote “4”
under the ‘comments’ part of a yellow piece of paper, handed us the paper, our
passports, (and a stamp pad accidentally) and told us to pull into the side
lot. We assumed she pegged us for the drug dealers we obviously are not and we
went inside to report and return the stamp pad. After waiting inside while they
searched Lucy, we were given our passports, keys, and the go ahead to enter our
homeland.
Upon unlocking the door to the car and opening it, the alarm
sounded…
Strange, as we had discussed earlier that the panic button
had never worked and alarm had never gone off before. We then attempted to shut
off the alarm by pressing the panic button and as nothing worked we proceeded
in an attempt to start the car. This also didn’t work as the car’s auto-theft system
stopped us from turning the car on and stealing it. Chloe was relieved to know
how effective her anti-theft system was…well, maybe not in the moment. After
the alarm had been sounding for quite a few minutes two boarder guards, one a
fatherly type with the kindest smile, appeared and tried to help. All of a
sudden the alarm stopped! A sigh of relief left all of us as the unwelcome,
constant and loud alarm had finally silenced after at least fifteen minutes of
madness. We then reached for the door, opened it, and….
The alarm sounded again. Our hope started to fade. The rain
started to pour.
After spending over thirty minutes trying everything we
could think of from jump-starting Lucy to getting a new battery for the auto
lock button, all the while the alarm was loudly sounding, we reluctantly
decided to call a tow-truck. The tow-truck driver arrived and tried to fix the
alarm so we may not have to use his services and he succeeded! Only by
disconnecting the battery, thus we were in need of a tow. A friend arrived to
drive us back to campus, as we all could not fit in the truck with the tow-truck
driver. The fatherly boarder guard bid us farewell telling us to call if we
needed anything. (We truly praised the Lord for this man and his gentle and
calming spirit).
Arriving back on campus, we found where the truck dropped
Lucy off. We made plans to call a garage Monday morning and leave Lucy till
then. It was mentioned Lucy was left in quite the vulnerable spot, as car theft
has been known to happen on our campus. We then laughed as we remembered the
battery was disconnected so anyone who tried to jack Lucy would have a
difficult time getting anywhere. We then left for the warmth of our homes. The
time was 7pm. It was a full day. It was a great one… Just another adventure in
the life of an RD.
