Holiday Hazard...

(This was supposed to get published yesterday...)

Ok, I know now what I didn’t know then.  I thought the last day of my vacation in Ireland last year and all the attendant drama was a fluke.  A one off.  A mishap.  A deviation.  

But now, after Sunday’s calamity, perhaps I am noticing a trend.  The last day of my vacation will be filled with a lot of extra stress and Sunday, a tow truck.

I woke up at 1:30 am this morning in a panic because I forgot that I was supposed to do a speaking engagement at 10 am New Zealand time on Sunday.  I failed to factor that into my whole timing thing, so when I woke up at 1:30 am and remembered, I just decided to call it morning and begin the day.  And thank fucking God I did...details to follow.

I did my usual routine, writing, prayers, meditation, breakfast.  Got myself dressed and ready to leave.  Was going to pack up all my shit but it was too dark (it doesn’t get light there until about 7:30 am) and so I decided to punt that until later.  

I had it all figured out.

Leave at 4 am

Drive for 5 hours

Get to Christchurch about 9:15 am

Find a place to park

Get on the Zoom

Do the retreat for my hour speaking engagement

Pack up my shit

Return RV at 1 pm

Off to the airport at 1:30 for my 4 pm flight...

Easy breezy! I got this...

And I did, right up until I didn’t.

So as I was driving through the remnants of what remained of the New Zealand landscape in the dark, I was somewhat regretting not be able to soak up the last bits of beauty to behold.  After about 2.5 hours, I looked to my right and saw the most amazing sunrise beginning.  Knowing I wasn’t far from the beach, I began to look for a lane or road to make my way over to the coast to watch the sunrise in proper fashion.  

Well, I found a road...it was really more of a lane.  Actually it was really more of a path...I turned around and thought twice.  Then I met a dairy farmer who told me there was in fact beach in that direction and my “RV would be fine!” Famous last words...

So off I went without delay...

It was still dark, very dark and there are no lights out on the coast, I mean none.  They take their dark sky preservation very seriously over there.  Anyway, I found my way and started up a break in an embankment and that is when I saw a circle of trucks likely belonging to a bunch of dudes who were parked there camping for the night to be able to hit the fishing early.  Again, early for New Zealanders is a relative thing...

Consummately polite, I didn’t want to wake them and I could not turn around.  So I decided to back down...and that was my fatal error.  

I thought, “I should get out and look...”

And I should have.  I really, really should have.

The worst part was I didn’t even feel the back wheel slide off the minor embankment and lodge itself good between two very large mounds of earth. Didn't even realize I was stuck until I was good and stuck.

THEN I got out when I was not able to move the van forward or backward...THEN is when I decided to look.  And that was when I found out, I was fucked.

I walked through the fishing encampment and found a grandfather, father and sons already well engaged in fishing.  I asked for their help and they were only too happy to oblige.  And in so doing, effectively ruined their and my ability to fully appreciate the absolutely stunning sunrise that was in full force by now.

We tried, they tried, but I was literally spinning my wheels.  No luck. Time to call for roadside assistance...and luckily for me, the tow driver was available and only 30 minutes away...on a Sunday!

He brought a 4x4 and was sure he could extricate me.  Two 4 x 4’s later, he admitted defeat and drove an hour (30 there and back) to bring the flatbed truck.  Thank the heavens he had it and it made it back to where we were.

Meanwhile, I am trying to negotiate time and scheduling changes for my zoom appearance, which ended up being curtailed and a bit disjointed, but hey, I pretty much knew when I accepted this speaking engagement on my last day of vacation with a 20 hour time difference that I was setting myself and them up for disaster.  My hour pitch was curtailed to 30 or so minutes, profuse apologies and a quick departure to go pray that the tow truck driver would have success this time as time was now of the essence and we didn’t even know if the van would be drivable.

After 30 minutes my hero unloaded me onto Tierra firm and then followed me for about 20 minutes to ensure I was ok and there was no damage to the van.  So while I was stuck like chuck for about 3 hours, I dodged major damage to the vehicle.  Whew!

On the road I went, making it the additional 2.5 hours and was able to gas it up, dump the waste and get to the rental company only 36 minutes later than I planned.  

I made my first flight to Auckland and then my final flight home.  Grateful to be there, grateful to all the help I had Sunday and how lovely and amazing the men are in New Zealand.

I am not sure where I am going next, but I am now going to reserve my last day of holiday for near misses, horrific traffic and tragic sunrises that called to me like a siren only to leave me stranded.

The upside?  I was able to get all my shit packed while I waited for the tow truck the first time so it all worked out.  I remain grateful for all the people who made that happen and glad to be leaving this amazing island no worse for the wear and only fucking tired.  Could have totally shook out completely differently.

Sometimes you get stuck in the most beautiful places for reasons that defy explanation or logic. And sometimes you get to see this whole sunrise unfold because you are immobilized...