Journey in the Jeep

Chad and I are in our second year of marriage, and have had our share of bad luck. You've read most of the interesting things that have happened to us, but we have managed to keep a few things under the bus. Now that we are able to look back and laugh, I suppose it's time we share one of them.

When we first arrived in Germany, we didn't have a car right away. About two weeks into our new life we purchased a new Jeep from the dealership on base. Of course we had no way to go and pick up the Jeep, so we rented a BMW for the day. The BMW had a navigation system built in, so it was easy to find the German office that we needed to pick up our new vehicle from.

After a long wait and finally being able to pick up our new car, we stopped at the McDonalds right down the road before heading back to our hotel. We decided that Chad would drive the BMW back, and I would drive the Jeep and follow him, because he knew where he was going. But of course, things just don't flow evenly for us. So I pulled up behind Chad just in time to watch him speed out into the busy street, and disappear among the other cars.

He was GONE. Trying not to panic, I kept going down the main road hoping to come across something I recognized. Forty minutes later, I realized I was screwed. I had just let my panic mode settle in, when I saw a sign that said "hauptbahnhof". LUCKILY we had lived on the economy long enough to recognize that word. It meant "train station".

Thankfully being with out a car for the first few weeks led us to seek other means of tra

nsportation, and I knew how to get home by train. So I parked the car and purchased my ticket. While I was waiting for the train to show up I was silently plotting ways to either kill, or seriously injure my husband.

Finally I made it to my stop, and walked the mile back to our hotel. Of course when I got there, there was no sign of Chad and Dylan. I basically ripped the room apart looking for Chads cell phone number, he had just got the phone days before and I didn't know his number yet. Once I found it, I dialed the number and heard the panic in his voice as he answered it, "Taylor where are you?! Are you ok?!". My response is just a tad too inappropriate for this blog so I will just leave it up to your imaginations. Turns out he was still waiting at that McDonalds for me to show up again. He saw that I couldn't get out right after him, and turned back around to wait for me to come back. Of course. However I couldn't have found my way back if my life had depended on it anyways. Needless to say that was a silent couple of days for Chad.

We now live just up the street from that McDonalds, and every time we pass it we just can't help but be reminded of that day, and how picking up our new car was a far less exciting day than it should have been.