The only thing I had planned for today was lunch with my daughter and granddaughter. I woke early and decided to take care of some minor maintenance on the car.
I will be the first to admit that I know nothing about cars but recently, I had an oil change done and they recommended that I add Washer Fluid and Coolant. I figured I could handle these.
The manual says that the coolant has to be mixed with water so I opened the trunk to take my gallon bottle back in the house but I got lucky.
Prediluted. What a great concept.
I popped the hood and added the fluids.
I figured that I was on a roll so I headed for the Wawa Station on Route 1 for gas and to check the pressure in my tires. $2.31 a gallon. Not bad. I moved to the air pump and came across this.
These Verizon idiots had parked in an area that's clearly marked for the air pump. I managed to squeeze in beside them and check out my tires - adding some air to the front ones. I got back in my car and before I pulled out lowered the passenger side window.
Point, press, Flash.
Now they'll be stuck there until they can get their engine running again.
Feeling good about the maintenance work I was doing I considered getting the car washed - it's been coated with pollen for a few days. I turned on the wipers but all they did was streak. Time to replace the blades.
I cut through a development and made a right onto St. George. As I came up to the Route 9 connection I noticed this minivan coming off the ramp. The ramp has it's own lane but it ends just past the next light so a driver needs to merge left. There's enough time to do this correctly but she just drifted to the left immediately. If I hadn't braked, she'd have hit me.
I leaned on the horn but she didn't pay me any attention. She made the right onto Remsen and so did I. She stayed on Remsen for several blocks - slowing a bit - and so did I. She made a right onto Avenel and so did I. She made a quick right onto Demorest and so did I. She made a quick right onto Lord. I drove by. I figured that I pushed things about as far as I could before she got the cops involved. I hope I shook her up.
I made a left onto West Smith then a right onto Route 9 and headed towards the Advanced Auto in Woodbridge. They share a large parking lot with Walmart. As I pulled in, I noticed this FedEx truck.
I stopped at Advanced Auto and bought some new wipers (they install for free). The truck was still parked there, taking up about 4 spaces. I know. There was a lot of room in the lot but these guys think they can park anywhere - just like those Verizon guys earlier. I circled around the lot and came up from the other side.
Point, press, Flash.
He'll be there for a while.
I drove down Amboy. The new wipers worked perfectly.
I stopped on a side street in Metuchen just across from the library. I had 15 minutes before they opened. I got my glass cleaner out of the trunk and did all the windows and lights. I even did the sun roof. The car was looking pretty good now so I decided to skip the wash.
I didn't find anything interesting in the library and I still had a couple of hours before lunch. I took a leisurely drive up through Edison into Colonia. It was a nice day - cool but breezy. I had the windows open and the radio on.
On the spur of the moment, I decided to get my haircut. A bit of personal upkeep, if you will. I drove into Woodbridge and parked in the Municipal Lot. I passed this guy looking in his engine.
I was tempted to do the guy thing and ask him what was wrong but, honestly, I couldn't have helped anyway.
I stopped at the Woodbridge Deli for sandwiches and drove to my daughters. We had a great lunch. Relationships need upkeep, too.
I drove home feeling good about my day and all the maintenance and upkeep I'd gotten done.
