An Almost Road Trip, Day 74

Samantha and I were all ready to go on a road trip into the country today. We got up early, brought a bunch of cds into the car, stopped to get coffee on the way and had even made lunch to bring with us. We had just made it passed the toll into Kent when a flashing red light appeared on the dashboard and the car was filled with a beeping sound. When we looked up what the symbol meant in the car manual, it said that the coolant level was low. After filling it up with water, we continued on our journey only to hear the annoying beeping sound once again. The manual clearly stated that if the red light returned after we filled it up, we must NOT drive the car and "seek professional help". We began our way home, only to find that the engine was overheating (Samantha filled the coolant container up with five litres of water in just twenty minutes). After running out of water, it was a race against time to get home and I began to have a minor panic attack as smoke began to rise out of the front of the car (I have to say, I was quite proud of Samantha...she didn't freak out at all, though it was deathly silent in the car for a good while). We pulled up into the car garage and I was laughing as everyone looked sceptically at the smoking car, the woman at the front desk going, "what happened?!" It was definitely an adventure to say the least, and I'm happy to say that the car did not burst into flames, it was just simply a leak in the coolant container.

Yesterday I had this weird moment where I really missed sitting outside on my porch in the summertime. I suddenly realized that you can't do that here in England. It is such a different way of life here and although it is very exciting and beautiful, I think that one would could easily feel very trapped. Although London is huge, there are just so many people. You can't just hop onto the subway and go downtown as I did easily and frequently in Toronto and you can't just sit outside on your front porch when you need some fresh air. Although it is so beautiful, and though I will always love Britain with a passion, I am beginning to realize that I could never live here.

I'm feeling rather ill, though with Ava sick all week I was expecting to get it sooner or later!