On Saturday, I spent a mostly leisurely morning relaxing at home before I made my way downtown with the intention of going to the canal to do some prayer and soak up some sun.  I connected with friends Adam and Geoff and the three of us spent a little time hanging out at the canal and enjoying our (almost free) pizza before I drove home to clean up for a fundraiser I was going to attend that night... at least, that was the plan.

When I arrived at my building I parked my car and got out to find smoke coming from under the hood.  I don't know much about cars and I don't really know the cause of the smoke, but I don't think it was a flat tire.  The only thing I knew for certain was that I wasn't comfortable trying to drive it anywhere without some help... at least right now it was in front of my building - if I decided to to somewhere there's no telling where it might decide to give up the ghost!

This left me with a dilemma - I needed to leave for PA on Tuesday and the plan was that I'd be driving.  The budget's tight, and with pending car service it was getting tighter - that ruled out plane tickets, bus tickets or a rental car.  I spent the next few hours weighing my options and looking for people who might be traveling that way already that I could ride share with.  When that didn't pan out I started looking for someone who might let me borrow a car for the trip.  Unfortunately, this research prevented my attending the fundraiser I'd been scheduled to go to*...

On Sunday I had a breakthrough when Adam offered to let me drive his truck to PA.  That gave me peace of mind and I could recommence plans as they'd begun**... and I left Indianapolis this morning!

The drive to State College was mostly uneventful, with the exception of the exceptionally perky cop that pulled me over in Ohio.

I was approaching Akron when a police car pulled up behind me on the highway and I knew what was going to happen.  Sure enough, the lights started flashing and with a grimace of angst I pulled over.  She (the police officer) came to the passenger window with a smile on her face as she tapped to have me open it.***  She then asked me for my registration and license while she informed me that I'd been clocked going 72 in a 65 zone.  (Yes, Mom, that's it - I wasn't going very fast!)  I told her it wasn't my car and then I related the whole story thus far with the concluding statement: "I know it sounds contrived, but it's true."  The then made her cheery way back to her car while I calculated how many more hours of work it would take to pay for a speeding ticket on top of the car repairs I'd be needing.

When she came back the smile was still on her face and a yellow slip was in her hand.  She gave me back my documentation and then told me she'd be issuing me a warning.  Praise God!  I smiled and thanked her and then I was on my way.****

Finally I made it safely to Jason and Heather's home where I'll be spending the next week.  It's nice to see familiar faces and I look forward to seeing more in the coming days... I'll keep you posted!

NOTE:  It should also be mentioned that my unexpected car trouble forced me to ride my bike to Starbucks for my Sunday morning time with God and again for work on Monday.  Both rides went smoothly and I think I'm officially a bike commuter now!