The car & Sequoia

Well, I suppose it had to happen.
We were driving up the mountain to the Sequoia National Park when suddenly the car simply stopped moving. The engine revved but the car wouldn't go and smoke was coming from under the car. Yep...blew the transmission.
Of course we were out of cell phone range. So we waited until a Ranger came by. He took us to the park museum where we called AAA. It took a while, but AAA sent a tow truck and he towed us all the way back to Visalia, about 40 miles. So glad we had upgraded to the gold membership!
The first quote we got to repair the transmission was $4,800! Ouch! Later, the same shop called back to say they had made a mistake and it would "only" be $4,080. Yeah, right...4 grand to fix a car that only cost 2 grand to begin with. Sorry, no sale.
AAA towed the car to another shop who fixed the car for $1,800. Still a big hit, but less than half of the first shop's price.
Bottom line is that the car is fixed, but our trip plans have to be reevaluated. We never made it to Sequoia but just drove to Lemon Grove (near San Diego) to stay with Bev's son Ben and his family.
So now we're hanging out in San Diego, visiting with Ben, Sarah and little Daniel. We went to the county fair and are planning a trip to the zoo and a few other outings. We might have to stay here a while until the bank account gets recharged enough to make the journey back east. Stay tuned...