This summer started off with a bang! After finishing my first year medical school and passing all my classes, Hailey, Olive, and I look forward to a summer full of adventures and bonding time. When we look back upon the school year, we realized we really missed out on a lot of family time so this summer was going to be the time when we can make that up! However, this summer was going to be something we would never forget for both good and bad reasons!
I will first make a record of all the trying times we have had the summer. Unfortunately, most of these unfortunate incidences revolve around my car. Her name is Diabla! The bad luck with Diabla started one beautiful sunny Sabbath morning here in Yakima Washington. The summer had just started as I had been out of school for only a few weeks. Our family got to church about five minutes before starting and we parked Diabla facing Terrace Heights Drive. After sacrament meeting we decided it would be best to take Olive home as she was teething, screaming, and needing to go down for a nap. As Hailey was getting Olive into the car she noticed that there was a bunch of glass on the two front seats. Then she looked at the windshield and saw that a rock about the size of a fist had been thrown at our windshield and shattered it. Long story short, we found out that a kid was throwing rocks from the other side of the road attempting to hit cars. A witness saw the kid throwing rocks and told him to stop, but the witness did not realize he had already struck our car. After finding out our car window was shattered I left church to clean the car and to call the insurance. We later replace that windshield that week for about $200.
Just about a month ago, our poor car ran into another tragic event. Diabla was taken advantage of, violated, and carnapped! We had planned to take a family trip with the Harlan's up to Vancouver British Columbia. We followed Hailey's younger sister and her choir up to see them perform a concert and then did sightseeing in Vancouver, BC. We stayed at a nice hotel just outside of Vancouver. Hailey and I drove our car and followed the Harlans up to Canada. Once we got to the hotel we parked her car in the parking garage and transferred Olive's car seat and essentials either to the hotel room or to the Harlan's car. During our trip to Vancouver we saw the city of Vancouver, we visited a fun suspension bridge, and visited the Vancouver, British Columbia temple. The trip was amazing, at least thus far.
The morning we planned on leaving, we packed up our room and I took the bags downstairs. I met the Harlans in the parking garage as they were coming back from McDonald's to bring us breakfast. We looked to the side of their car, supposedly where my car should have been parked, and they asked me if I had moved my car in the past night. I told them I had not. I dropped my bags and began to think. So we believed that my car for some reason have been accidentally towed by the hotel. The hotel monitored the parking garage and required us to pay a parking fee so maybe I thought they had made a mistake and towed my car. I went to the front desk and asked if they had towed my car, and the front desk lady said, "We do not tow vehicles here. I am so sorry, I will call the police." I could not believe what I was hearing. My car had been stolen! After about a 2 to 3 hour ordeal we filed a police report and I began my insurance claim with my insurance. I actually have footage of the vehicle being stolen. Maybe I will upload that sometime. To make matters worse I called around to every rental car company in Vancouver to find out that all international vehicles are sold out so we could not make it across the border in a rental car. After I was able to gain my composure and after realizing my car hds been stolen due to poor security by the hotel, I realized that the hotel should have done something to compensate for my difficulties. Also, I forgot to mention that the Harlan's room had been infested by bedbugs, luckily ours had not, and therefore that was another reason to complain about our stay! Honestly, the hotel was amazing. The beds were comfortable and the amenities and staff were great. But that was still was not enough to make up for the bedbugs and my stolen car! I headed up to the front desk and asked to speak to a manager. I spoke with the manager and he was the most kind and understanding manager I've ever spoken to. He refunded our stay, bought the Harlan's new luggage, and even help pay for a rental car when we finally made it across the border. For a brief little while I regained my faith in humanity after having our car stolen by some selfish lowlife.
The morning we planned on leaving, we packed up our room and I took the bags downstairs. I met the Harlans in the parking garage as they were coming back from McDonald's to bring us breakfast. We looked to the side of their car, supposedly where my car should have been parked, and they asked me if I had moved my car in the past night. I told them I had not. I dropped my bags and began to think. So we believed that my car for some reason have been accidentally towed by the hotel. The hotel monitored the parking garage and required us to pay a parking fee so maybe I thought they had made a mistake and towed my car. I went to the front desk and asked if they had towed my car, and the front desk lady said, "We do not tow vehicles here. I am so sorry, I will call the police." I could not believe what I was hearing. My car had been stolen! After about a 2 to 3 hour ordeal we filed a police report and I began my insurance claim with my insurance. I actually have footage of the vehicle being stolen. Maybe I will upload that sometime. To make matters worse I called around to every rental car company in Vancouver to find out that all international vehicles are sold out so we could not make it across the border in a rental car. After I was able to gain my composure and after realizing my car hds been stolen due to poor security by the hotel, I realized that the hotel should have done something to compensate for my difficulties. Also, I forgot to mention that the Harlan's room had been infested by bedbugs, luckily ours had not, and therefore that was another reason to complain about our stay! Honestly, the hotel was amazing. The beds were comfortable and the amenities and staff were great. But that was still was not enough to make up for the bedbugs and my stolen car! I headed up to the front desk and asked to speak to a manager. I spoke with the manager and he was the most kind and understanding manager I've ever spoken to. He refunded our stay, bought the Harlan's new luggage, and even help pay for a rental car when we finally made it across the border. For a brief little while I regained my faith in humanity after having our car stolen by some selfish lowlife.
So after getting things squared away with the hotel, we squeezed all our belongings into the Harlan's car and luckily had just enough room to drive out of Canada to make it to the nearest city in Washington. We picked up a rental car and continued with the rest of our travels. We were able to travel with the Harlan's to visit the grave sites of Hailey's great grandparents and her grandma Carol. Dave was able to dedicate their graves and leave the ashes of Hailey's great grandma in the hands of the mortuary. These two events were the main goals of our trip with the Harlan's on top of our trip to Vancouver.
After visiting with a few family members in the area, we headed back to Yakima. Two days later we received news that our car had been found. After paying the deductible we had the car towed to Yakima. Yesterday we were able to see the damages that have been done. The thief had attempted to steal the stereo leaving damage to the dashboard. He smashed up the backseat attempting to get to my aftermarket speakers. He ripped out my amp in the trunk. He stole four temple bags and our portable crib. He ripped out the ignition and shoved a screwdriver in it to start the car. Other damages include nicks and scratches on the interior of the car as he was vomiting through the vehicle. Since the car is been stolen our anger had died down, but after seeing what the thief had done to our vehicle we once again felt violated and angry. It is very hard to understand the mindset of an individual who would take advantage of our little family, especially when we do not have the money lying around to have events like this occur.
To top the summer off with an even better ending I also lost two of my grandparents, Grandpa Bennion and Grandma Allen. Because of our planned trip to Canada and the obligations we had made with the Harlan family, I decided not to go to Grandpa Bennion's funeral. I was sad I could not make it, but was able to see pictures and listen to the audio of the funeral. I was grateful for the taking the time this past Christmas to visit him with Olive and Hailey. I love my Grandpa Bennion. He was always so happy and always had a funny joke to share. He was proud of my accomplishments and made me feel important and loved. I will miss him. Both Grandpa B and Grandma A had been battling a long struggle of Alzheimer's Disease. I was fortunate to be able to know them before the disease took over the majority of their faculties, especially in the case of Grandma Allen. I know that they are in a better place and will miss them dearly.
No comments:
Post a Comment