Where to start... So, it was time to check out the tire pressure on the van, before the big trip to Brannan Island State Park and, perhaps, see if a rotation was needed. After that, we should probably check out the oil to see if it's still there (heh heh) and, finally, the old umbrella had seen it's last day several months ago -- time to replace it, but no one seems to be carrying them in their stores anymore because it's a seasonal item. Gee, what to do?
First, a car was was definitely in order. Lots of places around to get a decent was for a very few bucks... ranging from $4.00 or $5.00 all the way up to the $80's, if one wants to go that far. Finally settled on the Touchless at the Chevron station on Tributary and Hazel, near the Fish Hatchery (a fun place to go to feed the little fishies that will soon be released into the wild-flowing streams of the American River where they will undoubtedly be caught and fried up by the local fishermen/women). Touchless is just great and the fine folk at Chevron are, too. We spent the big bucks to get the RainX sheeting because the rains are surely on the way. Plus, the water spray in the van's system doesn't work, so... $9.00. Not bad, huh? We drove the van in, watched all the different functions pass by with colorful lights and even colorful soap, drove it out the other side slowly, so as to get the full advantage of the mega winds that dry the car to near perfect, and across the street to Arco/AM-PM to top off the gas and check on the oil.
Hm -- the oil looks a bit low and rather dark. Looks like it will have to be changed out completely. But first, off to America's Tire Discount Store -- the BEST TIRE PEOPLE ON THE FACE OF THE EARTH!!
Buy your tires there and get a great deal and then...... get a great deal! For the life of the tire, you can have your air pressure checked, have the tread checked, and even get a free rotation of the tires!! Which is just what we did. 10 lbs!! That's how low the tires were. Thank goodness we had them checked. Plus (ready for another great freebie?), they found a nail in one of the tires and (YES!) repaired it for FREE! They set us up for a free rotation and we watched behind a glass window as they went to work on the van right away. Well, there may have been a five minute delay.... When it was all said and done, the repairman came to us with his invoice and, yep - you may not have believed me - we drove off without paying a penny! Excellent service, charming and polite service men and an awesome ride to top it off! As it turned out, our old standby location for having the oil changed (Mak's Smog on Fair Oaks Blvd. and Sunset Ave.) no longer performs oil changes -- just Smog Checks. They do plan to start that up, though, in the near future. So, while we were at America's Tire I asked around -- 3 charming servicemen and a wise-looking (i.e. older guy) customer later and the verdict was in: Go to Oil Stop -- they are open on Saturdays and it's only about $35.00!
Hm -- the oil looks a bit low and rather dark. Looks like it will have to be changed out completely. But first, off to America's Tire Discount Store -- the BEST TIRE PEOPLE ON THE FACE OF THE EARTH!!
