Realistically, when you are four days into a road trip and just about every piece of technology you depend on has either flown out the back of your car topper almost killing someone or just mysteriously stopped working altogether, you have two options: you can cry, or you can laugh. Leave it to us to find a third option — create a soundtrack. Obviously, Salt-N-Pepa’s “Push It” won the rights to the blog title, but Night Ranger’s “Sister Christian” almost stole the spot just because of the drums and the chorus. MOTORING…

I’m not sure if it’s a pattern or not, but the fourth day on the road was similar to the second, even in number as well as relative drama. The girls managed to cram me and my oversized paperweight back into the van for the long haul from Bishop to Cherry Valley where my mom’s other younger sister Kathleen and her husband Jamie awaited. Much of the 4 1/2-hour trip was split between phone calls with two of my least favorite organizations to deal with; my car insurance company and my wheelchair provider.

Amazingly, my insurance told the Tahoe driver they couldn’t deal with him until they talked with me, even though I just spoke with them yesterday. Figures. Fortunately, my wheelchair people found a replacement motor for my chariot… in Ohio. This means that I probably won’t have a working chair until Thursday at the earliest. I had the thought of hooking up some makeshift harnesses for the girls to drag me around like a dog sled race (Idit-a-quad, anyone?), but had no takers. Even my girlfriend, The UW Husky, didn’t see the humor in it.

Eventually we made it to Kathleen and Jamie’s and were spoiled with fajitas, good conversation and ice cream sundaes. After dinner, we literally shoved off towards our next hotel, which had to look a little strange to the throngs of Japanese tourists in the lobby. Despite having to be pushed everywhere I went today, the mood among the three of us has been extremely upbeat. When you think about it, it’s a pretty good metaphor for what the trip has been thus far. Just one of these obstacles would be enough break most people, but we keep pushing. Okay, some of us more than others, but you get the gist.

The circumstances have served as a good test of group dynamics, and I’ll say one thing for sure, they haven’t stopped us yet. Tomorrow is another day, albeit an odd one, so who knows what’s in store.