Where the Buffalo Roam

So there we were in Edinboro, Pennsylvania.  Not because we had a show there, but because our van broke down there.  Uh oh.

Driving merrily along route 79, three hours into our trip back to Florida from New York, the engine just stalled and died.  But many miracles quickly followed.

Miracle number one:  Buddy was driving, not me.  I would have been driving, except Buddy had decided to drive one more hour before turning the wheel over to me.  Whew.  I tend to panic and hit the brakes.  That would have been oh-so-wrong.

Miracle number two:  Almost immediately after the engine died, I saw a sign saying Rest Area so we just glided in and pulled over under a shady tree. 

Miracle number three: Well, it's not exactly a miracle, but thank God we have AAA, two cell phones, and a GPS. 

So Buddy called AAA for a tow truck, checked our GPS for the nearest Chevy service center, also checked  the GPS to find the nearest hotel in case we had to stay the night (which we did) and coordinated all of it with one cell phone on each ear. As he waited on hold with AAA with his cell phone, he made arrangements with the Chevy dealer with mine.  Then while still on hold with AAA, he called the hotel to see if there were any rooms available just in case.  I'm telling you, it was inspiring.  A sight to behold. (You may be asking why he had to do everything while I was just sitting there watching.  That's because I have a tendency to shriek "What do I say??!!  What do I do??!! " when it comes to phone stuff.)

Long story short, we got towed to the service center by a great guy named Frank;  the guys at the Chevy dealer service center were terrific and started working on the van as quickly as possible. But they couldn't finish the job till the next day, so we rented a car from them and got a really great room at the Comfort Suites (of course any hotel that has cookies in the lobby gets my vote).  We went out to dinner, watched HBO, and slept well on a comfortable bed.

So about the buffalo...

Every time we drove back and forth to the dealership to check on the van, we passed a sign that said "Wooden Nickel Buffalo Ranch and Family Restaurant"  with an arrow pointing down a side road.  I was intrigued.  The next day, after a nice complimentary breakfast at the hotel, we were driving yet again past that sign, and I said,  "You think there's really a buffalo ranch down there?"   Buddy said, "Let's go see."
So we followed the sign down the side road, then down a dirt road to the very end where finally ...Holy smokes, there were the buffalo!

So I took some pictures, of course. (And yes, I was afraid to leave the car.  That fence looked awfully flimsy.)

Well, our van got fixed, and we got back on the road just a little over 24 hours from when we stalled out, and headed back on our way home to Florida.  And here we are. 

Thank you God for good people who do their jobs well, and for always being with us when we need you.
And we're so grateful for a wonderful two-week stint in Western New York, doing shows and visiting family and friends.

We'll keep you posted...

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