Road trips. They’re definitely an adventure, and you’ll return with many great stories and memories of what a blast you had. This one’s a pretty unique one – probably one you’ve never heard before. It’s a true story about a young woman driving from Los Angeles to San Diego. She stops for gas on the way and leaves the gas station with an experience she will never forget…
Ready or Not, On the Road I Go!
I am excited for my road trip to San Diego. If you ask me, I think I’m a pretty great and safe driver, but it’s been some time since I’ve actually driven. Back when I was in college, I didn’t really use my car that much – it was mainly for driving to and from home. It wasn’t so much that I didn’t like driving or didn’t have anywhere to go, I just didn’t like the thought of having to find and pay for parking in the area. I usually preferred walking to wherever I was going – it’s a great way to get some steps in, and it was probably faster than sitting through traffic anyway. When I started working, I relied on public transportation to get to work (gas and parking is just too expensive!). Over the weekends, I would drive occasionally, but they were mainly short trips to the mall or the grocery store. This will be the first time in almost half a year since I have driven such a long distance – and all by myself too.
Since I don’t drive that often, I don’t even have my own car. I’ve been meaning to buy one, but it just doesn’t make sense to pay so much for a car and have it sit in the garage for most of the week! Luckily (or not), my family had a car I could use – a car that I have never driven before. Well, that’s fine, because all I need to use is the gas pedal and the brakes right?
After packing everything I needed for my trip, I was ready. It was early, and it was still dark outside. I got into the car, set up my phone to navigate to San Diego, and put it on the car mount.
“Don’t forget to get gas before heading back,” my dad said, as I started the car.
The Drive
I turned on the headlights and was on my way. After I got on the freeway, I started to wonder, where is the emergency light button in case anything happens? I stole quick glances towards the center where the vents were, but couldn’t see anything because it was so dark. As if that wasn’t concerning enough, it started sprinkling. I was able to turn on the windshield wipers, but being in sunny weather all the time, I didn’t have much experience driving in the rain.
Staying within safe speed limits, I managed to arrive at San Diego in one piece. Other than a bit of rain, it was a pretty smooth drive – little to no traffic, great navigation from my phone, and I didn’t fall asleep while driving. Since my estimated time of arrival was earlier than I had expected, I decided to get some gas first, and maybe even take a quick nap before continuing.
I stopped at a 76 gas station. The layout is pretty typical, with the store located in the center, two rows of fuel dispensers on each of the two sides of the store, and parking spots on the other two sides of the store along the edge of the lot. It was only 6:40am, so it was pretty empty. With so many fuel dispensers to choose from, I parked at the most convenient one. I was so proud of myself for remembering to check the dashboard to see which side the tank is on.
I turned off the car. Now that there was some light shining into the car, I found the emergency button – it was hidden behind the phone mount. At least now I know where the button is in case anything happens on my way back!
Time to Fuel Up
When I was a kid, I would always be in the back seat, watching my dad pop open the fuel cover and start pumping gas into the car. I got gas myself a few times too when I started driving, but that was probably only once every few months. With this car that I have never driven, I obviously had no idea where any of the buttons to open or turn on anything were. I started looking to the left, under the dashboard, for the lever to pop open the fuel cover. Aha! I found it, I thought happily, as I pulled a lever with excitement.
CLACK!
I looked up. It was not the fuel cover, but the hood that popped open. I sighed. If only I had looked at the picture on the lever before pulling it…
I got out of the car and walked to the front to close the hood. I put both hands flat on top of the warm hood and pushed it down. It came back up. I tried again. It came back up again. Third time’s the charm? Nope, no luck.
I got back into my car to think. What do I do now? I can’t just sit here and wait for it to magically close by itself. I walked to the front and pushed it down again. It came back up. I went back to the driver’s seat and sighed. What a horrible way to start off my morning. Maybe I can drive back to LA with the hood not closed completely? I wonder if the hood is heavy enough to stay down though. But it’s at least a two hour drive, and I’ll be driving at least 60 mph...What if the hood flips up while I’m driving? Then I won’t be able to see anything…
I took a few deep breaths, and decided to try closing the hood one more time. I stormed to the front of the car, looked at the hood, placed both hands on top of the hood, and with all my might, pushed it down.
CLICK! It stayed down. SUCCESS! The day is getting better.
Now I’m back to opening the fuel cover. I squat in front of the car door and turned on the flashlight on my phone to look for the lever that opens the fuel cover. Still no luck. Maybe this car doesn’t need a lever to open it! I stood up and walked to the fuel cover. I tried pushing it to see if it would pop open, but that didn’t work. I tried to see if my fingers can just fit in that little gap and just pull it open, but that didn’t work either. Again, I got back into the car and sighed. Maybe I don’t need to fill up gas to make it back to LA…
I looked around again, and finally, I spotted another lever on the left of the driver’s seat: the fuel cover lever. Extremely happy now, I pulled it up, and pop! The fuel cover popped open. YES!
It is now time to fuel up.
The Lady at the Gas Station
Now that fuel cover is open, I unscrewed the gas cap, put in my credit card, punched in my zip code, grabbed the nozzle, and stuck it into the hole. It did not fit. That’s weird. Maybe if I just squeeze the trigger anyway, it’ll fit or maybe the gas will make it in there. I squeezed it, and still, it did not fit. Nothing was coming out of the nozzle either, because the cost on the machine was not moving. Maybe it’s just broken, I thought. I gave it another try, sticking the nozzle in at different angles to see if it would fit any better. It still did not fit. I took it out, looked at the nozzle, then stuck it into the hole for the third time.
“THAT’S DIESEL! YOU’RE GOING TO BREAK YOUR CAR,” a lady yelled from 20-ft away. I looked up. It was the lady working inside the store at the gas station. She had stepped out from behind the counter and walked to the door to yell at me.
Oh my gosh. “Which one is regular gas?” I yelled back.
“ANY OF THE OTHER ONES,” the lady responded.
Great. Of course, out of the 12 spots I could’ve chosen to get gas, I just had to choose the one that spits out diesel. It was now 6:51am. I got back in the car and once again, sighed. I probably don’t even need gas to make it back to LA. Should I just risk it and continue on? I started the car again, drove to another fuel dispenser, parked, opened the fuel cover, unscrewed the gas cap, stuck in my credit card, punched in my zip code, grabbed the nozzle, and stuck it into the hole. This time it fit. Good, we’re making progress. I squeezed the trigger.
Nothing came out. I looked at the machine. The cost did not move either. I couldn’t believe it. Is it broken? I looked at the machine, squeezed again, and nothing happened. The screen now read, transaction cancelled. I put in my credit card again, and this time, the screen told me to see the cashier. I was annoyed. I sighed and reluctantly dragged myself into the store and walked to the cashier. The lady must think I’m so dumb, I thought.
“Hi, good morning. I put in my credit card and it says I need to see the cashier,” I said in a defeated voice.
“Yeah, probably because you’ve used it more than twice on the machine and you used so many different machines. But you can pay here,” the lady responded.
“Okay, great.”
“How much gas do you need?”
“Uh…I don’t know. I have a bit more than half a tank left,” I said, as I put up my arm to show how much gas I had used.
The lady stared at me for a brief moment before speaking. “Okay, probably $25 is enough then, and whatever you don’t use you’ll get refunded.”
“Thank you.”
I handed the lady my credit card to pay. I was already so tired of figuring out this whole getting gas problem. I walked back to the car, pulled out the nozzle, stuck it into the hole, and squeezed. Nothing came out. I tried again with no luck. Ugh, what’s wrong now?
I guess the lady had been watching me this whole time, because she walked to the store door again and yelled, “You need to choose which fuel you want!”
Ah, of course. How could I forget? That’s probably why none of that diesel came out either. I pressed the cheapest option and squeezed again. Nothing came out.
“You have to push it up!”
“I already pushed the gas I want,” I responded.
“You have to push the thing that was holding the nozzle up!”
What in the world is she talking about? Confused, I looked at the machine. I pointed at the thing that was holding the nozzle and looked at the lady. The lady waved her arm in an upward motion, as if she was flipping it up. I imitated the action, and flipped it up. I walked back to the gas cover, squeezed the trigger, and at last, gas was pumping into the car. Finally. Good thing the lady was there, or else I would’ve never gotten gas! I filled up the car, put everything back, got my receipt, and got into the car. I let out a sigh of relief.
The Finale
It was now 7am. Even though I had spent 20 minutes getting gas, I still had some time left to take a quick nap before continuing driving. Since there were some empty parking spots at the gas station, I pulled up to one of the spots and parked. I turned off the car, set my alarm for 7:20am, and closed my eyes. Considering all the things that have happened to me in just one morning, taking a 20 minute nap was probably not a good idea, but what else could possibly happen?
Twenty minutes later, I opened my eyes, fully charged. I set up my phone again, and was ready to start driving again. I turned the keys to start the car.
HONK! HONK! HONK! HONK! HONK!
The car alarm went off. I immediately jumped out of the car, closed the door, locked it, then unlocked it again. The honking stopped, but already, people who were getting gas were staring. I looked towards the store.
The lady at the gas station was standing at the store door again.
What an experience. I am sure this young lady will always remember how to get gas after this trip! I can already imagine what the lady at the gas station told her friends and family when she got off her shift.
My morning started off with this crazy woman at the gas station…