The day did not start well.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
As I mentioned in the last blog, today\u2019s \u201cbig adventure\u201d would probably not be the ferry to France. Turns out, I was spot on. The real challenge was driving to Dover. The question wasn\u2019t when<\/em> we\u2019d make the ferry. It was if<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n On a good day, the drive to Dover takes 3.5 hours. Our ferry check-in time was at 3pm. Mike, ever the optimist, suggested leaving at 10am. I, ever the contingency planner, said no later than 9. Sensible, or so I thought…<\/p>\n\n\n\n We got up at 7am, feeling super excited and fully prepared. That\u2019s when Mike noticed Problem #1: the rear tyre pressure was down. Apparently, he\u2019d seen bubbles on the valve the day before when we were faffing about washing Bertie and checking his tyre pressures. Probably should have dealt with that then. <\/p>\n\n\n\n I could feel a minor panic brewing deep in my subconciousness. Not quite anxiety, but definitely potential. The Hitch-hikers Guide to the Galaxy<\/em> came to the rescue. Don\u2019t Panic<\/em>, and… something about fish. Details were hazy but the message was clear. I was thankful we had options. If we couldn\u2019t get the wheel fixed today, there would always be another ferry!<\/p>\n\n\n\n A quick call to a local tyre shop quickly stomped on our impending doom and thankfully they squeezed us in straight away. Sure enough it was a dodgy valve. Thirty minutes later, 20 pounds lighter, and we were back on the road by 9:30am. Contingency intact.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Then came Problem #2: The M25 carpark was full. Because of course it was. There had been an accident and they had closed it off causing mayhem. Google decided to help with a scenic detour right through London\u2019s Ultra Low Emission Zone. Two immediate problems with this:<\/p>\n\n\n\n In my panic to avoid London, I tweaked Google\u2019s settings to avoid tolls and motorways. That was a mistake. A big<\/em> mistake.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Next thing we knew, we were zigzagging through every back road, country lane, and goat track in southern England. Bertie was getting far too intimate with the hedgerows. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Then Problem #3 happened. Somewhere along the way, one of the sneaky bushes stole our side mirror. It was super-stealth about it too as we didn\u2019t even notice until much later. How on earth was Mike going to handle driving a massive van on the wrong side of the road without a side mirror? But this was a problem for future me. Right now, I just wanted to escape this maze from hell!<\/p>\n\n\n\n Eventually, the roads widened just enough to unclench, and for a glorious moment, it felt like we were back on actual roads. Almost. But then Mike missed a crucial turning. I told him to take the next one. We pulled over to regroup. Mike wanted to stay with the traffic flow. Google disagreed. In my frustration, I exited the navigation and tried to re-route. Rookie mistake. We were in a data dead spot, and now we had NO navigation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n With no signal, I had to navigate the old-fashioned way: zooming in on offline maps, squinting at the tiny roads, and hoping for the best. Meanwhile, our 2-hour buffer had been chewed up at an alarming rate and we only a 25 minute contingency left!<\/p>\n\n\n\n Eventually, we stumbled back into signal territory. Google found its bearings, but we\u2019d lost precious time. To make matters worse, I realised I\u2019d forgotten to uncheck the \u201cavoid highways\u201d setting. Things were starting to make sense now.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Once that was fixed, it was plain sailing down the M20 to Dover. But by then, Bertie was short one mirror, we were short on nerves, and our \u201crelaxing\u201d drive had turned into the Great Dover Dash.<\/p>\n\n\n\n At least we made it. Just.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The ferry from Dover to Dunkirk was nearly empty. Just a handful of cycle tourists, a couple of vans, and a few trucks. The crossing was smooth and uneventful, and we arrived around 7:30pm.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Then came the final challenge of the day: finding somewhere to sleep.<\/p>\n\n\n\n We had no plan, no destination other than heading north, and a vague idea that heading towards Ghent in Belgium might be smart, since there are a couple of Mercedes dealerships there. Hopefully one of them has a mirror for poor, lopsided Bertie.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I managed to find a carpark in Belgium for us the sleep in for the night. Not glamorous, but we\u2019re tucked in now, hoping nobody knocks on the window at 2am.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Tomorrow? Your guess is as good as mine!<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The day did not start well. As I mentioned in the last blog, today\u2019s \u201cbig adventure\u201d would probably not be the ferry to France. Turns out, I was spot on. The real challenge was driving to Dover. The question wasn\u2019t … Continue reading \n