Well, now I can say that I know how to put air in a tire. 🙂 How Jen and I had made it this far in life without ever needing that skill is pretty interesting when you think about how many times we have been in a car over the years.
Maybe it was one of the curbs Jen and I ran over {1001 curbs is more like it. Driving on the other side of the road is hard!}.
Or it could have been the log that somehow got stuck in the front tire well. Or maybe it was one of the multiple chunks of rubber that were missing from our tires due to our really bad driving skills.
Driving in England… It takes time to get used to and with only 4 days driving in the Cotswolds… We did manage to get the car back to the rental agency in one piece. 🙂 So hooray for that, right?
The day before we were supposed to turn the car in though a warning light came on telling us we needed to “rectify the tire pressure”. Umm okay?
So I quickly sent a screenshot to the HH and he told us we needed to find a tire shop and have them put air in our tires. The only problem was that it was a Sunday and every tire place was closed.
And then we started looking for gas stations and finally found one with the air machines.
We found one!
And then because neither one of us had used one before, we asked a guy who was putting gas in his car if he would help us. He said he would … As soon as he paid {for the gas he was pumping}.
So we pulled up to the machine, and then his wife {who was driving} pulled up alongside us while he went to pay. As we were all waiting there for our knight in shining armor to appear, she leaned out her window and in a low voice said… “I don’t know how much help he’ll be, he’s a bit tiddly.”
Not knowing what that meant, Jen and I just smiled and looked for coins to fill the air machine while Mr. Tiddly came walking out of the gas station ready to help.
As it turned out, they had the same make of car that we did and told us we really didn’t need to worry about the number on the car screen {the tire pressure wasn’t THAT low} but just to sort of satisfy us he added a little air in each tire just for good measure. No worries… All was good.
Yada yada yada, the warning lights went away. We drove off. We later found out the definition of “tiddly”.
The next morning we got in the car to drive to the airport and THE TIRE PRESSURE WAS EVEN LOWER! Yikes!
We called the HH. He told us we probably had a slow leak in the tires {how was that possible!?} and told us to find another one of those air pumps on our way to the airport and fill up again.
Well, with no Mr. Tiddly in sight, we had to figure it out on our own this time.
Step #1 How do you even hold a tire gauge? You would think I would know how to do this… But nope.
Step #2 What is the tire pressure supposed to be anyway? Well as it turned out, the amount of air we needed in each tire was printed on a sticker on the inside of the gas door. Who knew!? The pressure was supposed to be 38 in the front, 35 in the back. OKAY! Here we go.
Step # 3 Take off the little caps {dust covers I think they are called in the UK}.
Step #4 Put money in the machine {and get air!}.
Step #5 Put air in tires. Seems easy enough, right? But holding that stick/pump/air thing still was actually sort of hard.
We did it!!! We were able to put air in the tires all by ourselves, and make the warning lights on the car go away {again}. And without the help of Mr. Tiddly I might add. 😉
Oh my word. This adventure with Jen, I told her it was probably the best trip I had ever been on. We had SO MUCH fun. We did SO MANY things, and we laughed SO HARD.
There is no way we would have walked so much, eaten so many pastries and done so many spontaneous things from the crack of dawn to sunset everyday with anyone else.
Even putting air in the tires {multiple times} was fun.
I do want to add this though, if you ever travel to a foreign country, especially one where the driving conditions are something you’re not used to, ALWAYS and I do mean ALWAYS opt for full coverage when you rent a car. You’ll be so glad you did.
That’s it. That’s all I’ve got for today.
It’s good to be home! But now that I’m back, I plan on staying in my pj’s all day and catching up on some sleep.
Have a good one,
~Mavis
P.S. The fence is in!!! I’ll share some pictures tomorrow. 🙂
Linda says
After your comment about rental car insurance I’m curious to know what the rental car company had to say about the return condition of the car!
Also, we always take photos of the car before driving off. This was helpful when we returned our rental in London as they tried to pin a few dings on us, but the photos proved they were there before we drove off.
Suzanne Shaw says
Oh my goodness what a fun trip! Thank you SO MUCH for taking us along. The best!!! Sue
Ashley Bananas says
Very proud of you both!
I think I asked before, but I want to know the exact sneakers you’re wearing because every time I see them I’m like….oh those are cute I’d wear them. lol Thank you when you have time!!!
Glad your trip is going well aside from the tire pressure.
Mama Cook says
Those are Altra shoes! Love mine!!!!!
Nancy H says
How have you survived? Back in the dark ages when I was first starting to drive, my father made me learn car maintenance. I had to change the oil and change a tire. This was before cell phones and I am not even sure if there was AAA. There were several times I had to use this skill. Recently in a parking lot I guided a young woman in the fine art or changing a tire. Most cars don’t come with a spare anymore but she had a donut and we got it on.
Christy says
Ditto.
Senior year h.s. one of the guys in my class had a dead battery. Only people with jumper cables were me and another girl and we knew how to use them!
Sue says
Always good to learn those life skills. BTW. the recommended air pressure is printed right on each tire face. Slow leaks are usually caused by driving over a nail that remains embedded.
Another good car skill to have is the ability to jump the battery. I found a step-by-step infographic similar to this one:
https://www.mendmotor.com/how-to-jump-start-a-car/
Printed out a bunch of copies and slid them into 8.5×11 clear page protectors.
Each of our cars has that infographic in the bag that holds the jumper cables.
There is also one tacked to the garage wall.
That infographic has saved each of my fam members more than once! Except DH, who can remember the sequence in his head. I cannot, and would have blown myself up long ago…
Tammy says
Glad to hear Mr. Tiddly wasn’t driving. 😉
I have put air in tires but its been a while. I don’t like doing things like that, mostly because when I pull up I just feel like everyone is watching me and I feel clumsy about it.
Andrea says
I too thoroughly enjoyed this trip!
Jules says
This one made me smile. I’ve been putting air in the tires since before I could drive a car. We even have an air compressor at home and on the farm. But doing it for the first time and in a foreign country, that makes for an adventure !
Nee Nee says
Glad you had a wonderful trip with your good friend!! This post gave me a good laugh!! Thank goodness the HH pays attention to his phone and can come to the rescue from afar!! Great pictures I need to take notes for when I take that trip!!
Judi Y. says
Welcome back! The pictures from your trip were so, so beautiful!!
Kathy Wolfe says
Good job!!
Robin R. says
Welcome home and thanks for taking us along on your trip. So interesting & fun.
JulieP says
Well done I hate doing it but like others I was taught to do it when I got my first car some 47 years ago it’s a good skill to have! GladMr Tiddly could help (we have so many words that despite all speaking English do not cross the pond). Your trip has been good to follow along with despite living here we never go to these places and we really should. Glad you’re home safe and well PJ Days are the best! Oh and you had the best of the weather while you were here today has been particularly damp cool and autumnal!
sandy says
I am laughing out loud at Mr Tiddly…
I am between 3 major wildfires today in Southern CA, wishing I was in the UK. The temp has finally fallen under 90, and hopefully, the fire will calm a bit. It looks like nuclear blasts every direction we look. An out of control fire in each direction we look.
I just hose down the house and yard daily, and my husband thinks I am nuts.
Your adventures are so much fun to read about each day…thank you so much for sharing