You don’t necessarily have to go far to go on an adventure. Likewise, you don’t need to be far from home in order to have a travel snafu. Having driven to Maryland many times before, I was no stranger to this particular road trip. However, this time proved to be a bit different. The weekend itself went off without a hitch, but when it came time to get gas and return home, I found out that my gas hatch wouldn’t open. I tried everything I could think of to get it to work, but alas, nothing. I knew I wouldn’t make it 10 miles, let alone 210 in order to get home. It took me about 20 minutes to work up the courage to ask a stranger for help, and another 10 minutes to convince him that it was totally cool with me if he broke the gas hatch in order to get it open. Upon further investigation, the mechanism that was supposed to open the hatch was completely busted and needed to be replaced anyway. Thank goodness for that guy, because I would have otherwise been stranded on the side of the road with no fuel to get home.
Pro-tip: If you’re by yourself, ask a stranger for help. Sometimes they can surprise you.