MINI Thanks

Discussion in 'MINIs on the Dragon 8 (April 28 - May 2, 2010)' started by COOP310, May 4, 2010.

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  1. COOP310

    COOP310 New Member

    May 12, 2009
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    Lake Mary, FL
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    +2 / 0 / -0
    Sorry about the bad pun.

    Sunday morning as I drove down to the campground before checkout one of my valve stems blew. I limped the rest of the way and started looking for a solution. Dad drove me back to the lodge after looking at a few wheel swap possibilities to no avail. While I was waiting in line at the front desk to inquire about tire shops (more on that later), my wife fell down the steps behind the lodge while bringing the kids up. She sat in the lobby for a while to see what happened. When she got up to go back down to the room, she was having a bit of difficulty. Several of you in the lobby were kind enough to help us get her and the kids back to our room. Someone even gave my daughter a toy to occupy her. I'm sorry that I didn't catch anyone's name but we both really appreciate everyones help and kindness. We borrowed dad's car and headed off for the ER in Bryson City. After a couple of hours, the X-Rays concluded that it was just a bad sprain. Again, I wanted to thank everyone that helped out.

    On to the tire problem. My best advice is don't get a flat tire at MOTD on a Sunday. Ever. After speaking to the front desk, we called MINI Roadside assistance who, after an hour or so simply said "we can't find anyone to help in such a remote location". After our ER visit, we drove around Bryson City looking for something and with each request we heard "not on a Sunday". After a while we stopped at the Bryson City McDonalds where the friendly cashier said that she once got her tire fixed on a Sunday at the WalMart in West Waynesville about 40 miles away. Since it was our only option, we decided to check it out. She was wrong. While very new and unusually clean, this WalMart has no tire center. After digging around in the phone book for a while at the customer service desk and using the only pay phone i have seen in 5 years or so, we found a place in Waynesville, another 12 miles away. Sorrell's Citgo. We beat the 4pm closing time and they replaced my valve stem in 10 minutes for $10. We were now on our way back to Fontana, where we arrived around 530 or so.

    Total milage: 143. Total driving time: about 3 hours.

    Since 530 was decidedly after checkout time, Fontana graciously gave us the option of leaving without any extra charges, or staying an additional night for a reduced rate. Given the weather and late hour with the thought of a 12 hour drive ahead of us, we took the second option.

    Again. Thank you everyone for your help.
     

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