We had a great time in Virginia early this fall. Manassas, Fredericksburg, and Williamsburg all offer interesting and entertaining things to see and do. We saw and did and really enjoyed ourselves. But, vacations are only so long and, sooner or later, you have to head home.

Since Williamsburg was our last major stop in Virginia, when we left there we headed west on I-64 and connected up with I-81 in Staunton. From there, we turned north with the intention of enjoying a peaceful trip through Virginia, across a bit of West Virginia and Maryland, into Pennsylvania, some of New York, a lot of Connecticut, Massachusetts, and finally back to our home state of New Hampshire. A lot of driving, with overnight stops in northern VA and another in northeastern PA.

And it WAS peaceful, until we left Candy Hill Campground in Winchester, VA and crossed into WV heading north on I-81. Traffic was very heavy on I-81 in the Martinsburg area and was really moving! It was a hot day; bare feet on that pavement would have been well done in short order.

All of a sudden, in a scared voice, Deb said, “What was that?” Strangely, I didn’t immediately hear or feel what she did, but about the time she spotted bits of rubber flying out from the side of the rig, I felt it in the steering – big time! One of the trailer tires had blown and we’d started to sway. Not good in traffic that was very heavy and moving at only slightly less than the speed of light! I hit the flashers and slowed as quickly as I could. We made it into the breakdown lane and came to a stop without any difficulty, but MAN that breakdown lane was narrow. I got the curbside wheels right on the edge of the pavement and it seemed as though the traffic was buffing the streetside paint.

I got out the lug wrench, the jack and some wood spacer blocks and started to jack ‘er up. Now, normally, changing a tire is just a pain. This was no different…until the first tractor-trailer zoomed by and buffeted the rig so that I thought it would slip off the jack. Then before it stopped swaying back and forth, another one blasted by, and then another! About that time I remembered that we have the Good Sam Club’s Emergency Road Service. We’ve paid for it for several years, but never had to use it. It was clear that NOW was the time.

I pulled out the cell phone and called the ERS toll free number. A very nice and helpful customer service rep took all the information about our rig, our tow vehicle and the exact nature of the problem. She offered to have a police officer come to the scene if I felt that there was any traffic-related danger. Then she asked permission to use my cell’s GPS signal to pinpoint our location. After I held for a brief time, she came back on the line and said they could have a service vehicle to us within an hour.

The Good Sam ERS rep. Called again a few minutes later to confirm that a truck was on its way and to make sure we didn’t need any police assistance. In less than an hour a fellow from Resley Tire Co. in Hagerstown, MD showed up. I don’t think he liked our location any better than we did, but in short order he had the trashed tire off, the spare in its place, and we were ready to go again. The technician from Resley was friendly, professional, and got the job done quickly.

As for Good Sam Club’s Emergency Road Service, all I can say is that this one service situation was WELL worth the the annual price of membership! Stuff happens, but knowing you can call for help and count on getting it is a nice feeling.