we made it home without serious incident. handling was downright frightening on the interstate when it was really pouring, especially when trucks and jersey barriers were in the mix-- i had a lot of trouble holding the van steady.

finding first was quite a challenge at first, too, and there were a scary few moments on a hill at a stoplight when i thought i was gonna run christa over (she was behind me all the way!)

i got off of 85 and got over to 70 in burlington and that was much less scary. by the time i got home, i was finding first quite readily and even downshifting into second without a problem.

by the time we hit durham i told christa she could hit 85 if she wanted while i continued on 70 business; i knew she needed to get home. so i cruised into town on my own and it was no problemo. i even did a little extra driving around the neighborhood just for fun.

i went through the van and gave everything a good looksee including the engine. i gots my work cut out for me!