It started as a perfect autumn day. The sun was out with a nice blue sky and white puffy clouds. It was the first day in a week that it hadn’t rained. I took a day off from the office and shooting grads so I could drive to the Maine coast to create some nice stock photos, … a creative break. It took me 2 hours to get there, and the weather was perfect all the way up the coast. I finally got to Cape Porpoise and started to set up my gear along the beautiful seaside village. Ten minutes after I got set up the clouds rolled in, the sky got darker and darker and it started pouring rain. So I decided to drive down to Dock Square for lunch. I bought a sandwich and drink and consumed both in my SUV hoping the rain would subside. After lunch I decided to drive further north to Goose Rocks to wait out the rain. When I turned the key in the ignition it gave a quick little sputter but turned over so I didn’t think much about it, since I didn’t have any mechanical problems. I reached Goose Rocks and drove even further north to explore the marine landscape. I was looking for a nice scene and a good perspective to shoot from. The New England coastline is quite beautiful, but it’s littered with no parking signs and very little space to pull to the side of the road. Finally I spied a small slit in the shoulder and pulled over under a no parking sign. When I stepped out of my SUV the wind caught me by surprise and knocked me up against the side of my Marina. The boats in the harbor looked like toy boats bobbing and weaving in the wind. So I grabbed my gear and set up my tripod right along the roadside and salt marsh. The sky was clearing and the sun popped out once again. I took a few quick shots and then decided to head back to Cape Porpoise. And then it happened … a slow clicking sound from my engine when I turned the key. There was nothing, no engine turning over, no power, nothing. So I decided to call my hubby in Woburn, Massachusetts …

“Where are you? I’ll send a tow truck for you,” he asked.

“I have no idea what town I’m in, there’s no signs here,” I replied.

There were a beautiful summer homes along the roadside, all of them closed by this time. So I flagged down a car to inquire where I was …

“You’re on Route 208 in Biddeford Pool,” the elderly woman told me, as she drove off without any offer of help or assistance.

So I relayed the information to my husband and decided to wait it out, what more could I do? I took my gear out once again and decided to shoot along the roadside while I waited for the tow truck man to appear 30 minutes later. He towed me back to his son’s garage in Biddeford.

“It looks like you’ll need a new alternator,” said the mechanic. “I’m going to charge your battery as much as possible, hopefully you can make it home before dark. Drive directly home, don’t stop, don’t play your radio or CD player, and don’t use your headlights unless you really need them, as they will draw more power from your battery and you’ll be dead on the road again,” he said.

Thank God I had a full gas tank so I drove home going 70 miles per hour, hoping to beat the darkness. I didn’t use my headlights until I was in South Merrimack, about 3 miles from my Amherst garage. It was a long expensive day without much to show for it. But I got a new alternator out of the deal, and some days that’s all you can hope for …