jennifermcrae2

My husband Neal and I were expecting a grand adventure as part of our honeymoon, but we had no idea what lay in store for us and how grateful we would be for US Rider. On Sunday, September 21st, the day after our wedding, my new husband and I left central North Carolina with our quarter horse gelding Max and molly mule Sally in tow. We were headed to Tennessee’s Big South Fork Recreation Area where we had rented a secluded cabin outside the park and couldn’t wait to spend a week exploring the area from horseback. The drive had gone smoothly until without warning the truck just shut off and wouldn’t start again. The last major town we had gone through was Knoxville one hour southeast with our final destination still one hour west of us. My husband is a talented mechanic, but whatever was wrong with our truck wasn’t something that was going to be fixed on the side of the road. Our secluded honeymoon location was suddenly presenting a really big problem in the middle of nowhere on a Sunday evening. How were we going to find a service station in an area we had no familiarity with? If we did find one, how would we know they could work on a diesel truck if they weren’t going to open until the next day? Even if we did find one how were we going to get there and what were we going to do with the horses? Where could we take them? Where would we stay? Just at the moment when real panic should have been setting in I was picking up the phone and calling US Rider.

Working with the representative on the phone we were able to locate a service shop in Knoxville equipped to work on our vehicle as well as a wrecker service to come tow both our truck and trailer. Clinton Hwy Wrecker Service out of the Knoxville area was able to easily find us on a country state road in a surprisingly reasonable amount of time. They brought with them a roll back wrecker that took our truck to a dealership service shop in Knoxville and a wheel lift wrecker to tow me, my husband, and our two mounts the remaining hour to our cabin rental location. The driving skills of the Clinton Hwy Wrecker driver were greatly appreciated as he navigated the Big South Fork River gorge with our trailer and most precious cargo inside.  We also experienced wonderful hospitality and genuine care as our driver stopped at a small convenience store to allow us to purchase a few supplies and remained friendly as we picked through the back roads of Tennessee to our secluded cabin site. I couldn’t believe we were able to even find such service that day much less that it was covered fully by my US Rider membership.

jennifermcrae1

It was an experience we could only laugh at as we dined on left over wedding cake and convenience store snacks on our first full day as a married couple. We were able to arrange for a ride into the nearest town with a rental agency the following day which provided us the transportation we needed to continue to enjoy our honeymoon week though not quite in the fashion we had planned. If it hadn’t been for US Rider and the services provided through them I’m not sure that could have happened, but I know for certain we would not be able to tell this story with a smile.


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WRITTEN BY Neal

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