2:00 a.m.

We are cruising along interstate 74 in Amy’s 2002 Cavalier when all of the sudden the car loses engine power. The gauges and lights are all still working, the tachometer is reading one thousand rpm’s but hitting the gas pedal seems to do nothing. As we coast down to a stop Amy pull the car onto the shoulder of the interstate. Once the traffic had passed, on this fairly desolate interstate just inside the Illinois border, I proceed to exit the vehicle to try to diagnose the issue. No fluid coming out, all wires are plugged in as they should be, hoses all look solid, battery terminals are connected tight and there are no signs of overheating. The car would turn over but would not start. No abnormal noises that may indicate internal engine damage. We decide to let the car sit for about a half hour to see if maybe the car just needs to cool down or maybe somehow it got flooded. During this half hour I intermittently get out of the car to inspect the engine looking for any other possible causes of the problems, nothing appeared wrong.

2:30 am

At this point it is clear we are not going anywhere any time soon. We contacted the state police to get a recommendation for whom to call for towing and repair. The GPS unit had a few places but considering the circumstances we wanted to make sure we get the car towed to the right place by the right people.

2:45 am

The tow truck arrives. The worn out and tired driver proceeds to load the Cavalier onto a flat bed tow truck. While doing so he asks me repeatedly where to tow the car to, to which I repeatedly respond “I have no idea where I am, where do you recommend”. By the fourth iteration of this little game he finally gets the idea that I do not know where the car should be towed too. He informs me of a few options to which I choose to head to a Days Inn to stay the night and to take the car to Automotive Diagnostics in the town of Danville, which is about ten minutes away.

3:30am

By three thirty am we are in our hotel room at the Days Inn and the Cavalier is sitting at the automotive shop two blocks away. It is bed time now.

The place is a real hole in the wall which seems pretty standard for places that server some of the best burgers. The place is pretty much a burger stand. The small lobby holds about 12 tables crammed in there and the line wraps around a few of the tables and starts to go out the door. The decor of the interior is military memorabilia.

The burgers are delicious. The beef patties are ground daily and the burgers are cooked to order. They do not have bacon, lettuce or tomatoes which seems odd. Pickle, onion, mustard and ketchup are the available toppings for the burgers. The French fries came in one size, which was about the size of a medium Burger King box though it was a paper wrapper. But the size of the container was not such a big deal as they overfill the container. The fries had a very nice crunch. They season the fries lightly with a salt/garlic mixture which tastes excellent! The garlic taste is just a slight hint, not overpowering of the potatoes at all.

Overall I got the sense of how they do their burgers is how they do it and they will be darned if they are going to change it. Which I applaud in many ways. I would definitely recommend Gross' Burgers to anyone passing through Danville looking for a good burger. The joint is only about 5-7 minutes off of interstate 74. If we pass through the area again we will definitely be stopping.

~Nathan

I have the worst headache and am having the hardest time focusing at work. Most of my day today has just been BS-ing through everything. I've gotten a few things done but my head just hurts so bad it's hard to do anything…

I just want to go home!!!