Update: Got the estimate, and everything is going to be around $1,500 which stings a lot, but I'll pay for it. Be careful on the roads, y'all, let my bad experience be a lesson.

Oh dear, no plans ever go smoothly, eh? Well, I hit a rock on the road. Where? Well, I was on my way to Lassen Volcanic National Park, and along the road was a fat rock sitting in the middle of the lane around the bend. I had to do some quick thinking within 2 seconds of seeing it.

There was an 18-wheeler coming down in the oncoming lane; there was no shoulder; there was an SUV right behind me on a wet road. So... I made the judgement to try to go over the rock, and hope that my car had the clearance to go over it.

Nope. The rock hit the undercarriage, and made the poor car hop! My goodness, it was terrifying. I immediately pulled over at the next turnoff, and checked under the car. There didn't appear to be any visible damage, but the car would never run as smoothly anymore. Something was clearly wrong. Also, I later noticed that the driver-side rear tire was bent in a little bit more than I remembered. This would be later identified as a bent suspension by the mechanics first look. And to top it all off, a punctured tire would soon follow hours later in Salem, Oregon.

Now I'm in Portland staying at my brother's place waiting on a phone call, from the Volkswagen dealership shop, to hear the bad news. Yes, I drove all the way from Lassen Volcanic (skipped it) and drove to Portland so that I could have a safe place to stay at while the car is being inspected. Honestly, if the repair cost is under $2,000 USD, I'll pay for it. However, I have doubts that the repairs are going to be that cheap... I fear that the little Golf TDi I'm driving is going to become a garage queen until I can get the buyback from VW (diesel-gate fiasco thingy).

If the damages are as I fear, I will have to stop my road trip short. Then I'll have to deal with the obstacle of getting the car back home. And lastly, I'll have to figure out how I'm going to get around then. This should be an interesting week! I should stay positive, right?