Flat Tire

 

J.R. Oregon Tires & Auto Care

Daughter got a flat tire this morning while she was driving up West Burnside road on the way out of Portland. Hit something hard, probably a pothole. She tried to fix it herself but immediately ran into a problem when she couldn't loosen the wingnut that was securing the jack in the trunk. So I got called to assist. She was right, the wing nut was tight. I couldn't loosen it until I applied some Channellock pliers. I know who the guilty culprit is. He tightens everything super tight. Now we need to get to the lug nuts. The YouTube video she has pulled up has mag wheels while she has steel wheels and hub caps. So the lug nuts are behind the hubcap. Lugnuts revealed, she tries to loosen one. No go. She stands on the end of the wrench. Bounces. Still no go. I stand on the wrench and bounce and my heftier weight (double hers) does the trick. That was the toughest one. Thanks, Costco. She was able to break loose the rest of them.

Got the tire changed and looked around for someplace to get it fixed (it's Sunday) and find J.R. Oregon Tires & Auto Care in Beaverton. It took him maybe 15 minutes to fix the tire and only charged $20. I call it a deal.

Now I'm on Google Maps looking for Streetview images of this place. The one at the top is the first and it doesn't really give a good view of the place.

Union 76

So I move to the corner, and what to my wondering eyes should appear but the old Union 76 gas station that used to be there. I dunno how long ago.

J.R. Oregon Tires & Auto Care

Switch to 3d view and we get a good, if distorted, overview of the whole place. What isn't shown is the pile of several hundred tires on the far side of the main building.

This is in a small commercial district in fairly unscale neighborhood. The commercial district has been on the skids for while. Half of it has been fenced off and looks like it is going to be demolished. The only remainging businesses there are Harbor Freight and DMV (Department of Motor Vehicles).

I think the last time I changed a flat was on our old Windstar van, and that must have been 20 years ago.