We just got done with alternator trouble too. :( you didn't have a toddler in the backseat, though, which is a plus! And it's wonderful how people pitch in and help out, too.

A note about people not seeing your car, though... I drive a Suburban, and I swear it's invisible sometimes. People in itty-bitty cars with no chance of winning a wreck pull out in front of me, or try to change lanes right into me, all the time.