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Features Grand Touring with a vintage Hot Rod...

Discussion in 'Traditional Hot Rods' started by TTR, Sep 20, 2017.

  1. Yes and no.
    While I agree that traveling in (small) group of cars/drivers one can be better prepared to deal with roadside emergencies or repairs, I highly recommend making sure everyone in the group is compatible with each other and might also be a good idea to elect (before the trip) someone as a "leader" or "final decision authority" to help prevent any awkward roadside moments in case of disagreements or disputes which can arise during long distance trips. Been there, done that and why I prefer travel by myself or in a very small, up to 3-4 car, group, especially long distance, i.e. multi-day trips.

    I still recall my first ever long distance (+/- 3000 mile ?) driving trip with two friends(?), each of us driving our own 25-30 year old vintage cars we had bought within two weeks before our departure and none of had much long distance experience beyond 100 or so miles, let alone in a foreign country 6000 miles away we were visiting first time with extremely limited language skills. I was the only one without any formal education of that language, but had to provide most of the verbal communication/translation to all of us.

    Anyway, after first full day of driving, late in the evening, about a one quarter into our journey, my car ('55 Packard) unexpectedly started to exhibit quite alarming engine noise, which forced us to find some place to attempt diagnosis and hopefully implement repairs necessary to continue and finish the trip by deadline (in few days).
    Mind you, at the time (about 35 years ago) we all had very limited experience and our travel budget was already stretched way past originally intended expectations, not to mention our tools could be counted with full set of fingers and none were really ideal or practical much beyond changing a spare tire or tighteng a hose clamp.

    Well, after successful(?) diagnosis and highly "improvised" repair using rather unorthodox methods in the middle of the night, on a cold/windy, dimly lit $20.00/night motel parking lot, we came in to a disagreement how to and/or at what speed should we proceed.
    This led to our small group splitting up and I ended up finishing the remianing three quarters (2000+ miles) of the journey by myself with an engine now running on 7 out of 8 cylinders. In the end, we all made it (I arrived a day earlier than others), but this entire 5 week trip thought me a lot about choosing ones travel companions, which in the case of that trip I had originally not intended have any or maybe just one (the friend who ended up buying the Cadillac).

    "Butch"

    P.S. In case some one is interested, the other two cars were a 1958 Chevrolet Fleetside (long bed) P-U and a 1959 Cadillac Coupe.
    Latter exhibited some transmission "slippage" at the time of purchase and I advised against it due to that very reason.
    I was rather surprised when it made the entire +/- 3K. It got sold two days after it arrived home, but I heard the transmission needing/receiving a full (and very expensive) rebuilding soon after as it was discovered being "completely toasted" !?!
    Chevy P-U buyer/owner (fast becoming an ex-friend) turned out to be a complete pu**y, as he refused to haul anything*** on his truck in fear of it breaking down due to any extra load/weight which was laughable, especially since the truck was in very nicee condition with freshly rebuilt running gear, etc.

    *** I had bought and dismantled a nice, complete parts car for a project I had at home and had to load up as much as I could in to my own ride, which ended up filling the trunk, back seat/rear foot well and right side of front seat/foot well loaded up to the "belt line", mostly mechanical and electrical (read heavy) parts and components, including a complete automatic transmission, brakes, suspension, etc, etc, etc.
    No room for spare engine, rear axle or any sheet metal, all which the pu**y with the Chevy P-U refused to haul, even after I agreed to leave all heavy items, including the engine and rear axle off and protect his bed by wrapping everything else with heavy cardboard and moving blankets before loading them and offered to pay half of his fuel expenses.
     
    Last edited: Sep 3, 2018
  2. Never the less, even if not really in hot rods (re. thread title) and mostly spent on "conveyor belts", in overall the above was a great first-timer long distance (GT) road trip adventure for three guys who were young, dumb and full of unspent "gun" powder driving thousands of miles with pretty cool vintage cars on the other side of their world at the time.
     
    Last edited: Sep 5, 2018
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  3. While not a vintage hot rod, I hope this will fit.
    In 2008, I bought a one owner 1950 Buick that had been put away for 37 years. On the owners farm. The family was always going to restore it. You know how that went!
    I had to promise the grandson , who had ridden in this car when he was small enough to stand up in the back, it would not be hot rodded. At the time of this first trip. I had stuck to that promise. By 2012 I had made a few shorter trips. From Springfield, MO, where I called home, to Ames , IA. another to Austin, TX area. In 2012 the Buick Club of America National was in Concord, NC. So off I go. Left SF on Hwy 60, headed east. Overnighted somewhere in the Missouri Bootheel. BCA Nationals, 2012 002.jpg

    Somewhere down in the Mark Twain forest.

    More later
    Ben
     
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  4. Thanks for sharing and please add more when you have time.
    Also, any anecdotes and further details, including photos of you travels with your cool vintage Buick, even if she's not a "hot rod" will be appreciated, at least by me.

    I like the fact you've lived up to you promise (a.k.a. principals) and your Buick is definitely cool and good enough without any customizing or hot rodding.
    I let you in on a little secret: While I make a living rebuilding/restoring/servicing (including fabricating & producing parts for) vintage cars and their components and absolutely love my Roadster, I've always been a biggest sucker for original, unmolested, unrestored, well kept/maintained vintage cars, regadless of their makes or models.
     
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  5. BCA Nationals, 2012 020.jpg Thanks TTR, for the like. This car had to have some work on it. I rebuilt the engine. My son an I did the floors. Evicted the mice and had new interior. Period , not correct. Made a driver, not a shower.

    2nd day, off early and somewhere in west TN, the first casualty stuck it's head up. Throttle return spring gave up the ghost. Found a bungee cord in the trunk for roadside repairs. The next town , found an auto parts store and it had springs. Found one that worked.
    Might mention that my goal was same as most. As few interstate roads as possible. So far, so good.
    After crossing into TN on I 155 over the Mighty Mississippi, took any small narrow road I could until I reached the outskirts of Nashville. I did give in and used the big road to get around said metropolis. Then on to HWY 41. Could not hurry if one wanted. 41 all the way to Chattanooga, where I 24 beckoned to get through/around town. North a ways to Hwy 64 East and the first pictures of the day. They are not as scenic as out west. Few long vistas, as such.[ View attachment 4026087 BCA Nationals, 2012 014.jpg BCA Nationals, 2012 015.jpg BCA Nationals, 2012 020.jpg
    Some scenes along the way. Still on Hwy 74 /64. Still in TN. I Think!

    BCA Nationals, 2012 025.jpg BCA Nationals, 2012 029.jpg BCA Nationals, 2012 030.jpg

    A neat roadside attraction. Compliments of Mother Nature.

    To be continued

    Ben
     
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  6. Very cool Ben. :cool:
    Beautiful roads and scenery. Obviously great reasons to stay away from "conveyor belts".
    Thanks for sharing, especially details and photos.
    :)
     
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  7. atch
    Joined: Sep 3, 2002
    Posts: 5,625

    atch
    Member

    firstinsteele,

    Could you tell us where this is?

    [​IMG]
     
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  8. Hombre
    Joined: Aug 22, 2008
    Posts: 1,075

    Hombre
    ALLIANCE MEMBER

    That is in the Nantahala National Forest on a 175 mile loop called the Land of The Waterfall Loop. Cool ride... Route-waterfall8.jpg
     
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  9. Just a couple miles west of Rosman, NC on Hwy 64.

    Ben
     
  10. atch
    Joined: Sep 3, 2002
    Posts: 5,625

    atch
    Member

    Does it have a name that I can Google?
     
  11. Bridal Veil Falls, North Carolina.
    Many Bridal veil falls.
    Appears one can not drive behind it now. Bummer.

    And I was wrong about location. It is just west of Highlands, not Rosman.

    Ben
     
    Last edited: Sep 8, 2018
  12. Wayne67vert
    Joined: Feb 23, 2012
    Posts: 130

    Wayne67vert
    Member

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  13. OK, folks, will see if we can finish this trip. After the falls, next stop was in Highlands for lunch, goofing off until I decided to call it a day. Stayed in this Motel. Then up early the next morning an headed east. Again. I did not get a lot of pictures as the shoulders were NARROW. Arrived in Concord early afternoon. Next few days were not HAMB friendly. Just a bunch of BUICKS. No hot rods. BCA Nationals, 2012 153.jpg BCA Nationals, 2012 153.jpg

    Maybe this on will come close.

    Ben






    BCA Nationals, 2012 033.jpg
     
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  14. On the way home, the old Buick detoured via Bradly, SC. It wanted to see where it had lived the first 58 years of it's life. BCA Nationals, 2012 195.jpg BCA Nationals, 2012 196.jpg BCA Nationals, 2012 194.jpg
    First pic is the shed where it slept after being put away in 1971.
    Next shows the farm house as well.
    Last. This guy is the one who sold it to me. He is the one that stood in the back, looking over grandmas shoulder. Took him for a ride.

    Thyat is the last picture from the road. Only one other small problem. The gas gauge sender gasket gave way. Had to be careful to not fill the tank.

    There have been other trips for a total of around 15,000 miles. And there will be others. A few changes, some of which would get the moderators foaming at the mouth if mentioned here. So I wont. The Engine has been upgraded. By one year. With some goodies added.

    Not as exciting as some road trips I have read on here, but there it is.

    Ben
     
    Last edited: Sep 8, 2018
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  15. I realize I'm biased, but having owned and driven a lot different vintage cars, including many Exner-era MoPars, I tend to agree with this "moose" character. ;)
     
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  16. Stogy
    Joined: Feb 10, 2007
    Posts: 26,345

    Stogy
    ALLIANCE MEMBER

    I like them all but @TTR your Hotrod is a real gem and it truly looks after You and your Lady in style...;)...I certainly understand your connection to it.
     
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  17. Thanks Stogy.
    I like (almost) all vintage cars, regardless of makes or models, but obviously prefer ones that are fully usable as intended and actually getting used (i.e. driven) in that fashion.
     
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  18. atch
    Joined: Sep 3, 2002
    Posts: 5,625

    atch
    Member

    This is a great thread so I'll bring it back to the top with an excerpt from another thread (note that some of this isn't actual "touring" but I'm not going to edit it out; also note that for some reason I didn't capitalize back then and I apologize for it):

    In the post referenced exwestracer said:
    1. Dude, that's a given... The view of the stars out the back window of a 68 Barracuda with the seats folded down is amazing...;)
    2. Click to expand...
    To which I responded:

    funny you should mention the back seat of a cuda...

    the following was from around '69 or '70ish:
    my first really quick car was a '64 plymouth with the 440/4sp drivetrain out of a '68 GTX in it. i bought it from my friend larry who had built it. he sold it to me when he found a baracuda. i don't remember if it was a 67 or 68, but it was a really good looking gold color with the quintsential bucket seats & console. but, as you all know, the home run that plymouth hit with those fastback cars was the fold down back seat that was pretty much the size of a twin bed.

    ok, back to the story. occasionally when larry wanted an e-ticket ride we'd trade cars for the evening. i picked up my e-ticket ride (his 'cuda) and headed to the sticks pretty soon after dark. sweet thang and i were enjoying each other's company in the folded down back seat when we thought we heard a tractor coming up the gravel road. we were going to disregard it and continue our rollicking, but it stopped right beside us and turned off the engine. of course, at that point we had to sit up to see what was going on. there sat my plymouth. larry had uncorked the headers and mounted the 9" slicks that i kept in the trunk and went street racing. seems that he was just about to launch when they saw the car with the cherry on top headed for them. as the "starting line" of that particular 2-lane road was right at the intersection of a gravel road larry just turned and headed off on said gravel road. cops got the dude he was lined up against but larry got away. as soon as he saw that he was clear he slowed down to drive back to town on back roads in 1st gear, as:

    1) he had no place and no tools to recap the headers
    2) he had no tires with him so he had to drive on the slicks

    anyway, back at the cuda, cutie and i climbed back into the front and we had a short gear-head bs session with larry. eventually larry headed back to town to return the plymouth to street trim and betty and i finished what we had started. wonder what ever happened to the little hottie. haven't seen her in 40 years.

    ok; in hamb friendly cars, the 1st trip to the salt ranks right up there. 8 of us in 4 vehicles went and none of us had ever been there before. that was the 50th in '97. i didn't hardly catch my breath the whole week. just had to (figuratively) keep pinching myself to see if it was real or a dream. being the 50th they had invited hot rodders to attend and during a break in the action they let us all line up and drive down the course. we never got over 60-70, but the feeling that we were "on the track" was a real thrill. most of us will never get to strap into a salt flats racer and make a real pass, so that's probably as good as it's going to get for me.

    i believe that it was that same salt trip that BenD & i were riding around the pits with HRLC. that was when big olds didn't have a top or back seat. ben & i sat on the package tray. denise saw gene winfield in his pit changing out flatheads in his whacked 26/27 T coupe salt racer and pulled right up and parked. they weren't going fast with the #1 motor so they were installing #2. gene's girlfriend (11/20/2018 edit: friend at least; maybe or maybe not "girlfriend") was sitting on the steps of his motor home all alone watching. as you know denise has never ever met a stranger. i can't remember the girlfriend's name and don't know if she and denise had ever met before, but instantly the two of them were sitting on the motor home steps chatting like they'd known each other all their lives. ben and i stand and the 4 of us gab for about 15 minutes, never bothering gene or talking to him (he was obviously VERY busy). gene quietly put down the tools he had in his hands and walked towards the motor home, said "excuse me" and went inside. about 2 minutes later out he comes, hands denise a photo album, and goes back to work on the race car without saying another word. we open up the album and, lo & behold, it's his personal photo album of all those famous cars he had built in his lifetime. not professional pix, but the ones he had taken himself. it was really hard to keep the drool off of the pages.

    eventually we all piled back into big olds and were about to drive away when kent fuller pulled up and stopped. he slowly walked around big olds and then quietly said "fadeaways... (long pause)... needs fadeaways" and walked over to chat with gene.

    around that same time period i had helped a friend (many of you know him) when he was restoring a 1948 V-8 60 miget racer. i also went with him to several out of state antique races to be his pit crew. one trip to belleville kansas (the high banks of belleville) i got the chance to drive the car around the "worlds fastest 1/2 mile" a few laps. very cool. i know i wasn't very fast but it sure felt like it.

    i went to the first 11 R&C Americruises. at the first one ('93) in springfield, mo, i had just finished the top chop on clarence. it had a windshield, but no door glass, front or back. all of you who were there know that it rained an hour and the sun shined an hour, then repeated over and over. i had brought along some plastic sheeting and a couple of boxes of binder clips. you know, the big paper clips. every time it started to rain i'd park and clip plastic over the tops of all 4 doors. then when it would stop raining i'd remove it. and repeat. and repeat. and repeat. but i was THERE! and i was driving my own hot rod! not the 1st big show i'd driven it to, but the first after the chop.

    earlier that week, on the way to the a'cruise, the late steve osborn (weeds on here) and i stopped at a macdonalds on the way to pete & jakes where we joined up with the other cruisers. it was pretty hot. no, it was really hot. steve was in his '29 rpu with a removeable cloth top. he asked me if i had room in clarence to put the top, and of course i did. a couple of bolts loose and the top was in the back of clarence. steve and his son jack were in the rpu and the wife/daugher (lois & sally) were in his other wild custom pickup that we all just called "the white truck", since unless you were there when it was being built there was just about no way that you could tell what it started out as. well, after we got to and left pete & jakes we headed down 71 towards joplin. i always kept one of those spray bottles from wally world in clarence. it wasn't as good as a vintage air unit, but a spray in the face from it was better than nothing. so here we are cruising somewhere not too far over the speed limit when steve/jack pull up in the left lane and ask if they can have a squirt from the spray bottle. sure, i says. 80 mph and i'm handing jack the bottle. pretty soon he hands it back. then, as they knew that wherever i was there would be a cooler of pepsi, they asked if i had any. sure i says. 80 mph and i'm handing jack a couple of pepsi's. they drop back and i lose them from the mirror. the sky is getting black waaaay up ahead.20 minutes or so later the first sprinkles hit the windshield (remember, the only glass in clarence). next overpass i come to i pull over under the bridge. lois & sally pull in behind me a minute or so later. i walk back to the white truck and ask lois if she knows whether steve wants the rpu top. "i don't know" she said, "but i'll ask". she queues up the CB (remember, this is pre-cell phone days) and asks if steve wants to put on the top. "hell, no, there's a car show to go to" we hear over the CB as steve and jack roll past us at (again) over the speed limit. lois nails the white truck and i run back to clarence. it takes me 10-15 miles driving at insane speeds to catch up with steve. somewhere i've got a 35mm pic of a small dot in the middle of a wall of water; steve and jack in the fenderless rpu throwing up twin roostertails 25 feet or so in the air.

    edit; I found the pic and took a cell phone pic of it:
    20181120_205003.jpg


    i know you folks are probably bored stiff reading this, but, like most of you, i could go on for about a hundred pages or two. these stories are just the first ones that popped into my head. perhaps i'll add some more in a few days. i wasn't going to spout any of my drivel at all until someone mentioned a baracuda. that just turned on a switch in my head and i couldn't help myself. i wish i could write like roger jeter or jay carnine 'cause they could take these memories and nail you to your seat reading them.

    the next thrill i hope to experience will be the actual commencement of construction on the T modified i've been collecting parts for. the one after that should be the first ride in it. that's assuming, of course, that i don't get any rushes in clarence first, which is always a possibility.

    here are 3 episodes from the americruise trip to snomass village, colorado. JD & mary in their big window, 429 '56 ford pu and me following somewhere westbound in the middle of kansas on I-70. we're chatting away on the CB's, as usual, when jd says "mike, i'm gonna slow down a bit, the truck's getting a vibration". about 10 seconds later it's "mike, i'm...." as i see white smoke billowing off of the front right corner of the '56 and the brake lights come on. they slow to a stop on the shoulder and i pull in behind. by the time i get up to their truck jd and mary are looking at the shredded front right tire with the most pitiful looks on their faces. i said something like "it's no big deal, let's just put your spare on." jd tells me that he doesn't cary a spare. "again, no big deal, my spare has the same bolt pattern. get your jack out while i get my spare out." to which jd replied "i don't carry a spare; why would i carry a jack?" long story short we get him back on the road with a new tire from the farm store at the next exit.

    second is not really a specific incident, but the overall rod run. up in those mountains there aren't any "locals" to crowd around the hot rods with their pissy gf/wives (who just don't get "it") moaning and complaining; no dogs peeing on hot rod tires; no crowds; nothing but hot rods & mountain roads. each day members of the local car club who were helping out led day trips in the mountains, taking us to places we would never have found on our own. somewhere i've got two mooneyes stickers and a styrofoam antenna ball that chico gave me one day when we stopped for lunch together. i hope to find the stickers by the time i finish the modified. i'd sure like to put them on it.

    thirdly is the picnic lunch that jd, mary & i had on top of independence pass on the way home. as you know that's over 12K feet high. we took food from missouri for the trip and there was a bag of potato chips that mary had bought in mo that hadn't been opened yet. we got them out up there and the bag was blown up just like a mylar birthday balloon. very unscientific proof that there just isn't as much atmospheric pressure up high than there is in the flatlands. anyway, there was snow up on top and mary & i had a snowball fight in our shorts, tee shirts, & sandals. jd just ate his sandwich and watched.
     

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    Last edited: Jan 2, 2019
  19. Thor1
    Joined: Jun 6, 2005
    Posts: 1,664

    Thor1
    ALLIANCE MEMBER

    Thanks for the stories Mike! I thought they were great and were a fun read for me.:):cool:
     
  20. b-bop
    Joined: May 19, 2008
    Posts: 987

    b-bop
    Member

    Great stories Mike, funny how no good story starts with, I was sitting in my lawnchair at a car show that I trailered my car to....... All the good stories are about being on the road with your buddies and having a great time laughing and making memories.
     
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  21. atch
    Joined: Sep 3, 2002
    Posts: 5,625

    atch
    Member

    Here's as short one (or two).

    In '97 I went to the York mini-nats. Bob Galbraith and I went to engineering school at Mizzou about a hunnert years ago and became good friends. We have kept in touch since. He lives about a hundred miles east of me which is, more-or-less, on the way to York. We had decided to go together and pull his antique tear-drop trailer. Many of you know that Bob owns New Port Engineering; the folks who make electric windshield wipers for our hot rods. He now has a huge trailer to take to shows with all his vender gear in it, but back then he used his teardrop trailer to go to shows in. FWIW this is the same trailer that Bob, his wife, and their two children took vacations all over the US in; pulling it behind their Model A sedan when the kids were small enough that all 4 could sleep in a teardrop trailer. I had a hitch ball installed in a flame-cut hole in the rear bumper and we just hooked up the trailer and went.

    Time out: the hole was flame cut by a Columbia, MO, machinist who many of you also know. I don't even remember now why I needed or wanted a trailer hitch on Clarence, but somewhere back in time (mid-70's iirc) I needed it. Richard told me to bring Clarence over and he'd put a hole in the bumper. At that time I didn't even own a hand-held drill, much less any more exotic tools. So Richard starts blasting a hole in the top of the bumper with a cutting torch; checking with the ball shaft occasionally. When he got done it almost looked like the hole had been drilled.

    Time in: so we pulled the teardrop with all of the New Port display and product in it. Bob's son Gavin, who was just a pup then was going with us also. Bob had a bucket seat out of some old car laying around his shop so we drilled 4 holes in the rear floor and bolted the seat in. Don't know if any of you have ever ridden in the back of a panel truck, but you can't see jack from there. Especially in a car bucket seat where your a$$ is only about 4 " off of the floor. The top of Gavin's head was not even as high as the bottom of any door window or the windshield. Poor Gavin rode all the way from Missouri to Pennsylvania and back in that seat. He never saw anything out the windows except sky.

    Just a couple of days before we were to leave I had an entirely new exhaust installed, with the pipes exiting the back right under the bumper. What we didn't realize was that the door gaskets on the rear doors were shot so we were sucking raw exhaust right in through the door gaps. We hadn't gone very far before Gavin was about sick. When we realized what was going on we propped the rear doors open about 4" so that the air being sucked in was predominately outside air and not pure exhaust. That worked pretty well until it got chilly and started raining. Note that there was no heater or defroster in Clarence. All was still well except that Bob and I had to continually wipe the inside of the windshield to keep the fog off of it. Because of the fumes we had to keep the doors propped open though. We were a bit chilled also. But so what; we could have been in a roadster. Couldn't complain after all.

    We stopped in Dayton, Ohio and spent the night with another friend. The next morning we went over to the Aircraft museum at Wright-Patterson AFB. I won't bore you with any of those details, but those of you who have been there know that it would be worth driving from Missouri to Ohio just to see that museum. Ok, I'll bore you with just one detail. They have a couple of US presidential airplanes there. For me those were the hit of the show. FDR's plane has a trap door in the floor with an elevator that extends down to the ground so he could get in and out of the plane. The next airplane in succession was the one DDE used and it was much larger and more comfortable. I've heard that they have more than those two now. But enough about air travel.

    We had reservations just outside of Washington DC for the two nights before the mini-nats set-up day. The hotel was at the northwest end of the commuter train line. We pulled in there at bedtime. The next morning the airport "limo" took us over to the train station and we rode the train down to the National Mall (I believe that this is what it's called). The three of us spent the day walking around going in and out of the Smithsonian buildings and monuments. I had never before been to DC, so I was just like the country bumpkin tourist in New York City; staring and looking up at the sights. The elevator in the Washington Monument was out of order so they closed the whole thing down. They will let you walk up the stairs if the elevator is working, but when it's not you just can't go up in it at all. I've been back twice since then and still haven't been inside the Washington Monument. The 2nd time I was there was when it was being renovated (late 90's???) and it was closed. The 3rd time was about 10 (+/-) years ago right after the earthquake caused it to be closed while they tuck-pointed and repaired it. Closed again. Maybe before I cash in I'll get to go up in that sucker. That evening we took the last train from downtown back to the end of the line, where the "limo" picked us up and returned us to the hotel.

    Next day we were up early and booked it up to York. We set up the New Port display and called it a day.

    The next day Gavin and I cruised the fairgrounds in Clarence while Bob was at work selling wipers. We stopped by the area where there were several vintage canned ham camping trailers set up. Several of these folks invited us into their trailers so we could see them. I had never before seen inside of one. I don't recall any of the names of the folks we talked with, but I'm thinking that some of them are on here. If any of you reading this were there camping let me say thank you for showing us around your campers. I was totally impressed and have wanted one ever since.

    The only other thing of note that happened on the fairgrounds was while Gavin and I were cruising. We turned around a sharp right hand corner and some little fella ran his RC car right under our front wheel. OOPS. Smashed that thing to bits. To that "little fella": if you're all grown up now and happen to be reading this I'm truly sorry for ruining your day.

    At that time I didn't know that Harley Davidson has a manufacturing facility in York. Had we known Gavin and I would probably have gone for a tour of it. I've toured the other two in the US (Milwaukee and Kansas City) and would like to tour the York one also.

    The last full day of the show Gavin and I drove out to Gettysburg and spent the day touring the battleground. I learned more about the Civil War that day than I had learned in all of my public schooling.

    For the most part the trip home was uneventful. The lone exception was travelling through Illinois. Back then they had a 55 mph speed limit for any vehicle pulling a trailer. I'm thinking that this was meant for semis, but apparently didn't exclude smaller trucks pulling smaller trailers. We were cruising along at something over 65 (the speed limit for everyone else) when an Illinois trooper pulled up alongside of us in the passing lane, looked over at me, and with his right hand flashed five five to me. I just nodded and slowed down. Right decent of him to not pull us over and give me a ticket. We were probably doing in excess of 70. I, of course, waited 'til he was out of sight in front of us before climbing back up to 65 (+/-).

    All in all a good trip and a lot of time for Bob and me to visit, which is something we don't get to do nearly enough. Even though we live a hundred miles apart we do still go to lunch together once a month.

    That's enough for now. I'll add something else one of these days. But at least I got this back to the top where someone else might see it and add his/her own experience(s).
     
    Last edited: Jan 2, 2019
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  22. atch
    Joined: Sep 3, 2002
    Posts: 5,625

    atch
    Member

    It's been two years now since the last post.

    Let's hear some more stories.
     
    TFoch, j hansen and Stogy like this.
  23. Roger Loupias
    Joined: Jun 24, 2021
    Posts: 159

    Roger Loupias

    You are living the life, certainly no moss growing under your feet or that rod. I'm sure you have now become the envy of many viewers here by now. Having a partner and sharing the adventures with that car is beyond words in my book. Enjoy every moment and thank you for the story. Life is short, so eat dessert first.
     
    b-bop and j hansen like this.

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