Numbers

First, if you want to see more pictures of the trip, check out my albums at http://picasaweb.google.com/rfinprc

The entire trip was 3,785 miles.
From Cambridge to New Orleans was 1,835 miles.
The longest day was Ocracoke to Cambridge, 755 miles.
Along the way we used 2 tanks of diesel and approximately 137 gallons of vegetable oil.
On the day 4 challenge we found and photographed license plates from 35 states and 2 provinces. The winning team went to Birmingham Airport and found 48.
On the day 3 challenge the oldest car we found was a 1928 Model A. The winning team found a 1911 Model T.

We repaired one CV Boot, and ignored one diesel leak. We purchased a set of ramps and a Tom-Tom 1 GPS, lovingly nicknamed Mandy. Mandy's standard admonition when we went off-course was "As soon as possible, turn around." Our standard reply was "Shut up, Mandy."

No punches were thrown, no parent-child battles occurred, and my friends let me drive the Tail of the Dragon through Deals Gap. For that, but especially for their good spirits and fine company, I am grateful. I'm ready to go again.

As always, I'm especially proud of "Road-trippin' Rachel." She's a competant young woman, and puts together a helluva good collection of road trip miusic, even if it is a bit loud. I'll travel anywhere with her. But I think it's young Adam's turn next.

And thanks to Bill and Elvia for the grease, Robert for the logistics support and lunch, and Quon, Don, and all the others for the encounters.

Lastly, every time I called home (and that was often) Lynn had encouraging words and was ready to listen to stories and cheer us on. When I asked her what she thought about detouring to the Outer Banks, she said "Go for it. This is an adventure." She's the reason I drove 755 miles to get home yesterday.

That's it. I'm going for a drive....

Home

Like I said, it's a day's drive if you're willing to drive 755 miles.

After the Outer Banks we headed north past Virginia Beach and over the Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel. That was pretty much the hightlight of the affternoon, unless you count dinner at a rest area on the Jersey Turnpike.

whoop-dee-doo
But Mandy says there's still 317 miles to go...

After Jersey we got to battle the other Kamikazes on the Cross Bronx, skirt a thunderstorm, use up the last of our veggie oil, and wonder how accurate the gauge was on the diesel tank. We were home at 12:30 am.




We'll empty the back seat later...

Along the Outer Banks

Rachel was right. Our trip along the Outer Banks was well worth the detour, and after all, it is just a days drive from Ocracoke to Cambridge (if you're willing to drive 755 miles).

After a pleasant breakfast (bagels & lox -- must be travelling north) we headed up the coast. Ocracoke is ferries on both sides, so we were soon on another boat for a 35 minute crossing to Hatteras. Most of what we saw on the southern end of this day was either completely undeveloped (road, dunes, and beach) or pretty dense but nice towns, with a reasonable amount of tourist services.

The further north we travelled, however, the more touristy it got, until we reached Kill Devil Hills, just north of Kitty Hawk and the Wright Brothers Historical Site (admission $7 - no thanks) and we had to get out of there. It was that or settle in for a game of miniature golf or a drive on some go-karts (both enjoyable, right place right time, but not this trip).

Along the way we even managed to get in a swim (replay the "let's go to the Outer Banks conversation and substitute "stop for a swim" for "drive to the Outer Banks" and you'll get the idea. But, she was right again, the water was warm, and I only wore my soggy bathing suit until somewhere mid-Delaware.

Meet Don

I've said before that one of the highlights of the trip has been the people we've met, both on and off the BABE rally. Waiting for the ferry we snagged another (or maybe he snagged us). This older guy started asking questions about the car and the veggie system, and that led to all kinds of car talk (speaking of Car Talk, one of the rally cars was a '64 Dodge Dart from Cambridge, and he had Ray of Click and Clack, the famous Dart fan, check it out before the trip).

So, back to Don -- he told me that he was on the way to Greenwich CT for a big car show -- one day on sports cars, and one day of classics. He seemed to know an extraordinary amount about cars, and said things like "back in 1956 my brother and I picked up a Morgan in Europe and drove around for 5 months," but he was driving a Buick Roadmaster. When I finally asked him what his connnection was with the Greenwich show, he told me he's the Grand Marshall. Turns out Don is founder and Editor Emeritus of Car Collector Magazine. And I've got an autographed copy here to prove it.

With Don at the ferry line

Ocracoke

A few people have asked me what Rachel and I talked about in the car. On the morning of May 30, the conversation was something like

"C'mon Dad, let's go to the Outer Banks, It will be really cool."
"I don't know, Rachel. I'm really ready to get back home by Thursday night, and that's a long way around."
"Yeah, but it will be fun, and we can go to the beach."
"I know, but there's the ferry reservations to worry about, and I don't want to get out there and find out there's nowhere to stay."
"Well, we can call Mom and ask her to check it online for us and get the phone number."
"Yeah, but it's an awfully long way around..."

Of course, cooler heads prevailed, and we went to the Outer Banks. We were able to check on the ferry and the hotel before we got to the end of the road. Amazingly, the 23 mile ferry crossing cost only $15. Martha's Vineyard and Nantucket take note. We also confirmed that rooms were to be had for mainland rates in Ocracoke before heading over.

Ocracoke was the highlight of the trip. Really pretty and very laid-back -- kind of like a miniature Martha's Vineyard pre-Clintons. We stayed in a place right on the harbor and walked up a ways to a dockside open-air restaurant for some delicious crabcake sandwiches for dinner. After dinner we did the beach thing and went to hang out at a local bar (think Jummy Buffet) shooting darts and playing some game with a ring on a string and a hook on the wall.

Rachel even found a listing for a bagel & coffee place for our morning breakfast. Thumbs up for Ocracoke. And best of all, it's only a days drive from Cambridge.

The view from our room at the Inn...

Pawley's Island -- The Old Homestead

A few lifetimes ago I was a good ole boy wannabee in Pawley's Island, SC. I'd do stuff like eat boiled peanuts, volunteer at the local fire department (I was a Captain), and go crabbing in the marsh. Work consisted of following woodpeckers, trapping feral hogs, and banding songbirds. All of this is true.

So I was looking forward to showing Rachel around the place, beginning with dinner Tuesday night at Nance's Restaurant.
When I lived there in the 70's this place was considerably more rustic. We'd generally only go there during oyster season (any month with an "r" in the name) and scarf down loads of beer-roasted oysters.

Well, like all of the rest of the Pawley's area, Nance's is much developed since then. Surprise! It's been 30 years. But that didn't stop us, and we had 2 enormous seafood plates (1 broiled 1 fried) and left happy. I even tried to connect for some waste veggie oil (after seeing Rachel's fried fish dinner) but they had all there's in a bulk container, and I wasn't prepared to deal with that.

During the visit to Pawley's we also checked out the Midway Fire Department. When I was there it was a 2-bay cinderblock building on the main road with 2 trucks that were small enough for amateurs to drive. Not anymore.

The main stop on the visit was the Belle Baruch Forest Science Institute, located at Hobcaw Barony just north of the Waccamaw River. That's where I was employed as a Forest Technician doing wildlife research from 1976-79. Unfortunately, the only tour for the day was full, and I guess being there as a lowling 30 years ago didn't hold enough sway for a private tour. But we did watch the video in the visitors center, and I do plan to get back for a real visit someday.

A word about fuel

On the way north from Savannah we stopped to reload the veg tank. We also decided it was time to get more diesel, as we were down to a bit less than 1/2 tank after leaving Cambridge. After all, it had been almost 2700 miles already. Also, inspired by Quon, we checked the oil.

The next morning, when we were getting ready to leave the hotel in Pawley's Island, we spotted a considerable puddle of something under the rear of the car. I cou;dn't quite make out what it was, but we made a quick stop at a local repair shop, and the guy told us it was diesel. At this point the tank was still full, so we planned to spend the better part of the day running diesel to empty it some, in hopes that it was pssobly an overfill vent or something. This turned out not to be th case, as the nearly empty tank is still leaking in my driveway. Kent and I will get under the car later today (before I wash my mechanics outfit).

Before getting on the ferry to Ocracoke later in the day I tried putting it up on ramps under a handy shade tree, but the leak was well out of sight. Our biggest concern was getting found out before getting on the ferry...


We were starting to feel like a private rolling toxic waste dump. But then again, the warning posted on the boat said nothing about diesel fuel, and didn't seem to imply veggie oil, so away we went.