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.

Vegginator II -- North on the coast

Wednesday morning, Pawley's Island, SC

Yesterday morning we left Columbus and headed east to Savannah, after a quick bit of car maintenance. Monday evening when I shut off the veg, it seemed like the car ran much better on diesel, and I was concerned that the filter on the veg system neededd changing. So, back to the autoparts store for a filter wrench, and I made the change in their parking lot. It got a bit messy, but we finished up and were on our way.

We were in Savannah for lunch. It's a beautiful city -- lots of green, with parkways down the avenues and small parks at every other intersection. After lunch we strolled around for a while having a "who's the bigger tourist with a camera" competition.

Then we headed north along the coast on Highway 17. The route gave us a good look at coastal South Carolina, running in and out of resort areas and sections that look like they haven't changed much in 50 years. We made a scenic stop at a boat landing on the Edisto River, stopped for ice cream, and stopped to buy a sawgrass basket for Lynn.

Then on to Charleston. We had planned to stop there, but by the time we arrived the traffic was heavy and we were hot and all we could think about was getting out of town, so we stayed on 17 north. It took us over one of the most beatiful cable suspension bridges I've ever seen.

On to Pawley's Island.

Vegginator II -- Mandy has a sense of humor

"Mandy" is our nickname for Kent's new GPS, ourchased what seems like a long long time ago. One of Mandy's features that can be especially handy is "find me a restaurant."

After leaving Quon to the vaguaries of Alabama troopers and cars that burn oil, Rachel and I continued north. We had a memorable stop in Montgomery, which seemed to have been the site of a recent neutron bomb attack. Seriously, the place was deserted. We wandered around the eerily quiet but otherwise lovely city for a while, and were lucky to stumble onto the Civil Rights Memorial. Its centerpiece was a beatiful fountain with a quote from MLK, and a history of some key dates in the Civil Rights movement, including the Selma march,Rosa Parks, Johnson's bill,and King's assassination. Coming on the heels of Ward 9, the crash, and Quon's quandry, it was a soothing and contemplative stop. Later we'll post some pictures...

Our next stop was Tuskegee, where we visited the memorial to the Tuskegee Airmen. Sadly, all of the memorial is inside a closed building -- we had hoped for at least one plane to photograph for Kent, but nada. Then we drove by Tuskegee University, andtook a look at the Booker T. Washington Monument. By now, it's getting dark and we're getting hungry, so we turned to Mandy to find a restaurant.

Now, Mandy is really just about location, but I think she led us into the woods on purpose. We picked a place that had an interesting, non-chain food name, and headed off into the Alabama night. It's always a hoot when Mandy says "turn here" and the "here" looks like a long driveway, but we're game enough,so we give it a whirl. It all led us, 8 miles later in the wrong direction, to a very very very dark corner on the far edge of nowhere, empty except for an unlit sign hinting that the restaurant was somewhere back in the woods at the end of an unlit driveway and obviously, closed. Sigh. Way to go, Mandy.

Making this long story short, we drove off into the night and settled for Micky D's, which our close friends and family will know is a very rare thing for us. And last night, we were reminded why. yech.

After the feast we headed off to Columbus, Alabama, which of course turned out to be merely 30 minutes away and stuffed full of interesting places to eat. But not for us. We got a room and called it a day.

And that's what I'm going to do now. There's lots to tell about today's journey, and I promise to catch up next time I'm able to get a working internet connection on Adam's beater laptop.

Vegginator II -- The Journey North Day 1

Rachel and I began our trip with a drive east along the Gulf coast to Biloxi, Mississippi. Along the way the evidence of Katrina's damage continued -- entire blocks, malls, and industrial building empty and boarded up. But unlike the 9th Ward in NOLA, the rebuilding along the coast seems to be progressing. The tone was set by a sign on the way to the East Bay Bridge -- "Halleluyah! The Bridge is open!" It's a pretty nice bridge, too. But, the bridge in Biloxi is still closed, so we took our cue and headed north.

Later that day, on I65 in Alabama, we spotted someone by a car on the shoulder waving fairly desperately for help. We pulled over and met Quon, who asked us if we had any oil (of course, we had a trunkfull, but he needed motor oil, not vegetable oil). He said his red light had come on, with acoompanying smoke and overheating (oops). I was at first reluctant to get too involved, but we couldn't strand him. The state troopers were all otherwise engaged with a massive speed trap one exit south, and couldn't be counted on. So we offered to take him to the next exit, hoping that he'd connect with a tow truck to get out of there.

At the service station, he practically begged us to give him a ride back, and since we had no real itinerary, we figured we could spare the time. He first came out with one container of oil, so I sent him back in for 2 more (red light, remember?). We piled back in the Vegginator and headed south. Quon wanted to get out across from his car and walk (run?) across the highway to it, but I kept moving, to avoid the carnage. At the next exit, I stopped to interrupt the troopers and let them know what was up -- maybe they could take a break from ruining people's days and do a little serving with all that protecting. They said sure thing, and off we went north to get Quon back to his car.

A bit south of the car, still, we weresurprised by a HUGE cloud of dust ahead, followed by lots of brakelights and swerving. Turns out we were about 50 yards short of witnessing not one but two SUVs in a joint rollover. I'm only flip about it because everyone got out okay, but it was a horrific crash -- clothing and stuff strewn all over the highway, and both cars totalled, I'm sure. They were on their sides about 15 yards apart in the median strip, with both roofs completely smashed in.

Quon, meantime, is worried that it was his car, but we reassurred him. After checking that everyone was out of the SUVs safely, we continued on up the road. (editorial comment -- I'll assume that the occupants are thankful that they were in SUVs and could survive the rollover. duh.)

Back at Quon's car we have to fight him off as he tries to throw a $20 bill in the back seat. I even showed him the trunk full of veg to prove that we were driving for free. I think it shocked him enough to calm him down. We took a picture shook hands and headed on our way. I hope he made it. Quon, by the way, is from Viet Nam, and lives in Alanta. He's been here 18 years, and his last car never burned any oil, so he's not in the habit of checking.

I could do this road trip for another month, just to keep meeting these people. What a treat.

Vegginator II -- The Journey North Begins

Pawley's Island, South Carolina:

Rachel an I are on the way north, the long way around. I'll revisit the past few days to get you caught up on our adventures.

Rachel arrived in New Orleans on Sunday and toured around the French Quarter and the riverfront while awaiting our arrival. Adam has already told you some about our visit with Elvia, our source for veg in NOLA. I'll only add by saying that this was a very generous and interesting guy -- meeting him was certainly one of the highligts of our trip.

Sunday night the Vegginator crew, complete with replacement driver Rachel, went out for a celebbratory dinner in the French Quarter (yum) followed by a stroll up and down Bourbon St. The already raucus street scene was enhanced by running nto fellolw BABE celebrants every block or so. Everyone's mood fit well with the party atmosphere in the street.

Monday morning Adam left early so he could waste the day in the NOLA airport trying to get back to Boston. Meanwhile, Kent joined me and Rachel for breakfast in the hotel, then the three of us drove off for a tour of the city. The words that kept running through my head throughout the drive was "criminals in the White House." The extent of the damage from Katrina was really overwhelming. Not block by block, but mile by mile of crumbling homes, piles of debris, and FEMA trailers. There's something very wrong here.

We dropped Kent back at the hotel late morning and got to say more goodbyes to more BABEites. Then, on the road....

Day Four: Off the Grid in New Orleans

Sorry to be late posting an update, but I've spent all day today trying to get back to Boston on US Air. Would have been easier in the Vegginator.

Our challenge on Sunday was to take pictures of as many state and provincial license plates as possible. The route was all interstate today, and we wanted to get to New Orleans in time to pick up our veggie oil resupply and get to the hotel to log our points in by 7:30 PM and catch the awards cermony at 8 PM.

The start had all of the beater BABE cars bombing down the interstate, passing each other and snapping license plates. Good fun. We ended up bagging 37 states and provinces, with our best hauls coming from U-Haul rental sites and truck stops. Dept. of Homeland Security might have raised an eyebrow or two, as we were slowly driving around the trucks snapping pictures.

It was a sobering ride into New Orleans on I-10, seeing the abandoned apartment complexes and houses on the side of the road. Kent and Richard had more of a chance to look around New Orleans, but just from the little bit I saw it hit hard. It's all so very sad.

The day's notable feature, and a big overall trip highlight, was visiting a fellow in New Orleans with a tremendous spirit, excellent handyman skills, a generous heart and 2.2 acres of property to play with. He lives close to the city center, and even without flooding he experienced $50,000 of damage during Katrina. There is no obvious evidence of the hurricane at his place now, nearly two years on.

Mandy the GPS found his compound with less than a gallon of veg to spare. We had done the trip on about 75 gallons of veg. and 1/2 a tank of diesel (used mostly for getting the engine warm at the beginning of the day, and shuttling to and fro the auto parts store during our Day 1 & 2 repairs).

Our kind friend was puttering in the backyard when we arrived, gave us a warm welcome and started showing us his set-up. We'll get some pictures up soon, but highlights of the tour included his massive truck and trailer with an old propane tank in the back for free restaurant veg. oil pickup, his shed with clever filtering and dewatering systems (including parts of an old air conditioner and a hot water tank), and the piping back to the four 250-gallon storage tanks of clean veg. He gave us about 60 gallons of filtered fuel and wouldn't let us pay a dime for it -- he enjoys the travellers that stop by with their wacky set-ups, and generously offers to refuel.

His goal is to go off the grid completely. He's getting a sound-proofed diesel electric generator up and running, and he's bought a bio-diesel set up. This will allow for conversion from veg. oil to a fuel that will go directly into a diesel tank, with no need for pre-warming. His wife's VW will be the first recipient of the bio-diesel.

The Vegginator was a real novelty on the rally and on the road, but I think we'll look back in a few years and realize that what we experienced on this trip was part of the quaint start of an energy revolution. Recycled, renewable non-fossil fuels will become commonplace, and these pioneering efforts to run on vegetable oil will be like the initial experiments with automobiles over a 100 years ago. In fact, flying home today I read in the paper about a company that has contracted with something like 400 restaurant chains to collect waste vegetable oil for a biodiesel plant planned for the NY/NJ area. Pretty soon, we will go from restaurants having to pay to have their waste oil taken away to getting paid to get rid of it. Going beyond recycling to mass production will raise its own thorny problems in terms of the food supply and risk of deforestation. Recycling waste veggie oil is an easy first step.

I hope everyone reading this will one day be able to say, "believe it or not, there was a time when running a car on something other than fossil fuels was remarkable."

After tasting an orange from the orchard it was time to give thanks, say our goodbyes and head to the French Quarter. We decided to switch to diesel as it was a long stop and the new veggie oil was coming in cold. We were so thrilled by our visit that we forgot to switch off the return back to the veggie tank in time, and for the first time we had some overflow in the trunk. We noticed a pungent oil smell, and thought it was because the new oil was from a different source. Actually, it was sloshing around in the trunk. Gross.

We pulled into the festive Quarter and met up with Richard's daughter Rachel, who is going to travel with him in the Vegginator back to Boston (road trip!!!), as she has a bit of time before her summer job starts up in Acadia National Park. I logged in our points before the deadline, while Rich and Kent cleaned up the trunk. The BABE cars made quite a stir, as the stretch limo pulled up with the BABE-ites in full prom regalia. Martini motored in with the Union Jack flying and the festivities began.

The first award was for the most-beat car, which went to the '71 VW Bus driven by team #47. Among their many colorful moments was the Day Four detachment of the camper top from the bus, with the top almost flying off of the bus at speed. They were proud of their "victory," and want to bring an even older VW bus next year.

We haven't seen the full standings, but I sadly must report that the Greasers were not on the podium at the end. The winning teams had hundreds of more points (thousands?) than we did, some how. Today the big points winners drove around the parking lot at the airport and bagged a bunch of obscure plates, totalling as many as 45+ state license plates. The awards ceremony was good fun, and we then broke for dinner and hanging out in the Quarter.

There was a great spirit on the rally, and I want to give a big THANK YOU to my teammates for all of their work both getting us ready and throughout the trip. Martini said, "it's funny, you grow up with your best mates, you'd do anything for them, they're like brothers, but after a few days in a car with them you want to wring their necks." And yes, the Greasers had one or two tense moments, but overall I thought we did great for three sweaty guys with no air conditioning, bombing through the mountains and the swamps with a pile of vegetable oil in tow.
Tip 'o the hat to my fellow Greasers -- I very much enjoyed the ride and thanks for taking me along. I can only imagine what you are going to come up with next year...

Late night Gadsden

Getting to Alabama today gave us a bonus hour, and it';s a good thing, because it's 1 am local time and I'm still up. I just finished showing off the Vegginator's fuel system to the four Irish guys. They lost their car (a stretch Caddy) on the second day out -- the center universal joint gave way, and they had to desert it on the Blue Ridge Parkway. But they're still partying along with the rest of the gang, in a much more comfortable rental car. The social part of the rally has proven to be a real bonus -- everyone is rooting for each other, and the routine of applause for every arriving car is a treat, whether we're doing the clapping or being welcomed as a late arrival, as we were last night. I was glad tonight that Adam reminded us about making a stop at the local convenience store so we could bring along a case of Corona to share.

The Vegginator performed really well today. It is remarkably smooth on the highway. On the steep backroads it takes a bit more patience, but it does get going. I actually thought it handled really well through the 300+ curves on the dragon. It's a bit loose, but very predictable and stable within its limits.

Overall the trip has been very comfortable, and except for the emergency repairs yesterday, very relaxed. Even that was fun -- Kent and I had a good time lying on the pavement under the car trying to sort out how to patch together three ill-fitting repair kits to do the job of one. We even managed to fit the floor ramps we purchased into the car when we left -- it just took a little time and some Damariscotta style car packing, and I think we had more room in the back seat than without them.

One more day to go. I've been in touch with my veggie oil contact in New Orleans. Timing may be a bit difficult, as I don't know how early we'll make it there tomorrow, but I'm optimistic that Rachel and I will have 50+ gallons of veg to start our trip north.

Day Three: Cruisin' to Gadsden, Alabama

Saturday: Another beautiful day in the mountains, this time much more relaxed as we had no mechanical difficulties and could get off at 9 AM with the other BABE beater cars. Poor entry #13 had to be taken to the crusher, and that team showed up last night in a rented PT Cruiser. Also a pink car, but not the same. Very sad.

Early on I was driving, and Mandy the GPS took the Vegginator on a steep and curvy gravel road that we had no business attempting. It required a running start to get up the first hill, and we had to make sure not to lose speed around the curves as the steepness was too much for the Vegginator from a dead stop. Very exciting, and luckily no cars coming in the other direction around the curves. We were very pleased to get up and over the moutain and back on pavement.

Today's challenge was to find the oldest car along the route that still had four wheels on it. We were having no luck until we hit the jackpot in Smokey Mountain National Park: a Ford Model A Club heading in the opposite direction. We did a 180 and about 10 miles later they happened to pull over to have lunch. The enthusiasts were very friendly and even offered to let us take one of their beatifully restored cars for a test drive. Here is our entry, a Model A from 1928, the first year of production.

After lunch of blackened local trout and catfish we were off for Deals Gap, a famously dangerous 11-mile stretch in the mountains with about 350 hairpin turns going up, down and around. A favorite of motorcyclists, we were warned not to cross the yellow strip ever or leave any oil on the street that could cause skidding.

Here's a picture of the Tree of Shame, with many broken pieces of motorcycle attached:

The scene when we arrived at "the tail of the dragon" was memorable, with hundreds of bikers hanging around along with participants in a Dodge Viper rally. The sports bikes go roaring off from the start, and apparently there have been many unfortunate Darwin Award winners created at this site. Richard really wanted to test the Vegginator in Deals Gap, and after affixing the requisite bumper sticker we were off. He really put the Veg through its paces, showing off his excellent driving skills honed in his Mini. Richard's judgement: "well, we could have done it faster in a Mini, but this was so much better than that piece of %$#!@%$ van that Joe's driving."

We were so relaxed today we had time for a detour or two, so of course Kent took us to an airport. Specifically the airport in Athens, Tennessee that was holding the annual Swift plane fly-in. Kent is a club member and we got to meet the #1 flying ace of the Swift Magic Aerobatic Team. As we arrived the Ace took off with smoke coming out of the back and did a nifty barrel roll.

Here's the Ace and one of the planes.

When we pulled behind the Holiday Inn Express we were met with the sweet sound and poisonous smoke of the metal roof being sheard off of one of the cars. Ah, another night in BABEland! Richard is outside enjoying the pleasant evening and sharing war stories with the other rally goers.

Tomorrow, on to New Orleans. First stop when we arrive: Elmira, who has kindly offered to provide us with 50 gallons of veg oil for Richard's trip back to Cambridge.

Day 2: Long and Triumphant

We started out at 7:30 AM at the Harrisonburg, VA Autozone and ended at 11:00 PM, 381 miles later, in the Best Western Asheville, NC lobby singing "Alison" in our Elvis (Costello) costumes to the BABE Marshalls. We received full marks from the British judges and a hearty round of applause from the crowd. Unfortunately, "Alison" is now permanently imprinted into our cortexes after practicing about 300 times in the car on the Blue Ridge Highway.

The gathering in the parking lot of about 50 Elvises in various states of glory and decline was entertaining. Another perfect weather day to have a look at Vegas Elvis, Young Elvis, Elvis with a walker, etc. The crowds only regret was that there was no dead Elvis, complete with commode, fried banana and peanut butter.

Kent and Richard were car jock heros today, somehow engineering a working boot to hold the grease on our left c.v. axle joint. Of course Autozone didn't have the boot, so the boys manufactured something that worked using three other boots and lots of glue. We bought bunches of little grease packets, two wheel lifts and borrowed parts from this awesome Autozone hero, Jennie. She nailed the trip: "So the carpenter (Kent) wants everything perfect, the project manager (Richard) wants to control everything and get it done, and this guy (Adam) just wants to hang out in the back and get going."

The challenge for Day 2 was to convince 10 separate groups of individuals to willingly let us have their pictures taken with us in our Elvis (Costello) garb. Here we are with Robin and her super-friendly coworkers and clients at the Hollywood Restarant and Bakery in VA (HIGHLY recommended), and the entourage of Amanda -- who was gearing up for her pre-wedding lingerie party (yes, Richard asked to be invited). Extra points for 10 people in the picture.

We'll post more pictures when we can get the pixel size down later, including Joyce at the Country Cottage, some bulls we considered consenting individuals (they didn't leave when we asked them if it was OK to take their picture), the bikers who feared we would hit them over the heads and steal their kidneys, and some others met along the way. Our only real bust was the salon next to the tattoo parlor. No pictures boys!

The car ran smooth as silk today, burnin' the veg over the Blue Ridge Mountains.

8:15 AM. Time for a quick cup o' joe and onward to Bama at 9:00!