Sunday April 11, 2004:D DAY. Day one of our trip to Nashville.
Activities planned:
7:30am Mandatory drivers meeting
8:00am Depart
9:41am Rest area stop
11:41am Needles, CA. Lunch stop
2:49pm Seligman, AZ. Rest stop and fuel on Rt 66
4:25pm Flagstaff, AZ. Stop for the evening
As it happened:
6:35am: Easter Sunday. Going to get breakfast and head over to the staging area for the drivers meeting at 7:30am. There is a mandatory meeting every morning at 7:30. Getting itchy.
7:30am: Drivers meeting. Basically Sam laid out what we are going to do for the day. He made it clear that as the pace car he was going to drive the speed limit at all times. We could stay with him or drive at our own pace. He stressed that we are out to have fun. The guide is just that, a guide. We are not bound to do everything the guide says but we need to realize that any unwanted attention we gain by showing off will not only hurt the convoy but could get someone hurt. We are going to be on CB channel 3 for the trip. It is a little used channel. I am looking forward to using a CB again. Sam handed out tickets which he says are for a daily drawing to be held at each drivers meeting for prizes. We are to keep the tickets for the entire trip. This morning he gave away a 40th anniversary Monopoly set and other items. Cool. The meeting completed at 7:45. Gettin' ready to go! I have decided to stay as close to Sam on the trip for several reasons. One is if there are any last minute changes in the plan I will be ready. Another is we will not all be able to get on and off the interstate at the same time. I just like to stay "with the group". It is the way I am. The cars are now running and everyone is waiting for Sam to take off. I am fairly close to Sam so I should be able to get in close behind him.
7:50am: We're on our way. We left a little early because everyone was getting itchy. I am having a hard time containing myself.
8:57am: We are leaving I-15 and turning onto I-40 (the mother road!)
Rest Stop: Stopping at rest area about 40 miles onto I-40. I helped a fellow Mustanger with his car. The valve cover leaked and he had oil dripping onto his manifold. 5 minutes and he is ready to go. Got the first use of my new tools. I hope it is the last! For our troubles he gave each of us an engraved metal business card commemorating the MAA 40th anniversary drive. They were beautiful. Staging up and getting ready. Back on the road at 9:50am
Lunch Stop: We are stopping for gas and lunch at Needles, CA. While filling up Sam let out a huge groan. I thought he hurt himself. Turns out it was just his wallet that was in pain. He told me to look at the price I was paying for gas. $2.89 per gallon. I started to hurt. I later learned that at another station gas was over $3.00. What a rip. I cannot wait to get into New Mexico. From there east the fuel prices drop to about $1.61 a gallon. I never though I would say that price was good but in the light of what I just paid it seemed like a bargain. We stopped for lunch at KFC. Not much else to choose from but I love KFC. About 20 others stopped also. We had a good lunch.
Back on the road: Crossed over into Arizona. Another event I missed. I think my recordings will get better as I get more used to using this danged recorder thingy.
Seligman, AZ: Stopped for fuel and food. Typical tourist trap. Did see a Mustang gas station. Should have filled up there just because but I have my expenses laid out. Fuel on the credit card only. Still a nice place. We went over to check it out. Back on road.
Arrived in Flagstaff, AZ: Another event left to the back roads of my mind. We are all checked in and I am standing outside and people are still coming in. I spied a steak house and an Olive Garden across the Wal Mart parking lot. It was a bit of a walk but I wanted Olive Garden. I would check with Elin. As I was standing in the parking lot I spied Vegas SVT pull in. You cannot miss their cars. His was a red SVT Cobra vert and hers was a true blue stang with a patriotic theme. I went around the back side of the hotel to meet them. What nice folks. I went back to the front parking lot where I met Nikki. She asked me if she could take some shots with me cleaning my engine while she interviewed me. I thought great, I can kill 2 birds with one stone. I needed to clean my engine anyway and I could get another chance to be on the air. I was getting my autograph pen ready. We talked for about 45 minutes. She asked my about my car and why I chose the 1970 over other years. I told her because it was the only car available in Ely. I told her I loved the long low front end and how I thought the car looked sexy and all that. I really do think that I just felt weird saying it on tape. I told her that as it was reported in the Ely Times article it is the icon to American automotive testosterone. After the interview was completed Jo and I went to dinner. Jo decided the walk was not too far so we went to the Olive Garden. There we met up with Sam and Tony and some of the gang. It was a long waiting list to get seated and I thought we would never get to eat. Sam got the call for their table and I was able to sneak into his party. What a break! We were seated within 5 minutes. We had a great dinner. We laughed but mostly I listened to the stories of the previous Mustang runs and wished that I had been there. When supper was over, Sam surprised everyone by buying dinner. He said it was being paid for by MAA. I don't care, either way it was awfully nice of him. I vowed I would buy him dinner when I could. We talked for a while longer then we walked back to the hotel and prepared for the next day. Again, not much on the agenda. It was the following day where the fun and activities would begin .I double checked the car and made sure it was ready.
Monday April 12, 2004: Day 2
Activities planned:
7:30am Mandatory drivers meeting
8:00am Depart
10:41am New Mexico Set clocks ahead 1 hour
12:00pm Gallup Lunch
3:22pm Albuquerque Fuel/Snack stop
5:22pm Santa Rosa Stop for the evening
As it happened:
6:15am: Getting ready for the drivers meeting. Going to get fuel and something to eat. We decided to eat breakfast in the car so I got some snacks from the gas station
7:30am: Drivers meeting. Sam is talking on a miniature loudspeaker. I think he would be better off talking on his own. Didn't win anything in the daily drawing. Oh well. We're ready to go.
8:00am: Our day has officially begun. We are leaving out of the parking lot but are going to deviate a little from the guide. We have decided to go through town and drive on historic Rt. 66. This will add about 15 minutes to our day. You don't get chances like this every day. I wonder if the folks that live here and drive this road everyday realize what they have? Hmmmmmm. Even Elin is starting to get excited.
11:30am: We have crossed into New Mexico closing in on Gallup. Lots of Mustangs. Feels good. Just waiting for the next stop.
11:50am: Arriving in Gallup and looking for a place to eat. The excitement is building. I am already looking forward to the next drive! We are stopping at the Cracker Barrel for lunch and then we will fill up and get ready to go. We are eating with Tony Sousa (Mustang 2). I had a Crusted Broccoli Cheese Chicken Breast. Man, was that good. I am going to have to stop here again! We had a great visit with Tony and I look forward to working with him in the future on MAA runs. I told him I would be willing to do whatever is needed to help but my specialty is graphics. He told me to be ready. I just love this kind of stuff. We are gassed up and ready to go. The car is running like a top. I am so proud of my car. I have gotten alot of compliments. At first I thought everyone was just being nice and humoring me because I didn't have a Mach 1 or a Boss but it seems they genuinely like the car. It feels good to know people appreciate the hard work that goes into fixing up an older car.
1:20pm: We are back on the interstate. Beautiful scenery. Lot's of Red rock. We've been through her before many times but this time is different. I am having alot more fun than at any time previous.
Stop in Albuquerque for fuel and snacks. We had a small problem getting off the interstate. It seems the exit we were going to use was closed for construction. We ended up about 6 exits down at exit 167. This is why I am glad I stayed behind Sam.
4:15pm: Back on the road. Looking good. The turn on to the interstate was amazing. First you had to get on to the access road then immediately go to the far left and onto the interstate. I hope very one makes it.
6:00pm: Pulled into Santa Rosa. I am hearing a little problem with the engine. It sounds like the A/C clutch is going out. I will investigate. We are still picking up Mustangs. The place is packed with 'em. What a beautiful sight. Elin is beginning to get into it. I am so glad. It is much more fun when we are both involved .I guess the first mechanical problem has reared its ugly head. It sounded like the A/C fan clutch was going out so I started monitoring it. By tonight it was making a racket. An investigation has revealed it is not my clutch but instead the A/C Idler pulley. Since the A/C does not work I will disconnect the belt. It is off for now and the car is running smooth again. We met some folks from Washington State (the Peters') who came to me because I am from Ely. WOW! I didn't think anyone knew where Ely was much less wanted to seek us out. We ended up going to Pizza Hut for dinner. We originally went to a local restaurant but it was closed so we ended up at Pizza Hut where we met some nice folks from Phoenix. Turns out one of the guys (Kevin Baucom) got a new handle while on the trip. Seems his car has a penchant for hitting birds so he was known as the bird man on the CB. Had a great dinner and turned in for the night. The guide read we were going to have a parade and reception tomorrow in Mustang, OK. so there would no longer be quiet evenings. This suits me just fine. The more people I meet the better. What a rush. I am still having trouble finding the words to express how I am feeling right now. Well, back to the basics. We are doing laundry. You can only pack so many clothes in a Mustang and with all the activities planned in the coming days it seemed like a good time to do the laundry. I think Elin is really happy now. She loves doing laundry. (ha ha). Well time to go beddie bye. Talk to you again in the morning.
|
