Let's share Travels and Drives.

[Lake X Kid]

I bought my Blue Plymouth Horizon, from a guy that lived about one mile from me. He took good care of the vehicle, and showed me all the service records.

Later, I decide to go on a One-Week drive vacation. So with my 4 speed manual and 4 cylinders, I am leaving California.

First stop Yellowstone National Park.
Then, it’s off to the Oshkosh Fly-in airshow.
I stop in Tennessee to see my parents.
Then, head to Miami to visit my cousins.
And then, the long, long drive through Texas to California.

This trip was circa 1980, when I was younger and more energetic. And driving solo without any female, I did not have to stop to eat at restaurants. In the morning, I would go to the local supermarket and buy some bagels, trial mix, and ½ gallon of orange juice. And I could travel all day long. And that is how I did this trip on a One Week vacation time from work.

Today, being older with automatic transmissions, you would have to pay me greatly, for me to travel that distance in one week. (Today after two hours of driving, I do not mind stopping). And after that road trip, putting that many miles on my personal car, I decided car rentals was my future.



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[Forkin' Crazy]

Drove from Lake Havasu to Shreveport, LA in one hitch in a Jaguar. That was a LONG trip.

Did the same from here to Sebastian, FL. I was in my dually pulling a boat. 6 speed stick and a Cummins 24 valve. I think that was a bit over 900 miles one way.

And traveling by yourself, if you have to go, just pull over at a secluded exit and let her rip. I would rather do that than some nasty gas station or truck stop.

[Lake X Kid]

Drove from Lake Havasu to Shreveport, LA in one hitch but in a Jag. That was a LONG trip.

Did the same from here to Sebastian, FL. I was in my dually pulling a boat. 6 speed stick and a Cummins 24 valve. I think that was a bit over 900 miles one way.

And traveling by yourself, if you have to go, just pull over at a secluded exit and let her rip. I would rather do that than some nasty gas station or truck stop.

Many times I have pulled over, and drained myself next to a rural road or behind a tree.

And onetime, I did it with my girlfriend (at the time) and with her young son in the back seat. They thought I was pretty daring considering it was within city limits — but was at night, and I did it discreetly.

[Forkin' Crazy]

Many times I have pulled over, and drained myself next to a rural road or behind a tree.

And onetime, I did it with my girlfriend (at the time) and with her young son in the back seat. They thought I was pretty daring considering it was within city limits — but was at night, and I did it discreetly.

That is one thing I liked about my 4 door, or even extended cab with rear doors that open, it makes your own private stall!!! :D

[Lake X Kid]

It’s circa mid-1980s. I just finished doing about 7-8 hours of pickups & local deliveries in LA & Orange county. I come into the office, and the Dispatcher says he wants me to make an 8 am delivery to the Bay Area (San Francisco & Oakland area). That means getting off work around 4 in the afternoon, going home and trying to get a few hours of sleep. And then get back to the yard, and motor up toward the Bay around 11 pm that night.

I told the dispatcher, I was not going to fudge my driver’s log book. If the Highway Patrol looks at my log, I will tell them I was told to make the delivery. Semi drivers, are supposed to have so many hours of sleep per 24 hours. (8 am that day to 8 am the next day, was probably 4 to 5 hours sleep for me in that time period).
My tractor was a Mack without a sleeper and a Jake-Brake. It was three axles, but was for local drives not cross country. Grapevine summit here I come.

Northbound on I5, after midnight with a 70,000 to 80,000-pound rig. I start descending down the Grapevine. My first time down the grade with a loaded 40-foot tanker. (In the video at 3-minute timestamp, you see the flashing warning signs for tractor-trailer rigs – max speed 35 miles per hour northbound). In California commercial trucks with three or more axles can only drive on the two right lanes (of the highways/freeways/interstate roads). I am going to Break Two of those traffic restrictions.

Its dark and the yellow signs are flashing brightly – 35 mph. The Jake Brake on semi tractors slows down the rig, via engine braking with partial exhaust-valve openings in the diesel engine. My Mack Doesn’t Have a Jake-Brake engine system.

With little sleep and tired, I now become wide-eyed and alert. I Cannot lose (burn-up) my brakes. In one lane change to the left, I am in the Third lane (one infraction) and I am now traveling over 35 mph (second infraction). If I remember correctly I was doing 55 – 60 mph down that grade, at car speeds. Having since traveled that Grapevine grade in my cars, I came to realize in a car you don’t realize the descent angle.

When you are sitting 6 feet or higher above the road in a semi-truck, with a heavy loaded trailer behind you. You then realize the magnitude of that 5 mile drop. And thankfully at the Grapevine’s northbound drop, the bottom has a long unwinding stretch, were I could get off the red-hot brakes and coast.

I may be wrong, but to this day, I think I avoided losing my brakes. Lord, I do not want to go into the run-off ramp. If I tried to stay in-line with the other 25-35 mph trucks, I think my brake linings would have seared or the rotors would have glowed like a torch.



https://youtu.be/pvUj2M-wRHQ

[Forkin' Crazy]

Man, I do not know mountains. I do know you keep it in a low gear.

And a Mack. I ran an R600 of 1970 vintage and grossed 90K most of the time pulling a 43' Timpte grain wagon. It was rough when I got it, but ended up pretty nice in the end. I put in AC, power steering, and a Bostrom seat. With the old 237hp it was anemic, but was steady. Retired now, but been in the family for 30 years. Engine has been gone through, clutched, etc.

I was pulling a 75k load out of a soft field and it started bucking. Before I could shut it down, it twisted the driveshaft in two! I would have figured it would have taken out the U joints.

Off to the repair shop. He cut it off, ran it on a lathe to rid the yokes of the old shaft, welded a new tube on and installed new joints and I was off again!


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7O_Py5jAe3g

[Lake X Kid]

When a BMW, Porsche, or Mercedes flashes its headlights at you, what does it mean?

On the autobahn (interstate freeway) in the country of Germany, it means move over to the right lane, the left lane is for passing.

A couple years in the 1970’s, I was working for my Dad in Europe. And I made several trips to and through Germany. First year I was there, we had a Volkswagen bus, to haul parts and tow tunnel boats. Second time I was there, Mercury Marine sent over a GM van as a company vehicle to use.

I am behind the steering wheel on the German autobahn. I am probably doing a respectful 65 mph (105 kph). The nice things about vans are, they got large side mirrors. I look in the driver’s side rear-view mirror, and I see a distant vehicle (3/4 to a mile behind me) continually flashing its headlights.

A few seconds later, I look again in the mirror and the car is near me now, and then it just motors past me. :eek: Like I was a moped, and it was a café racer. There is no speed limit on the German autobahn. And 100 mph – 125 mph / 200 kph, is not uncommon in Germany. I had witnessed quite a few of those — in a hurry, don't slow me down vehicles.

Therefore, those 200 kph vehicles are flashing there warning-lights at traffic— one mile in front of them. They can be doing Twice your speed, and their closing rate is fast. I have seen slower traffic in the left lane; get constant flashing lights until they get over into the slower right lane.

*****

Flashing lights on the autobahn, is the irritation of German drivers. While in Italy, the irritable Italian drivers will react differently. In city traffic, honking horns and arms gesturing outside the driver’s window was common.


https://www.ultimatedrivingtours.com/autobahn-germany/

[Lake X Kid]

...

Off to the repair shop. He cut it off, ran it on a lathe to rid the yokes of the old shaft, welded a new tube on and installed new joints and I was off again!



This reminds me of a weld job, which made my day — and a couple of years.

My Dad notified me an Arkansas marine dealer was in need of a mechanic. So, I went there and worked for a season (later I went back to college). This owner had a combination motorcycle dealership and Mercury Marine dealership under one roof.

He had Yamaha and Kawasaki motorcycles. I had some firsts for me, like test/joy riding a 750 Kawi and a Yamaha 650 with a drive shaft (not chain driven, circa 1976). The dealership’s main source of revenue was bikes. I remember the two bike mechanics, were routinely honing-out bike cylinders. And I envied them because, they sat down on there wheeled stools to work on bikes.

So out in the back-lot were some wreaked motorcycles. And there was this 2 cylinder Kawasaki 400, with one of the handlebars broken/seared off. I do not recall how the transaction went down, but the dealership owner offered it to me for $400. Yes, $400 for 400 cc with real low miles. It was like brand new. :D

So an employee from one of the dealer’s other businesses, came over and welded my handlebar. It was only broke at one location. He took a metal slug that fit snug in the handlebar’s ID. Connected the handlebar arm back to the main handlebar structure, and laid a nice circular weld-bead down (whilst I was holding the handlebars). And also, the two wheels were still in their proper alignment.

I then left my pickup truck at the apartment, and I rode the 400 to work everyday. And when I went back to college, I drove the bike to school. ;) When I eventually sold the bike, I gave the new owner a great deal —he paid $400.cash. I received a super bargain price, so it was fitting to pass the savings to the next owner.

[CDave]

In 2001 I drove my 1995 Z71 to Garner, N.C.; for work.
First day I made it from my house to Baton Rouge, La.; I got a late start. Normally a 2hr drive but because of a wreck on the Atchafalaya Basin Bridge, it took 4.5hrs.
If you don't know about the Atchafalaya Basin Bridge it is a 18+ mile long bridge cutting across the Atchafalaya Basin/Swamp. It's the 3rd longest bridge and 2nd longest interstate bridge in the U.S.
Read about it here---> https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atchafalaya_Basin_Bridge

Day 2 I drove from Baton Rouge,La. to just outside Atlanta. The next day on to Garner, N.C. I took the light blue route from Atl. to Garner.
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I was sent to Garner to finish up a contract my employer inherited when they purchased part of another company. I was there to help NCNG upgrade their maintenance dept. and teach them how to work on the G3606 Cat low emission engines.
Cat G3606---> https://www.cat.com/en_US/products/new/power-systems/oil-and-gas/gas-compression-engines/1000000844.html
I was told I would be there for 4-6 weeks. NCNG decided after 7 MONTHS they were ready to run their maintenance dept. without me. :mad:

My employer housed me at a Hampton Inn the whole time. Even though it was a jacuzzi suite, 7 months is a long time to live in a hotel room.
I did enjoy going to William B. Umstead State Park---> https://www.ncparks.gov/state-parks/william-b-umstead-state-park while I was there. It was near the Raleigh Int. Airport but the trails in the south end of the park were completely isolated from noise of the airport or interstate. It was like walking in the woods. Which it actually was. :o
They had 5 and 2 mile trails that were "un-manicure" but did have cross ties on the steep parts to function as steps. It was a nice break at the end of the day to go there and feel like I was out of the city.

I did find a dirt oval kart track near my hotel and enjoyed watching the races there. They had a deputy there to keep the more emotional racers from getting physical. :p
I also enjoyed going to watch the Carolina MudCats AA baseball team and the Durham Bulls AAA baseball teams. You could get a seat by first base for 5 bucks!

MudCats---> https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carolina_Mudcats
Bulls---> https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Durham_Bulls

I kick myself for not going to see the rock concerts they had in Raleigh. But I hate going to concerts by myself.

The guy I worked with took me to Wilbers BBQ, https://www.wilbersbbq.com/ best East NC BBQ in the world. That was one of the best parts of being up there.

I took a weeks vacation while I was up there and went to the Outer Banks, off season. That was fun. Went to Kitty Hawk and toured the Wright Brothers Museum. Walked the runway where they took off from. Toured all the lighthouses there too.
Drank a lot of beer and did some shore fishing too.
They had a bunch of shark attacks that summer and I decided to wade out to my waist and do some fishing. People were telling me to get out but I thought, beer influenced, that they were a bunch of puss's. I stopped thinking that when a twister/spinner shark, blacktip, jumped out of the water 3ft. in front of me. :eek:
Spinner shark---> https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spinner_shark

Week 4 up there I got bit by a deer tick and got Lyme disease. I found a doctor in Charlotte that treated Lyme patients and went to him once a month for 5 months. The good part was I toured the NASCAR teams when I went to my appointments. That was pretty cool.

I remember being at the Snow Hill Compressor Station on 9/11. Snow Hill is near Goldsboro, N.C. Home to the Seymour Johnson Air Force Base and I remember not hearing the jets we always heard when we were there.
It wasn't until the construction crew returned from their morning break that we learned about the terrorist attack.

When it came time to come home I was so ready to get home I drove from Garner, N.C. to Mobile, Al. in one day. That was a long drive! :eek:

Something I learned while up in the Raleigh, N.C. area. It is infested by a bunch of leftest. :nonod:

[Lake X Kid]

I am riding in a Pimp Mobile.

Earlier I mentioned working in Arkansas for one year, in the mid 1970s. At the dealership I was working at, one of the motorcycle mechanics invited me to join him and his buddies for the weekend. They are going to a Van Show in Bowling Greens, Kentucky.

Single guys back in the late 1960s & 70s, with vans would have interesting custom paint jobs. And there would be shag carpet all over the inside of the van. With woofer speakers placed in the back of the vans, pumping out music.

“Breaker one nine, breaker one nine … this is _____”. Again this was the mid 1970s, and CB radios were in vogue. Even my Dad at the time, had one in his company car, because he traveled on the interstate. Well the bike mechanic had a CB radio in his van too.

So we are on the interstate northbound heading to Bowling Greens. There are about four vans in our group. And naturally everyone is talking to each other on the CB as our convoy proceeds down the highway.

The thing that caught my attention, that I did not ever notice before was how close these van convoys drove to each other. It was like a train on the highway. All the vans stacked up behind the lead van, and they were only a van length behind the van in front of them. In most states (for safe braking distance) it is recommend one car length-separation for every 10 miles of hour. At 60 mph, you would be 6 car lengths, behind the car in front of you.

The Van Clubs ignored that safety rule. The Van “Train kept a rollin”. So at 60 mph, we are nose to tail.

Us single guys are in our early 20s. We arrive at the Van Show, and we take in the other vans on display and the entertainment. One entertainment was a couple guys were going up to the girls, and if the women lifted up their shirts/blouses, then the dudes would give them a commemorative T-shirt. The T-shirt reminds me of the Pimp Mobile.

Back in Arkansas, there was an older guy (but I do not remember who it was) was kidding the mechanic. “That van is a Pimp Mobile”. He might have been referring to the bed in the back of the van. Which maybe the vans color and shag carpet, added to the nomenclature too.



https://youtu.be/UAAwTlCp3OE

[Lake X Kid]

1970s Wheels !!!


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