Montgomery AL to Nashville TN - breakfast at Shoney's - our favorite on the road breakfast. The plan was to stop at friend P's house in Franklin TN - we're driving through the Smokey Mountain range again, so there are a lot of hills. Poor Snowball was running hot again. We made it to P's house with no issues, and saw his project car. I know it's a T-Bird, but that's about it. Z could tell you more.
The five of us went to lunch, and then started heading over to the venue, LP field. P brought his Hot Rod too! We made it about half way over, then he started having an issue. We pulled off but they weren't able to get the car running again. He told us to get going, so we went to sit in downtown Nashville traffic. As soon as we left, P got his car running. Figures!
Z and L dropped D and myself off at our hotel and headed over to LP field. We don't need any more heat exhaustion or worse. That's where the boys are right now, in the 92 degree heat.
It was an adventure getting to the hotel. I don't see any future plans of staying here again. It sounds like the CMAs will be tomorrow night and that could be part of the problem.
D and I have big plans to suggest the HRPT be held in October, not the beginning of summer. It's just way too hot. I don't even have a lot of car pictures to post yet. Thursday and Friday in Michigan are supposed to be low 70s and rainy, and we're actually looking forward to that!
Tuesday, June 7, 2011
Power Tour - Day 3
Adel GA to Montgomery AL - another long day in the car. We went to another speedway, where it was really, really hot. One of us, me, had heat exhaustion and almost passed out. We didn't stay long at all. Poor Snowball, he was overheating too. We needed to stop at an auto supply store to buy a new battery for L's car. Happily, they had air conditioning in the building.
Once we made it to the hotel and cooled down, dinner was at Carrabbas - yummy!
Once we made it to the hotel and cooled down, dinner was at Carrabbas - yummy!
Power Tour - Day 2
Aah, day 2 - the day started out over at the Kennedy Space Center. When we bought the tickets the NASA man told us to get there at 7:00am, that's when the gate opened for us. There were two lots, one for the people who did sign up and the other for the people who didn't. We arrived a little after 7:00 and found we were a bit early. Like two and a half hours early. That was okay, we walked around and did some shopping. The other guys had their driver meeting at 7:45. At around 9:30 the Hot Rod lead guy, we'll call him Flip-Flops, arrived and started the meeting. First he spoke for a while, then handed the mic over to one of the FL Congressmen, who is also a car guy. After he spoke, an Astronaut spoke to us. That was pretty cool. I have to admit, I was ignorant to all the technologies that NASA has brought about. GPS, credit cards, cell phones, all kinds of things. While I get that the government needs to save money, I don't think that NASA is the right place to cut it. Maybe we should cut government pensions? Hmmm. Okay, I'll step off my soapbox.
After our drivers meeting, we headed back to the cars and drove towards the KSC. It is in the middle of nowhere! We took a driving tour around the area, even into some restricted areas. It was pretty cool! We could see the next launch craft WAY in the distance. Guess I should say last, not next.
Once we got through the tour we headed to our next stop, Adel, GA; Southern GA Motorsports Park. As it turns out, this part of the country is having a massive heat wave. It was 98 degrees. It was just too hot. We didn't stay very long, needless to say. Long enough for me to get more sun, which was not a good thing!
When we started heading to the hotel, it was feeling like we were on the set of the movie Deliverance. No one else on the roads, woods all around us, no houses. We were a bit dubious as to where we were actually going. Luckily, we did find our hotel and there was an Applebees to eat at right across the parking lot.
They were huge busy and had 5 servers working - apparently they were not made aware there were 3000 people coming to town. Whoops. Once we were seated we started checking out the drink menu - you know, the DRINK menu. Our server came over and busted our bubbles, Georgia does not serve alcohol on Sundays. WTH?!
After our drivers meeting, we headed back to the cars and drove towards the KSC. It is in the middle of nowhere! We took a driving tour around the area, even into some restricted areas. It was pretty cool! We could see the next launch craft WAY in the distance. Guess I should say last, not next.
Once we got through the tour we headed to our next stop, Adel, GA; Southern GA Motorsports Park. As it turns out, this part of the country is having a massive heat wave. It was 98 degrees. It was just too hot. We didn't stay very long, needless to say. Long enough for me to get more sun, which was not a good thing!
When we started heading to the hotel, it was feeling like we were on the set of the movie Deliverance. No one else on the roads, woods all around us, no houses. We were a bit dubious as to where we were actually going. Luckily, we did find our hotel and there was an Applebees to eat at right across the parking lot.
They were huge busy and had 5 servers working - apparently they were not made aware there were 3000 people coming to town. Whoops. Once we were seated we started checking out the drink menu - you know, the DRINK menu. Our server came over and busted our bubbles, Georgia does not serve alcohol on Sundays. WTH?!
Epilogue
So I forgot to mention the other day - we're driving down Route 95 and the radio is rattling in the metal holder - Z pulls out his tools, removes part of the dashboard and fixes the rattle. Keep in mind that this is all going on at 70 MPH driving down the highway. I was driving, though, so that's a good thing.
Saturday, June 4, 2011
Check Your Gauges 2011
This year's Power Tour started out with a small issue, no big shocker there. We got on the road at 2:00am. Snowball was very happy, all the way to South Carolina, where Z realized the temperature was around 230. Perhaps it had been there for a while, I'm not really sure since I didn't look at the gauges at all, and I had been driving. We picked our brains to try and figure out the issue; Z was thinking about the pulleys he had put on to slow down the accessories and increase horsepower, he thought about turning on the heat, also about what else it could be. I thought about how little I actually know about motors. Then he figured out that it was 96 degrees outside and poor Snowball had a right to be too hot. We slowed down a little and made sure plenty of air got to the motor, and Snowball was a happy car.
We made it to our hotel around 7:00pm. Showers and dinner, then we drive around a little bit and checked out some of the other cars. BTW, IHOP has really yummy potato soup.
This morning, Saturday, was the first official day of the Power Tour. We headed over to Cape Canaveral and checked in. We also signed up for a drive around tour through the Kennedy Space Center. Sounds like that will be really fun, the shuttle is on deck (or whatever the term is), and we will get a tour of the restricted access areas. Well, some of them.
We headed back to the hotel to wait for the rest of our party to arrive: Z's parents and friends L&D. Then we headed back over, where we stayed for a few hours. The good news is: I no longer have a farmers tan! The bad news is: I'm now a bit crispy.
We saw a lot of great cars! I'm on a Challenger kick right now, so I paid a lot of attention to those. One of my downfalls taking car pictures is I only take what I like, and I don't really care for cars that were made before 1970. I have a hard time even appreciating them. I'm just letting you know ahead of time that you probably will not be seeing a lot of older cars from me. A lot of Camaros, Mustangs and Challengers, but very few others.
After the Kennedy Space Center tour, we'll be heading up to Valdosta GA. Sounds like a 4.5 hour trip, eeks!
I'm going to see if I can convince Z to post something, that will make sense to the car folks out there. Pictures to follow via Facebook.
TTFN!
We made it to our hotel around 7:00pm. Showers and dinner, then we drive around a little bit and checked out some of the other cars. BTW, IHOP has really yummy potato soup.
This morning, Saturday, was the first official day of the Power Tour. We headed over to Cape Canaveral and checked in. We also signed up for a drive around tour through the Kennedy Space Center. Sounds like that will be really fun, the shuttle is on deck (or whatever the term is), and we will get a tour of the restricted access areas. Well, some of them.
We headed back to the hotel to wait for the rest of our party to arrive: Z's parents and friends L&D. Then we headed back over, where we stayed for a few hours. The good news is: I no longer have a farmers tan! The bad news is: I'm now a bit crispy.
We saw a lot of great cars! I'm on a Challenger kick right now, so I paid a lot of attention to those. One of my downfalls taking car pictures is I only take what I like, and I don't really care for cars that were made before 1970. I have a hard time even appreciating them. I'm just letting you know ahead of time that you probably will not be seeing a lot of older cars from me. A lot of Camaros, Mustangs and Challengers, but very few others.
After the Kennedy Space Center tour, we'll be heading up to Valdosta GA. Sounds like a 4.5 hour trip, eeks!
I'm going to see if I can convince Z to post something, that will make sense to the car folks out there. Pictures to follow via Facebook.
TTFN!
Sunday, March 13, 2011
Yay Mickey!
Yay, we made it to Florida! It was a little iffy at times, but we did it! The plan was to leave from work on Wednesday, head over to get the rental car and start driving down as far as we could. We were taking down Z's parent's car and the rental. I had picked up a set of walkie talkies so we could talk to each other easier. Problem number one, the battery was dead on my walkie - we think it had been on all night in Z's suitcase. Problem number two, Z smelled coolant in the Taurus we were driving down, and the motor was missing. He checked out the motor and didn't see any leaks. We stopped for dinner early, hoping to avoid rush hour traffic. That plan worked, we didn't get stuck anywhere. Weather was not very good, downpours at times.
We got on the road after dinner and made it down to just south of Richmond, staying at my favorite hotel, Hampton Inn. The check-in clerk was very helpful and when Z when down to get the luggage was asking if we were happy with the room or needed anything. We stayed right next door to the Philip Morris office, where the big cigarette is on 95 (if you don't know it, check it out!).
Up early the next day, free breakfast at the hotel, yay! Back on the road, still raining. We stopped at a rest area SOMEWHERE (Z says one state,I say another), and when Z went to start his car up it wouldn't. You know that click-click-click of the dead battery? Yep, that was it. All I could picture were those auto part store commercials, "Oh no, why now!" but couldn't really muster up the concern to be one of those people. Out come the tools! It's so great being engaged to a car guy. Turns out the terminal was not tight, or something like that. That's what I got out of it. Back on the road!
The rest of the trip down was fairly uneventful, we made it without any other car issues. Dropped off the Taurus and checked in at our hotel. Dinner at Chili's, where else?!
Friday Z went with his friend L to check out his Firebird, and I went shopping with L's wife. Not sure how it happened, but I was the only one to buy stuff! It's okay though, I saved more than I spent.
We all met up for lunch at a yummy pizza place with a baseball motif - NOT the Red Sox, but I made it through anyway.
We split up after that, Z and I went over to the Big Cat Rescue Shelter in Tampa. We had been there before, and really enjoyed it. Some of the stories are so sad. The majority of the cats are rescued from breeders or that were bought to be pets, until the people realized they were a bit out of their league. The tour lasts about an hour and a half, is staffed by volunteers and all the money goes to the upkeep of the cats. I took about 250 pictures! Yikes!
We met up with friends and family for dinner that night. L had told us about this great ice cream place, that got Z's dad all excited about. Alas, when we headed over it had just closed. Sigh.
Saturday L and his wife, and Z and I headed up to a muscle car museum. Prior to being the museum the building was a Walmart. Lot of nice cars there. We ate lunch on the way back at Pete N Shorties. Was pretty good! Saturday night Z went over to rescue his parents who had a dead battery in the Taurus, or so we thought.
Sunday Z and his dad brought the Taurus over for a new starter, which had been the problem. After that we went over to MAGIC KINGDOM! Oh yeah, Woo Hoo, Yippee! We got there at 3:00 and stayed until 11:00. Was a good day! But we only went on the Haunted Mansion twice. We found out afterwards that was the last day the waiting area would be original, Monday it was to change to the new area they had built. Missed it by a day! Oh well, we'll be back in September.
Monday we went up to Inverness to check out Z's property and meet some friends for dinner. Was another good day!
Tuesday we drove home :( At least we were in the same car this time!
Monday, January 17, 2011
Livin' it Up in the Big Apple
We just got back from our long weekend in NYC. Thursday night found us frantically looking for how we were going to get into the city. Luckily the logistics this time were a bit easier than last time, Z and I are now living in the same state! My sister recommended we go out of Iselin NJ, into Penn Station. Okay! Friday morning we found the train station without any issues (phew) and a very helpful man told us how to buy the tickets and find the correct track to go in on. We took the New Jersey Transit train in as a competitor was going to be $200 each one way. $20 each round trip was much more pocket friendly. We got on the right train and off at the right stop. Yay us! Not too bad for our first solo trip into the big city!
This led to our first solo cab ride, which also went off without a hitch. My parents, sister and brother-in-law were close behind, having arrived at Grand Central.
We were able to check in and drop off our stuff in the room - we stayed at the Four Points Sheraton at Times Square, which is a great hotel. Just ignore the stores with shaded windows so you can't see the rated X merchandise - the pizza place down the street far makes up for those OTHER places (Two Brothers, $1/slice!).
Once the rest of our party arrived, we headed out for a day on the town. We had all competed in a NASCAR pool, my sister M had won. The prize was to have a meal at the restaurant of choice - she picked Daisy Mae's BBQ in NY. Daisy Mae's, watch out! Apparently my father was giving the counter guys a hard time about the Patriots - great. Lunch was delicious, we all ate to overflowing. After that we headed over to 30 Rock, to do the NBC Studio tour. No such luck, but Z and I did walk away with a lovely picture of our faces super-imposed onto the bodies of Rick and Evi from The Mummy. Mine will be living on my desk at work. His will probably be going in the trash. We did buy tickets for Monday's tour, which was the only time we could get in.
Ever been to a candy bar? You should, at least once. We hit Dylan's Candy Bar for a snack, and to get wedding ideas - and I'm not telling, you'll have to be surprised! A few dollars later we headed back to the hotel. We split up, the guys and the girls. We had a pretty uneventful cab ride back, a very friendly driver gave us info about the city, maybe he noticed that we were tourists, I don't know HOW he knew though. The guys, on the other hand, had a very excitement filled ride back. Apparently an SUV had tried to cut off their car - what was he thinking! - and there was an attempted demolition derby and F-Bomb throwing fest.
Saturday morning we headed over the the bus station for some breakfast - just wait, there is practically a mall in the bus station. LOTS of options. Then we headed over to Battery Park, to take the Staten Island Ferry over to the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island. We had instructions that we needed to arrive 30 minutes early to go through security. The security rivaled the airport! All our stuff had to go through the metal detector, as did we. Z had steel toed boots on, so those had to come off. My boots also had to come off, most likely because they were kick-@#% boots and they were all intimidated. We rode the ferry over to Lady Liberty, and had to go through another security check and again remove our shoes. Some people were even checked for bomb making materials on their clothes. Eeks, not us.
Z, B and I all climbed the 156 stairs to get up to the pedestal at the Statue of Liberty. Everyone else took the elevator. Going back down the stairs was a lot easier! Back on the ferry to Ellis Island - Z and B both have relatives that came through Ellis Island, so that was really cool. We saw the process how the people were checked in, and how some were sent back, if they applied for public assistance, or had medical conditions, or were here for cheap labor.
We headed back on the ferry and walked over to Ground Zero, where there is all kinds of construction going on. They're busy building the Memorial. We couldn't see much, they had up chain link fences with big posters covering them. I couldn't believe how small the area was. You hear about a NYC block, but it doesn't really sink in until you see it.
Time for lunch! We took cabs over to Lombardi's, which is the first place in the city to offer pizza. Cash only! We walked in and put our name on the list and proceeded to be squished in like a can of sardines. The "waiting area" was the very small front of the restaurant and the bar area. We were standing with about 50 of our closest (physically) friends. Luckily we didn't have too long to wait. Pizza was pretty good, came out very quickly.
After lunch we all headed back to the hotel. Z and I ventured out by ourselves and walked over to Times Square, where two of my favorite stores are located. Who needs 5th Avenue? I'm happy with the M&M and Disney Stores! As Z puts it, I bought all kinds of things! The cashier at the Disney Store rang up our sale on her iPhone, which was kind of neat. We didn't have to wait in line.
Dinner for Z and I was take out pizza from down the street, $1 a slice! 4 slices and 2 bottles of soda for $8! Can't be beat - and really yummy too! Everyone else had frozen yogurt delivered.
Sunday morning found us back at the bus station for breakfast. We had been trying to get tickets to do the Yankee Stadium tour, so after eating we walked back to Times Square to the Yankees Store - unfortunately the tour tickets were all sold out and we couldn't get in there - it's a sign! We split up after that, 4 of us went to Madame Tussauds wax museum, also in Times Square, 2 of us went to the Museum of Modern Art - you can probably guess which one I did. It did not include the cultural side of the city.
Then back to the Disney Store and M&Ms! It's possible that I bought some more stuff. Z will tell you I spent a million dollars - I didn't. We wandered around for a bit after that, we tried to get a tour of Radio City Music, but they were closing. Instead we split up again, 4of us headed for dessert and 2 of us continued to wander.
Dinner that night was delivered, as we had to watch the Patriots lose. M&B had Cuban food, the rest of us ordered from a wings place.
Monday morning we headed over to the Carnegie Deli for breakfast. Another cash only place. There were pictures all over the wall of the famous people that have eaten there. Z had a pastrami and egg sandwich, I had french toast, along with my mother. M had a bagel and fruit cup - we were not able to figure out why the bagel was $1 and the cream cheese was $2.50 until we saw it - it was an entire package of cream cheese, or at least seemed like it. My father had a bagel and omelet, B had a bunch of stuff that I just don't know about.
While we were there the ATM was jammed, and three men fixed it. One of our party told the owner on the way out that he could take the extra money off their hands, if they wanted. The owner proceeded to walk said party over to the table of NYPD officers - great.... The discussion turned to sports. After a few minutes the owner asked if we paid our bill - yes. His response was "then get the f#&@ outta here!" Ok then!
After our exciting breakfast we headed back over for our NBC Studio tour, which was pretty cool. The sets they film on are REALLY small, so much smaller than they seem on TV. We saw where Jimmy Fallon, SNL and Dr Oz are filmed. Small facts we learned about Dr Oz - he runs 5miles a day, has over 500 published articles, films 2 shows a day and is still a practicing physician. Where does he find the time!? Back to the hotel, where we checked out and headed our separate ways. We found our way back to the train station and found the right track and train back to NJ. 40 minutes later we were back to the car! It was a very eventful trip, I think we all had a lot of fun. I highly recommend that everyone visit NYC, at least once.
This led to our first solo cab ride, which also went off without a hitch. My parents, sister and brother-in-law were close behind, having arrived at Grand Central.
We were able to check in and drop off our stuff in the room - we stayed at the Four Points Sheraton at Times Square, which is a great hotel. Just ignore the stores with shaded windows so you can't see the rated X merchandise - the pizza place down the street far makes up for those OTHER places (Two Brothers, $1/slice!).
Once the rest of our party arrived, we headed out for a day on the town. We had all competed in a NASCAR pool, my sister M had won. The prize was to have a meal at the restaurant of choice - she picked Daisy Mae's BBQ in NY. Daisy Mae's, watch out! Apparently my father was giving the counter guys a hard time about the Patriots - great. Lunch was delicious, we all ate to overflowing. After that we headed over to 30 Rock, to do the NBC Studio tour. No such luck, but Z and I did walk away with a lovely picture of our faces super-imposed onto the bodies of Rick and Evi from The Mummy. Mine will be living on my desk at work. His will probably be going in the trash. We did buy tickets for Monday's tour, which was the only time we could get in.
Ever been to a candy bar? You should, at least once. We hit Dylan's Candy Bar for a snack, and to get wedding ideas - and I'm not telling, you'll have to be surprised! A few dollars later we headed back to the hotel. We split up, the guys and the girls. We had a pretty uneventful cab ride back, a very friendly driver gave us info about the city, maybe he noticed that we were tourists, I don't know HOW he knew though. The guys, on the other hand, had a very excitement filled ride back. Apparently an SUV had tried to cut off their car - what was he thinking! - and there was an attempted demolition derby and F-Bomb throwing fest.
Saturday morning we headed over the the bus station for some breakfast - just wait, there is practically a mall in the bus station. LOTS of options. Then we headed over to Battery Park, to take the Staten Island Ferry over to the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island. We had instructions that we needed to arrive 30 minutes early to go through security. The security rivaled the airport! All our stuff had to go through the metal detector, as did we. Z had steel toed boots on, so those had to come off. My boots also had to come off, most likely because they were kick-@#% boots and they were all intimidated. We rode the ferry over to Lady Liberty, and had to go through another security check and again remove our shoes. Some people were even checked for bomb making materials on their clothes. Eeks, not us.
Z, B and I all climbed the 156 stairs to get up to the pedestal at the Statue of Liberty. Everyone else took the elevator. Going back down the stairs was a lot easier! Back on the ferry to Ellis Island - Z and B both have relatives that came through Ellis Island, so that was really cool. We saw the process how the people were checked in, and how some were sent back, if they applied for public assistance, or had medical conditions, or were here for cheap labor.
We headed back on the ferry and walked over to Ground Zero, where there is all kinds of construction going on. They're busy building the Memorial. We couldn't see much, they had up chain link fences with big posters covering them. I couldn't believe how small the area was. You hear about a NYC block, but it doesn't really sink in until you see it.
Time for lunch! We took cabs over to Lombardi's, which is the first place in the city to offer pizza. Cash only! We walked in and put our name on the list and proceeded to be squished in like a can of sardines. The "waiting area" was the very small front of the restaurant and the bar area. We were standing with about 50 of our closest (physically) friends. Luckily we didn't have too long to wait. Pizza was pretty good, came out very quickly.
After lunch we all headed back to the hotel. Z and I ventured out by ourselves and walked over to Times Square, where two of my favorite stores are located. Who needs 5th Avenue? I'm happy with the M&M and Disney Stores! As Z puts it, I bought all kinds of things! The cashier at the Disney Store rang up our sale on her iPhone, which was kind of neat. We didn't have to wait in line.
Dinner for Z and I was take out pizza from down the street, $1 a slice! 4 slices and 2 bottles of soda for $8! Can't be beat - and really yummy too! Everyone else had frozen yogurt delivered.
Sunday morning found us back at the bus station for breakfast. We had been trying to get tickets to do the Yankee Stadium tour, so after eating we walked back to Times Square to the Yankees Store - unfortunately the tour tickets were all sold out and we couldn't get in there - it's a sign! We split up after that, 4 of us went to Madame Tussauds wax museum, also in Times Square, 2 of us went to the Museum of Modern Art - you can probably guess which one I did. It did not include the cultural side of the city.
Then back to the Disney Store and M&Ms! It's possible that I bought some more stuff. Z will tell you I spent a million dollars - I didn't. We wandered around for a bit after that, we tried to get a tour of Radio City Music, but they were closing. Instead we split up again, 4of us headed for dessert and 2 of us continued to wander.
Dinner that night was delivered, as we had to watch the Patriots lose. M&B had Cuban food, the rest of us ordered from a wings place.
Monday morning we headed over to the Carnegie Deli for breakfast. Another cash only place. There were pictures all over the wall of the famous people that have eaten there. Z had a pastrami and egg sandwich, I had french toast, along with my mother. M had a bagel and fruit cup - we were not able to figure out why the bagel was $1 and the cream cheese was $2.50 until we saw it - it was an entire package of cream cheese, or at least seemed like it. My father had a bagel and omelet, B had a bunch of stuff that I just don't know about.
While we were there the ATM was jammed, and three men fixed it. One of our party told the owner on the way out that he could take the extra money off their hands, if they wanted. The owner proceeded to walk said party over to the table of NYPD officers - great.... The discussion turned to sports. After a few minutes the owner asked if we paid our bill - yes. His response was "then get the f#&@ outta here!" Ok then!
After our exciting breakfast we headed back over for our NBC Studio tour, which was pretty cool. The sets they film on are REALLY small, so much smaller than they seem on TV. We saw where Jimmy Fallon, SNL and Dr Oz are filmed. Small facts we learned about Dr Oz - he runs 5miles a day, has over 500 published articles, films 2 shows a day and is still a practicing physician. Where does he find the time!? Back to the hotel, where we checked out and headed our separate ways. We found our way back to the train station and found the right track and train back to NJ. 40 minutes later we were back to the car! It was a very eventful trip, I think we all had a lot of fun. I highly recommend that everyone visit NYC, at least once.
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