Date: Mon, 17 Nov 2003 14:26:11 -0500
Reply-To: Kim Brennan <kimbrennan@MAC.COM>
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From: Kim Brennan <kimbrennan@MAC.COM>
Subject: 1000 miles this previous weekend
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII; format=flowed
Okay, I'll admit to being mildly insane at times. I bid (and won) an
eBay (ePay) auction for a pinball machine. The location was essentially
Louisville Kentucky. I live in the suburbs of Washington DC. I decided
to go and pick up the pinball machine, rather than have it shipped. My
beast of burden for this enterprise was the GoldBrick, my 86 Syncro
Passenger Vanagon that has a Tiico engine in it.
Louisville is a long drive from Washington, but I had an ace in the
hole. I could drive out to my WV place (Pendleton Country, WV) on
Friday and use it as a layover point so that the round trip would be
nearly 300 miles shorter...
Friday, get out of work, and inspect the GoldBrick prior to departure.
Good thing I did. Alternator belt is worn and very loose (which is why
it is probably so chewed up. Replace and snug it down. Oil is fine, but
should be changed soon (after the trip). Coolant level fine. Head off
and sleep the night away in WV.
Saturday. I set my PDA to wake me 10 minutes before 9am. Get up,
shower, ready to headout... Um, apparently my PDA is still on Daylight
savings. It's only 8:30am. Ah, well. Get some caffience to kick start
my day, and head out. It's 9am. First gas station, Franklin, WV (county
seat).
I continue west on US 33, seeing snow on the ground on the higher
elevations of the Allegheny Front. A cloudy day, but mostly dry. The
engine handles the 10% grade of the Allegheny Front with aplomb. A few
more miles down the road and I get to open things up as I get onto
Corridor H (near interstate grade highway through the center of WV).
Make it to Elkins WV by 10:45am. Hmm. It's Saturday, that means I can
grab breakfast still at McD's. Do so.
Continue West on US 33 till I get to I-79. Then South on I-79 through
the backbone of the Allegheny Plateau in WV. Beautiful curvy road.
70mph speed limit, which I slow to when climbing some of the hills (no
choice in the matter).
Get to Charleston WV around 1pm. Speed enforcement folk are out in
force. Just as well, as the Interstate has sharp turns in Charleston.
Cross the Kanawha River multiple times. I love the name so the towns in
this section of WV. Nitro. Hurricane. Makes one feel so safe....
Cross Big Sandy River and enter Kentucky. Speed limit drops to 65. Pay
no attention to it. One stop for gas in Kentucky but otherwise 3 hours
of straight roads to Louisville. Get to listen to University of
Kentucky lose to Vanderbilt in college football (better choice than
"country music" in my view...)
Louisville. Where I'm actually going is Indiana suburbs, so cross Ohio
River. Get off at exit 4 (middle of construction). Find I can't get
where I'm going as major intersection is closed. Take detour. Continue
on detour. Continue on detour. (this is ridiculous). End up adding 20
minutes to journey due to detour.
Get to location (4:30pm) . Play machine (yea!) Then take machine down,
and trundle it into the side of the Vanagon (middle seat removed).
Ready to head back out. Time is 5:40pm.
Take different route back to interstate. Cross same railroad tracks a
dozen times (mild exaggeration, but only just.) Get on I-65 South.
Suddenly right lane stops dead (I'm one lane over, but that right lane
is where I need to be.) I do >NOT< slam on breaks to cut it. Rather I
continue onward. Wise decision, turns out van (US mini-van) broken down
on bridge in right lane. Pass broken down vehicle, cut back into right
lane and get to exit and get on I-64 head East again.
Stop at rest stop (got to bathrooms before hundreds of kids make it out
of tour busses). Head back onto road, stop for gas and a Frisco Burger
at Steak 'n Shake. Continue east. Stop near Charleston for gas in the
mistaken idea I won't need to fill up again.
North on I-79. Avoid deer. Avoid deer carcass. Avoid OTHER deer carcass.
Midnight. Elkins again. Zombified driving no longer practical. Slow
down to posted levels. Really! Especially turns.
1am Franklin. Stop and refuel again. Been getting 16mpg, which is
really low (need to tune this beast up, but 80 mph continuous driving
isn't helping the fuel mileage). Crawl into my WV place at 2am. Zonk
out.
Eventually return home to Virginia on Sunday, still feeling pretty
zonky. Set up machine. Play one game (gotta level the machine before I
play it again.) then to bed.
All told, that was probably around 1100 miles this weekend (with about
800 of those miles on the drive to and from Louisville).
Tiico handled things pretty well, but I gotta have JUST a little more
power for those grades so I can maintain 80 mph going up hill. :)
