Ride along with me...
#71
10-30-2019, 11:36 PM
The last driving day, Sunday, November 11, 2012...
To be honest, I was nervous. The poor old pickup and, particularly, its old Slant 6 engine had served us well for way more miles than I expected to do on this trip. At times it had been revved pretty hard, because I couldn’t tune it properly it used the lower gears a lot more than it should have been expected to. And we had to have it into the shipping company's yard and to get us to the airport on time or we'd lose our return flights home.
So what if it expired? Well, I supposed we could get a tilt-tray for the balance of the trip. The Dodge had to make it to the shipping depot, it was full (overloaded?) of parts to take home and I had a big investment in it. These thoughts were to go through my mind from time to time all day.
Strangely enough, we were well catered-for if we had an accident. That was covered in our travel insurance, it would take care of revised flight schedules and everything. Maybe if it blew up I should run off the road and nudge a fence or a tree?
The day had yet to start, of course. And, as always, this began with packing and then cranking over the Slant, always reluctant to fire on cold mornings, and giving it a bit of a while to warm up. But this morning was different, almost amusingly so...
A much newer Chevrolet was even more recalcitrant. The driver asked if we could help out and our jumper leads did the job for him. We adjourned to the nearby McDonalds for breakfast and decided that, as we would be travelling about a hundred miles less than Saturday, and we didn’t have any stops planned, we could add a small number of miles to see more of the countryside.
Janet recorded...
What really surprised me was that the cotton was growing right up to the edge of the town:
I later learned that this area is becoming a kind of dormitory for people working in San Francisco and the Bay Area. Which explains the large number of newer homes, some of which seemed to be in gated communities...
This area is a part of the San Joaquin Valley, I guess it would be a pretty dry and unproductive place without all those canals, which the maps show like rivers, hundreds of miles long. The one we were seeing mostly was the California Aqueduct.
The tyres – sorry, tires – holding down the tarpaulins were only the sidewalls, not complete tyres. I’ve seen them at home cutting sidewalls off worn out tyres, which is very easily done, but I’d guessed that was for easier stacking for disposal.
The hay might well have been for local feedlots...
We barely hit the Interstate again when we refuelled at a little service centre at a place called Firebaugh. There was a Phillips 76 service station there...
...which appealed to Janet because her eldest son was born in 1976. As you can see, the price of the fuel in California was a lot higher than we’d struck in other places. The Denny’s we went to was a bit further on near Coalinga about 45 miles further on and surrounded by competing service stations. These were the vineyards Janet wrote about...
...and these were the signs heralding Denny’s and all the gas:
It had grown dark as we crossed the Tejon Pass and saw that accident. Or whatever it was. Mile by mile my nervousness about the Dodge settled down. Naturally enough I took it fairly easy through LA, and my confidence returned to full levels.
The little diner where we got our dinner was not far from the Best Western and we now knew we had a full day to prepare things for our flight home. We were on a high floor, taking all of our bags up in the elevator so we could pack the things we were taking with us in the bags we were taking on the plane and packing everything else into bags which would stay in the pickup for the sea voyage.
Finally I took a photo of the curved shower curtains so common in motel rooms in the US...
These enable to shower curtain to curve outward, one imagines to give more room for the typically-larger people found in this country.
So the driving was over, 9,600 miles covered and so many sights seen. But there was still a day to fill and we slept secure in the knowledge that we shouldn’t have too many problems being at the airport in time.
To be honest, I was nervous. The poor old pickup and, particularly, its old Slant 6 engine had served us well for way more miles than I expected to do on this trip. At times it had been revved pretty hard, because I couldn’t tune it properly it used the lower gears a lot more than it should have been expected to. And we had to have it into the shipping company's yard and to get us to the airport on time or we'd lose our return flights home.
So what if it expired? Well, I supposed we could get a tilt-tray for the balance of the trip. The Dodge had to make it to the shipping depot, it was full (overloaded?) of parts to take home and I had a big investment in it. These thoughts were to go through my mind from time to time all day.
Strangely enough, we were well catered-for if we had an accident. That was covered in our travel insurance, it would take care of revised flight schedules and everything. Maybe if it blew up I should run off the road and nudge a fence or a tree?
The day had yet to start, of course. And, as always, this began with packing and then cranking over the Slant, always reluctant to fire on cold mornings, and giving it a bit of a while to warm up. But this morning was different, almost amusingly so...
A much newer Chevrolet was even more recalcitrant. The driver asked if we could help out and our jumper leads did the job for him. We adjourned to the nearby McDonalds for breakfast and decided that, as we would be travelling about a hundred miles less than Saturday, and we didn’t have any stops planned, we could add a small number of miles to see more of the countryside.
Janet recorded...
After a McDonalds breakfast we drove the 46 miles to Los Banos. So many orchards, oranges etc. Some orchards looked like a hedge, all (trimmed to) exactly the same height...
They have also started growing new trees on the hills, amazing, I think it will be hard to harvest.
The irrigation canals are massive...
We talked to some people in Los Banos, very friendly. Everyone says when they hear you’re from Australia, "That’s one place I really want to visit! It looks so pretty and you have such interesting wildlife!" Or something like that. We’ve heard it all over the USA.
It is also a cotton-growing area (like Wee Waa – flat!). Hard-working farmers on tractors all around, we stopped to get pictures of tyres holding down a cover over a haystack...
They have also started growing new trees on the hills, amazing, I think it will be hard to harvest.
The irrigation canals are massive...
We talked to some people in Los Banos, very friendly. Everyone says when they hear you’re from Australia, "That’s one place I really want to visit! It looks so pretty and you have such interesting wildlife!" Or something like that. We’ve heard it all over the USA.
It is also a cotton-growing area (like Wee Waa – flat!). Hard-working farmers on tractors all around, we stopped to get pictures of tyres holding down a cover over a haystack...
I later learned that this area is becoming a kind of dormitory for people working in San Francisco and the Bay Area. Which explains the large number of newer homes, some of which seemed to be in gated communities...
This area is a part of the San Joaquin Valley, I guess it would be a pretty dry and unproductive place without all those canals, which the maps show like rivers, hundreds of miles long. The one we were seeing mostly was the California Aqueduct.
The tyres – sorry, tires – holding down the tarpaulins were only the sidewalls, not complete tyres. I’ve seen them at home cutting sidewalls off worn out tyres, which is very easily done, but I’d guessed that was for easier stacking for disposal.
The hay might well have been for local feedlots...
We see feed lots for cattle. And row on row of new trees being grown, it reminded me that farmers rely on the promise that there will ultimately be a harvest. But they need patience.
The size of the irrigation canals is just amazing...
And I saw two Greyhound buses yesterday, too, the first time I’ve seen them in America but Ray says he has taken a photo of one before. We have found that Indians (not American, but from India) run a lot of the motels here.
A big flock of sheep, no tails. Vineyards, grapes growing in abundance, next to orchards. Remnants of cotton right near the road, a truck carrying cotton must have lost some. Thousands of beehives, what a busy place California is. We’re about 250 miles from Los Angeles and the farmers are still busy, leaving dust in their wake. What a dusty part we’re now driving through.
A stinking enormous feedlot heralds its presence...
...I can’t hold my breath long enough.
We had lunch at Denny’s, bacon and eggs, came out of the restaurant to the same smell
The size of the irrigation canals is just amazing...
And I saw two Greyhound buses yesterday, too, the first time I’ve seen them in America but Ray says he has taken a photo of one before. We have found that Indians (not American, but from India) run a lot of the motels here.
A big flock of sheep, no tails. Vineyards, grapes growing in abundance, next to orchards. Remnants of cotton right near the road, a truck carrying cotton must have lost some. Thousands of beehives, what a busy place California is. We’re about 250 miles from Los Angeles and the farmers are still busy, leaving dust in their wake. What a dusty part we’re now driving through.
A stinking enormous feedlot heralds its presence...
...I can’t hold my breath long enough.
We had lunch at Denny’s, bacon and eggs, came out of the restaurant to the same smell
...which appealed to Janet because her eldest son was born in 1976. As you can see, the price of the fuel in California was a lot higher than we’d struck in other places. The Denny’s we went to was a bit further on near Coalinga about 45 miles further on and surrounded by competing service stations. These were the vineyards Janet wrote about...
...and these were the signs heralding Denny’s and all the gas:
Cotton being grown right next to the orchards....
...Looks like oranges still on the trees in some areas. A large lot of solar panels in a field, not a common sight in the USA.
We’ve been driving through orchard country all day, and who knows? We could have been driving through them last night. Grapes on the other side go for miles and then some.
There’s a fair bit of nothingness at the moment, 180 miles from LA.
Back to the orchards, this time apples still on the trees on both sides of the Interstate. Then they stopped and there’s cotton. ‘Food Grows Where Water Flows,’ said a sign, some kind of political statement.
There’s quite a bit of traffic on the road – South Interstate 5, California. A sign says, ‘Severe Dust Area Next 40 miles.’ Things seem nice and green so far, irrigation doing its job on what looks just like dirt, but something must be coming up from it.
Rice being grown, then cotton, a sign advertising ‘Pluots’ - I can only hazard a guess, plums and apricots. More grapes on both sides, more citrus fruit threes with what looks like oranges still on
Now we see a what looks like a hydro-electric power station, massive pipes and also massive water pumps. It looks like we’re about to go through a mountain pass, heaps of cars in both directions.
When we started to go down the other side we saw what looked like an accident on the other side of the Interstate. A helicopter landed on the road and the cars going North were backed up for miles.
What a busy place Los Angeles is, not easy to get around, congestion everywhere. We went past something that looked like Dreamworld.
We have to take the car to be shipped tomorrow at Long Beach, so we will find a motel close by. We found a Best Western Motel in a sleazy area of town...
Ray bought fish and chips for tea, grilled for me (which surprisingly tasted all right) and Ray’s looked really weird, never seen anything like it. It looked pre-historic, but he said it tasted all right. They gave me so many different sauces to have, that’s what they do over here, so many choices and flavours.
It will be good to get back to some normal (what Americans would call ‘bland’) food. It is a nice motel with covered parking. It’s opposite where trains pull up at a station.
...Looks like oranges still on the trees in some areas. A large lot of solar panels in a field, not a common sight in the USA.
We’ve been driving through orchard country all day, and who knows? We could have been driving through them last night. Grapes on the other side go for miles and then some.
There’s a fair bit of nothingness at the moment, 180 miles from LA.
Back to the orchards, this time apples still on the trees on both sides of the Interstate. Then they stopped and there’s cotton. ‘Food Grows Where Water Flows,’ said a sign, some kind of political statement.
There’s quite a bit of traffic on the road – South Interstate 5, California. A sign says, ‘Severe Dust Area Next 40 miles.’ Things seem nice and green so far, irrigation doing its job on what looks just like dirt, but something must be coming up from it.
Rice being grown, then cotton, a sign advertising ‘Pluots’ - I can only hazard a guess, plums and apricots. More grapes on both sides, more citrus fruit threes with what looks like oranges still on
Now we see a what looks like a hydro-electric power station, massive pipes and also massive water pumps. It looks like we’re about to go through a mountain pass, heaps of cars in both directions.
When we started to go down the other side we saw what looked like an accident on the other side of the Interstate. A helicopter landed on the road and the cars going North were backed up for miles.
What a busy place Los Angeles is, not easy to get around, congestion everywhere. We went past something that looked like Dreamworld.
We have to take the car to be shipped tomorrow at Long Beach, so we will find a motel close by. We found a Best Western Motel in a sleazy area of town...
Ray bought fish and chips for tea, grilled for me (which surprisingly tasted all right) and Ray’s looked really weird, never seen anything like it. It looked pre-historic, but he said it tasted all right. They gave me so many different sauces to have, that’s what they do over here, so many choices and flavours.
It will be good to get back to some normal (what Americans would call ‘bland’) food. It is a nice motel with covered parking. It’s opposite where trains pull up at a station.
The little diner where we got our dinner was not far from the Best Western and we now knew we had a full day to prepare things for our flight home. We were on a high floor, taking all of our bags up in the elevator so we could pack the things we were taking with us in the bags we were taking on the plane and packing everything else into bags which would stay in the pickup for the sea voyage.
Finally I took a photo of the curved shower curtains so common in motel rooms in the US...
These enable to shower curtain to curve outward, one imagines to give more room for the typically-larger people found in this country.
So the driving was over, 9,600 miles covered and so many sights seen. But there was still a day to fill and we slept secure in the knowledge that we shouldn’t have too many problems being at the airport in time.
Last edited by Ray Bell; 07-11-2022 at 10:00 PM.
#72
10-31-2019, 08:02 AM
What we didn't realise as we bunked down that night was that Monday would be a public holiday...
At home that means that most services would be closed, lots of shops would be closed and in general it would be a difficult thing to get things done. Like getting a windscreen fitted.
This needed to be done because the lower section of the existing screen was delaminating slightly and it would never be passed for a registration inspection in any part of Australia. And to replace it in Australia would mean shipping in a screen to special order, likely a couple of months of delay as well as a huge price tag.
The reason for that is that Dodge pickups or trucks had not been sold in Australia for many years. The last year that they were similar to American models would have been about 1957, if that was the year that the 'dogleg' A-pillar came in. Ours continued the same as they had been until 1959, there there was a slight facelift...
...and that was followed by the introduction of a body based on the then-current International:
...which went through a facelift a bit later and would adorn Australian Dodge trucks until the mid-eighties.
So here was our opportunity to find out how much more flexible life is in America... and we would learn all about it on Monday, November 12, 2012.
At home that means that most services would be closed, lots of shops would be closed and in general it would be a difficult thing to get things done. Like getting a windscreen fitted.
This needed to be done because the lower section of the existing screen was delaminating slightly and it would never be passed for a registration inspection in any part of Australia. And to replace it in Australia would mean shipping in a screen to special order, likely a couple of months of delay as well as a huge price tag.
The reason for that is that Dodge pickups or trucks had not been sold in Australia for many years. The last year that they were similar to American models would have been about 1957, if that was the year that the 'dogleg' A-pillar came in. Ours continued the same as they had been until 1959, there there was a slight facelift...
...and that was followed by the introduction of a body based on the then-current International:
...which went through a facelift a bit later and would adorn Australian Dodge trucks until the mid-eighties.
So here was our opportunity to find out how much more flexible life is in America... and we would learn all about it on Monday, November 12, 2012.
Last edited by Ray Bell; 10-31-2019 at 08:44 AM.
#73
10-31-2019, 08:56 AM
Monday, November 12, 2012...
Even though we weren’t driving anywhere this day, it was still very much part of our ‘American Adventure’.
Sorting through stuff, both in our bags and in the back of the pickup. I think I tossed a binful of stuff into the motel’s skip bin. Up and down in the elevator, making decisions about what was to go with us and what was to travel later.
As we did these things I snapped a few pics from our fourth-floor window, looking down on the railway station in the middle of Long Beach Boulevarde just near the junction of Pacific Coast Highway. It was largely an industrial area, but dressed up fairly well...
No, it would never pass at home. And it would cost many hundreds to import a screen. Much better that I get one fitted before we ship the truck. I started looking in the phone book for suppliers, but I found it was a public holiday – Veteran’s Day!
We were really delighted with the help we got here. First they allowed us to use some scales to weigh our bags to make sure we weren’t overweight, then the young fellow used a couple of his contacts to find someone to supply and instal a screen. This on a public holiday – it wouldn’t happen at home!
So I drove through some back streets to the address I was given, on my arrival the owner of the shop told me it would be about an hour before the screen was delivered. I had a bit of a look around and this car caught my eye:
It was in for a restoration, I was told, and what a big old classic it was!
It was a Franklin from the late twenties, and underneath it was certainly equipped with old-school bits...
Those bevel-geared final drives were all the go then, hypoids didn’t become commonplace until the thirties. And the engine...
With the big fan in there, the shrouding to get it over the fins in the block and head, definitely something you don’t see today. What a great thing to restore...
And then I was told more about the ‘restoration’, it was going to look all original, painted up nice, trimmed in period style. And then a 350 Chev driveline would be put in and some kind of modern disc brake front end!
I couldn’t believe it, but it seems there are people with all kinds of tastes and the car certainly didn’t belong to me. In the meantime...
...the screen was fitted, the old one put into the cardboard box in which the new one had come in so I could take it home as an emergency spare and I shelled out $148.
Then it was time to drive d.own to the shipping company...
...where I found that mine wasn’t the only blue old Mopar that would be waiting to be containerised and shipped:
As ordinary as this might be at home (yes, we did have plenty of early-fifties Plymouths), this 2-door would be one of a kind. Even with its flathead 6 engine. I parked the pickup in front of it...
...and it sat there with plenty of evidence it was carrying a heavy load. Some Mitsubishi Evo parts had been sent to the shipping company from someone in Florida to go with my load for my cousin, it filled the passenger seat area...
...while in the back there was a stack of stuff. From the Radio Flyer tricycle for the grandkids through the picnic gear and Thermos and the Sunbeam kettle we’d picked up in the first few days on the road, and there was about eight rear axle housings, some with axles and some with differential centres. And some gearboxes, and tools, that old windscreen, plenty to weigh it down...
Not left in the pickup was the little bit of Janet’s ‘hooch’ given to her in West Virginia. Yes, she had been working on it but there was a little left. And I didn’t want to have to declare it at home so I gave it to one of the guys at the shipping company.
Even though we weren’t driving anywhere this day, it was still very much part of our ‘American Adventure’.
Sorting through stuff, both in our bags and in the back of the pickup. I think I tossed a binful of stuff into the motel’s skip bin. Up and down in the elevator, making decisions about what was to go with us and what was to travel later.
As we did these things I snapped a few pics from our fourth-floor window, looking down on the railway station in the middle of Long Beach Boulevarde just near the junction of Pacific Coast Highway. It was largely an industrial area, but dressed up fairly well...
We woke up to a lovely sunny pleasant-temperatured day. Organised last-minute things, some to be left in the truck, others to be forced into suitcases to be taken with us.
We had a complimentary breakfast, check-out is at 11:30am, but I’ll probably go out and have a look around while Ray organises the new windscreen for the truck. They wouldn’t have one of these in Australia and the one in the truck is a bit frosted, so Ray doesn’t think it is legal at home, ie. it wouldn’t be passed for rego.
We had a complimentary breakfast, check-out is at 11:30am, but I’ll probably go out and have a look around while Ray organises the new windscreen for the truck. They wouldn’t have one of these in Australia and the one in the truck is a bit frosted, so Ray doesn’t think it is legal at home, ie. it wouldn’t be passed for rego.
It is Veteran’s Day today in the USA so quite a few businesses aren’t open. Ray tried a few places to get a windscreen, no luck. The fellow behind the desk at the motel put Ray onto someone and Ray is happy with the price and everything.
Ray has gone off to do the truck stuff and I will walk down the road, it is about 1.3 miles to the closest shopping centre. We will meet back at the motel at 1:30. The motel has nicely let us leave our bags in the office.
Ray has gone off to do the truck stuff and I will walk down the road, it is about 1.3 miles to the closest shopping centre. We will meet back at the motel at 1:30. The motel has nicely let us leave our bags in the office.
So I drove through some back streets to the address I was given, on my arrival the owner of the shop told me it would be about an hour before the screen was delivered. I had a bit of a look around and this car caught my eye:
It was in for a restoration, I was told, and what a big old classic it was!
It was a Franklin from the late twenties, and underneath it was certainly equipped with old-school bits...
Those bevel-geared final drives were all the go then, hypoids didn’t become commonplace until the thirties. And the engine...
With the big fan in there, the shrouding to get it over the fins in the block and head, definitely something you don’t see today. What a great thing to restore...
And then I was told more about the ‘restoration’, it was going to look all original, painted up nice, trimmed in period style. And then a 350 Chev driveline would be put in and some kind of modern disc brake front end!
I couldn’t believe it, but it seems there are people with all kinds of tastes and the car certainly didn’t belong to me. In the meantime...
...the screen was fitted, the old one put into the cardboard box in which the new one had come in so I could take it home as an emergency spare and I shelled out $148.
Then it was time to drive d.own to the shipping company...
...where I found that mine wasn’t the only blue old Mopar that would be waiting to be containerised and shipped:
As ordinary as this might be at home (yes, we did have plenty of early-fifties Plymouths), this 2-door would be one of a kind. Even with its flathead 6 engine. I parked the pickup in front of it...
...and it sat there with plenty of evidence it was carrying a heavy load. Some Mitsubishi Evo parts had been sent to the shipping company from someone in Florida to go with my load for my cousin, it filled the passenger seat area...
...while in the back there was a stack of stuff. From the Radio Flyer tricycle for the grandkids through the picnic gear and Thermos and the Sunbeam kettle we’d picked up in the first few days on the road, and there was about eight rear axle housings, some with axles and some with differential centres. And some gearboxes, and tools, that old windscreen, plenty to weigh it down...
Not left in the pickup was the little bit of Janet’s ‘hooch’ given to her in West Virginia. Yes, she had been working on it but there was a little left. And I didn’t want to have to declare it at home so I gave it to one of the guys at the shipping company.
Last edited by Ray Bell; 07-12-2022 at 02:49 AM.
#74
10-31-2019, 10:24 AM
Champion
The old milk trucks when I was a kid were really short wheel bases. In Britain they use milk floats but we used trucks. The short wheel base allows the truck to turn around in the circles in subdivisions.
#75
10-31-2019, 04:02 PM
You must be young...
When I was a kid the milkman came with horse and cart. His 'vehicle' was intelligent, moving up the road with him as he ran into each house and filled cans from his bigger cans.
One-pint glass bottles with aluminium foil lids came along a few short years later, along with motorised transport for the milko.
If it lagged behind a little he could whistle and it would catch up. Our bread came the same way, while there was also a vendor of fruit and vegetables would follow his horse past our place once or twice a week.
Dusty memories... from when I used to have my bath in the kitchen sink as I watched my dad working on his Essex down in the garage...
When I was a kid the milkman came with horse and cart. His 'vehicle' was intelligent, moving up the road with him as he ran into each house and filled cans from his bigger cans.
One-pint glass bottles with aluminium foil lids came along a few short years later, along with motorised transport for the milko.
If it lagged behind a little he could whistle and it would catch up. Our bread came the same way, while there was also a vendor of fruit and vegetables would follow his horse past our place once or twice a week.
Dusty memories... from when I used to have my bath in the kitchen sink as I watched my dad working on his Essex down in the garage...
#76
10-31-2019, 04:12 PM
It was maybe a half a mile to walk back to the motel, where Janet had returned after her shopping venture, it didn't take me long to get there...
The young fellow called the cab for us, in her enthusiasm Janet thought the next car in the driveway might be it already. I think that was a Corolla, it was way too small to be a cab anyway, not that the Prius was exactly large.
He hit the freeway system with LAX as the destination:
There was plenty of traffic...
...and I sat in the front bemused by the information available on the screen in the middle of the dash...
In and out we went, zipping along well, and LAX got a mention on a few of the freeway signs...
The freeway system is impressive...
...and soon enough the airport was in sight...
And then the fun began...
We were also treated to amusement from all the people checking in to the Air New Zealand area, so many of them having to open up their bags and move things from bag to bag so they made the weight limits. Talking about airing your dirty laundry!
How happy we were sitting there with bags we’d weighed to avoid this very problem. Not that we would find things totally smooth as the evening wore on...
"Have you got anything to tell us about what’s in the bag, sir?" I was asked. Several times. "My son gave it to me," I answered, assuring them that there shouldn’t be anything out of place. They put it through the X-ray again. And ran their hands through it and X-rayed it again.
Finally they found their ‘bullet’ and we were able to repack and be on our way. We still had plenty of time before the flight was to leave.
So we took off from LAX bound for more familiar territory. Our six and a half weeks had truly been an adventure. It was also an adventure I hadn’t expected to make, but as we flew home I was already planning – in the broadest terms – another trip.
Back in Indianapolis it had become abundantly clear that this would be both possible and necessary, there were all those transmissions waiting for me in Phoenix and I’d much rather ship them in another vehicle than pay freight on them individually.
And we had made a lot of friends, cemented a number of internet relationships and found other things we wanted to come back and see.
What I was not to realise for several months – a year, in fact – was that it had made a big difference to our relationship. Janet had not wanted to come with me, but she was to tell others in the following months that I had done a great job of looking after her during this six weeks. She was soon to express a strong desire to do it all again.
The flight home was full of thoughts of these things… and others...
I walked down the road and found a couple of cheap shops for clothes, looked but didn’t find anything. I had nearly given up and there was not much time until 1:30 when I saw a dress shop that said on the window, ‘4.99 and up.’ I went over and found a few nice things, more to cram in the bags when I got back to the motel.
I went back to the motel and Ray wasn’t there. Surprise, surprise! I waited on a nice comfy lounge for half an hour, Ray came and we rang a taxi to take us to the airport. It arrived in next to no time – a Toyota Prius – we have seen so many of those this trip, very popular because of their fuel economy.
We didn’t think it would fit everything in, we had to put a few things on the back seat.
I went back to the motel and Ray wasn’t there. Surprise, surprise! I waited on a nice comfy lounge for half an hour, Ray came and we rang a taxi to take us to the airport. It arrived in next to no time – a Toyota Prius – we have seen so many of those this trip, very popular because of their fuel economy.
We didn’t think it would fit everything in, we had to put a few things on the back seat.
He hit the freeway system with LAX as the destination:
There was plenty of traffic...
...and I sat in the front bemused by the information available on the screen in the middle of the dash...
In and out we went, zipping along well, and LAX got a mention on a few of the freeway signs...
The freeway system is impressive...
...and soon enough the airport was in sight...
And then the fun began...
We got to the airport, paid the taxi driver $65, he was really good, didn’t dilly-dally, didn’t start the meter until we got going and he helped a lot with the baggage. The meter read just under $60.
We were informed that we have to wait until 5:00pm to check in the bags, it is only 3:00pm, so we will have to wait patiently. Fortunately we’ve got plenty of snacks and a seat to sit on.
We’re sitting watching TSA check baggage – X-ray machines. You have to take your bags to the machines after they have been tagged with their destination and a fellow puts them through the machine. It looks a drab area.
We were informed that we have to wait until 5:00pm to check in the bags, it is only 3:00pm, so we will have to wait patiently. Fortunately we’ve got plenty of snacks and a seat to sit on.
We’re sitting watching TSA check baggage – X-ray machines. You have to take your bags to the machines after they have been tagged with their destination and a fellow puts them through the machine. It looks a drab area.
How happy we were sitting there with bags we’d weighed to avoid this very problem. Not that we would find things totally smooth as the evening wore on...
Well, after waiting for over two hours and snacking out on our leftover goodies – you can’t take food through Customs – we found out that everyone standing in the queue was going to Heathrow.
Yes, we had been waiting at the wrong area all that time. But we finally found the right queue, there was not many waiting, and we checked in our bags. Then we went through screening with our carry-on luggage. I went through easily, had to take my boots off and stand in a screened area with arms up, everybody had to do that, but when it came to Ray – what a Schemozzle!
Something showed up in his computer bag. Well, they took him over and went through procedure you see on Border Patrol, rubbing the bag down and putting the material through a machine. I thought it was a drug test but they assured me it wasn’t. It ended up being something like a screwdriver tip and they thought it was a bullet...
How embarrassing standing there all that time, feeling like a criminal. It wasn’t confiscated, it was legal to take through. Ray decided to put it in his pocket so it would be easily accessible for Sydney Customs.
Yes, we had been waiting at the wrong area all that time. But we finally found the right queue, there was not many waiting, and we checked in our bags. Then we went through screening with our carry-on luggage. I went through easily, had to take my boots off and stand in a screened area with arms up, everybody had to do that, but when it came to Ray – what a Schemozzle!
Something showed up in his computer bag. Well, they took him over and went through procedure you see on Border Patrol, rubbing the bag down and putting the material through a machine. I thought it was a drug test but they assured me it wasn’t. It ended up being something like a screwdriver tip and they thought it was a bullet...
How embarrassing standing there all that time, feeling like a criminal. It wasn’t confiscated, it was legal to take through. Ray decided to put it in his pocket so it would be easily accessible for Sydney Customs.
Finally they found their ‘bullet’ and we were able to repack and be on our way. We still had plenty of time before the flight was to leave.
We went to a restaurant for fish and chips, it was very expensive and the prices weren’t advertised outside. Anyway, it was nice, but Ray wouldn’t pay a tip because of the price. Then we had time for a coffee, I had been dying for a cappuccino for weeks, they don’t seem to sell them in the USA.
Anyway, their coffee is so strong that I got Ray to ask for a half-strength for me and quarter-strength for him. In America it means half normal coffee and half decaffeinated, when Ray found they’d done that, and I don’t know what quarter-strength entailed, he explained to them what it meant in Australia and had them make it again. They didn’t look happy.
We finally got on the plane, we had a spare seat beside us. There was a lot of spare seats, actually, so I could stretch out, which was good. I took a sleeping tablet but it didn’t seem to work, so after we were given another meal a few hours later I took another one. I think I got about three hours’ sleep.
Anyway, their coffee is so strong that I got Ray to ask for a half-strength for me and quarter-strength for him. In America it means half normal coffee and half decaffeinated, when Ray found they’d done that, and I don’t know what quarter-strength entailed, he explained to them what it meant in Australia and had them make it again. They didn’t look happy.
We finally got on the plane, we had a spare seat beside us. There was a lot of spare seats, actually, so I could stretch out, which was good. I took a sleeping tablet but it didn’t seem to work, so after we were given another meal a few hours later I took another one. I think I got about three hours’ sleep.
Back in Indianapolis it had become abundantly clear that this would be both possible and necessary, there were all those transmissions waiting for me in Phoenix and I’d much rather ship them in another vehicle than pay freight on them individually.
And we had made a lot of friends, cemented a number of internet relationships and found other things we wanted to come back and see.
What I was not to realise for several months – a year, in fact – was that it had made a big difference to our relationship. Janet had not wanted to come with me, but she was to tell others in the following months that I had done a great job of looking after her during this six weeks. She was soon to express a strong desire to do it all again.
The flight home was full of thoughts of these things… and others...
Last edited by Ray Bell; 02-03-2021 at 07:33 AM.
#77
10-31-2019, 08:42 PM
The spare seats in the plane saw a lot of people lying down across seats to sleep. But that was once we were in the air and got along in the flight a little. The usual wait for take-off was followed by that vibrating rush down the runway, the sights of LAX blurring a little as we gathered speed...
Then there was the hours of the singing of the engines as the 777 winged its way into the night, trying to stay ahead of the sunrise. Some watched movies, some drifted into sleep, I joined the latter group on and off. And eventually that sunrise caught up with us:
The flight had hours still to go, the trip was by no means over. People walked up and down, sometimes there were queues at the toilets, water was poured and sipped down, breakfast came to us.
Crew members handed out the cards we had to fill out for presentation when we got into Sydney, a lot easier for us as Australian citizens.
Our seats were right over the left wing (no, I can never remember whether that is port or starboard!) and in time we felt that gentle pull that meant that speed was being trimmed for the airport approach. Out the window I could see the air brakes come up to arrest the speed...
There was a lot of cloud and we weren’t to see much in the way of landfall. Down through the clouds we descended:
Of course, landing in Sydney was not the end of the trip. We still had the flight to Brisbane in a smaller plane to come, but it was at Sydney that we went through the immigration inspections and Customs checks.
Janet’s narrative of this time:
Yes, I had put those scissors into the wrong bag back in Long Beach. They were new purchases from the 99c Store in Las Vegas, never been used! Just why they escaped notice during that total search of that bag at LAX I don't know. And while I was going through all this inspection again, Janet was having another kind of experience:
But only after a special bus had rushed us - and a few others - to the Domestic side of the airport!
* If Dawn Fraser’s name is unfamiliar, she was a Gold Medal winner in three successive Olympics, 100m freestyle swimming being her specialty, though she did compete in up to 400m events and relays.
She was also a bit of a rebel and much was made of stealing a flag at the Tokyo Olympics. A 10-year ban was lifted prior to the 1968 Olympics but she was by then out of condition and couldn’t prepare. Later she went into NSW politics and won a seat in parliament.
Then there was the hours of the singing of the engines as the 777 winged its way into the night, trying to stay ahead of the sunrise. Some watched movies, some drifted into sleep, I joined the latter group on and off. And eventually that sunrise caught up with us:
The flight had hours still to go, the trip was by no means over. People walked up and down, sometimes there were queues at the toilets, water was poured and sipped down, breakfast came to us.
Crew members handed out the cards we had to fill out for presentation when we got into Sydney, a lot easier for us as Australian citizens.
Our seats were right over the left wing (no, I can never remember whether that is port or starboard!) and in time we felt that gentle pull that meant that speed was being trimmed for the airport approach. Out the window I could see the air brakes come up to arrest the speed...
There was a lot of cloud and we weren’t to see much in the way of landfall. Down through the clouds we descended:
Of course, landing in Sydney was not the end of the trip. We still had the flight to Brisbane in a smaller plane to come, but it was at Sydney that we went through the immigration inspections and Customs checks.
Janet’s narrative of this time:
I felt refreshed, the flight took about fourteen hours – nearly two hours more than the flight over.
We got off in Sydney and had to get a transfer bus from the International Airport to Sydney Domestic. By this time we were more concerned about the time, we only had about an hour to get through Customs etc.
Anyway, we got our luggage, took the transfer bus and then went through Customs. I had filled in on the declaration form that we’d been in a wilderness area so the officer asked me where. I told him the Giant Redwoods and he asked if my shoes were clean. When I said ‘Yes’ he waved me on, he didn’t ask Ray anything.
Then we had to put our bags on a mat and a sniffer dog went over them. Got out of that unscathed. We checked our bags in and went through screening for carry-ons. Well, once again, I got through all right but Ray had problems again!
I was in a different queue to him so I walked away and sat down and waited. He seemed an age, going through screening a few times and that same computer bag being wiped over again, they saw something suspect.
This time it was two pairs of nail scissors, very small ones, which they confiscated. Funny that they didn’t see them in LAX airport.
We got off in Sydney and had to get a transfer bus from the International Airport to Sydney Domestic. By this time we were more concerned about the time, we only had about an hour to get through Customs etc.
Anyway, we got our luggage, took the transfer bus and then went through Customs. I had filled in on the declaration form that we’d been in a wilderness area so the officer asked me where. I told him the Giant Redwoods and he asked if my shoes were clean. When I said ‘Yes’ he waved me on, he didn’t ask Ray anything.
Then we had to put our bags on a mat and a sniffer dog went over them. Got out of that unscathed. We checked our bags in and went through screening for carry-ons. Well, once again, I got through all right but Ray had problems again!
I was in a different queue to him so I walked away and sat down and waited. He seemed an age, going through screening a few times and that same computer bag being wiped over again, they saw something suspect.
This time it was two pairs of nail scissors, very small ones, which they confiscated. Funny that they didn’t see them in LAX airport.
Anyway, while I was waiting I saw this semi-familiar face being given a full body search. It was Dawn Fraser*. When she sat down near me to put her shoes back on I said to her, “So they gave you a frisk search?” and she smiled and said, “It always happens because of my titanium knee, it sets off the alarms.”
By this time Ray was out of the screening and we were both rushing for the gate, worried by this time, it was nearly departure time. And when we got there the flight had been delayed for a while anyway.
We got on the plane...
By this time Ray was out of the screening and we were both rushing for the gate, worried by this time, it was nearly departure time. And when we got there the flight had been delayed for a while anyway.
We got on the plane...
* If Dawn Fraser’s name is unfamiliar, she was a Gold Medal winner in three successive Olympics, 100m freestyle swimming being her specialty, though she did compete in up to 400m events and relays.
She was also a bit of a rebel and much was made of stealing a flag at the Tokyo Olympics. A 10-year ban was lifted prior to the 1968 Olympics but she was by then out of condition and couldn’t prepare. Later she went into NSW politics and won a seat in parliament.
Last edited by Ray Bell; 10-31-2019 at 09:58 PM.
#78
11-01-2019, 08:03 AM
I always enjoy looking down and picking landmarks as I fly, but it's not always that easy...
Still more cloud prevented us seeing much as we headed North, but eventually I managed to spot a few things… this is Wardell, near my good friend Norm’s place:
...and soon after that we went over Murwillumbah:
Crossing the border, we saw some sights of the Gold Coast, among them these canal estates:
And it wasn’t far from there to the start of the Brisbane sprawl...
...and then Brisbane, with the green of the nearby hills behind the city...
...and it was time for the plane to start banking to line up for the runway at Brisbane Airport:
Flaps down, we came in as a Virgin 737 similar to the one we were on and a Qantas 747 waited for their turn at the runway...
...and then the brakes were on, thrust reversed, all that noise and reassurance that we were once again on Terra Firma and not all that far from home:
No Customs, no Immigration, no paperwork, just get the luggage from the carousel and make our way out to await our lift. I’ll let Janet continue:
Let’s just forget, shall we, that one thing I’d asked of Clayton was that he get the puncture fixed in the tyre in the spare wheel well. He did, but he was charged over $30! I gave him the money but I was not pleased. And so we drove to the Gold Coast:
The reason we headed to the Gold Coast first is that I had not told my mother we were going on this trip. This was so she wouldn’t worry every time she heard about a plane crashing or when there was a news item about a shooting in America. I therefore owed it to her to visit her as soon as we flew in.
On the way there was traffic chaos on the freeway, so we hit the side roads through Springwood and saw the reason for all the holdup…
...one of those Franna cranes had rolled and blocked the Southbound lanes. For those not familiar with the, this is one of the type:
They steer by bending in the middle (a huge vertical pin joining front and rear sections and hydraulic rams performing the steering function) and don’t have much in the way of suspension. Very tricky to drive at any speed, they worry me!
Janet, of course, hadn’t driven in all the duration of our trip. She was obviously keen to see if she remembered how to do it.
Of course, Mum was pleased to see us. We told her about the trip and then headed home, about a 3-hour drive from the Gold Coast:
And while the trip was over, I still had to complete the whole thing by getting the paperwork done for the importation of the pickup and its great load, then driving it from Sydney to Dalveen. But that was still six months in the future as we basked in the joy of safely returning from the greatest adventure either of us had ever had. Janet had some presents for friends and family, notably a very special one for her sister.
More to come...
Still more cloud prevented us seeing much as we headed North, but eventually I managed to spot a few things… this is Wardell, near my good friend Norm’s place:
...and soon after that we went over Murwillumbah:
Crossing the border, we saw some sights of the Gold Coast, among them these canal estates:
And it wasn’t far from there to the start of the Brisbane sprawl...
...and then Brisbane, with the green of the nearby hills behind the city...
...and it was time for the plane to start banking to line up for the runway at Brisbane Airport:
Flaps down, we came in as a Virgin 737 similar to the one we were on and a Qantas 747 waited for their turn at the runway...
...and then the brakes were on, thrust reversed, all that noise and reassurance that we were once again on Terra Firma and not all that far from home:
No Customs, no Immigration, no paperwork, just get the luggage from the carousel and make our way out to await our lift. I’ll let Janet continue:
…and in just over an hour later we got to Brisbane airport. We phoned Clayton and he picked us up in our car and we dropped him off at work. Then we went to the Gold Coast to visit Ray’s Mum.
I drove some of the way.
I drove some of the way.
The reason we headed to the Gold Coast first is that I had not told my mother we were going on this trip. This was so she wouldn’t worry every time she heard about a plane crashing or when there was a news item about a shooting in America. I therefore owed it to her to visit her as soon as we flew in.
On the way there was traffic chaos on the freeway, so we hit the side roads through Springwood and saw the reason for all the holdup…
...one of those Franna cranes had rolled and blocked the Southbound lanes. For those not familiar with the, this is one of the type:
They steer by bending in the middle (a huge vertical pin joining front and rear sections and hydraulic rams performing the steering function) and don’t have much in the way of suspension. Very tricky to drive at any speed, they worry me!
Janet, of course, hadn’t driven in all the duration of our trip. She was obviously keen to see if she remembered how to do it.
Of course, Mum was pleased to see us. We told her about the trip and then headed home, about a 3-hour drive from the Gold Coast:
And while the trip was over, I still had to complete the whole thing by getting the paperwork done for the importation of the pickup and its great load, then driving it from Sydney to Dalveen. But that was still six months in the future as we basked in the joy of safely returning from the greatest adventure either of us had ever had. Janet had some presents for friends and family, notably a very special one for her sister.
More to come...
Last edited by Ray Bell; 02-03-2021 at 07:46 AM.
#79
11-01-2019, 08:49 AM
For the blue pickup which had been the centre of this adventure, there were still roads to travel. And a huge ocean to cross.
While all of this was being arranged, Janet got her 'revenge' on her sister for that e.mail about going to extreme lengths to remain younger for an extra day. Back along Route 66 she had bought a T-shirt with a big '60' on it and not long after we got home it was time to remind big sister that she was getting older herself!
There are many little details not covered in the narrative so far. For instance, the method of fixing that canopy (was that called a 'topper'?):
When I got it from Bill it had been attached to another pickup with four of those G-clamps with little bits of wood to spread the load over the aluminium canopy flange.
I later drilled holes and bought some long bolts to attach it more securely to the stake supports that are a feature of these truck beds.
And we had plenty of supplies on hand to keep us going. Oils for engine and transmission, brake fluid, hand cleaning wipes and more...
And the load. Oh, yes, the load, the huge load the poor old pickup was forced to haul much of that 9,600 miles. Look at the weighty stuff here:
A couple of complete rear ends, five or six more housings, some diff centres, there's a gearbox or two in there, lots of brake discs, drums and calipers, axles by the dozen, bags of nuts and bolts, the original windscreen, and already dropped off before I got home was a set of driveshafts, tail shaft and rear diff for my cousin's Mitsubishi Evo.
Not to mention personal effects. That tricycle we bought at the flea market, two bags we picked up and eventually packed with clothing we bought there or figured we didn't need when we packed our bags to go on the plane. And books and maps and other stuff.
But these had come home with us:
Janet's diaries, from which much of this narrative has been copied, or in the earlier parts initially used to remind me of details as I was writing this up months after the event. As mentioned, Janet had decided that, even though she hadn't been at all keen on making this first trip, she wanted to go again. "I want to go back and go through all the states we didn't see," she told me.
So maybe this was on her mind when Kenny took this photo of us in Las Vegas...
Before the truck could be shipped home there was a lot of paperwork, applying for permission to import it, checks on the title and so on. Once these were done things were set in motion and the people involved fitted it into a container with other cars and cargo.
In Sydney it was offloaded and steam cleaned, everything checked out by Customs and I handed over bags of gold to cover all those costs. But I went through several different hoops trying to find a way to get the truck to my place – about 500 miles from Sydney. At first I tried to find an inexpensive way to have it hauled home on a truck, but that was a dead end.
At that time a New South Wales ‘Permit to Travel’ - ie. temporary registration and insurance – required an inspection to check for roadworthiness. That might cause all sorts of complications. But a Canberra one didn’t. So I drove with a friend to Canberra and obtained their permit, then back to Sydney and picked up my truck. The friend took my Mazda 626 home to Gunnedah, I would hitch-hike there the following week to pick it up.
While all of this was being arranged, Janet got her 'revenge' on her sister for that e.mail about going to extreme lengths to remain younger for an extra day. Back along Route 66 she had bought a T-shirt with a big '60' on it and not long after we got home it was time to remind big sister that she was getting older herself!
There are many little details not covered in the narrative so far. For instance, the method of fixing that canopy (was that called a 'topper'?):
When I got it from Bill it had been attached to another pickup with four of those G-clamps with little bits of wood to spread the load over the aluminium canopy flange.
I later drilled holes and bought some long bolts to attach it more securely to the stake supports that are a feature of these truck beds.
And we had plenty of supplies on hand to keep us going. Oils for engine and transmission, brake fluid, hand cleaning wipes and more...
And the load. Oh, yes, the load, the huge load the poor old pickup was forced to haul much of that 9,600 miles. Look at the weighty stuff here:
A couple of complete rear ends, five or six more housings, some diff centres, there's a gearbox or two in there, lots of brake discs, drums and calipers, axles by the dozen, bags of nuts and bolts, the original windscreen, and already dropped off before I got home was a set of driveshafts, tail shaft and rear diff for my cousin's Mitsubishi Evo.
Not to mention personal effects. That tricycle we bought at the flea market, two bags we picked up and eventually packed with clothing we bought there or figured we didn't need when we packed our bags to go on the plane. And books and maps and other stuff.
But these had come home with us:
Janet's diaries, from which much of this narrative has been copied, or in the earlier parts initially used to remind me of details as I was writing this up months after the event. As mentioned, Janet had decided that, even though she hadn't been at all keen on making this first trip, she wanted to go again. "I want to go back and go through all the states we didn't see," she told me.
So maybe this was on her mind when Kenny took this photo of us in Las Vegas...
Before the truck could be shipped home there was a lot of paperwork, applying for permission to import it, checks on the title and so on. Once these were done things were set in motion and the people involved fitted it into a container with other cars and cargo.
In Sydney it was offloaded and steam cleaned, everything checked out by Customs and I handed over bags of gold to cover all those costs. But I went through several different hoops trying to find a way to get the truck to my place – about 500 miles from Sydney. At first I tried to find an inexpensive way to have it hauled home on a truck, but that was a dead end.
At that time a New South Wales ‘Permit to Travel’ - ie. temporary registration and insurance – required an inspection to check for roadworthiness. That might cause all sorts of complications. But a Canberra one didn’t. So I drove with a friend to Canberra and obtained their permit, then back to Sydney and picked up my truck. The friend took my Mazda 626 home to Gunnedah, I would hitch-hike there the following week to pick it up.
Last edited by Ray Bell; 11-01-2019 at 08:54 AM.
#80
11-01-2019, 09:29 AM
I chose a path which enabled me to be on secondary roads most of the way. I had to pick up the Dodge at Hession Road, Rouse Hill and fuel up at Windsor...
After driving up the Putty Road, I turned off the main highway after Tamworth and went through Manilla, where I showed it to a fellow Mopar truck owner…
...and Barraba, driving through countryside unlike all those places it had been in America…
...and then called on a friend at Bundarra, visited my cousin near Gilgai, who got these shots:
As it neared dark I was crossing the river which forms the border between NSW and Queensland…
It wasn’t far from there to home.
We began planning the next trip, which would include an extension to take us to Europe as well, in June, 2013. In time Janet put aside a bag and had the clothing she wanted to take with her for the next adventure. Even though it was over six months before we'd be going.
I had been very busy after driving the pickup home from Sydney as I was forced to get a rental shed to put a lot of my stuff into. I spent about six weeks doing this, then an extra job for my employer came up. This meant I was working at least six days every week and it occupied a lot of the next seven or eight weeks. As the winter of 2013 came to a close, Janet had a bad cough and doctors were saying it was pneumonia. But it wasn't.
Less than a year after our return from this initial adventure Janet was suddenly very ill and I took her to the Stanthorpe hospital. The next night she had a helicopter ride to Toowoomba Base Hospital and the following morning I was told it would be days and weeks, not months and years. And it was, just six weeks...
So I was to take the next trip on my own. But that's another story.
But for this first trip I have to thank several people for helping to make it a success:
Jon Duncan of Spokane, Washington. He's become a good friend.
Bill Parker of Ellettsville, Indiana, another good friend and indispensable when we had to prepare for this trip.
Mike Argetsinger, who made our time at Watkins Glen such a great experience. Sadly, Mike also passed away, but I did get to visit him again and experience his hospitality again on my second trip.
David Blair in Pennsylvania, who motivated me with plans of a venture to market modified Hemi 6 engines. He helped with the rental car booking, advice on travel and planning. His health deteriorated only months later and he also died. With his help we made contact with BHJ Dynamics and they have made an improved harmonic balancer for the Hemi 6 which in turn bears David’s name.
The couple from El Paso and the gentleman in Utah who helped out when the wheel bearings failed.
The many people with whom we spent time at hotel breakfasts, at other gatherings we attended, all of whom contributed to the warm feelings we had for the American public when we returned.
I publicly thank these people because of their input into an important part of my life, but mostly contributing to the pleasure Janet derived from what would be the greatest adventure in her short life. For me, subsequent trips have been longer and even more spectacular, but they wouldn't have been possible without the success of the first.
After driving up the Putty Road, I turned off the main highway after Tamworth and went through Manilla, where I showed it to a fellow Mopar truck owner…
...and Barraba, driving through countryside unlike all those places it had been in America…
...and then called on a friend at Bundarra, visited my cousin near Gilgai, who got these shots:
As it neared dark I was crossing the river which forms the border between NSW and Queensland…
It wasn’t far from there to home.
We began planning the next trip, which would include an extension to take us to Europe as well, in June, 2013. In time Janet put aside a bag and had the clothing she wanted to take with her for the next adventure. Even though it was over six months before we'd be going.
I had been very busy after driving the pickup home from Sydney as I was forced to get a rental shed to put a lot of my stuff into. I spent about six weeks doing this, then an extra job for my employer came up. This meant I was working at least six days every week and it occupied a lot of the next seven or eight weeks. As the winter of 2013 came to a close, Janet had a bad cough and doctors were saying it was pneumonia. But it wasn't.
Less than a year after our return from this initial adventure Janet was suddenly very ill and I took her to the Stanthorpe hospital. The next night she had a helicopter ride to Toowoomba Base Hospital and the following morning I was told it would be days and weeks, not months and years. And it was, just six weeks...
So I was to take the next trip on my own. But that's another story.
But for this first trip I have to thank several people for helping to make it a success:
Jon Duncan of Spokane, Washington. He's become a good friend.
Bill Parker of Ellettsville, Indiana, another good friend and indispensable when we had to prepare for this trip.
Mike Argetsinger, who made our time at Watkins Glen such a great experience. Sadly, Mike also passed away, but I did get to visit him again and experience his hospitality again on my second trip.
David Blair in Pennsylvania, who motivated me with plans of a venture to market modified Hemi 6 engines. He helped with the rental car booking, advice on travel and planning. His health deteriorated only months later and he also died. With his help we made contact with BHJ Dynamics and they have made an improved harmonic balancer for the Hemi 6 which in turn bears David’s name.
The couple from El Paso and the gentleman in Utah who helped out when the wheel bearings failed.
The many people with whom we spent time at hotel breakfasts, at other gatherings we attended, all of whom contributed to the warm feelings we had for the American public when we returned.
I publicly thank these people because of their input into an important part of my life, but mostly contributing to the pleasure Janet derived from what would be the greatest adventure in her short life. For me, subsequent trips have been longer and even more spectacular, but they wouldn't have been possible without the success of the first.
Last edited by Ray Bell; 02-03-2021 at 07:50 AM.