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Cross Country Mancation With The Brothers and The Riv
13th Mar - 21st Mar 09My brother, Neil, just finished restoring a 1965 Buick Riviera for me (long story, doesn't matter why) and we're taking off on Saturday to drive it across the country from Seattle to Charlotte. Neil, Ian, Keith depart from Seattle, overnight in Portland where we pick up brother Loren then take off from there. We're taking a somewhat scenic route from Portland, OR thru Boise, ID - SLC, Albuquerque - stop in Texas to visit older brother, Marc, and lose Neil and Keith for their return to Seattle. Loren and Ian travel on to Memphis, Asheville and end in Charlotte where Loren will return to Portland from and Ian lives.
Loren's keeping his journal on the Milo's City Cafe web page. Check it out at:
http://miloscitycafe.com/mancation.aspx
News Flash!! News Flash!! The few minor issues we've encountered with the car caused Ian and Loren to ask Neil to continue the trip on the Charlotte. This comes from the "just in case" department. Thankfully, Neil is willing and will finish the trip in Charlotte instead of finishing in Austin. Yay!!
12 March 09, Thursday Night
We've got a list of small tasks to take care of this evening, like the high/low beam switch grommet, and finish the driver's door trim… » more
We've got a list of small tasks to take care of this evening, like the high/low beam switch grommet, and finish the driver's door trim with the new screws we bought at the Screw Value. Oh, and some more-significant stuff like hooking up the headlight clamshells and mounting that kickdown and installing that fan shroud and...
Maybe we'll get half of it done before tomorrow afternoon when we hit the road, and that'll be good! » less
13 March 09, First Stop
Stopped to visit with the guys who did the body work and the paint job on the car, Berg's collision. They did a great job… » more
Stopped to visit with the guys who did the body work and the paint job on the car, Berg's collision. They did a great job and were glad we stopped to show them the finished product. When they found out that the car was headed for Charlotte they gave me the leftover paint. Very nice of them.
Stopped and got our first gas of the the trip - mileage 74726 (31 miles in) - 15.9 gals for $37.46. Now we're stuck in some very slow traffic south of Tacoma. » less
13 March 09, End of Day One
We made it Portland! No car trouble, mileage seems about what we expected. We'll find out for sure tomorrow when we get gas. We met… » more
We made it Portland! No car trouble, mileage seems about what we expected. We'll find out for sure tomorrow when we get gas. We met niece Caty for dinner at Milo's. Megan and Marianne are both working tonight so we get to see everybody. Good crowd at the restaurant
We saw a bald eagle in flight early in the drive. Pretty cool. Not a lot to see between Seattle and Portland. Traffic wasn't too bad except for Tacoma. » less
13 March 09, The Trip Begins
Finished most of the little chores this morning and afternoon. A few left undone but the parts are in the trunk for later completion. Took… » more
Finished most of the little chores this morning and afternoon. A few left undone but the parts are in the trunk for later completion. Took care of the 3 S's and finally pulled away at 2:45, about 1 1/2 hours later than planned but well within the target window. We changed the oil and flushed the radiator. Looks like there might be a small leak in the radiator. We're watching it.
Right now we're headed to Tacoma for a visit with the guys who did the body work. They've never seen the car completely finished and we want to make sure they get to see the full deal.
Neil and Keith are riding up front. Ian's in the back. Surprisingly comfortable. I'll let you know how it feels after a few hours.
The trunk is surprisingly small. Most of the modern cars have much deeper trunk cavities. Don't get me wrong, it's big, just not deep. But, it's small enough that Keith had to ship the customer samples he was planning to cart along. » less
14 March 09, Musings on old cars vs new cars
We just made our first potty break of the day - 2 hours in. Younger men might have made it the extra half hour to… » more
We just made our first potty break of the day - 2 hours in. Younger men might have made it the extra half hour to the next gas stop. Oh well.
It's interesting to compare the features of the older cars to the new ones. For instance, there is not cup holder one in this beast. When did that become a feature you just had to have in a car? The ventilation in the front of the car is great. Heating is great. Seats are very comfortable front and back. There are no headrests. This is negative if you're trying to sleep but positive if you want to turn around to talk to someone in the back seat.. Cruise control! Sure would be nice to have cruise control.
This car is clearly a couple of generations old but it kinda makes you wonder how the auto designers of the future will make the next generation extra-special.
At the rest stop we met a fellow with a Cadillac XLR, and the design similarities were very evident -- creased fenders, hood lines very close. We took a picture together. He was traveling to Boise, and said that he'd average 31 MPG (with a 5.7 liter engine!), half the gas we'll burn. But on a per-person basis we're doing twice as good! We told him that we would see him down the road -- Hah! We'll never see him again! » less
14 March 09, Wheels up at O-Dark-30
The debate about when to get up and leave was short-lived; up at 5am, left at 6am, first gas stop at 6:35. 176.1 miles since… » more
The debate about when to get up and leave was short-lived; up at 5am, left at 6am, first gas stop at 6:35. 176.1 miles since our fill-up in Tacoma, filled with 13.2 gallons of high-test. Works out to 13.3 miles per gallon (or 17.65 liters per 100km if you prefer). We'll count that as a success, considering that we had city driving and stop-and-go traffic on that tankfull.
7:15 - Sun coming up as we drive through the pass. Light rain. Passing the Bonneville Dam - lots of power lines coming out. » less
14 March 09, Lunch!
Well, we're close to being on schedule, maybe running 30 minutes behind the idealized plan. Only complication is that we forgot about the time change,… » more
Well, we're close to being on schedule, maybe running 30 minutes behind the idealized plan. Only complication is that we forgot about the time change, so we've sprung forward again. Instead of leaving Boise at 2:30, we've gotten out at 4:00. The Utah state line isn't very far away, though, so we're feeling good about ourselves. So far.
Lunch in Boise was at the Bitter Creek Alehouse, where they served sandwiches that were quite good. Some boys made healthy choices, and others, because someone had taken their first choice, made a different choice. Not that person's fault, of course.
The car is ticking right along, no funny noises. It does burn some oil, a quart every other tank so far. At one gas stop it mysteriously didn't start right away, but Neil opened the hood and touched the battery, and that was enough to scare it into submission. Maybe it was a-feared that we'd get the wrenches out and start disassembling again!
Ian's turn to drive; next gas stop at Twin Falls, Idaho. » less
14 March 09, First little issue
We left Idaho behind at about 7:30 pm local time. Just light enough to get a last Edgar the bear picture against the welcome to… » more
We left Idaho behind at about 7:30 pm local time. Just light enough to get a last Edgar the bear picture against the welcome to Utah sign.
Stopped for gas in Utah. Still averaging about 13mpg. Heavy car, 4 fat men, all their luggage. I'll be interested to see what the decrease in weight when Neil and Keith leave the trip in TX.
Had our first little car trouble in Ogden. After filling the tank we tried to pull away and the car wouldn't start. Same thing happened at an earlier stop but it corrected easily by raising the hood (black magic). This time it wouldn't start that way and all of a sudden we saw a little smoke in the passenger compartment. Don't know for sure what it is but we think it's associated with a loose wire on the lighter. We'll see as time goes along.
Anyway, all is well. We're headed to SLC to have dinner and find a cheap motel to spend the night. » less
15 March 09, Sunday in Utah
No more car excitement. We’re pretty sure that having the inverter plugged into the cigarette lighter drew too much juice and caused a little power… » more
No more car excitement. We’re pretty sure that having the inverter plugged into the cigarette lighter drew too much juice and caused a little power surge while starting the engine. So, we’re not connecting the inverter today and depending on battery power. May result in no late day blog. We’ll see how long 2 PC batteries will last. Probably upload pictures tonight.
We had dinner at a churasco (a Brazilian steakhouse) – Rodizio Grill – in Trolley Square. The salad bar was fresh and very plentiful. I tried a marinated quail egg, not so good. Everything else from the salad bar was very nice. Some of the meats were excellent, some suffered from the fact that we got there at 10pm when closing time was 11. But, they didn’t make too much noise cleaning. There were a bunch of birthdays and it’s one of those places were the staff sings Happy Birthday (in Portugese) loudly but dispiritedly. I hate that crap!! All-in-all, not bad but not good enough to merit a recommendation.
We wanted to clear the city last night so as to miss the Tabernacle crowd. We were shooting for Provo but stopped at a Motel 6 about 10 miles short. Haven’t stayed at a Motel 6 for a while? On the plus side, it was cheap ($35 for 2 people, 2 beds), the room was clean and it was surprisingly quiet. On the minus side, they only had smoking rooms (Neil & Ian’s room wasn’t so bad, Keith & Loren’s WOW, previous occupied by a family of 4 PallMall chain smokers), and the toilet in Rm 306 was clogged. Not so good. On the weird side, bulletprooof glass in the entry. We’re going to look for something a little nicer tonight. Maybe $40.
We were planning to hit the road at 8am MDT but the AARP room was enjoying their much needed beauty sleep and had to be rousted by the young fellers. Hit the road at 8:45 and are still deciding how far we’ll go today.
Decided to take US6 out of SLC. Really nice drive through the canyon with incredible rock formations. Stopped for brunch in Price, UT. There were two recommended restaurants, both closed on Sunday as it turns out. Ended up with lunch at Wendy’s. Oh well, we’ll do better for dinner. » less
15 March 09, More Sunday in Utah
Very interesting continuation to the day. A little more driving along 6S. It was a very interesting drive. Lots of very straight stretches of road… » more
Very interesting continuation to the day. A little more driving along 6S. It was a very interesting drive. Lots of very straight stretches of road with nobody in front of us and nobody behind us. We picked up I70E for a little while then cut off on UT 191S.
We stopped at Arches National Park just outside Moab (not mis-spelled). What a fantastic place. The stone formations are as diverse as they are interesting. Check the pictures. Really cool.
We left there and went to on into Moab for a quick gas stop. Still about 13mpg for those keeping track. Left Moab on 191S. Got 13.8 Miles south and the car died. Neil fiddled with it a little but couldn't get it started. Thank goodness for AAA. They showed up within 1/2 hour, loaded the car on a flat bed tow truck and hauled all of us and the car back to town. After a little more diagnosis Neil concluded that the fuel pump had failed. Keith and his trusty iPhone looked up all the auto parts places within driving distance, called all the ones that were open and couldn't find one. Luckily, the AAA place had rental cars right there and didn't rip us off on the price (for an old Camry with 175K miles).
So, we're spending the night in Moab and hoping the one of the places, including the GM dealer, will have a fuel pump when we call in the morning. If so, Neil will swap it and we're on our way still planning to hit Copperas Cove on Tuesday evening. If no one has it available then one of the parts places will have it in on Tuesday. Then we'll have to do some fancy schedule shuffling. Stand by.
We went to the Moab brewery for dinner. Decent meal but not great. Good beer but not great. Like last night, we wouldn't run the place down but it won't get a place on the recommendations page.
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16 March 09, Monday in Moab
It's a beautiful morning in Moab. Nice sunrise (I hear) - cool to start but warming into the mid 70s. We got up and made… » more
It's a beautiful morning in Moab. Nice sunrise (I hear) - cool to start but warming into the mid 70s. We got up and made our way to a local breakfast joint - The Jailhouse Cafe - at 8. Very nice breakfasts all around. Southwest Eggs Benedict, Chorizo Scramble and Swedish pancakes all very well done. We'll add this one to the recommendations page.
On the mechanical front, no luck with the exact replacement part for the fuel pump. Interestingly, it turns out that the one that's installed is not the original mechanical fuel pump for that model engine. Anyway, Neil decided that we should not wait for another day to get the mechanical pump. He's replacing it with an electrical fuel pump that was available at Car Quest auto parts. He's at the repair shop with the car and the mechanics getting it installed right now. With any luck, we'll be on the road by 1pm. We should still make Copperas Cove on Tuesday. Late Tuesday but Tuesday all the same. » less
16 March 09, More Monday In Moab
More mechanical excitement! Neil got the new electric fuel pump (with flow regulator), got it installed and Behold! it worked. Car started great. Then it… » more
More mechanical excitement! Neil got the new electric fuel pump (with flow regulator), got it installed and Behold! it worked. Car started great. Then it stalled. Started again just fine. Stalled again. He concluded that the "hot" wire that he took of the coil didn't supply enough electricity. So, wired hot to the main terminal and Behold! all is well. Except the fuel pump runs constantly. No problem, says he, we'll just temporarily install a toggle switch which we'll shut off whenever we stop. No prob, says I.
So, we take the car for a couple mile test drive. Runs great, accelerates properly, no prob, let's stop for a minute and switch a couple of things. Oops - now it won't start again. Same problem as a couple of nights ago. Now smoke starts coming out of the center console. Not billowing, mind you, just a little dribble of smoke. Whoa! Let's see what that is. So we take the center console apart and determine that the Park/Neutral safety interlock is what's smoking. A little more thought - "hey, we could bypass that, just for a test". Keith, the master of the iPhone, looks up the wiring diagram on the internet - how did we ever get along without the internet. Create a couple of electrical jumpers, rough wire it, get a little crank over - Yay!. then it quits and won't crank again.
More thought, must be the starter solenoid, says he, since the purple wire from the interlock switch heads to the starter solenoid. Makes sense, says he, that would drive the amperage up and cause the safety switch to overheat. Keith calls around and finds a starter solenoid at the local Napa dealer. However, in order to get to the starter solenoid you have to drop the starter - can't do that without lifting the car. Neil calls the towing company - different one from yesterday to get taken to someplace where we can get under the car. Ian and Loren go off to find a mechanic. Through the wonders of celluar technology the car and the people all end up at the mechanic.
Now the mechanic says, "Maybe we can have it done today. Leave it and we'll give it a shot.." So we headed off to a local Mexican joint for lunch - okay, not exceptional. We came back to the mechanic just about in time to push the car into the bay - Yay! Now the mechanic is working on it, with Neil consulting. If we're going to be on the road tonight, we should know within an hour.
If we get on the road tonight we're going to push hard for TX. Maybe drive through the night, given our lack of activity today.
More later. » less
16 March 09, No more Moab!
We have liftoff! Turns out Neil’s diagnoses were absolutely correct. The solenoid was bad and the lockout was bad. We jury rigged a bypass for… » more
We have liftoff! Turns out Neil’s diagnoses were absolutely correct. The solenoid was bad and the lockout was bad. We jury rigged a bypass for the lockout switch until I can get a new one. Don’t forget that the car has to be in Park before attempting to start – remind each other all the time. Don’t forget to flip the fuel pump toggle switch to off when you stop – remind each other all the time. Don’t forget to flip the fuel pump toggle switch to on when you need to start – remind each other all the time. The owner of the repair shop – Pat at Arches Auto Repair – was a big help and we bid him a fond farewell. See him for auto repairs in Moab. He priced the rental car and the repairs fairly when we were obviously in a hurry and he might have taken advantage.
Anyway, we left Moab behind. Besides leaving Moab behind, we also left Utah and Colorado behind and are currently enjoying the early twilight in northern New Mexico. As with the trip through Utah, the scenery is amazing. We just passed Castle Rock and Ship Rock. Great monoliths in the middle of nowhere. Fantastic!
All these mechanical issues have us – especially Neil – a little twitchy. There’s some pre-planting burning of the fields going on in Colorado right now. Every time we passed one of the fires we’d have to look at the center console to make sure the fire wasn’t coming from the wiring harness. A little while after we left Moab the car started bucking while accelerating, then slowed to 40 and wouldn’t go any faster. Finally, whatever was wrong simply passed and it started running fine. We concluded that it was probably some water in the gas that we bought in Moab just before the fuel pump crapped out. Connected? You decide.
We’re still deciding whether we can drive all night to get to Marc’s place. We want to get there early enough that Keith gets a little visiting time but we don’t want to do anything foolish. We’ll let you know tomorrow.
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17 March 09, Officially 1/2 way!!
Well, we decided to do the all night drive. It worked out okay with four drivers. Our driving strategy has been for each of us… » more
Well, we decided to do the all night drive. It worked out okay with four drivers. Our driving strategy has been for each of us to drive off a tank of gas. At 13 mpg that means each of us drives for a little less than 3 hours. Very bearable. Brother Marc got up early and headed to Abilene to meet us, just in case we had a mechanical problem in Texas, where they don’t speak the same language as us Yankees. We had a decent breakfast at a place called the Dixie Pig, reasonably priced and plenty. We’ll recommend it. Marc drove the Buick, so as to get in on the fun. And we made it!!! We were even within 20 minutes of our original timetable (2:00pm), despite the delay in Moab. Granted, we didn’t get to Carlsbad caverns, but we kept our schedule. We’re looking forward to a day of rest and if the Buick can think, as I expect it can, it probably is too.
We’re considering nicknames for the car. Suggestions are welcome.
For anyone who hasn’t driven across it, Texas is flat, flat, flat. A very unimpressive landscape, to my eye. This was a new route for me, but it seemed pretty much the same as the others I’ve taken. On the positive side, we saw one of the largest wind farms in the world as we drove between Lubock and Abilene. Looked to be over 1,000 of them. That was very impressive. And, we passed through Mills County, the “meat goat capital of the USA”. Many, many goats.
It occurs to me that some of our faithful readers only know one or two of us brothers who are being described here. Here’s a quick rundown. Brother Marc lives in Copperas Cove, TX and is the oldest. He also has the most hair. Ian is the proud recipient of the Riv and lives in Charlotte, NC. Neil is the “builder” of the car and spent 100’s of hours and many funds in getting the car ready to move to Charlotte from his house in Seattle. Loren lives in Portland and is the proud owner, along with his wife, of Milo’s City Café, previously mentioned. Keith lives in Seattle and is currently documenting Edgar Bear’s travels across the USA.
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18 March 09, Everything's Bigger in Texas
Yesterday was St. Patrick's Day, and in many places you can't avoid the banners and special menu advertisements, etc. Here there was little sign of… » more
Yesterday was St. Patrick's Day, and in many places you can't avoid the banners and special menu advertisements, etc. Here there was little sign of celebration, so we had to make our own. The brisket was Texas-smoked instead of Corned Beef, and we figured that mixing Mexican beer with English beer came close to being Irish -- Negra Modelo and Newcastle Brown Ale together -- life is good.
The food came from a local smoke shop -- the brisket was firm and well-smoked and the only complaint could be that the fat had been trimmed, bummer. Great smoked chicken, similar to Caveman Kitchen, and the sausage was special, too. All served Texas-fashion, meaning sauce on the side, a great thing.
We had the five brothers together yesterday, but today Keith has to split off and go conduct some business here in Texas. Neil had planned to fly back to Seattle tomorrow, but since we've had a few adventures with the car that might not have been diagnosed so quickly (...we would have figured it out eventually...) it might be handy to have him and his tool kit along. But we won't use those tools any more after this morning when we replace the mechanical fuel pump, right? » less
18 March 09, Wednesday in Texas!
We had a day of rest today, so this being a mancation, we played golf. Copperas Cove has a nice little golf course. It's a… » more
We had a day of rest today, so this being a mancation, we played golf. Copperas Cove has a nice little golf course. It's a little brown right now but that just means we got some really long runs out of some pretty poor shots. Nobody scored great and Ian's lifetime record of not breaking 100 still stands firm. Maybe next time. Actually, Edgar had a pretty good day but he's a pro and his score shouldn't be compared to ours. He's a big hitter for a short guy (drove #9 and 2 putted for bird) but he ran out of gas on the back 9. Check out the scorecard and pics in the photo section.
We stopped at a very, very nice liquor store to pick up a little brown liquor this afternoon. Great selection of bourbon, rum, tequila and most of the other brown and clear liquors. They didn't have any Plymouth Sloe Gin and the wine selection wasn't great but hard liquor, fabulous. On the way back to Marc's place we just had to check out one of the drive thru daiquiri places. They have these things all over Louisiana and none of us had ever tried one. They really do have liquor in the daiquiri, which was the topic that was troubling us. They avoid the open container laws (yes, they do have them in Texas) by taping a top in the styrofoam container. And, it wasn't a bad drink. We don't need to do that again but maybe you'll like to try it.
Our newest great-niece Haley and John Thomas, her older brother, came by for a visit. Haley is 18 months old and this was our first meeting. They're both attractive and well behaved kids.
After a fine dinner, prepared by Marc, we did a little work on the Riv. Remember that fuel pump that wasn't available in Moab? Well, it was available in Copperas Cove the day after it was ordered (today). It went in easy and actually worked. Neil disconnected the electrical pump and stored it away in the trunk, just in case. Then we gave the old girl a batch, vacuumed the inside and reconnected the cigarette lighter so we can, once again, blog from the road.
We're off to Memphis tomorrow! Graceland on Friday. » less
19 March 09, On the Road Again
This morning we packed our bags to leave Texas, and were served a lovely going-away breakfast by brother Marc, who can cook a little himself.… » more
This morning we packed our bags to leave Texas, and were served a lovely going-away breakfast by brother Marc, who can cook a little himself. No lingering effects of our Wednesday night bourbon and rum tasting, so we were able to enjoy eggs & country ham (just the right amount of salt) with crispy hash browns made from list night's baked potatoes. Yummy.
Having left Keith in Texas to conduct some business, and leaving Marc to work on the house in preparation for a move East, Ian, Neil and Loren are traveling on.
Our route today takes us through Dallas , Texarkana, Arkadelphia and Little Rock on the way to Memphis. All Interstate highway driving, and with the exception of some construction slowdowns it's pretty easy duty, if not as scenic as the state highways traveled in Utah, New Mexico and Texas.
We stopped for lunch today at Burton's Family Restaurant in Sulphur Springs, Texas. Ian's Internet surfing yielded no reviews but the name was intriguing and we got a good review of their catfish from the ladies at the gasoline station. Two of the brothers chose that catfish, which was tasty, firm and properly fried with a cornbread crust. The menu offered 3-pc, 5-pc and 7-pc dinners, implying that the pieces might not be full fillets, but that was wrong -- they were large pieces. Served with a very interesting tartar sauce, heavy on the pickle and light on the mayo. Hush puppies were also good, nicely spiced and properly fried. Give Burton's catfish dinners a 4 of 5 score.
You might be wondering about that third brother, who decided to give the chicken fried steak a try. Faced with multiple portion sizes: 6, 8 and 16 ounces, some restraint was shown -- the Texas-sized 8 ounces would do for lunch. Unfortunately the chef didn't show much restraint when adding the country gravy; it might have been 8 ounces as well. Like a cup. No kidding. So the meat might have been OK, but it was hard to tell through the ocean of gravy. Ask for the gravy on the side, or better yet, have the catfish.
We have reason to believe that we three will be received at Graceland at 9:10am tomorrow morning -- Ian made us an appointment for the second tour of the day.
This afternoon we had our first real rain of the trip, and came through it OK, no leaks through the new door seals, although they do drip in a minor way when the car is washed. A small price to pay for the uber-cool-ness of no roof pillar, say we. New fuel pump good; we don't have to open the hood and switch off the electric any more. No hiccups this morning and afternoon, knock on wood.
We hope to be able to report on the state of Memphis barbecue and The Blues in our next installment. Maybe on some Tennessee sippin' whisky and spring water as well.
And OH! We discussed car naming today, trying out a wide range of both female and male names, including those that work both ways. But in the end we decided that "Nuke", as in Ebby Calvin "Nuke" Laloosh, works for the Riv. "Nuke. Call me Nuke." » less
19 March 09, Keith's left the mancation
Sadly, I departed the Mancation on Wednesday to visit customers in the great state of Texas. I thought I would take the time to provide… » more
Sadly, I departed the Mancation on Wednesday to visit customers in the great
state of Texas. I thought I would take the time to provide an update of my last
two days.
Marc was good enough to drive me from Copperas Cove to the Austin airport. The 1 ½ hours were spent talking which seldom happens, living so far away. I knew that I would probably not eat for the rest of the workday so I grabbed breakfast at the airport food court. The Salt Lick offered a sausage sandwich that was good quality for airport food - http://www.saltlickbbq..com/menu.htm - I would like to give the main location a try sometime.
My flight took me to Houston where I visited with Wind Composite Services. They are in the business of repairing wind turbine blades manufactured by their parent company, Tecsis, in Brazil. They were good enough to take me down to the port to see some of the blades as they are inspected upon arrival. These blades are intended for GE turbines similar to the ones we saw in West Texas.
I next flew to Dallas and met up with our Texas salesperson. We went to dinner
at an unremarkable restaurant made up to look like a roadhouse. I would say that I don’t recommend it but I honestly can’t remember the name.
Thursday took me to Bell helicopters repair division. I had the opportunity to
see blades from the Cobra helicopters and V-22 Osprey repaired. The work they are doing is pretty spectacular.
This evening I requested dinner somewhere that is distinctly Dallas, and was rewarded. Steven’s Garden and grill in Mansfield, TX was one of the best meals of the week. The atmosphere was funky and very real. First up was chips and salsa. The chips were very good and the salsa was excellent. The special of the evening was a Cajun crawfish sausage which was possibly the best sausage I have had.. I tasted my dinner partner’s burger with chipotle and guacamole. It was perfectly cooked and incredibly spicy. In addition to the sausage ordered the two meat combo. I opted for Brisket and pulled pork. The brisket had a smoke flavor that was well balanced and the pork was good but not remarkable. The sides were at Pig Iron level (Seattle restaurant). I had the baked potato salad and borracho beans and finished every bite. If you make your way to Dallas/Ft. Worth I would strongly recommend a trip to Steven’s. It is out of the way but if you like the items on the menu - www.stevensgardenandgrill.com - you won’t be disappointed.
I’m back to Seattle Friday and really looking forward to seeing my family. This
once in a lifetime trip (as an adult) with my brothers was definitely worth it
and will live in my memories.
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20 March 09, Memphis and Graceland
Memphis turns out to be a city with lots to do. We arrived at about about 7:15pm – very close to the schedule we had… » more
Memphis turns out to be a city with lots to do. We arrived at about about 7:15pm – very close to the schedule we had planned. Rather than find a hotel first, Neil drove us straight to the Bealle Street area. In retrospect, this was a very good plan. At the time, all Ian could think of was the ratty old sweats and Stupendous Man t-shirt he was wearing. Didn’t seem like the right attire for an evening of dinner and music in downtown Memphis. Problem quickly solved by a public garage and discreet change of clothes behind a car door. Kinda like one of those Japanese privacy screens only more mechanical.
We had dinner at The Rendezvous. This is one of Memphis’ best know BBQ places. They really turned a crowd on Thursday night. The professional restauranteur, Loren, took a walk around and figured they had about 400 seats. We jointly concluded that they turn the tables 4-5 times each night. Pretty amazing for any restaurant to seat nearly 2000 people a night. The waiter said they sold 2100 pounds of ribs every night. That doesn’t count the chicken, lamb riblets, brisket and other things they smoke. Pretty amazing. The BBQ was good, not the best we ever had, but worth the trip. However, I thought the beans were the best I ever had. Nicely spiced with just the right amount of sweetness. I hope they really do make them in their kitchen.
Went from there for a short tour of the Peabody Hotel lobby and heard the story of the famous Peabody Hotel ducks. You can read it on their web page, if you’re interested. Saw a really cool bowling-type shirt I wanted to buy but they had closed 3 minutes earlier, on schedule. Oh well, I saved $50. We took a short tour of Bealle street, looked in some souvenir shops (same as the junk everywhere) and went to BB Kings for a drink and some music. Like the BBQ, the music was good but not great. BB wasn’t there.
We found a cheap hotel down near the airport/Graceland to crash. Decent beds, fairly quiet. Have you seen that Verizon commercial where the guy trys to chase the customer away with stories of bad reception then ends with the “Towels are scratchy” bit? Man, these towels were scratchy!
Graceland in the morning! We made reservations yesterday, just in case it turned out to be one of those days where everyone’s going to Graceland. Good thing because it appears that everyone goes to Graceland every day. It was pretty crowded. However, they have the crowd control thing down pretty good and there were only a couple of spots (living room & dining room) where we felt a little claustrophobic. The interior decorating tends towards the garish with lots of mirrors and green shag carpet. Neil made the point that many of us would not like having our 1970’s era decorating compared to today’s standards. He’s probably right. He also said, “If bad taste was flammable, you sure wouldn’t want to light a match in the pool room.” Neil credit Peter Egan with this quote – I think it sounds like one of the things he’d say. There’s a trophy room with displays of gold records, wedding tux, movie posters and stuff like that. Neat! They turned the racquetball court into another trophy room. That’s neat, too! The graves (Elvis, mama, daddy, granny) are crowded with flowers and commemorations of all sorts. He died 32 years ago!!!
There’s a little museum with a dozen or so of Elvis’ cars that he either kept or were acquired by the museum. The pink Cadillac he bought for his mama is there. What a great ride that was. The custom airplane he bought, outfitted and used to travel to concerts is on display. Again, the time period of customization makes it less impressive. The standard interior on a G5 leaves it in the dust. Maybe you could say he was ahead of his day.
Memphis is worth a visit. There’s quite a bit to do and see for a few days.
On the way out of town we decided to skip the Interstate and try US64. We couldn’t afford RT66 so we stepped down – nyuck, nyuck. We stopped for lunch at the RT64 diner in Bolivar. Had a real nice lunch. Stop there if you happen to be in Bolivar, TN. Don’t use the bathroom – really nasty. There’s a body shop directly across the street and the owner came out to take a look at the Riv. He said he heard us pull in and knew the car wasn’t from around there just by hearing it. He commented on what a great job the guys in Puyallup did on the body/paint. Nice to get the compliment from a pro.
We’re going to stick with RT64 for as long as possible. We’re planning to overnight in Gatlinburg then hit Charlotte midafternoon on Saturday.
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21 March 09, The Trip Ends
Well, we didn't make it to Gatlinburg after all. We really wanted to skip the Interstate driving experience for a day or so. Route 64… » more
Well, we didn't make it to Gatlinburg after all. We really wanted to skip the Interstate driving experience for a day or so. Route 64 was great - we got to see a lot more than we would have from I40 but it was certainly a little slower. Maybe on our next trip we can afford to splurge on Route 66.
We decided that we wanted to see the Jack Daniels distillery in Lynchburg, TN so we took a little side trip. Unfortunately, by the time we got there, they were closed. From the outside where everything was neat and tidy it looked to be very well laid out, but that's just a guess. We went into historic downtown Lynchburg for a drink but couldn't get one because it's a dry town. Bought a couple of souvenirs and pressed on.
We ended up spending the night at the Econolodge right by the entrance to The Great Smoky Mountains National Park. We got there about 11:30, long after every food opportunity had closed. Decent room, scratchy towels (again).
We got up after the chickens and left there at about 9:30, had a nice but unremarkable breakfast down the road and then drove through the park. It's beautiful there. We hadn't been there for many years and really enjoyed seeing it again. I'd like to get back when the leaves are on the trees.
From then on it was just more driving till we hit Charlotte. We pulled in just a little after 4pm. So, left Portland at 9am EDT on Saturday, 3/14 and arrived in Charlotte at 4pm EDT on Saturday 3/22. 3600 miles in just a little over 8 days. Average of 12.5 mpg. We didn't keep track of the cost exactly, but it appears that our average fuel price was close to $2.10. For 302 gallons of high test; that's just over $630.
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