Jim also ordered some Doggles to protect those big, buggy Boston eyes:

but persuading Noki to wear those WHILE riding the trailer will take some more training and treats on our part.

The longest test ride has been about 20 miles, but Jim is working Noki up to the big miles and Noki couldn’t be more excited to be out on the open road, spending time with his dad:

]]> http://www.ifyouwerewondering.com/wordpress/2011/12/boston-tow/feed/ 2 http://www.ifyouwerewondering.com/wordpress/2011/07/n-y-tourette-days-14-19/ http://www.ifyouwerewondering.com/wordpress/2011/07/n-y-tourette-days-14-19/#comments Sun, 24 Jul 2011 15:06:43 +0000 admin http://www.ifyouwerewondering.com/wordpress/?p=1827 Friday, July 15th to Wednesday, July 20th

We spent the next several days in Bumpass and the surrounding areas trying to explore all our options on getting the Mini back to Florida since we expected the problem was one that local mechanics wouldn’t be able to fix. We thought about renting a truck or a trailer or both.We looking into having someone else tow it down. My uncle even offered his car for us to drive to Florida to get Jim’s truck, which we’d then use to tow my uncle’s car back to Bumpass and the Mini home. But the my mom offered to drive Jim’s truck up to us, so we shipped a key to her over the weekend and went to buy a hitch and ball to fit Jim’s truck.

After an interesting day spent dealing with the various Uhaul dealers of Richmond, we finally procured all we needed for the hitch, and we were able to reserve a rental 2-wheel car dolly.

Mom arrived late Monday night/early Tuesday morning (she is a true road warrior), then after a short night’s sleep, Jim installed the hitch and we went to pickup the car dolly.

The Uhaul guy had sold us a wiring kit that wasn’t an obvious install, so we took it back with us and he took time to help us with it. The installation ended up involving removing the taillights, opening wiring bundles and splicing wires, and it turned out especially great that he was there for the process because it turned out that he had sold us what appeared to be a defective unit. He tried another then concluded that his computer had listed the wrong wiring product for Jim’s truck. He picked out another type of wiring package and it worked fine, but the whole process took over an hour.

Anyhow, we attached the car dolly and returned to Bumpass to find the Mini didn’t have enough clearance to ride long distances on the dolly safely.

Sooooooo…

We packed everything up, loaded the Mini, said our goodbyes to our awesome host family and returned to the Uhaul store to try to switch out the dolly for a full trailer.

Luckily they had one on the lot that was not yet reserved, and the dance of trading that out for the dolly wasn’t too painful. After some time of attaching the trailer and getting the Mini loaded and secured, we grabbed snacks from the 7-11 next door and got underway sometime after noon or one.

A day of driving landed us just outside of Savannah where we slept soundly for the night then got a good early start the next morning for the final hours of our trip.

We took the Mimi to DJ Minis place north of Tampa. After describing the problems, he suspected the CV joint, so we left the car with him, took Mom to her van, dropped the trailer at the assigned location, grabbed a bite to eat and finally headed home!

Day 13. Lucky thirteen…

We woke at 3:45 hoping to get an EARLY start before Long Island’s morning rush hour. The Mini was packed and ready to go by 4. It started up fine and we sat, giving it some time to warm up. The past few days had been surprisingly sweltering for Floridians in New York, however the forecast for the day predicted some relief – good news for travelling without a/c – and the chilly morning made that prediction all the more promising.

After several minutes of sitting together, quietly in the morning’s darkness, we decided we should get going. Jim put it in gear to back out of my brother’s driveway, gave it some gas and the Mini died. And wouldn’t start again.

We went through the checklist until we found the carbs weren’t getting any fuel, then focused on that problem with little luck. One of us talked the other into taking a break until there was more light to work by and I went back to bed for more sleep while Jim researched the problem. When I woke, he was working on the fuel pump, trying to resolve a vapor lock issue.

Erick and I visited while Jim got the car running again, then we said our goodbyes and Jim and I got on the road leaving Long Island a little before 10.

Traffic wasn’t as bad as we anticipated and we made good time to the Verrazano Narrows Bridge to Staten Island. But while getting in line to pay tolls, we mistakenly entered one for the access road rather than one that would route us onto the interstate. This turned out for the best as we missed a huge mess of traffic and got to see (and sniff) local parts of Staten up close.

We made it to I-95 without much trouble, enjoyed our quick progress along the Turnpike and had only one other detour while trying to avoid a tunnel toll in Baltimore, which again resulted in a nice, close-up tour of downtown Baltimore.

We began to hit traffic just north of DC (as I’m sure everyone does). I navigated as best I could to help avoid some of it, but did little to get us out of it before rush hour started. Still, we moved along pretty well and didn’t come to stand-still traffic until south of DC near Dale City.

Sitting in the stop-and-go traffic was bad for us, but worse for the car. The engine started making noise whenever Jim tried give it gas while in gear and there was no exit in sight (though the access road was literally right next to us, blocked only by a k rail barrier).

Jim pulled over on the big shoulder, checked the car and determined this wasn’t anything that could be fixed road-side, so we called the insurance to have a tow truck pick us up. Unfortunately, he didn’t arrive until about an hour and a half after his ETA. Oh, well.

He gingerly loaded up the Mini and drove us all the way to my aunt’s house in Bumpass, VA (surely you remember that town by now), fifty-some-odd miles past what insurance would cover, but it was worth it! We were so thankful to be among welcoming family members rather than stuck in the city on the side of the interstate.

We rolled in around 9:30, *moments* before my aunt’s family pulled into the driveway from their long evening at VBS. (Our conversation with the tow truck driver was, “It should be right around here some where. This one? No. Maybe that one. No. Oh! That one where the van is pulling in!”) So all of us were there to watch the unloading of the car and my littlest cousin even got to steer the Mini while the rest of us pushed it into what is becoming its reserved parking spot at their house.

We were thankful to shower and sleep soundly that night, grateful to have a comforting place to work out our new troubles. I couldn’t ask for better family.

Tuesday we spent practically the entire day at home, helping my brother smoke two racks of ribs, a brisket and a pork butt. After a day of running around Manhattan, this was more than we every would have hoped for: rest, relaxation and really REALLY good food.

His wife and a friend of hers from work joined us for a homemade dinner of bacon-wrapped cream-cheese-stuffed baked jalapenos, short ribs, grilled potato salad, 3-bean baked beans, and collard greens, all with handmade caipirinhas. Amazingly delicious!!!  Thank you Erick!!!

————————–

Wednesday was also pretty low key, though Erick took Jim and I to Port Jefferson for ice cream!

While chowing down, we wandered the boardwalk,

eventually ending up out on a pier overlooking a sailing class for young kids.

Unfortunately, I didn’t think to take pictures of the sailing class, but we had a wonderful time making fun of the kids who couldn’t get their boats to go. Though they were in absolutely no danger, as soon as their sail began to luff they would start screaming for help with all their strength. Ah, kids.

After returning to the house Erin joined us and we four went out for cheap, delectable sushi and cold sake, then came home to finish off the night with episodes of Archer on Netflix and preparatory packing for our departure in the morning.

We had decided to return to the city to check out the museums, so we woke up early to prep for the train ride and a day in Manhattan. We packed light – Batman, a camera, our phones and some cash – and caught the LIRR train from Stony Brook to Penn Station.

The train trip to Manhattan was just under two hours and by the time we arrived, we were pretty hungry. Eager to start exploring, we grabbed a quick bite at a nearby Burger King then walked to Times Square, ducking inside Toys R Us and Swatch before a round of photos of Batman on Broadway.

From there we walked by Radio City Music Hall and through the Rockafeller building en route to the Plaza

After pictures in the Plaza, we ducked back into 30 Rock to grab some coffee and snacks as well as a few postcards which we quickly filled out and mailed in the basement post office.

Then we skipped a couple blocks over to St. Patrick’s Cathedral and caught a train toward the Met.

While walking up the steps of the Met, that feeling of dread arose as what looked like “Closed” signs come into view. Apparently you can visit the museum any day of the week BUT Monday. I guess everyone needs a day off.

Slipping around the side of the Met, we entered Central Park.

With a loose plan of heading to the west side to see the Natural History Museum, we wandered around, finding an obelisk:

and a castle in the process:

Unfortunately, Belvedere Castle is also closed on Mondays.

We passed the theater for Shakespeare in the Park and saw the Natural History Museum then entered the nearby metro station to head down to the Intrepid:

We got hungry after our train ride though, so we stopped at a Turkish place called Troy Turkish Grill on 9th Ave and 40th St for tasty (and gluten-free) falafel and dolmas. Then we went to the park on Pier 84 (which has several fun waterworks) before heading to the Intrepid.

We stopped for a drink at the park’s bar to let Jim’s phone charge

then took the train to see Ground Zero and the replacement building:

From there we wandered toward Wall St.

Before heading back to Penn Station to catch our train back out to Long Island, we hoofed it down to Battery Park to watch the sunset behind the Pier A building and to get at glimpse of the Statue of Liberty.

From there we walked along the Hudson River Greenway to return to the station (with only one other photo stop)

and arrived at Penn Station with plenty of time to catch the 8:45 out to Stony Brook.  Looooooong day with LOTS of walking, but a fun one for both of us.

Happy Birthday to Mom!

We had a nice morning sleeping in after our late night of driving, car repairing and visiting with my brother, Erick, and his wife, Erin.  Once awake, we called to wish our mom a happy birthday, then we got in gear to drive to the city for Sunday brunch.

Originally we planned to eat at Bondi Road on Rivington, but with a 45 minute wait we left Bondi for Poco then decided to eat next door at Cafe Cortadito. The menu options sounded tasty and many appeared to be gluten-free, so we ordered plantain omelettes with shredded beef, Spanish chorizo and ham and started off with blood orange mimosas.

We had a great time catching up with my brother and his wife, and even made friends with the three girls at the table next to us. Talking religion, politics and everything in between (as well as the fact that we suspect the drinks were spiked with something other than champagne) made for an exciting brunch. But after returning from the city, we took it easy enjoying a delicious meal of spicy mushroom veggie burgers, quinoa and mixed greens prepared by my brother. Here’s to having an amateur chef in the family!

After the excitement of Thursday’s parade and fair, we took it easy Friday. Our tires were scheduled to arrive, but we were undecided on whether to set out after their installation or to wait until Saturday morning to leave for New York.

Friday morning we drove the Mini to Kenny’s auto shop in Louisa then walked to the local coffee shop and worked online as we waited for the tires to arrive.  When FedEx finally delivered them, Jim talked with the mechanic and confirmed his evolving suspicion that the tires were tubeless tires and the wheels were sealed. If you recall our adventure in Jacksonville, this news (which meant the tires didn’t need tubes) was both upsetting (as we had wasted several hours in Jacksonville in search of 10″ tubes) and comforting (knowing we wouldn’t have to do it again).

We returned to the house, very pleased with our new tires, but since it was almost 5pm we chose to delay our departure until 8am the next morning.

We woke early Saturday morning, packed our things and said our goodbyes. In the Mini, Jim started the engine and we began pulling out of the (long) driveway ahead of schedule. I waved out the window, saying “Bye! Love you!!”, then the car died.

Jim couldn’t get it going again, so I pushed it back to it’s original parking spot as we apologized and laughed. We got to work on the car, checking everything we could think to check, and finally after several attempts at starting it up she came to life. My uncle Bryan pointed out that it was now 8AM and we joked about the car’s punctuality, uncertain which of the changes we had made (if any) were responsible for the successful start up. After another round of hugs and some uncertain goodbyes, we headed east toward Richmond, then north toward D.C., passing another fair with a neat, roadside rollercoaster on the way.

We skirted around D.C. then headed east toward Annapolis, opting to follow Hwy 301 across the Chesapeake Bay and up along a nice, quite stretch toward Wilmington. There we caught I-95 to Philadelphia and followed it up toward Manhattan, eager to arrive in NYC.

We exited the NJ Turnpike, grabbed some gas and got in line for the toll at the Holland Tunnel. As expected, the traffic was a mess (the road pares down from something like 8-9 lanes to two through the tunnel…

… which is surprisingly simple compared to the train yard just north of the tunnel entrance.)

While in line, we were cut off several times and almost run over by a bus once,

but there were also plenty of people delighted by the Mini and happy to let us in. Once we made it into the tunnel, it took us probably 40-45 minutes to make it the five miles to a friend’s place in Brooklyn. By the time we parked on Havemeyer, we were covered in sweat and the Mini was running hot (but still looked great and took up only half a parking spot).

We met up with my friend, Shawn, then walked to find sushi and give the Mini a rest. After maybe an hour of walking, eating and visiting, we returned to the Mini, said goodbye to Shawn, started the car and made it four or five blocks before we broke down (just after passing Hope St, ironically).

I pushed the car to the curb while Jim steered, then I unpacked the tool bag and oil rag from the boot while he opened the bonnet. We proceeded to run through the checklist as locals stopped to stare at, pose with and photo the Mini with her hood up. Though we were upset at the breakdown, the surrounding neighborhood and its inhabitants made the experience very entertaining. Nevertheless, it took about two or two and a half hours of tinkering and consulting our Mini manual and with Jim’s dad on the phone to get it running again. We thought we would be stuck in the city for the evening, but luckily we got back on the road a little before 9pm, just as it was getting dark.

We hightailed it out to my brother’s place in East Setauket looking forward to a good night’s rest, but in the meanwhile, I started work on a rap song for the circumstances:

Broke down in Brook-lyn
and our dizzy won’t spin.
No spark to the heart
of my Mini Tin Tin.
Two wheels in the gutta
while the starter – sputtas,
missin’ the times
when she ran like butta.

(to be continued… … maybe.)

We woke at the Holly Bluff campgrounds not to the songs of birds chirping but to the cacophony of what sounded like an avian war. The sun was just barely up, so we ignored (as best we could) the racket all around and slept in a bit longer. When we woke again, surrounded by a now-quiet campground, only two other people – both part of the staff – were awake and about. We cleaned up, packed up, then loaded the Mini hoping others campers would begin to stir before we had to fire up our loud engine.

I killed some extra time taking pictures of the grounds including two major attractions, the putt putt course and the church:

However, when the time came to leave and no one else was up, we decided we couldn’t waste any more time. We got in, turned the key: “BRAAAAAAAM bram bram bram brumbrumburmbrum…” and hit the road, probably leaving several grumpily awakened campers in our wake.

We had a great day of driving, made good time and even stopped to capture our crossing into Virginia: Awhile later we arrived safely at my Aunt Milly’s house only to find that after we turned the car off it wouldn’t start again. After Jim got it running again, we took the Mini to the nearest town for a check and tune up. Though they weren’t able to do much in the way of a tune up, they were able to find new tires for us. Unfortunately, it would take several days to order and ship them. In the meantime, we immensely enjoyed our company and all the adventures they and area had to offer:

…including the annual Fireman’s Fair and Parade:

Sunday started out a little rough. The Mini ran, but Jim had adjusted the timing a bit to see if it would do better and it didn’t. So we spent a few miles, driving, stopping, adjusting then trying it all over again.  But once he got the timing back to where it was, we started comfortably cruising the back roads toward Georgia.

We stopped at a McDonalds to get some oatmeal for breakfast (I’ve had it several times and it appears to be gluten-free enough) and drew the attention of several patrons, three of whom were old guys suited up and on their way to church. One even had a “Jesus” baseball cap, which was adorable. They chatted with Jim about the car’s specs and wished us well on our trip.

Georgia was largely uneventful aside from the beautiful roads, but at the border to SC along Hwy 301, we saw something cool. I couldn’t pull out my camera in time, but here’s the Google satellite image:

Next to the 301/73 bridge is an old pivoting bridge, apparently nonoperational.  This website gives a short history on it along with some better pictures.

We continued on, with no problems from the paltry South Carolina roads. Unfortunately, we did make a few wrong turns, so while we planned to arrive at our campsite outside of Asheboro, NC by 8 or 8:30, we didn’t get there til 9, just at closing.

We paid $17 to the Holly Bluffs Campgrounds office and were guided to our tent site (complete with water, electric and a picnic table). After quickly assembling our little tent, we showered off and sat down to a game of cribbage (which I won). =)

All in all a very nice day.

Not to mention, it fits into a space smaller than one sixth of the garage!

After driving it occasionally for two months, the bf and I decided to take it on a road trip. I hadn’t visited my brother and his wife in about a year, so their home on Long Island (and their open invitation) became our destination.

———–

Saturday, July 2nd

We started out from the Tampa area, taking backroads almost entirely, and made it about 250 miles into the trip before we had problems.

Heading north on Hwy 17 somewhere south of Jacksonville, we crossed a set of potholed railroad tracks going over 45mph. The same set of tracks was probably what caused the 18-wheeler in front of us to run off the road and, had I been paying attention to the road instead of to the swerving, shuddering, dust-kicking giant, I probably could have better avoided jumping the canyon, but I guess that’s life.

We continued on, undeterred except to slow for each subsequent railroad crossing, and rolled into Orange Park, just south of Jacksonville, hoping to grab something to eat and continue into Georgia to camp for the night. But while stopped at a stop light a lady in the car next to us said “Hey!”. I was expecting a follow up of “Nice car! What year is it?” which was the choice phrase up to then, but she followed with, “Do you know your front tire is really low?” Since that was not at all what I expected I couldn’t think of anything to say before Jim covered for me with, “We do now!”

We pulled off the road after the light and got out to find our front driver-side tire well on its way to being flat. We brought out Jim’s trusty bicycle pump and took turns pumping up the flat since we didn’t see anything wrong with the tire itself. However, when we went to take the pump off the valve, the valve tore off with it and the tire sighed as all our hard work quickly disappated.

As we don’t have the Vince Gill’s kind of wealth we couldn’t afford to hire a designated cusser, so we did the dirty-word work ourselves then pulled out the tools and spare to change tires. Jim jacked up the car, while I searched for a tire place that could repair a 10″ tire at 5pm on a Saturday before a major holiday.

A nearby Firestone said they would stay open for us so we gently made our way to them only to find they lacked the machinery to work on an 10″ wheel. They recommended Pep Boys down the street, who informed us that even if they had the equipment to change out a 10″ tire, they couldn’t replace the valve because it wasn’t a tubeless tire and they didn’t carry any tubes, much less a 10″ one.

They suggested we try a tractor supply store and helped us call around but by that time, around 6pm, most shops had closed or were closing for the weekend. Pep Boys pointed us in the direction of some other tire stores so we rolled down the road and into a Tire Kingdom across from a Kmart hosting a classic car show. The Tire Kingdom guys didn’t have any 10″ tubes in stock or at the warehouse, but said they could do the work if we could find a replacement tube and be back before closing at 8.

Jim figured our best bet was to go to the car show and ask around, so we moved the Mini to the Kmart lot and parked at the last space in a long row of classic cars on display. Jim asked around and, after putting in a help request with the show’s DJ, spoke with two men who suggested a nearby Harbor Freight Tools which might carry some kind of tube. We thanked them and walked back to the car to find it half surrounded with spectators who couldn’t have cared less that we weren’t part of the show.

A man and a red-headed boy took a extra bit to examine the car so Jim invited the kid to sit in the driver’s seat. The kid tried it out then laughed as he told us our Mini was the only car shorter than him.

We set out for Harbor Freight, thankful to find it stayed open until 9, and found a small shelf in the back of the store with tubes for wheelbarrels, etc. We opened several boxes until we found the right size, grabbed two, then headed to the front of the store only to wait an agonizing, clock-ticking ten minutes to check out since each cashier was having trouble either entering discounts, working out warranty info, checking prices or calling for a manager.

Eventually we got the tubes (at a 10% discount, thanks to another customer who slipped us an online coupon code) and jetted as fast a we safely could to the Tire Kingdom where Patrick and Miles stayed twenty minutes after closing to switch out the tubes and rotate the tires. Thanks for helping us get back on the road guys!

While they worked on the car, I researched campsites, but none were availble at the late hour, so we went in search of motels. After calling around, we found a Rodeway Inn for about $60 and settled on that. But as we drove up to the motel we found what we thought was another, more modern car show.

The parking lot was lined with moded cars and sport bikes with LEDs and the entrance to the motel was guarded by curvy, leggy women in slightly covered bikinis, one of whom held a fistfull of event wristbands. She stopped us and sauntered up to the driver’s side window. In the passenger seat, I could see from her waist to just above her knees, putting the the hem of her shirt – which *almost covered* her bikini bottom – slightly, thankfully below my eye level.

Jim said, “Hey, we’re here to win the car show!” She laughed and said, “It’s not a car show, we’re havin’ a pool party. It’s ten per person to get in and unlimited drinks.” Jim responded, “Actually, we’re just here for a place to sleep” and she replied, “Bring you key card by and I got ya.”

While the idea of a free pool party sounded like an interesting, adventurous way to cap off an eventful evening, we were more concerned with getting dinner, so we waded through several upset motel patrons (“I want my money back!”) and asked for a room away from the pool. Then after unloading and locking up the car, we walked to a nearby Waffle House where we were greeted by a cheerful older waiter who hung out at our table to listen to our adventure. We later found out it was his birthday as his coworkers and friends showed up with cupcakes and a hearty “Happy Birthday” performance.  I love road trips. =D