On Our Way Home

Hi all, I am sorry I have not blogged in so long, but we have been visiting family and friends. I did not want to take time from our visit since we do not get the opportunity to see them very often. However, now we are on our way home (Heather and Family, we are on our way--can't wait to see you!) and we are staying in hotels, so we have time to blog. After this blog I will blog one more time, after we get home. It will contain a link to a Kodak Photo Album which I will name, Our Changing Landscape. I hope you will enjoy the link.

We last left off on our travels to Texas. We were going to visit our friends, Patti and Mike. We had a wonderful visit. We had not seen each other for about 30 years, but we picked up where we left off--there were no awkward moments or anything! It was great! Along with a wonderful visit, we found a hidden treasure in the town of Round Top. The town has a population of 90, up from 77 during the last census. While there, we went to a great patriotic concert, which was great, but the concert hall was not to be believed! It was too beautiful for words. If you want to see it, check out http://www.festivalhill.org/. Under campus and facilities check out the concert hall. Along with the concert, we also got to watch a very interesting Independence Day parade--including horses and long horn bulls! The best part of the parade, of course, was the little yellow MG Midget driven by none other than Dennis (Mike rode along and threw candy at, er, I mean to the children). Driving in a parade is always a lot of fun but you ain't had fun til you have idled through 2 miles of south Texas fourth of July heat, 104 degrees with the temp gauge pegged. If MGs had aluminum engine blocks or heads, there would be a big puddle of aluminum in Round Top. The old cast iron MG just shrugged it off and just kept on ticking. The three days we were in Round Top flew by, and we hated to leave. However, we know what the heat is like in Texas, so we left at 6:00 a.m. to get to the Dallas area to visit our niece and her family before the hottest part of the day.

The visit to Highland Village (just outside Dallas) was great. I got to see my brother and sister-in-law again--they were visiting their daughter. I also got to see Jodie, her husband, Abe, their two children, Anna and Ian, and my nephew and his wife, Robbie and Christa. It was a regular family reunion, and I loved it.

When we left Dallas we headed to Oklahoma City to visit the 45th Infantry Division Museum. Dennis' dad was a part of this division during WWII. He was a POW--captured at Anzio. We spent about an hour there, took a photo op, and headed up the road to Wichita, Kansas. The day was very hot, and since our car is not air conditioned, Dennis employed his own form of air conditioning. He wrapped a wet cloth around his neck--he said it was a very successful method of cooling down.

We finally arrived in Wichita around 3:00. This was another visit to dear friends (Nancy and Dick). It was also like a family reunion because their children who live out of town (and her one daughter who lives in town) were also there. We had a great visit and were sorry to see it end.

Saturday morning we headed to Willow Springs, MO. The day was very hot, and the scenery was beautiful and devastating. We went through Joplin, MO and were horrified at the destruction caused by the tornado. It went on for blocks, and we didn't even drive through the worst part! We finally arrived in Willow Springs and found that it is a very small town--it was difficult to find anywhere to have dinner (of course we could have skipped the meal, but we've decided this is actually an eating vacation with a little driving thrown in for good measure). We left there early this morning and we are now in Bowling Green, KY. As we drove into KY we saw some of the left-over flooding--so much water and just a few hundred miles back there was a level 5 drought!

Dennis here. The driving has been a little less exciting than it was on the way out but there has been a couple of unexpected pleasures. First was the Texas Hill Country from Brady down through Llano to the outskirts of Austin on TX71. If these Texans weren't so modest, (riiiiight!) they would be calling this area the West Texas mountains. Granted they are not as vertical as the Rockies or the Appalachians but they have plenty of ups and downs with a whole bunch of nice turns most taken at 55-60mph, and the views are great. Next was the drive out of Wichita to Willow Springs MO on US400. We thought we had experienced the Flint Hills on the way west along US50 and 56 in north central Kansas, but the Flint Hills extend south into southeastern Kansas and are even nicer than the northern areas. Great vistas and smooth roadway that winds up and around through cattle and oil country could lead you to believe you are in Texas, but you aren't, and if you ever get a chance, check out US400 in eastern Kansas. The main drawback to all of this driving is the heat, which has continued to get more humid as we work our way east.

I should have some more good driving roads to report on after crossing Kentucky, Virginia, Tennessee and NC. I'll fill you all in once we are home, ah home, after almost six weeks and 7500 miles I'm really looking forward to my own bed and an air conditioned car.

Driving LA to San Angelo Texas

Not much to write about the drive from LA to Phoenix (where we had lunch with our nephew, Rob, and his wife, Christa). Seemed the road only turned a few times in the whole 7 hour drive and most of those turns were in the first two hours before we got to Palm Springs. It was however HOT after PS and even hotter going through Phoenix, the Midget didn't seem to mind, temps and OP stayed in the normal range but the short guy driving got very close to the temperature red line. You can only drink so much water trying to keep cool before other internal pressures create problems.

Phoenix to Tucson was a little better even though it started hot and stayed that way. We drove state highways instead of the Interstates, so the roads weren't quite as hot and the traffic was very light. We also gained a little over 2000 feet in elevation which helped with the precieved temp and the terrain got more interresting the closer we got to Oro Valley.

After a great visit with Ned and Ann we headed for Alamogordo on Monday morning at 0400. It was amazing how cool it was in the desert, Pat wore a jacket for the first 3 hours, then it started to warm up. The drive out of Oro Valley through Tucson and the mountains of eastern AZ was beautiful, particularly the area around the Texas Valley on I10. Entering NM the highway gets a little flatter and straighter on to Las Cruses and then its over the Organ Mountains a 3000 foot climb at 100 degrees, temps nudged up but the oil pressure stayed strong right to the summit, then it was down hill to our destination.

After a fun time with Tom and Chris, Pat's brother and sister-in-law, we left Alamogordo today at 0400. Again the desert was cool, jacket weather, and it got even cooler as we drove through Tularosa and up to Ruidoso Downs and across the 7500 foot summitt. The ride down from there got prettier as the sun started up, but we started to notice the smoke from the forest fires around Tinnie and Picacho. Soon we could see the fires glowing against the predawn sky. The glow turned into peaks and hillsides in flames, and although we were never in any danger the sight of those uncontrolled fires working over the mountains was a bit disconcerting. The drive straightened out again and the scenery became more flat but the tempertures remained very comfortable until about an hour out of San Angelo and even then nowhere near the discomfort levels of the desert.

We are headed off to Round Top, TX to visit our friends Patti and Mike tomorrow morning, again at 0400. Gotta take advantage of those cool morning temps. Then on the 5th up to Dallas to visit our niece Jodie and her family and continuing to Wichita on the 6th. We will catch up with you once in Kansas, until then stay cool, I know we'll be trying to.

Santa Maria, California to Arizona

Well, Dennis and I have made it to another state, but not before having a great time in California! After we left Santa Maria we went to Goleta, California to meet our friends, Ron and Pat Wharton (we have been traveling with them since we left Ocean City, MD) as well as Laura and Tom Miller who live in the area. We took a quick tour of Moss Motors--who supplies many of the parts needed to keep our British cars running--before going on a tour of Santa Barbara. I was amazed at how the houses were built into the mountain sides. People living on the mountains look out their front window to get a view of the roof of the house across the street, as well as a beautiful ocean view. The houses were beautiful, but I can see why so may burn if there is a fire, or why they might fall down the mountainside during a mudslide. I guess those are the risks you take to get the beautiful view--I'm not sure I could do it! After our tour we had lunch with

our friends at a marina in Santa Barbara. It was beautiful! Afterwards we went to a Spanish Mission for a photo op. Finally we drove through Montecito for a beautiful view of the ocean before we headed further down the Pacific Coast Highway on our way to Los Angeles.

The traffic around the Los Angeles area was terrible--all three days we were there! I don't think I could handle that much traffic all the time. I guess I am just a country girl! While in LA we went to visit the La Brea tar pits--well worth the visit. We had a great time learning about the animals that used to roam the area and we saw many skeletons found in the tar pits--really fascinating! Dennis and I then took a ride up into the canyons and around Mulholland Drive--terrifying, but beautiful. We saw the Hollywood sign, the homes of Meg Ryan and Ron Howard, and the Hollywood Bowl. The scenery was breath taking. After our ride around LA we headed out to Pat Wharton's sister's (Kathy) house in Fullerton. More LA traffic--very frustrating! However, it was worth the trip because we had a wonderful night of food, conversation and a game of Buzz before heading back to the hotel. The next morning it was back out to Fullerton because Bud, Kathy's husband, had arranged a tour of Jay Leno's garage--140+ cars--and later a visit to his show! Before the garage we were treated to a local fast food joint--In and Out Burgers--which was great! Then on to the garage and finally to the show. We really enjoyed the show and had pictures taken with Jay Leno afterwards. When we get those pictures, I will share them with you. In the meantime, here is a picture of our group as we left the studio.
After the show we went into Hollywood for dinner and then checked out the Grauman's Chinese Theater. Here are pictures of the star and the hand prints of two of our favorite movie stars.




We finally headed back to the hotel because we wanted to get an early start this morning. We found out the temperature in Arizonia would be over 100 today, so we got an early start. We left at 5:45 a.m. and still ran into some very hot weather. We were really wishing for air conditioning as we drove the last two hours today, but we got here around noon, went out to eat, and now we are lounging in this beautiful air conditioning. Tomorrow we will be having lunch with my nephew, Rob, and his wife, Christa before heading to Tucson to see our friends, Ann and Ned.

Oh yeah--a special shout out to Pat and Ron Wharton--we have really enjoyed visiting with you and will miss you during the remainder of our trip. Have a great time in Alabama. A shout out to Bud and Kathy as well--thanks for a great two days in California.

You will probably next hear from me when we get to my brother's house in New Mexico. That should be Monday. Until then, have a great weekend--I know we will!

Driving Reno to SF to LA

We left Reno on Friday and headed over the mountains to SF. After all the great roads on US50 I figured this would just be a quick drop into California, another example of why I don't play the stock market. Coming out of Carson City you climb around 3000 feet in less than 10 miles while cruising at 50MPH through sweeping turns with great vistas all around, and occasionally there is a switchback just to keep you interested. After passing over Spooner Summit you cruise along the SE shore of Lake Tahoe great sights and no straight or level roads. After driving through the town of South Lake Tahoe and crossing into CA you once again start climbing and turning to pass over Echo Summit at a switchback with great views, for the passenger. Then is all down hill, while you twist, going up a little and down a lot like a ME109 pilot trying to loose a P51 off his tail. Finally the road turns to four lanes and the fun is almost over for awhile. Dropping into Sacramento to the end of 50 the temperature climbs and the traffic grows until you are just another commuter on the super slab. After about on hour through the valley you start over the hills east of SF and get some relief from the heat as you enter the cooling fog producing air from the Pacific. The only thing to say about the interstate to SF is it gets you there. The streets of SF however are another story.

Driving in SF is alot of fun and the tour the SF MG Club lead us on Saturday was just outstanding. Although it was low speed it did have its share of climbs and dives, some of which seemed steep enough they would require a parachute if done in an airplane, along with plenty of turns, and views that required slow speed to take them in.

Leaving SF on Monday we headed down the Pacific Coast Highway, CA1. I though I knew what was in store since I had driven the PCH from SF to Half Moon Bay, what a novice. The cuts and cliffs between SF and HMB were interesting as was the rest of the drive down to Monterey, but then you pass through Carmel and enter the Carmel Highlands. We have all seen the sign on various roads, you know the one, it looks like a snake with a arrow head and usually has a speed advisory or a distance like 1 mile posted below. While they have one of those as you enter the Carmel Highlands and the and the little sign below says 73 miles, and they ain't kiddin. The speed limit occasionaly gets up to 45 MPH then you get on the brakes and grab a lower gear to whip around a curve all the while looking at the surf a couple hundred feet below or a shear rock wall. What a drive!!!!! After two hours of that the more gentle hills and turns into Santa Maria, which would merit a couple hour driveout to do anywhere else seem almost mundane.

Finishing up into LA on the PCH is just beautiful. The highway rolls along the coast and its huge beaches, as you pass through all those places you have seen on TV and the movies all your life. It takes a hugh effort to keep your eyes on the road with all the mansions hanging off the hills and cliffs above, while you look for Rockford's trailer on the beach. I can't imagine a better drive than US50 and the PCH but I am gonna keep looking, it's just too much fun.

Rallye Over, Headed South and East

Okay everyone, this is going to be a long one, so sit back, put your feet up and start reading. This will be long because I have not blogged for a while--I do have excuses, are you ready for them? First, while we were in Reno we stayed very busy and when we returned to the room, I just wanted to relax. Then, when we reached San Francisco, the internet was unreliable so we kept losing all the things we typed. We finally decided to wait until today--so now is the time!



Okay, when last we wrote we were in Ely. So the next day we headed off to Reno. Again, it was an amazing display of God's creativity. The scenery was out of this world. The clouds were hanging low on the mountains as we started out. They looked amazing.


Then, we were surprised by a mountain made of sand. Here is a picture. It may not seem too impressive until you realize those little dots at the bottom of the sand are RVs, cars, and people walking around. It was truly a mountain of sand. The day was beautiful and we couldn't get enough of the mountains. We finally made it to Carson City where we gathered to drive into Reno as a parade of MGs. There must have been 50 of us. It was amazing to see so many different models and years of MGs all together. We finally arrived in Reno to a crowd of people waving and taking pictures. It really was fantastic. While in Reno we met a lot of new friends and some old ones. We went to dinners, auctions, toured some of the local areas, and I even played the slot machines a little (started with $10 and left with $30!!!). On Wednesday we went to Virginia City. For those of you who remember Bonanza, that is the city the Cartrights used to frequent. It still looks like an old western town with saloons, donkeys, and horse drawn carriages. However, the roads up the mountains had a lot of switch backs, and I was scared out of my mind!. However, I think Dennis loved it. We did get to see some wild horses on the way down--really cool, but I was holding onto the car so tight that I didn't get any pictures!


On Thursday there was a huge car show with about 612 cars. Believe it or not, our little midget came in second in the rubber bumper midgets--yeah! Congrats Dennis!


Friday we headed out for San Francisco. We were traveling with our friends Ron and Pat and Trip and Georgia. Let me tell you, Trip has had his share of trouble with his car on this trip. He has replaced the starter, gotten a new muffler, had the radiator fan sling a blade, replaced a plug, and then on this trip he broke down again! We have a rule--no car left behind, so on the way up a mountain in Colorado, we stopped at a beautiful landscape and the guys changed Trip's fuel pump! Good job guys! I took the opportunity to take some pictures of our award winning Midget against the beautiful scenery. Once the guys got the car running again, we were once more on our way. We went around the south end of Lake Tahoe-what beautiful country--they still had many feet of snow in the mountains. Check out this beautiful scene. I think my camera was constantly clicking. Again, we were going up, up, up, and down, down, down--not quite as scary, but a little nerve wracking. After many hours, we finally arrived in California and stopped at the bottom of the Bay Bridge for a photo op before entering San Francisco.


San Francisco is a beautiful city--if you get a little out of the city. The SF MG club gave us a wonderful tour of the town. We saw the Pacific Ocean (with some surfers), the Golden Gate Bridge from below (and later Dennis took us to view the Golden Gate Bridge from above), the Presidio, we went to the highest peak in SF, and then ended with a picture of all the people who actually drove coast to coast. What a great morning.







At Twin Peaks, the highest peak in SF, Dennis decided he had had enough and tried to jump--we coaxed him back up. Good thing he has strong fingers!!!!!







Sunday morning Dennis and I went to church--very nice service, and we met a very nice couple. The young lady had an MGB and was a flight attendant--how cool is God to lead us to a couple that has so much in common with us. We also went to Lombard Street--that really curvy road you always see in SF on TV. What a beautiful road--but the curves are unbelievable!

Later we took a ride on the cable cars--what a blast. We both chose to ride on the outside. Going up and down those SF streets is better than a roller coaster. You will not believe how close you come to other cable cars, and cars in general!

Later in the evening we took a trip to Alcatraz. It was very interesting, definitely worth a look see.

We left SF today and headed down the Pacific coast on Route 1. OMG, you would not believe how magnificent the coastline looks. The cliffs dropped right down to the ocean on the right side of the highway, and there were mountains on the left. In some areas there were cattle grazing on the mountain side of the road. As we traveled down the highway, we saw a lot of people stopped at one viewing spot. We had stopped at so many we decided not to stop, but as we were going by I glanced out and saw movement. I told Dennis to please turn around so I could see what was happening. I couldn't believe the number of Elephant Seals on the shore. They were magnificent to see, and you would not believe the noise they make. I was thrilled to get to see these animals in their natural habitat.

We are now in Santa Maria, and tomorrow we are heading to the Los Anglos area.

Dennis will be blogging tomorrow. Until then, have a great evening

Travel log for our Rallye

I am sorry I have been shirking my blogging duties. I have been tired when I finally got back to our room for the last few days, so I have put it off, but now I feel pretty good, so I will get you up to date.

First, I promised to let you see the picture of our friend, Dick Lunny, getting pretend arrested by the state trooper. Well, here it is. I still can't believe what a good sport the trooper was!

Now, where did I leave off. Oh yes, we were in Lenexa, KS. When we left Lenexa we were Headed to Dodge City, KS. That's right, another day of driving in the same state. They really make these states large--being from the small state of Connecticut it just seems strange that you can drive so long in one state. Anyway, the temperature was very pleasant for the whole drive. We noticed we were in the Bible belt of our country and there were crosses everywhere we looked. Other than that, the land was flat for most of the drive. We did notice that the wind really kicks up across the plains. When a large truck went by it was a challenge to stay on the road! But, those people in Kansas are really smart. They put that wind to use by building windmills for electrical power. Just check out this wind farm in Spearville, KS. The windmills stretched as far as the eye could see. They were very interesting to watch and to read about.

We entered Dodge City, KS in the late afternoon. We went to the Old Dodge City Museum and had a great dinner and watched a reenactment of a gunfight and then went into the Long Branch Saloon for entertainment by Miss Kitty and her girls. It was a fun evening. When we got up the next morning, we were surprised to find that it was quite cool. We had to put on our jackets and roll up all our windows. We were headed to Canon City, CO. Along the way we saw a lot of Cattle Feed Yards. This is a large area where the cows are taken to fatten them up before they were sold. Their activity is limited, so they just eat and get fat. We knew when we were getting close to one because of the smell--very distinct! We saw some sage brush as we entered Colorado, and tall mountains came into view. The landscape was changing dramatically. We made it to Canon City very early in the afternoon so we took in some of the local culture. Dennis and I went on a train ride through the Royal Gorge--what breathtaking views! Afterward we went across the Royal Gorge Bridge--one of the highest bridges in the world. What a view. check it out for yourself. That view is looking down from the bridge--very scary, but I managed to keep myself together long enough to get the picture, and it was worth it!

After a dish of ice cream for dinner--don't judge, we're on vacation!--we settled in for the night.

After leaving Canon City we headed to Grand Junction, CO--yes, another large state! What beautiful scenery! There were mountains everywhere. Our little Midget climbed those mountains like a champ! We made it to The Continental divide. That is the place in the mountains where the water divides itself and half flows to the Atlantic Ocean and half flows to the Pacific Ocean. Definitely a photo op. Oh, did I mention that there was still snow on the ground at these elevations. In case you can't read the sign, we were at 11,342 feet above sea level! As we continued our day, we traveled around the Black Canyon, and the Grand Mesa. I am going to let Dennis tell you about those beautiful locations, the thought of them still scares me!

We had yet another barbecue dinner--sponsored my the North American Classic MG Magazine--starting to get full of barbecued pork, but it was delicious.

We left Grand Junction and headed to Ely, NV. All I'm going to say about this part of the drive is WOW! You would not believe the panoramic views. Everywhere you looked your breath was taken away. Dennis called it eye candy and he was right. I will add some pictures later, but I haven't had time to download them yet. Believe me when I tell you they are worth waiting for.

Today we start our last leg of our trip to Reno--we will be there for a few days, and then we head to San Francisco and the Pacific Ocean. Dennis wants to say a few words, so I will sign off. I miss seeing all our friends and send a special shout out to Heather, Dave, Carley, and Olivia. As the little girls will tell you, they are my sweethearts.

In my previous missives I mentioned the drive through WV, parts of IN and MO had been worth the heat and sameness of the plains. Well, let me tell you they tweren't nothing. Driving into Canon City one starts to get a sense of what is in store as you continue west, but leaving CC and heading to Grand Junction it becomes almost too much to describe. The first part of the drive winds along the Arkansas river as it cuts through the mountains headed east. The road has been cut into the mountains so it is one continuous series of curves most of which are taken at 60MPH with the ocassional 35MPH thrown in just to keep you awake. Then it up and over the Continential Divide where the rivers start flowing west as they cut the path that the road builders followed and dive into the next valley, again giving you all the curvey thrills you ever are gonna need along with views that make it hard to concentrate on hitting the apex of all those curves. Just when you think it can't get any better you pop out of the mountains into a valley that looks like something out of a John Houston movie.

Although US 50 goes right into Montrose and Grand Junction we chose to take CO 92 through Black Canyon to connect with CO 65 over The Grand Mesa then into GJ. When you turn off US 50 onto CO 92 you imediately cross the Blue Mesa Damm with Blue Mesa Lake to your right and The Black Canyon to the left. Water is shooting out of the outlet pipe 50-70 feet into the air before plunging into the canyon 300 hundred feet below, and then you start to climb the side of the canyon. The speed limit is posted at 25-35 and at those speeds snakeing your way along the rim of the canyon you're praying nothing breaks or blows because, as they warn hikers at the Grand Canyon, few will survive the first 300 foot fall before plunging down the remainder of the 1000-2000 foot drop into the river below. Yup, it is like driving along the hiking trails on the south rim of the Grand Canyon, my palm are sweaty now just remembering it. Once past the canyon rim 10-12 miles it becomes just beautiful mountain driving up an over to Crawford and on around to the CO 65 to The Grand Mesa.

Climbing out of the valley from the junction on 92/65 the road does another series of swithbacks, some at 55mph some at 20MPH, pay attention, as you gain 5K feet in altitude and pop out onto the Mesa where the ponds are still frozen and 3-4 feet of snow continues to melt feed the mighty Colorado. An absolutely beautiful drive through a winter wonderland on June 10th. Then it's down the other side through hairpin switchbacks, while you admire the valley and the road below, finishing with driving through a river canyon so cool you'd swear it was computer generated as you and the river dump onto I70 and the mighty Colorado, for the 17 mile run into GJ.

Next day you think 200 miles of I70 before you get back on little old US 50, boring. Shows how little we know. I70 across Utah has to be the most awe inspiring interstate drive you can take. Every where you look movie scenery and more computer generated sights, or at least they seem so. I have not seen movie with visuals any better.

If you love to drive US 50 seems to be the way to go across the country, just when you think the driving can't get any better it does. See you latter after Reno and the final run into SF.