FeedBack and WINO have left Miami and are headed west to Long Beach, CA on their way back to Oahu.

Inspired by Paul!, I have set up a GPS tracking system so anyone who is so inclined, may follow our journey.

To see where we currently are, use the following link oor paste it into your browser.

http://live.alk.com/login.aspx?Invit...putt@yahoo.com

I'm going to stick to the I-10 corridor do to time constraints, but would love suggestions of things to see on the way.


Aloha!

 

Don't forget to have some good steak along the way. Good luck and have fun.

btw, our kids miss you a lot.

 

Feedback is currently disconnected. He last connected in Panama City, FL The Panhandle of FL has kidnapped Feedback and WINO!

 

Traffic's been miserable....
My inverter died and the battery went dead on my notebook.... I'm about 40 miles outside of Pensacola, FL

From there I hope to shoot down to NO and check it out quickly tomorrow.

Updates later!

 

Well... Someone has sent me a stop in New Orleans. I have no idea what the address is, but I accepted it into my route..... I'll let you know tomorrow where i end up.

Ran with a yellow Viper for about 50 miles... but he was too fast for me! Picture's later-

I stopped to help a client with some computer issues and decided to grab dinner. Salad bar at Ruby Tuesday's...

Later

 

After dinner last night, the splitter that I was using to power the computer and radar detector and GPS... etc. smoked and quit.

As I was tired and close to New Orleans, I called it a night and got a room. This morning I tried to find which fuse covers the lighter with no luck...

So... I'm going to re-route the electronics today. I'm hoping to find a auto parts store with the little do-hicky's JustJay was referring to that let you tap into the fuse panel.

Stay Cool!

 

I see your connected and coming up on the 433, drive safe and good luck with the fuses.

 

Mahalo!

I got the electrical issues resolved and was able to hook everything back uo.

New Orleans!!!! Whoa... the devastation is overwhelming. It has a sort of post apocalyptic, depressed industrial economic look to it. The recurring thought in my head is "Where did all these people go?"

On a lighter note- I folowed my GPS to the address sent and.....

It was City Hall! Photos were taken.




This is being typed while sitting at 125 Dauphine Street, New Orleans, LA

 

Peter!! It's not going to be the same without you here. I'm sorry we didn't get a chance to say good bye, but best of luck on your trip back home.

 

Its been a hectic week...

This car IS faster than WINO!


and this was the stop in New Orleans someone entered in the GPS-

For those who were following...

I had some technical difficulties with my communications setup in the car and was unable to connect to the internet for a day. After passing Houston I got caught in a monsoon storm that dumped 2.5 inches of rain in less than an hour and a half. I had to pull off of I-10 for a while because I feared the water was too deep for WINO. Continuing west, I cleared San Antonio before deciding to grab some sleep in the car. A few hours for recharging and I continued west to the next stop that someone entered in my GPS from the web site. Ahem..... I don't drink at cowboy bars (unless they serve Guinness) AND I'm curious how you knew about that place in Ft. Stockton. Instead I checked in to a motel, showered and slept for five hours and moved on.

Unpleasant Moment #1- The highway between Ft Stockton and El Paso was being chip sealed!!!! For those who don't know what that is; they lay a coat of hot, wet tar on the road and then sprinkle gravel on it. After it cools, they sweep up most of the loose gravel.... Voila, new pavement!
IT SUCKS!!!! Sure enough, a big truck kicked up a rock and launched it into the passanger side of the windshield. So I say, "OK... I'll get that chip fixed when I get home"....GGRRRRRR!

It was here that I was able to get the GPS working again and thanks to the person who sent me to the Petro in El Paso as I did need to gas up.... On towards Tucson!

Sunsets while driving due west in the desert are very pretty, but are also hard on the eyes. Nighttime falls and its a quick shot up the road to Phoenix. I dropped of my bags and misc stuff at my family's house , caught some sleep and headed west to LA in the morning.

Damn! It was hot! After crossing into California at Blythe the temp guage in WINO steadily climbed up After passing Indio, it registered 118 degrees at one point! The MINI AC in the convertible CAN NOT handle that!

Passed the windmill farms in Palm Desert and yes, I rejected the suggestion that I look for Bob Hope in Palm Springs (a clue.... He's Dead! Sorry to be the one to tell you..)

Unpleasant Moment #2- Just before Riverside, I caught ANOTHER rock with the windshield!!!!! .. Hmmmm, I started thinking about a new windshield and called my insurance company, AIG Hawaii, but they inform me that a replacement will be covered after my $500 deductible is used up. Out of curiosity, I asked "if they offered a Glass Coverage Rider" and the woman on the phone asked me "what that was." Note to self, get new insurance company! I decided to deal with it when I got home.

LA was LA... too much traffic. I headed to Matson Shipping on Pier C in Long Beach and was promptly informed that they would not accept the car with the multiple chips in the windshield. Frustrated, I headed back to the car wash I used because they had a sign up about glass repair. Unfortunately, they didn't do it anymore. It was now after 5 pm and I started calling every listing for windshield repair I could find.
I got lucky! A gentleman and his father said they could meet me at the gass station and take care of it. 7 pm, $100 dollars lighter, my windshield was chip free!

Dinner at Claim Jumper (mmmm...), motel room for the night. Tuesday morning I headed back to Matson, turned over WINO for his Hawaiian cruise home and I headed off to LAX to fly to Arizona for 10 days. On the 24th, I head over to Oahu!

 

We miss you already!

 

WINO is taking the leisurely 4 day, Long Beach to Honolulu Cruise aboard one of Matson's luxury liners, the MV Manulani or the MV Lihue. Tracking the Manulani via GPS is available here, while the information on the Lihue is here.

Its frustrating that Matson has told me that WINO is on two different ships. You'd think that WINO would call me and let me know!!!

I couldn't get a berth on either (these hawaiian cruises are very popular) so I'll have to fly to Honolulu on friday and meet up with WINO there.

 

Have a save trip. Actually, I would love to see some pictures of WINO when you pick her up at the port.

 

I'm really hoping WINO's ready by friday.... Matson has given me a Sept. 1 date?!? I may have to rent something for a few days!

 

 

 

 

 

pretty soon aloha/welcome back, wino and feedback! just happened to log in to nam and so a recent post on your coming home thread. and what perfect timing...if you can somehow p/u wino this friday, you both can join us at our recently-started coffee gatherings! #4 to be precise, which'll be this sunday 8 a.m. at hawaii kai starbucks/jamba juice. it's looking like it's gonna be at costco towne center one vs. koko marina one.

if you can, take a few pics of wino when you pick her up, as kenric (the rental mini guy) has a mini beach photo contest running right now.

knowing our hawaiian time delays, if wino is not ready, just come on down to hawaii kai anyways, as we'll likely eat some brekkie (as latka calls it) at kona brewery, and probably do a short cruise past sandy's and who knows. hmmm...now that i think about it, we'll probably take some scenic pics by the ocean, and then submit it to kenric. and if we win, not sure how kenric is gonna split up that prize...free mini rental for a few days, split among however many of us show up?

btw, did you already have the matching purple seat skins before your journey? wet okoles are they? and wino looks great, even over the trans-u.s. trek! chilliworks, our detail guru, would definitely be pleased to meet wino. but i'm sure you've heard all about him on hmmc by now...

 

forgot to ask...last i saw you, you were still recovering from that broken lower leg and hobbling around in a walking boot. fully recovered now, right?

 

Mahalo! Its been a long winter and I'm really glad to be getting back!

I hope to be there on Sunday...

I already entered one picture!

I got the Wet Okoles at the Honolulu store last year. WINO may need the attentions of ChiliWorks as this trip has been very rough on the paint. It may even require a trip to Central in Aiea... that chip sealing in Texas was a *****!

A little residual limp, but I'm not complaining! 2006 was not a good year!!!

I'm mobile now!

See you soon!