Road Trip

[Piccola]

Yes sir. :lol I do enjoy TX, but since I've been through TX 10+ times, I figured I needed to give the rest of the country a shot. Though I will tell you as it hits freezing tonight, the wimpy part of me wishes I had just gone straight to AZ or Southern CA... :frown By the time I get back to WI, I'll have almost 7000 miles already. Not bad for a little road trip!

Adapting to Canada was...interesting. According to the many signs, driving the way I'm accustomed will land me a $10,000 fine, jail time, and no car. I can't pay at the pump and have to remember to pay for gas after filling up instead of just driving off - they aren't too fond of that. Gas is $1.40/liter (no clue what the conversion is, but it feels VERY expensive)! :willy And since the km on my car are small and red, I cannot see the #'s while driving; therefore, when I am unsure of the conversion to mph, I do what I was taught in school...round up. :biggrin

Unlike the south, April is still "out of season", so like the New England states, there is a lot that is closed. The African Lion Safari in Ontario, Maid of the Mist (Niagara Falls boat), many of the sightseeing/cruise boats, lobstering in Maine, basically all of Martha's Vineyard in MA...

Next stop after Toronto is Easter with the family in WI, a Broadway musical in Denver with my sister, Grand Junction, and then Mammoth Lakes, where Ralphie and I will have a little adventure. :banana I might go up to San Fran and do some good wine tasting in Napa Valley after that. Bony would be amused at all the wine I'm buying after winetasting at the different vineyards/wineries thus far. :biggrin

 

[RADGT]

Guess I am late to the party and missed this thread and therefore also missed your travels thru the region. Next time I hope. Safe travels.

Stu

 

[06fordgt]

MJ Great to see you again. Wow you have some trip going there!! You have some big ones to do this on your own. Glad to see your at least driving a Ford on the tour. Thx for spending some time at my office. Sorry we couldn't do an Italian meal. But next time. Have fun and keep the miles adding up. Look forward to the pics on the blog!
Take care.

 

[K-P Garage]

MJ- Sorry missed you when you came through. Be careful in Canada. The French influence makes them very unsophisticated when it comes to anything faster than 35MPH and any horsepower above a moped. They are not near as swayve and deboner as we are here. KO

 

[Piccola]

Hey Kevin! Sorry we missed each other, but I'm still glad we were able to connect a few weeks before I left. Hope you and the family (and everyone else) are having a great Easter!!!

I did not get a speeding ticket, but I did get a parking ticket in Toronto. According to the locals, I should be happy they didn't tow my car away. I was only 8 minutes late in returning to my car (phone didn't work there and that's my "clock"). I also blew a rear tire at 85 mph driving between 2 trucks. That was a lot of fun! LOL It was getting late and the only shop open was only going to be closed in 15 minutes. I quickly put on the spare and drove it there just in time. They had no clue how to drive stick and wouldn't let me drive it onto the lift, so we used a jack and flashlight to put the new tire on once it was balanced... Once I made it back to WI I put 4 new tires on and got an alignment. Back in WI with the family now. I did fall behind on the blog, but should have Toronto posted tomorrow morning and will then be caught up.

For those of you who know Ferraris... I saw this Ferrari driving back from Chicago. The front (sorry for the blurriness) looks like the 250 GTO, but the rear is odd and it's a spyder. Not sure what this is. I'm guessing early 60's. Does anyone on here know?

 

[ChipBeck]

For those of you who know Ferraris... I saw this Ferrari driving back from Chicago. The front (sorry for the blurriness) looks like the 250 GTO, but the rear is odd and it's a spyder. Not sure what this is. I'm guessing early 60's. Does anyone on here know?

MJ,

That is a fiberglass kit car, not an actual Ferrari. Sounds like you are having a blast. Drive safe.

Chip

 

[Piccola]

I'm glad to hear it's not real. Wasn't thrilled with the rear end. Thanks Chip. I actually thought of you today while taking the kids to the domes in Milwaukee. The desert dome looked like your backyard. :lol Being German, I'm going to Mader's tonight with my sister. Drinking beer out of a boot, eating wiener schnitzel, Kasseler Rippchen, sauerbraten, and spatzle, and saving room for traditional strawbery shaum tortes. Mmmmm... :thumbsup Looking forward to seeing you soon!! :cheers

 

[FBA]

MJ- Sorry missed you when you came through. Be careful in Canada. The French influence makes them very unsophisticated when it comes to anything faster than 35MPH and any horsepower above a moped. They are not near as swayve and deboner as we are here. KO

Reallllllllllllyyyyyyyy???? that's a good one coming from Florida, which has some of the absolute worst anti-speeding laws I have ever seen. Have you ever researched them? At least here we get to keep our cars and bikes when we get hit at hugely excessive speeds, unlike FL, where they impound it and it's bye bye...

Did you know about this one?

Check out the anti-biker bill too...although it hasn't passed, it may soon one day -

"...Exceeding the speed limit by more than 50 mph will carry a fine of $1,000 on the first offense under the law.

That fine will escalate to $2,500 with a one-year revocation of the driver's license on the second offense and $5,000 with a 10-year revocation of the driver's license on the third offense..."

Can't imagine NOT driving for 10 years...but then, you could always go live in Canada...LOL

 

[Piccola]

Hey FBA, we're old friends and he's just messing with me. Trust me, his wisecracks were much worse after I spent a few months in Europe and bought a Japanese sports car! (Personally, I think he's just a little jealous he didn't get to come along on the trip. :biggrin) Sorry, I didn't make it as far as Quebec this time, though I did enjoy the opportunity to speak French.

 

[Ed Sims]

I'm glad to hear it's not real. Wasn't thrilled with the rear end. Thanks Chip. I actually thought of you today while taking the kids to the domes in Milwaukee. The desert dome looked like your backyard. :lol Being German, I'm going to Mader's tonight with my sister. Drinking beer out of a boot, eating wiener schnitzel, Kasseler Rippchen, sauerbraten, and spatzle, and saving room for traditional strawbery shaum tortes. Mmmmm... :thumbsup Looking forward to seeing you soon!! :cheers

My wife, Heidi, is Swiss German so we eat that every night! With lots of beer, I mean Mit Losen Bier!!!

Ed

 

[MNJason]

Enjoy Milwaukee. I have fond memories of the Domes growing up there.

 

[K-P Garage]

Hey MJ. What do you mean about "wisecracks" of jap cars and european walkabouts? Wasn't I right? BTW Good thing your canadian buddy doesn't know what we do to most cannucks that come down here and park it in the left lane and go slow. Didn't you have to wash a few of them off your front grill?

 

[Piccola]

Americans are just as bad, especially in WI. It's like a game to see who can go the slowest in the left lane. My break in WI is almost over and it's time to get back on the road.

Aunt MJ is happy today though. Out of all the toys her little nephew could play with, little Luke chose the cars. Aunt MJ taught him to say "Viper", "Mustang", and "GT" (of course). He was not able to say "Ferrari" at all, which I though K-P would like to hear. :lol And as you can see, even though the Viper was the fastest in a straight line, both cars he picked up to carry around were GTs. :thumbsup

 

[Piccola]

After hiking/climbing through most of the National Parks in CO and UT, I'm now in Mammoth Lakes at Ralphie's place. We are drinking red wine while listening to the 1958 12 hour race at Sebring on a record player! (I was a little kid the last time I saw one of these!!) It is amazingly clear with no more than the occasional crackle, and incredible to hear the interviews of people like Stirling Moss, Carroll Shelby, Phil Hilll, Mike Hawthorn, and Denise McCluggage. The cars are racing by in the background...

 

[twobjshelbys]

After hiking/climbing through most of the National Parks in CO and UT, I'm now in Mammoth Lakes at Ralphie's place. We are drinking red wine while listening to the 1958 12 hour race at Sebring on a record player! (I was a little kid the last time I saw one of these!!) It is amazingly clear with no more than the occasional crackle, and incredible to hear the interviews of people like Stirling Moss, Carroll Shelby, Phil Hilll, Mike Hawthorn, and Denise McCluggage. The cars are racing by in the background...

I wish you had let us know you were coming through Colorado. I live in Lyons, about 20 miles from Estes Park and Rocky Mountain National Park. Of course Trail Ridge isn't open til Memorial Day so you would have seen either east or west side but not both without a long drive. Next time

Where else did you go? If you didn't go through Gateway CO to the Hendricks collection museum you missed a treat.

 

[PL510*Jeff]

Good to hear that you're offcially "out west". Enjoying time with a real vintage friend.

 

[KJRGT]

MJ, glad you have made your way west safe and sound.
Precious pics of your nephew and the cars.....us guys are wired for motion, no two ways about it!
If you and Ralphie read this tonight, raise your glasses and toast to the great friendships formed from the mutual admiration for the greatest super car ever produced.
Cheers!

 

[Piccola]

Of course I went to Hendrick's museum! I'll post pictures in a little bit. Loved it!! (Trying to get caught up on the blog right now.) Hendricks actually has a red Ford GT, but the GT and his more modern cars (Ferraris, Bentley's, etc) are all in a hanger nearby, where he occasionally drives them.

One of my sisters lives in Grand Junction, so I'll give you a shout the next time I'm in CO (probably in 2-3 months). We're going to climb a 14'er in CO this summer, so it will be closer to where you are. Check out the blog on CO and UT if you'd like (I'm updating it now, so it won't be done for a few hrs). I did too much to write about here - but my favorites so far (from the hikes/climbs) were going down to play in the hoodoos in the canyon bottom in Bryce Canyon, Island in the Sky views (Canyonlands), the free rock climbing part at the top of Angel's Landing (in Zion Nat'l Park), climbing up Mount Garfield (in Palisade), and hiking to the top of Cassidy Arch in Capitol Reef. The Arches Nat'l Park was cool, but too crowded.

 

[Piccola]

MJ, glad you have made your way west safe and sound.
Precious pics of your nephew and the cars.....us guys are wired for motion, no two ways about it!
If you and Ralphie read this tonight, raise your glasses and toast to the great friendships formed from the mutual admiration for the greatest super car ever produced.
Cheers!

Hey Kevin, only one speeding ticket too! (Although I was going over 100 when I passed a cop yesterday and he turned on the lights and started to turn around. I snuck in front a truck and slowed down and didn't see the cop again. Whew!) Mountain roads are great practice for playing on the track. Elevation changes, blind turns, chicanes... All is good as long as there isn't another car in the other lane. Driving the roads out here are almost as incredible as the places I've been! I will see you in a few weeks in a beautiful red GT. (PS: convince Chris A he needs to come...)

Good to hear that you're offcially "out west". Enjoying time with a real vintage friend.

Hi Jeff! Ralphie and I were talking about you today while reading Ralphie's GT log. He is fantastic! (Great host as well!) Loving my time out here. See you soon!

 

[KJRGT]

MJ, so are you going to make our SoCal Spring GT Run on May 19? Do I need to set something up to make it happen??
I'm working Chris A.