PUSH ON TO ST. LOUIS GATEWAY TO THE WEST

PA, OH, ID, IL, MO and KS. 12 am to 12 pm. Chalking off the states as the diesel wagon wheels spin. Had a quick highway confusion in Youngstown, OH at 2 am. Almost ended up in Poland (Sarah and Marty, sorry we couldn’t stop to visit). A bit haggard with dazed driving, sleeping-driving shifts, and humid warm driving. We both got 2 driving stints today. I will be starting my red eye drive soon. A good day of driving passed with an awesome lightning shower in eastern KS.

Bottom of the Arch, My Brother!

Gateway to the West

Gateway to the West

We drove non-stop for 20 hours to St. Louis. Along the way we switched off driving every time we stopped off for diesel, which is about 300 to 500 miles. While in St. Louis we stopped to visited the Arch; it stands 630 ft high and it takes 4 minutes to reach the top in a small ferris wheel like car with just enough room to seat 5 adults. At the top is a fantastic panoramic view of St.Louis and the Missouri River.

On the Road

After dropping off the rental car the Manchester International Airport we headed straight for the nearest beach, in Hampton. We dipped our feet in the Atlantic Ocean snapped a couple of photos; picked up a New England lobster roll; then began our journey back home to California.

ROLLIN' IN THE BENZ_GO WEST MY FRIEND!

On our way in minutes from the mechanics to go west. Gonna touch the Atlantic Ocean then rollin' in the Benz. Catch up to you later.

WASON POND FISHING, CHESTER, NH

The fish was THIS BIG! Good times at Terry’s spot with the spinnin’ reels. Catch and release with rubber worms and spinners. Caught the mighty bluegill.

NH WEATHER-TREES-WILDLIFE

Great weather--cloudy and cool the last few days. Terry and Rizza have a beautiful house in Chester, NH off Red Squirrel Lane. No sightings of red squirrels (& gray sqirr. & chipmunks), but they have left their mark by gnawing and eating all the food at both bird feeders. Rizza told a great story of a 1.5’ snapping turtle (stock photo) that walked across their lawn. She has been sighted a few times in the last few years. There are a few roadside ponds and natural drainage corridors for dispersal and movement for box turtles, ribbon snakes, etc. Lotsa habitat (lush temperate forests) around the homes. Great to see the diversity of evergreens and deciduous trees. Too early for fall colors. Checked out his yard and turned over a few bricks and cover objects, but didn’t find any salamanders or newts. Terry has seen them around, but we didn’t find them under the normal places. Did see however a 4” toad and toadlet (photo) that had a burrow in the lawn litter!

New Hampshire

A day in New Hampshire.

Atlanta, GA Airport_2006.08.28

Setting up blog, Gate D21. Cloudy mental morning of 4 hours of sleep. Waiting to board plane to Manchester, NH. This afternoon, we will be meeting with the 87 Benz owner to finalize purchase and check out car for the first time. The last month, I have been doing research on Mercedes diesel wagons across the country and finally found one, although the best deals were on the east coast.

Looking forward to cruising the country with my bro. Good times! Will have to continue later, when I can gather my thoughts better and have something clever to say.

Leaving LAX

Just left LAX en route to Manchester, NH with a lay over in Atlanta, GA. Irv agreed to buy a ’87 Mercedes diesel station wagon from a doctor in Rolingsford, NH. We are now on our way to pick it up and drive it back to California in 6 days… We’re pretty excited about the road trip. When Irv gets the car back to Ventura, CA his plan is to convert it to a grease burner, straight or waste vegetable oil (SVO or WVO.) Once the car is converted it will run on diesel, biodiesel or vegatable oil.

I look forward to visiting and driving by sites across the Unites States. Inspired by Alton Brown’s show on the Food Network called Feasting on Asphalt, the show documents his 27 day cross country road trip. Along the way he features local roadside foods and restaurants. We only have 6 days, so we’ll have to do a cliffs note version on our trip.