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So I finished an appointment with my VA Palliative Care Team yesterday. The back half of the appointment, they discussed hospice care services at the VA. At the end, they looked to me for comments & my thought was pretty simple, “Sounds like I need to get on the road while I can”. :-) Was planning to attend my first, and probably only, Parade next week, so I headed home to grab a couple more bags & put the road kit together for an extended trip.
Will be in Birmingham for a few days & then back roads to Charlotte to visit my last VietNam bud for a few days. Absolutely no plan from there; wherever the spirit leads me. My team lost their Regional in extra innings, so no Omaha this year :-( Will probably end up in WY /MT at some point & maybe drive a bit of CA 1.
Not sure how far I will get this year. Will be day to day, but the VA facilities are everywhere if I need a steroid or breathing treatment along the way. My son wants to fly in somewhere & share a few days that would be great. Probably around the Tetons, or maybe Glacier Nat’l Park. Planning to post a weekly thread of the stops along the way if anyone is interested.
Have a great drive this weekend; hope to see a few of you in Birmingham!
Disclaimer: I neither encourage nor endorse all 911 jockeys getting on the road & cruising at triple digits, or crossing the center line as often as I may. I started with P-car in a new 1965 356SC & the first 911, ‘70 911T, was in 1972. Approaching 80, with a few miles behind me, and maybe gaining a little wisdom along the way, I have learned to look ahead, way ahead, and anticipate the village idiots possible dumb decisions.:-)
The STATS:
Days - 26
Miles - 8,119 - about 1,800 less this year
States - only 18 this year
Cities/Towns overnight - 22
Elevation change - < 12’ - 16,800’
Temp change - 33* - 113*
Fuel - approximately 326 gallons - Almost 25/gal. - pretty impressive!
Issues - 1 -Tire blowout
Brake wear - aprox 10%
Oil change - 2
Features/options used - cannot think of one not used :-) Heated & ventilated seats in the same day once !
Weather - very little rain driving when 80% of the nation is in a heat warning, but experienced a rare winter storm warning in WY, wildfires in CA & dodged floods in NM heading home to an early hurricane - I miss anything?
ER visits - 3 :-) - 0 last year
Budweisers - Many
Seat time - would be a useless, nice to know stat, but I did not keep a log :-(
Driver’s Awards
Services Award- VA Hospitals / Rotech Medical Supplies - unexpected ER visits in Cody WY, Mitchel, SD & Albuquerque, NM, provided excellent care in a timely manner to get me back on the road. At each stop, the respiratory issues were treated, blood work completed, did a chest X-ray & provided meds for daily intake. Rotech Medical - expedited overnight shipments of the needed equipment & supplies when necessary. The driver in Albuquerque delivered Oxy at 5:00 AM.
Equipment Award - Escort Redline Radar Detector - saved “thousands” in fines, insurance increases & maybe bail money a few times :-)
Network Award - Porsche dealerships - St Louis, unscheduled oil change/inspection. Reno, replaced front tires & inspected. Plano, Tx., unscheduled oil change/inspection. All understood and somehow rearranged the schedules to get me in & out. Great conversations with the staffs at each. The Service Managers at each made it a point to find me.
Hospitality Award - While I did not have a bad experience the entire trip, one stands out above all. Not the Marriott Resort, but the Cottonwood Club in Lubbock TX ! A lay back, full service facility, great food & a staff that is off the charts.
MVP - And the BIG trophy goes to ……. TA-DAH! The star of the show …. the 911 ! Turned the key 26 consecutive days, asking the max each day on the interstates, back roads of varying conditions, elevation changes from below sea level to over 15K’, sometimes twice in a day, temperatures from the 30’s to 112*, as much as 10 hours in a day. You would think that after six hours of two lane, twisting, climbing & descending, punch down passing, something would would begin to protest a little …. wrong …. (maybe that’s why we win so many LeMans) …. the N/A flat six jumped to life through that magic 4K mark, each & every time, instilling another hundred miles in this ole jockey. The car will probably take the odometer to about 89K before it rest for a while & I will have no second thoughts about asking it to do it again ….. next year, health permitting;-)
The emotional close - if there is a message in any of this journey, it is the 911 is engineered & built be DRIVEN ! Shame on each & every one of the driveway trophy owners for wasting the car and never knowing the road or understanding the car. Enthusiasts are begging for allocations while you change the oil once a year, maybe. Go buy a Ferrari or McLaren! Purchase stock if you have to & let the drivers drive!
These words are offered in sincerity from a literal lifetime with Porsche, and not meant to offend anyone. I understand we each travel our individual paths, but hopefully, there is a little thought given for how our actions affect others.
Life is a Team Sport.
Thanks for tagging along this month; hope you enjoyed.
Late start on Day 1; shame on me. Resulted in an Interstate day to Birmingham. Good news is Sunday A.M. drive kept the Escort quiet except for two “speed camera” beeps in the cities. Got lucky for a couple of hours & picked up a “rabbit” Rouge that obviously late to be somewhere. Sitting on cruise at three digits for quite a while. At one point, I just could not resist & ran up his butt from a half mile back and backed off even quicker.
You would think it would be no big deal with as much P-car time in the logbook, but I still cannot help but grin, glancing at the dash at 100+ & 2800 rpm & being pushed into the seat asking for a little umph :-)
The largest grin of the day was parking in the hotel garage. Parked at the end of the third level. Every spot on the way there was filled with a P-car! Overall, the attendees appear to be on the upper side which is not surprising with a little thought. License plates from CA to ME & even AK. The cars? Pick a model, there is probably one somewhere. Pick a color, there is one somewhere. Sorry I have not done a Parade before.
Thanks for sharing the details of your trip so far, @rwbern. Looking forward to following along with your future travels and hearing more about the Parade experience. Safe and enjoyable travels to you!
Technology is a wonderful thing …… when it works! Thought I posted an update last night, but not here. So with a little time this A.M. will try again
DAY 3 - Participated in a TSD Rallye for the first time. Met a younger guy that stepped up to navigate, also a rookie. A good 3.5 hour run through varying local roads. We finished in the top 5! Feel pretty good about that :-). Spent the rest of the day at the Art Show, exhibits & the simulators (the Barber course). Stopped in at the kids remote car races; great to see the future 911 jockeys:-)
DAY 4 - Started with a little respiratory issue that the local VA managed in quick order, so adjusted the days plan. Decided to head west in the general direction of home base in case I needed to make a quick run to the house. Improved as the day progressed, so went on down the road. Turned into a 433 mile day on back roads & landed in Clarksville, TN. Did a little of the Natchez Trace Pkwy (thanks Escort).
DAY 5 - Evaluating my health status, it was time to decide; play safe & head south or north & go for it. Do I really have to tell you the decision? I try to keep a log of the routes each day, but today was pretty challenging! Another 400 back road miles through TN, KY, IL & MO. Checking the odometer, it was time for an oil change (5K miles for me), so at a little park, somewhere, the target was set for StLouis. Stayed just south& headed to the dealership about noon. Depending on when completed, will either stay another night, very rare on these trip, or try to hea north a few hundred miles to “really not sure”. Any suggestions of a route or stop appreciated.
DAY 6 - Pause - Porsche dealership, St Louis. Arrived early & car on the rack, so a few random thoughts:
At this point of my journey, you would think the car was pretty much routine, but every leg of a trip puts a few grins on the face every day. The way the PDK handles undulating roads, the simple hill hold, & of course the power to pass almost at will. :-)
The youngsters take it all for granted, but the simple pleasures of A/C, cruise & elec. glass would have been nice on the ‘70 911T. Great memories from a different era without interstates.
Why are drivers so different in every state? You can cross a state line & the attitude changes.
The guy that first thought grooved concrete was a good idea should be lynched.
I think I can just about tell the age of the guy that determined the curves caution speed signs. Some were pretty aggressive, others on social security.
The roads designated with alpha names, A, Z, etc., are usually pretty good P-car routes. Had a little fun already :-)
Enough for now …. should be on the road within the hour. Going to head north to …..
Edit: You never know what you will find at dealerships across the country, this was no exception, a Targa Turbo.
Hope all have a great weekend.
Cont’d: Kudos to the Service Dept @ St Louis Porsche. SA Stephanie worked a miracle & I departed at my appointment time. Had a great conversation with the Ser Mgr, Chad. Thanks to all.
Glad I did not have to stay a second night in St Louis, on t(e road about 1:00PM. Interstate run to get out of the city & immediately north on IL 3 & 100. Great drove along the MS River. For this southern boy, strange to see dams, locks & so many bridges, but also more scenic without the commercial traffic.
A rare top closed pic, but being a little careful with the lungs, it’s in the low 90’s.
Landed in a dive bar in Kiokuk, IA. Where? All the cars in the parking lot told me I got to IA somehow :-) A great thing about these trips is I often end up in a place that would never be a target destination. The local patrons are always a little shocked to see a stranger walk in, much less with the car :-) Never a problem striking up a conversation. Friendly, just down to earth hard workin’ folks having a few cold ones on a Friday night. A few Harley & truck drivers drivers in the group. I passed, very cautiously, at a come on from a semi-attractive young lady. The guy on the corner was watching much to closely. Not my first rodeo boys :-)
All in all, what more can you ask for in a single day?
DAY 7 - Good days and not so good days. Departed Kiokuk headed north to an eventual west turn toward SD. Difficult to be a little bored in the left seat, but IA roads are flat, straight with little scenery. I certainly does not skimp on the HP payroll budget. HP per mile is off the charts. Helped to stay awake :-) Stopped in Sioux City Coro fuel, welcome to the world of 91 octane, & found a short detour to change it up. IA 7, alone, rolling at twice the limit for a short while helped the cause. All the Hwy & Interstates are posted at 65!
Provided a rare pic opportunity worth stopping. Headed the that cloud direction, top close time. The saving grace today was overcast skies.
Another fuel stop in Mitchell, SD. At the pump, I look up & see a Blarney’s Sports Bar sign & looking left, see a hotel sign. that’s it! Time to call it a day.
In another life, for a short period, I ferried Piper aircraft fro their FL facility to San Diego. Flying over TX for so long each time, reached a point I started going around it just to be some place else. If I ever find myself in the heartland again, I’m going around IA!
RW, we've never met but thank you for doing this, documenting it and I'm glad you're enjoying your time.
My MIL got diagnosed Friday out of the blue with metastasized ovarian cancer, in terrible condition and hospice is the next step for her, so I appreciate you doing things on your own terms man.
On a more fun topic, yep I agree about bypassing Texas on any road trip but on your way back, you should definitely go through the Ozarks and spend an evening in Hot Springs, Ark.
The downtown is great and the roads around that area are as well.
Hi 001, thanks for the photos and notes! I’m enjoying it vicariously through your posts! Hope you continue to have many good days and enjoy the adventure.
WEEK 2 - DAY 1 - After a great evening, Blarney’s was perfect, started to have issues during the night. Came close more than once to punching 911, no pun intended. Shorty after daybreak, got to the car & to a local hospital ER, no VA here. Only patient on a Sunday morning, so breathing treatment, IV steroid & antibiotic and out in an hour. All common sense and logic was saying, “OK dummy, you gave it a good shot, but enough is enough”. Time to turn south toward home base.
Note: mentioned earlier my son was going to join me a some point. The plan was for him to fly into Bozeman, MT Tue.
Well, stopped for the night 600 miles due west in Billing, MT. Gotta try to make the connection if possible, but still aware.
Day 9 - The IV peaks about 4-6 hrs, usually with oral follow ups. No VA pharmacy in Mitchell, but the Billings VA was able to take care of it, so looking up. BOOM! A rare winter storm advisory pops up just to the west. This may be the last chance I have to share the car with him in the high country, but not on wet, icy roads. We come up with Plan B for next Mon., & I follow a little logic heading south (away from the weather).
Highway signs that end in “By-pass”have a hook with my name on them. With an afternoon start, not going very far, I thought I did not need to see that, but, there was not even a second thought! My usual luck prevailed! If you are ever in the area, 296 Bypass needs to be on your list.
Not really sure where I was headed, turned around at the NE entrance to Yellowstone:-) Backtracked a while and stopped in Cody, WY. 300 miles down the road, 120 from where I started. May be the best 100 mile detour on my list :-) Climbing & descending switchbacks, longer varying speed curves & short stretches for three digits. Cannot ask for for more with the addition of a a little rain & light snow. Footnote: pretty impressed with the new Continentals.
Struggling a bit this evening, but the Bud will help. Will decide what’s next in the A.M. Oh, sometimes I get a little off the beaten path.
DAY 10 - really? Low 30’s in Cody this A.M. My first experience with a Premier Best Webster; sounds like an oxymoron. They are mighty proud of it, bur a really great evening. Moving slowly this AM, but time to head south; weather, health & the road. The road beat out the pics again, but hard to just stop. Reached another decision point in southern WY & for better or worse, turned west. A pretty good day when 80% of the time the speedometer sits between 10:00 & 12:00. Another 450 lies stoping in Layton, UT.
Looking back at yesterday, I realize how lucky I was. That run from Yellowstone was pure timing; a Monday, very early summer & bad weather. Pretty sure traffic will be a major issue very soon.
Headed for a meal & a Bud to maybe give some thought to the next day. Have a great night everyone.
DAY 11 - One day Title “ God is DEFINITELY my copilot, subtitled, The Longest Day
Having issues with the oxygenator, the VA quickly arranged a replacement with the local supplier. Just caused a late start, but feeling pretty good. Accepting the fact that mornings will be very difficult, improve during the day and not so easy in the evenings, decided to keep head towards western sunsets. Reno/Lake Tahoe looked like a nice next destination, but to far to make it today. So heading west, planning to stop when tired.Did stop for gas& when I unplugged to Oxy, realized it was not charging the batteries. Ugh! Ok when plugged in, so kept going.
Nice day for a drive, just a little hazy. South past the Great Salt Lake (?) and SW on the interstate.
BOOM! Rolling at 90+, approaching a tight interstate curve & passing an SUV, he started squeezing me towards the concrete divider. Left tires started over the lane bumps & he squeezes more. Reaching the point of having to decide between the concrete or SUV, up pops a piece of truck tire rubber lying from the divider across the lane bumps. Ha ! My instantaneous thought was “how long is it going to take for a tow truck” ?
Knowing what was about to happen, somehow hit nothing as the sidewall on the left front split from rim to tread. Backing down, moved to the right lane & at that moment at the top of a hill, “Truck Parking”! Coasted on in without a sound of rim on concrete, took a breath & called NV HP. They had a tow truck there in about 45 min & after a little negotiation, was on the way to ….. Reno!
250 miles later, rolled in about 10:00 PM, dropped the car at early drop off & the driver took me to a hotel. Great guy would not accept a single dollar tip; that’s rare :-)
We will see what the morning brings, but need to resolve the Oxy issue, new tire/tires (I hate different mileage tires on the front or back) & maybe put a few more miles on the odometer, if nothing but a short run to Lake Tahoe.
DAY 12 - no adventure today. Difficult not to be in the seat on the road. Really to bad, beautiful top open day; 60’s & clear skies. Spent the morning at the hotel resolving the Oxy issues.At the dealership for the car. Couple of interesting cars:
May be the single wise decision the entire trip, but going to stay in Reno & give the body a break. If you do not have a sense of humor or flexibility, do yourself a favor & don’t set out on long road trips 😂 As soon as the car is ready, going to find a cold one, or two, or ….. and dinner. Will at least look at a map; thinking about Santa Cruz & a little Hwy 1.
Update: No issues, leaks/damage (remember my copilot). Two tires & a wash; the damn tow to Reno was almost three times the total :-( Have a little local advice for the trip west to the coast tomorrow. Promise a few pics more in line with last year.
DAY 13 - First, my sincere apologies; reviewing above, it is almost a medical journal instead of the intended purpose.
Back on the road out of Reno; a nice way to start the day:
Zoom in a little.
Headed south on 341, a nice drIve anyone would enjoy down to Lake Tahoe; elevation changes with curves at your discretion. Drove the east shore.
Continued into Sacramento. A single truck on this two lane ruined what could be a nice run; so be it. Stopped breifly at the dealership:
Change of plans with my son; meeting him in Eugene on Mon, so on north. Not much of an interstate drive north till you get past Redding. The scenery and the interstate changes.
Mt Shasta in the distance. Did not know it, but that is where the eagle landed for the evening; Mt Shasta City, CA. A great day, all in all. A bit of everything. The extra day in Reno was needed :-)
Looking forward to exploring over the weekend to Eugene, cause I am afraid my son is about to find out I am a horrible copilot!
06-06-2024, 10:31 AM
God is My Copilot - Chapter 2
