'Cuda Coast to coast

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Sacramento, California Reno, Nevada Salt Lake City, Utah Cheyenne, Wyoming Salina, Kansas Norman, Oklahoma North Little Rock, Arkansas Memphis, Tennesee McComb, Mississippi Laurel, Mississippi Atlanta, Georgia Boiling Springs, North Carolina Nags Head, North Carolina Richmond, Virginia Washington D.C.
Back to map April 20 Sacramento, California.
We were supposed to start for Reno this afternoon but on inspection it became apparent that the 'Cuda needed a new carburettor. Installing this (along with the original manifold) took most of the afternoon, so we decided to postpone our start until Monday. While the men worked on the car, Sarah and her friend Ann supplied food, then watched videos of old X Files.
Back to map April 21 Reno, Nevada.
We stayed at the Silver Legacy Hotel/Casino, had a meal at the Santa Fe restaurant (Basque) with friends, and finished off the evening at the Brew Brothers, a brew pub conveniently situated between the Silver Legacy Casino and the El Dorado Casino.
Back to map April 22 Salt Lake City, Utah.
After a long day of driving, we arrived only to find there was a convention going on and very few hotel rooms to be had. However, we managed to get one and even got a chance to do a bit of sightseeing after dinner and a trip to the Squatters Pub. The Temple looks very impressive after dark. The next morning Graham had to take the car to a garage to get a wheel bearing adjusted, and to get the front brake hoses replaced. That led to a very late start.
Back to map April 23 Cheyenne, Wyoming.
On the way to Cheyenne, it became clear that the windshield wipers weren't behaving as well as could be expected. Despite this handicap, we made it to Cheyenne at nightfall, only to learn that the weather forecast called for 4 inches of snow to dump all over town during the night. (After this experience, we took care to watch the weather channel every night during the rest of our journey.) We bravely took this news in our stride and had a lovely meal at the Medicine Bow Brewing Company. The next morning it was time for a AAA callout, as the car just didn't want to start. Even after discovering the problem (frozen choke), the AAA man could not help us with the wipers, but we got them started eventually and made the decision to press on east where the roads were clear past the state line.
Back to map April 24 Salina, Kansas.
We took 80 east halfway through Nebraska. Somewhere along the road a horrible flapping noise came from the engine and we had to pull over (Sarah was driving). After finding nothing that could have been making that racket, we decided to press on once more, and eventually whatever it was that made the noise flew out. We decided it was probably just a stick of wood; however, it rather took Sarah's appetite away. After lunch, we took a state highway due south from North Platte to Interstate 70, which took us to Salina. We had actually planned to get to Wichita but it was just too late and we didn't fancy driving much after dark. The next morning Graham took the car to a garage to check out the wiper motor, but they couldn't find a replacement. All they could do was treat the windscreen, so we crossed our fingers and pressed on once more.
Back to map April 25 Norman, Oklahoma.
Our route took us south on 135/35 after a little detour. Part of 35 is a toll road, the only one on the trip. The weather was horrible and as we came in to Oklahoma City the wipers finally packed in. Luckily we pulled off the freeway near a shop called Interstate Auto Repair, where the mechanics (between cigarettes, coffee, and lunch) found us a suitable wiper motor and installed it. Oklahoma City drivers are rather AGGRESIVE; they don't like to give you any room ever! But we made it to Norman (a university town south of OK City) and checked out the town's two brew pubs–across Main Street from each other. After we returned to the motel, Graham went to the car to get some cigars and forgot his room number, giving Sarah a few minutes of panic!
Back to map April 26 North Little Rock, Arkansas.
After buying a new headlamp not far from our motel (the old one had sustained some sort of injury), we drove to North Little Rock, where we spent a couple of days with Sarah's aunt and cousins.
April 27
We spent a quiet day doing laundry before the whole family went to Hot Springs for a meal (cat fish). One cannot visit the South without making time to pig out in a catfish house.
Back to map April 28 Memphis, Tennessee.
The transmission decided not to work this morning, due to a lack of fluid. After topping it up, Graham took the 'Cuda to a local shop; however, the tranny seemed fine by then and besides the mechanics couldn't look for the leak as the weather was too wet. Because it was a relatively short drive to Memphis, we had time to walk down Beale Street and then visit the Titanic Exhibition at the Pyramid before supper. While we were in the Pyramid, the rain storm (which we first drove into north of OK City) finally cleared away and the evening was lovely. A mockingbird even took up residence in a tree close to the car.
Back to map April 29 McComb, Mississippi.
We were supposed to spend a couple of days in New Orleans, but we never made it, due to the presence of a large chunk of metal in the middle of the right lane of I-55 just a few miles north of the Louisiana state line. Graham tried to drive over it, but because the 'Cuda is rather low-slung, the object caught the underside of the car and got hurled into the front left tire, leaving a large gash. Then it severed the parking brake cable and left several dents under the car before we left it behind. After we pulled over, Graham pointed out that one piece of equipment we didn't own was a lug wrench. Therefore, we sat on the shoulder of the highway for an hour before a kind man stopped and let us phone AAA from his carphone. An hour later the truck arrived with the necessary lug wrench. After getting the spare put on and pumped up, we limped ten miles back to McComb, where we spend the evening drinking Jack Daniels Amber Lager and watching locals dance the Macarena.
Back to map April 30 Laurel, Mississippi.
After getting lost on the way, we spent three days visiting Sarah's Uncle Aaron and getting the car sorted out. We also went to Jackson to visit Aunt Helen and Uncle William. It was lovely of Sarah's uncle to drive us around, giving us a welcome break from tackling the highways.
May 1
Graham started making calls to the shipping broker to enquire about getting the 'Cuda back to the U.K. Unfortunately, the best he could do was leave a message. Later in the evening we got the news via CNN that Tone did it and John was out.
May 2
We took the 'Cuda to a mechanic just outside Laurel to try get the suspension sorted out, but received the bad news that it would take more time and work than we or the mechanic had available at that moment. But Mr Laird, who is very experienced in dealing with cars like ours, said that once we decide to do the job, we could phone him and he would talk us through it. Maybe it would be cheaper just to fly him out here (rather than pay the phone bill)! And Graham got a phone call from the shipping broker, but we didn't get the fax he promised us.
Back to map May 3 Atlanta, Georgia.
As we drove across Alabama, Graham noticed smoke pouring out the back of the car. This turned out to be transmission fluid spilling out onto the exhaust. Because Sarah insisted, we pulled off the highway and got a mechanic to have a look at the situation. Once the fluid all burned off, we had a smooth run to Atlanta, but didn't have time to see much, thanks to another time zone change. However, we did enjoy a meal at Johnny Rocket's (great burger and fries) and a few drinks at the Groundhog Tavern in Underground Atlanta.
Back to map May 4 Boiling Springs, North Carolina.
After one more panic (Graham couldn't get the key out of the ignition after lunch, but solved the problem by rotating the steering wheel sleeve in some mysterious manner), we spent a couple of days with Sarah's Aunt Rachel as well as her son Tony and his family.
May 5
We did some shopping at a huge clothing store called Hamrick's (why are there so many Hamricks around that part of North Carolina?) and in at good old Walmart in Shelby. Thanks to Tony's wife Joetta, who volunteered the facilities of her office at the local college, we finally received the long-promised fax from the shipping broker–a form which Graham filled out and faxed back. All of a sudden it seemed that things were going according to plan!
Back to map May 6 Nag's Head, North Carolina.
It was a long drive across the state to the coast, but we made it! Once we saw the Atlantic Ocean, we felt we'd accomplished at least part of our goal. Too bad most of the town was dead (it was the off season). Still, we managed to find a little bar that sold good San Francisco beer.
Back to map May 7 Richmond, Virginia.
On the way we spent the morning at the Wright brothers memorial at Kitty Hawk, then zigzagged up the highway looking for a T-shirt depicting the first flight (harder than you would think). After arriving in Richmond we found the tourist information office by the state capitol, but it had closed. There we were, in the middle of a big city, rush hour looming and no detailed map in hand. Our only hope was to rely on our instincts: since the street we needed ran near a river, we headed roughly downhill from the capitol building. Luckily we were in the left lane when Sarah shouted, "Turn left!" "Why?" asked Graham. "Because that's our street!" Indeed it was Carey Street, where after two blocks we found the Berkeley Hotel, recommended by our travel guide. We decided to look no further.
Back to map May 8 Washington, DC.
On the way we spent a little time and had lunch in Fredricksburg, VA. We arrived in Washington around mid afternoon, drove through the centre of town (not for the faint hearted) and booked into the Embassy Row Hilton near Du Pont Circle (recommended to us by a nice couple in the Berkeley; the wife was quite taken with Baron). I think the valet enjoyed parking the car! Pity the name Hilton doesn't guarantee operational plumbing: the shower was a joke! We spent the late afternoon walking to the White House, Washington Monument, and the Lincoln Memorial (as one does).
May 9
It was fairly easy getting out of DC and onto the freeway to Baltimore. Too bad it started pouring down rain. We drove to the docks (where we'd been directed by the shipping broker) only to find the Customs Office closed for lunch. Graham took this opportunity to phone Wallenius (the shipper) only to find that we should be at their offices (which we'd passed on the way to Customs). Once we got there we were told that we would have to clear the car through Customs ourselves, although we'd been previously told that Wallenius would do that for us. Furthermore, we were under the impression that the car wouldn't get through Customs without the pink slip, which was on its way to Scotland; we had planned to send the pink slip back to the shipper and let the shipper take care of the rest. In order to solve this Catch-22 situation, we took the advice of the gentleman at Wallenius and took the car to a man across the road who would, for a fee, take care of our car until the documents were available, then clear it through Customs for us. However, this man had a better idea: he simply made copies of what documents we did possess (i.e. the bill of sale and temporary registration), notarised them, and sent us back to Customs to try our luck. It all seemed pretty dodgy to us, but it worked and before long we waved goodbye to the car at Baltimore docks. Rather than rent a car and tackle DC traffic again, we took public transport back to the hotel and collapsed on the bed, exhausted. We'd been at the docks all day and hadn't had any lunch. What a day! That evening we relaxed over a good meal at the Brickskeller and tasted just a few of the 700 different beers they had to offer. We felt we'd earned it!
May 10
By Graham's request, we spent the morning at the Air and Space Museum, after which we had lunch at the Burrito Brothers near the hotel (yum!!!). Why don't they open a franchise in Edinburgh? We then took a taxi to Dulles airport and flew home.
May 11
And we arrived home in Edinburgh before lunch time.