
Actually, we arrived in Tallahassee yesterday, but about a block from the hotel, it started raining, and by the time we parked, all we wanted was food, drink and sleep...it has been a long day! We left Tupelo as the sun was coming up, and headed for Strall's Mountain in Carbon Hill, Alabama. That's where Packard Bill was born, and where his father is buried. The best thing about Carbon Hill is the two-laner that goes right through it! The drive up the mountain was brutal...the roads were paved back in the 60's, and I doubt they've ever been re-paved! Another high point in Carbon Hill is the local restaurant...breakfast was a whopping $13 for the four of us! Egg sandwiches were $1.19, Hamburgers were $1.39, sodas were less than a dollar, and that's all good! What was bad was that they were out of most everything...you could have whatever breakfast you wanted, so long as you didn't want biscuits or hash browns! We took some pics as we left town, and continued our trip southeast. Along the way, Sonny's Cyclone began to lose power, and we stopped to check it out. Cecil, who was not planning on stopping in Tallahassee, eventually continued on. After replacing a couple spark plugs, an ignition wire, and a check of the rocker arms, it was agreed that it was a burned valve, and making a roadside repair was out of the question. Sonny drove the rest of the way with, at best, seven functioning cylinders, something FE engines don't much care for! So we motored into Tallahassee just after 7:00 PM...a 12 hour day...very long, especially for Old Guys standards! We opted for pizza, and had one delivered. Actually, we got two...one was the Oreo cookie dessert pizza. If you like the cookies, you'll LOVE the dessert! Just before 9:00, I got a call from the front desk, saying that a woman had hit my car. My first thought was that the desk clerk didn't know what kind of car I had, and I was being set up by Sonny, Bill, or both. Anyway, I went to the front desk, and the clerk was laughing. She handed me a note from Kevin and Boss Hog, saying HI! in big letters. Yeah, ha ha, guys! So this morning, I told Packard Bill about it. He called Kevin, who said that they had to call three hotels before finding the right one! I'll give them points for their effort, but will also warn them that revenge is sweet! We all headed for home this morning, and by the time I got home (I live the farthest south), I had traveled 3060 miles. We traveled through nine states, visited Summit Racing and Atlanta Motor Speedway (and several other places of interest), raced go-karts until we ached, ate just enough White Castle's, found out it's not worth the trouble to bring a video camera, watched Mikey argue with his GPS as he missed the turn, and headed for Indy, spent as little as $2.54 for a gallon of fuel, ate good BBQ a couple times, and THE BEST BBQ once, enjoyed the humor of Boss Hog and Kevin, drove for about 60 miles on the original Route 66, attended an excellent car show, traveled some twisty two-laners (the Old Guys LOVED that part), enjoyed several mornings where it was actually too cool to put the tops down, and overall, had one of the best Old Guys trips on record! Coming up next...a Sunshine State Cougar Club night in Old Town later this month. Be sure to check back... |