Home again

Well the "topless tour #5" is over...I arrived home safe and sound at 8:30 last night. I left Rushville at 8AM in the morning, it was a long drive. The weather was fine, started off cool about 63 degrees, turned warm like 83 in SD. In Marshall, MN I put a sweatshirt on. The total trip was just shy of 4500 miles. lots of fun! I saw many friends, met many more new friends, what a trip.
It felt good to sleep in my bed last night. Now the plan is to get the Buick ready for her trip. It will be only about 3500 miles and 2 weeks. soft seats, AC, windows all the comforts. It will be anyway.

Sunday night

I left Colorado Springs Sunday morning, a nice 350 mile trip to my sister's, had a late lunch with her. I traveled onto my cousins home in Rushville, NE. am spending the night here. I had a nice dinner and caught up on visiting. I had not seen him for several years. It was a warm drive, top down, I got a little burnt. Tomorrow is to be hotter....oh good!
It is 650 miles to home from here, could be a long day. I hope to be at the Copper Lantern for the monthly cruise night tomorrow night. The trip is almost over............we wll be leaving Thursday morning in the Buick for DesMoines.

Friday

Got up early and headed for the show. Lots of swap meet vendors. A nice turn out of rods, I saw #1728, this is always a small very laid back show. It was a very nice weather day, sun, clouds, some breeze, a good day. I met the family inn the Springs tonight for dinner, will stay here tonight and return to Pueblo in the morning.
I plan to park in the "Pavement Pounders" section, I think I should qualify for that!!Not much else to report on today.

Photos

Wednesday

After 2 days without the Internet I am back in business! I spent the last 2 days with friend Vern in Colorado Springs, we had a great time. He took me to several shops and friends homes to see their cars. Last night we had some great Mexican food.
I drove to Pueblo today with another friend, Lane. We registered at the show and went to the kick off party for a FREE BBQ dinner ! In the morning I will head to the Fair grounds for a few hours and then drive to Colorado Springs to see Elvis and Michelle and Cooper. They are visiting Grandpa H.
Saturday I will return to Pueblo for the show and then plan on driving towards home early Sunday morning.
Its been a great trip, felt good to chill out the last 2 days. The trip from LA to here was long. We drove thru Zion Nat'l Park, Bryce Canyon, Dixie Forest, Vail, Dillon, all real pretty places, but made for some long days.
The show here will be a very easy laid back show, about 2000 cars, not a huge show.
I hope to post a couple of pictures tonight.

Monday

We left Vegas at 8AM headed north thru Nevada into Utah. We drove thru Zion Natl park, Bryce Caynon, Dixie Natl Forest, real beautiful country but a real long day. I think it was over 500 miles but on 2 lane roads thru the hills.
We stopped for lunch right before Zion, a guy walked over to me and said" hi Dale", he is from CT, lives about 10 miles from where I lived...but... I just met him 2 weeks ago In Indiana at an antique store. We talked there for an hour or so, he is camping and kayaking here. Its a small world. I was in the 46 Wild Turkey in Indiana, I had showed him a photo of the roadster only !
We are in Utah tonight, did not make it to Moab, we all were tired, found a hotel, had dinner and it was 9:30 PM.
I should be in Colorado Springs tomorrow night. I will stay with friend Vern, he has Wed planned for us, mostly a local speed shop full of old Ford parts. Thursday I will head for Pueblo.

Sunday and Change of plans

Sunday was a beautiful day at the show, warm and sunny. I walked and walked more. Rodney caught a ride to the airport with a friend of a friend, he should be home by now. We all left as soon as the pewter mugs were passed out, we were moving by 4PM. Tonight we are just north of Vegas.
I am traveling with 3 roadster friends from Colorado springs, I am going with them to the Springs and then onto Pueblo for the weekend...Rocky Mtn Nats. I think I will leave early Sunday (6/28) and be home by Monday night the 29th.
Tomorrow it is Zion Nat'l Park, Bryce Canyon....plan to spend the night in Moab Utah.
It is 10PM, I am tired, going to bed.

Saturday

We woke up Saturday to a cloudy grey day. The great thing was the temp....probably 72 for a high...what a great day for walking the swap meet, 100's of roadsters, 100's of other rods and customs and the vendor area. The swap meet was huge. Tons a great car parts, not rusty headers, lawn mowers, tires but good hot rod parts.
We saw many friends, a real good day. I think I sat by the car for 20 minutes while eating lunch only...I was walking and looking all day. My feet hurt tonight!
At 5PM there is a FREE BBQ for the roadster people, roast beef, chicken all the fixins, pop, water..a great feed. These guys know how to put on a show.All the club members are standing at the food line shaking our hands, thanking us for coming to their free show...that is how a show should be run, why do the cars have to pay to make the show people money??
The weather was just great, it is usually quite hot on the black top in the swap area, not this year. Tomorrow we will go back to the fairgrounds and walk some more. Rodney flies home in the afternoon, I will be on my own for the rest of the time. I will post some more pictures soon.
The pewter mugs are given out Sunday at 3, after that I will hit the road and drive 6 hours to Mesquite, NV.

Friday

Today was laundry day, now we have all clean clothes again, that took an hour and a half, so right after lunch we headed to SoCal open house. Jim Landree pulled strings again and got us inside the gates parking at SoCal. It pulls hundreds of rods and customs. We parked in our assigned spot, grabed the chairs and headed for the shady grass. About an hour later my 3 friends from Colo Springs showed up, Jim got passes for then also, so they parked right next to us.
I met a great couple from AZ while walking around, Denise and Bruce, she is a real estate broker that specializes in houses with multiple car parking...I'm keep her card so when I am ready for a condo with a 4 car garage I will call her!!
About 5PM we drove over to Bobby Waldens Speed shop's open house, another HUGE party. Lots of fun. A fun easy day.......................

Photo 1...Megan's red deuce roadster,
Marcel and me
My dream car...Kugal Steel roadster
the 36 hand built coupe

Thursday

Today was another great day. More shop tours. The first stop was Fred's Wiring, he not only wires cars, but builds complete turnkey rods. He had a 56 Chevy, 35 pickup, 62 Chevy, a complete hand built 36 Ford steel bodied car,(by Marcel's) 53 Chevy and many more. It was a really neat place.
Second up was Marcel's Metal works. Luc was on vacation but Marcel and Marc was there. It was good to see them again. They were finishing another Kugal full fendered deuce roadster....someday maybe I will have one of those. I will post a picture of it. There are only 2 more available.
Across the street was Barry White's speed shop. His shop was full of projects too. He remembered helping me with a bad tie rod end a few years ago.
The next stop was the Open House at Limeworks...cool place. We saw Deuce friends from Nebraska, AZ, SD and Utah there, Roger Nunn, Jerry Malady, Larry Setzer, Jack Linden, Dick Rodwell, it was great to see them all again. Megan aka "Chevygirlrox" from the HAMB, from Ohio drove with her friend in their roadster powered with an old flattie, the car was built in the 50's in CA...it came back home......cool!
We had one more stop planned but ran out of time. On the drive back to the hotel, the 34 sedan broke the trans crossmember, that let the engine drop and jambed the distributor and broke it, the good news was that it happened on an off ramp that had a break down area...good luck again. The same flatbed came to the rescue.
When we got back to the hotel we saw the Colorado Springs friends, Lane, Marty and Vern and their wives, they just drove in with their roadsters.
This was a fun day. Barryfrom CT called to check on me, Jakefrom Ohio called to check in...nice to hear from friends.

Wednesday part 2

Howard from Colorado had a bad day today. At the last stop yesterday he left his gas cap at the station, we improvised with a pop bottle and my duct tape. He was the same one with the transmission problem. Poor guy! He just bought the car last month, it was a brand new build. He took it all in stride. A real cool guy, 73 years old and having fun!!

Wednesday

I got up early and cleaned the car real good, took the top off. We all left at 9:30 for Dean Jefferies shop in Hollywood. It was a 50 mile trip that took 2 hours. The big Lakers parade was being held in downtown LA and we had to go by there to get to Jefferies place.
We met Jims hot rod tours there, took photos, listened to stories and waited for 2 of the Colorado cars to show up. They finally arrived with a problem with the coupe. They had no reverse or neutral! We borrowed a jack, stands, some tools but could not get it fixed. After a while we found a trans shop, called a rollback. The two cars stayed there waiting for the roll back to come.
We headed on to Hollywood Hot Rods. That was a neat shop. Full of traditional rods with new ideas. We had a great visit there. It was decided that it was too late to go any where else so we headed back to the hotel during rush hour. It only took an hour and a half.
We walked to Friday's for dinner and met with John Buck, the promoter of the January AMBR Grand National roadster show. While we were eating the broken car guys walked in, all fixed. The bolts inside the trans holding the valve body in came loose and fell out, that jammed the shift shaft. He put them back in, tightened them up and good to go. $150 and a $85 tow....not too bad.

Tuesday

I did not post Monday night...they charge $10 for Internet service and I am too tight!
We met for breakfast at 7AM at the Casino cafe and were on the road by 7:45. My plans were to remove the top, but after checking the dark cloudy shies I decided to leave it on! Wouldn't you know it, it did not rain. I was cool, a very nice drive. A short day today only 250 miles. Even going thru the desert it was only 91 or so. It is usually about 100+ there. We had a quick lunch in Barstow and drove on into Ontario by 3 PM. Traffice get really heavy in LA on I15 and I10, some of the drivers are nuts, but we had no real problems. After a little break, will clean up the car, walk to Friday's for dinner and get some more rest. We meet Jims Hot Rod tours at 11AM at Dean Jefferies shop, then Hollywood Hot Rods and several private collections, should be a fun day.

Monday

We met at Rocky Mtn Street Rods at 6:30.There was still hail in the corners and against the fences...wow! We left with a 43 tudor, 39 coupe, 32 3w at 7:15. Right down I76 we met up with Vern in his 32 roadster and continued west over the mountains. What a nice drive thru Aspen, Avon, and the beautiful snow capped mountains. It was a bit chilly, but a great drive. We stopped in Frisco for gas and picked up Jim in his 53 F100. Lunch was a Fruita at a place called Rib City...great BBQ. There we picked up the 10th guy, Jack. So six cars and 10 guys heading west in hot rods.We had a few sprinkles but nothing bad. It was a great ride but a LONG day. We finally hit Mesquite, NV about 9PM their time. We got rooms at the Eureka Casino...$29...cool! Had a prime rib dinner for $4.99....almost free! We were all tired. Besides Rodney, I am the youngest guy on the trip! The drive was 700 miles.
As we were leaving Alliance Sunday we both mentioned to my sister that our butts husrt during the ride...well she came to the rescue, made us 3 pillows, covered in 32 Ford fabric in about 5 minutes....they really helped, sat on one, stuffed one behind our backs..good deal. She is really my favorite sister (my only sister, but still the favorite)

Sunday

After a nice Sunday visit with family we left at 11:30 for Denver. We stopped for lunch in Sterling, CO for lunch, that is about half way. As we got closer to Denver we could tell the dark clouds were hiding the mountains. Finally the sky opened up and it poured. The rain was going south to north, we were driving west, so the rain was coming in the side windows (the one that we don't have). We got a little wet.
As we arrived in Denver, there was piles of hail in the gutters, on the roofs, on the carfs, looked like snow. I am glad we left as late as we did. The clouds cleared out and it was a beautiful evening.
We me with Rodney's friend for dinner and headed for the hotel. We leave at 7AM in the morning so need to get to Rocky Mtn Street rod shop by 6:15 or so. It is time for bed. Good night! It is a 700 mile drive tomorrow to Nevada, only 260 today.

Day one part 2

Day one

Made it to Nebraska about 10PM tonight...a long ride...740 miles. I left at 7:15, picked up Rodney in Mpls about 8:30 and headed southwest. About Mankato is started to rain, the farther we went the heavier it got. When we hit I90 I stopped and called my sister in NE to check the weather map. She said it cleared out west of Mitchell, SD. We stopped for lunch in Sioux Falls, after lunch we could see a bit of light in the west, within 50 miles it had stopped raining...finally! It was really coming down east of Sioux Falls!! It rained a bit 3 more times on I90. At Murdo we headed south towards NE. I found out that it is 91 miles from Valentine, NE to Gordon NE with only 2 little towns in between with closed gas stations. We stopped at Cody for a break, gas station closed with 60 miles to go, check the gas...no way. We found 2 guys standing outside the bar, Rodney asked about gas and was told there is 1 station in town but closed for the night....but the owner lived right down the street, we could go ask him to open. Rodney said "I will go ask!" He said he would open and he did. We got 9 gallons in a 11 gal tank...at 16 mpg 2 gallons would have been short...felt like Jimmy Johnson in the nascar race!! Nice to have friendly mid west gas station owners around. It got cold with the sun going down, the seat heaters felt good. like I said we arrived about 10 PM, had some dinner, nice visit and went to bed, I slept good.
This morning I washed the car and fixed the cooling fan. After checking it out I found it had a bad ground, don't know why, I re grounded it to the motor mount and it all works again. We did not need it traveling, but I noticed it at a stop light in down town Mpls. Good to fix it now instead of in LA hot weather traffic. In the morning we will head to Denver. Will meet with Rodney's friend for dinner and then meet with more hot rods Monday morning.
Its is a fun time..............."A cold wet day in a roadster is better than any day at work"

Home again

We got home about 5 PM. We stopped for a late lunch with son Rodney in St Paul. He lost his best friend Riley the kitty last week to a huge brain tumor. He is still feeling the loss, rightfully so. They were buddies for 9 years.
The car ran fine the whole trip, it usually does,it is very reliable, but they all are!! Now got to wash the 100's of bugs off it and put her away for a while. It was good to be home and sleep in my own bed. Today and tomorrow is finish the "lists" here, car, yard, honey do etc.
The top is still on the roadster from Fargo, with the cool mornings and chance of showers all the way to NE, I am thinking about just leaving it on, this is not the "official" topless tour, so no real rules to follow, maybe I'm getting older and wiser.........no.
This will be the last post untill Friday night......from west Nebraska if all goes as planned. Talk to you then.

"Deuce Guy Dale"

Monday

We made it to Madison this evening. It was something like 500 miles, sort of a long day, arrived at 7:30, maybe it was the antique stop!! HaHa. Less than 400 miles to get home now. There is several things I need to do before the roadster trip, will be good to get home. The car is running fine. That's all for tonight.

Sunday

Another beautiful day...clear blue skies, bright sun and a bunch of hot rods. We arrived at the fairgrounds about 9:30 and stayed until about noon. I walked the vendor building and said good bye to many friends. We drove 420 miles to Springfield, OH, farther than planned. The longer day today will help the next two. We arrived here about 7, found a hotel, ate and called it a day. Tomorrow will probably land us in Madison. Tuesday night we will be home, thats a day early, more time to do laundry, change oil in the roadster, pack a new bag, plus some other chores around home. Friday morning it is off to sunny California! Topless Tour #5 is about to start.

Saturday

The sun came out, the rain stopped, it was a great day, 84 degrees. I walked for miles looking at rods, many cool cars here. The swap meet was pretty good even if I did not buy anything.I am not sure how many cars are here, but looked less than last time. I think the rain scared off some of the locals.
I will go to the fair grounds again in the morning for a while, will probably leave about noon. Plan to drive for 2-300 miles then find a motel. That will leave two 500 mile days to make it home by Wednesday evening. Thursday will be laundry, repack a suitcase, change oil in the roadster. I will be leaving Friday morning with Rodney for the west coast.

More rain!!

Well it rained all day today again. I spent the day inside the vendor buildings looking at the parts. I bought some wiring supplies, talked to the chassis guy, got a deal on a tach, had a good time. I attended the wiring seminar by Wire Works also. It was a good day even with all the rain. Tomorrow forecast is sunny and 80...yea!
We are meeting in the hotel lobby at 6:30, heading to the grounds and to the favorite breakfast place, should be a good day. I will spend the day outside looking at rods.

York, PA

We made it to York about 2 PM today, another day of driving in the rain.
Jake and Pearl could not meet us this morning so we drove alone. I registered and walked the parking lot with an umbrella, had to check out the rods!I saw several old friends from the area, good to see them again. Our friends from MA, Larry and Paula arrived about 4 PM, we had a good dinner with them at Smokey Bones. They drove their 32 roadster...crazy roadster people!!
The weather looks wet agin for Friday. We are meeting at 7AM, park the cars then all go to Alexanders for breakfast, this has become a tradition the last several years. They have a great breakfast for a great price. Our friend Ray from TN has already marked out the parking spots with tarps. We always park in the same spot, have for 15 years or so.
If the rain continues tomorrow I will spend most of the day in the big vendor building shopping for 3W parts, I have my list all ready.

St Claiesville, OH

After several hours shopping for antiques in two different stores, we made it all the way to St Clairsville, OH (Wheeling WV is just across the bridge from here) We enjoyed a tall cold beer and a dinner at the West Texas Roadhouse tonight. In the morning we meet up with Jake and Pearl from Columbus in their black and flamed 39 Chevy.

We have been friends for at least 15 years, good people. Tomorrows drive is 320 miles. It rained all day today, it is still cloudy and misty outside, I hope it blows thru overnight.

Thursday is a big kickoff party in the host hotel parking lot, that is always fun. We will see all of the east coast friends there.
Not much else to report, hope for some fun newa once we get to the show.

Springfield OH

Well we are right on schedule, arrived tonight in Springfield, OH somewhere around 550 miles. We stopped at the favorite antique store in El Paso, IL this morning. Looked at some fun stuff, bought nothing. It was raining when we left Rockford, in about 80 miles it went away, turned sunny with clear blue skies.....for a couple of hundred miles! We hit Indy at rush hour in the pouring rain....fun!! I took the 465 south loop around to the east and then got on I70 east. It rained off and on all the way to Springfield, sort of glad we were in the 46 and not the roadster!
At one point the semi right in front of us hit his brakes hard, the trailer skidded to the ditch side, looked lke a dirt racer....he caught it and all was well...wow!
The car is turning 20mpg, not bad for a big block chevy. The GPS shows the speedo off by 8 mph and of course the odometert is off too. I've been figureing mpg off of the GPS miles so has to be right. Gas is 2.69 for regular somewhat higher in IL as always, of course I burn 92 octane so it is $3/gal...helping out Obama's stimulus plan!!Tonight there is thunderstorm warning till midnight...oh well, the car is dirty any way. Tomorrow morning is a 5 mile drive to a HUGE antique store, I might sneek out and wash the car. The rear view camera screen went out today, think I will figure that out too, I really miss it. Talk to you all tomorrow Dale

Rockford, IL

We made it to Rockford tonight, a short 400 miles. We made a couple of antique store stops. We arrived here in the middle of a thunderstorm, lightning, rain, lots of fun. We are staying at the BaymontInn, like always, this time we went next door for dinner at the Cracker Barrel, I was tired of driving in the rain.
Tomorrow will be Springfield, OH for the night, there is a huge antique store there, might make part of it in the afternoon, for sure the next morning for a few hours. nothing really exciting, all seems to be working fine...this ole car is always a good one. Talk to you all tomorrow Dale