Drama - Part 2

Gramps has a broken oil cooler. Better we found out now than in rural Pennsylvania. New part is being ordered first thing Monday morning, hopefully installed and on the road by Thursday, August 6th. If we haul ass across the country in 4 days, take a day each to decompress in Seattle, San Fran, and LA, we can be back on schedule by August 16th. 

Adjusted itinerary might look like this:

Day 6:

Start: New York, NY

End: Chicago, IL

Day 7: 

Start: Chicago, IL

End: Rapid City, SD

Day 8:

Start: Rapid City, SD

End: Missoula, MT

Day 9:

Start: Missoula, MT

End: Seattle, WA

Day 10:

Seattle (Get Gramps tuned up, oil changed, laundry done, etc.)

Day 11:

Start: Seattle, WA

End: San Fran, CA

Day 12:

San Fran (Come on, as if I'm not going to spend a full day in San Fran...)

Day 13:

Start: San Fran, CA

End: Los Angeles, CA

Day 14:

Los Angeles, CA (Service car, etc.)

Day 15: 

Start: Los Angeles, CA

Las Vegas, NV

Day 16:

Back on schedule....lets hope

Drama - Part 1

Uh oh. This could be trouble. My father just drove "Gramps" back from Ghent, NY this afternoon (about 120 miles north of NYC), and upon arrival, realized that there was an oil leak.

Not good.

Upon further inspection, we have a feeling it is a faulty oil cooler. As I type this, Jim is riding in a AAA flatbed truck (free towing is a serious perk for members), on his way to a mechanic on West 54th street. We should know more in a couple of hours, but until then, here is the realm of possibilities

Best Case Scenario: The car has a broken hose, and can be fixed in a matter of hours. We leave a little later than expected tomorrow, skip either the Rock n' Roll HoF or the Indians game, and remain on schedule

Decently Awesome Scenario, All Things Considered: The car has a broken part that needs a full day of work, and we lose a day. We will just drive a few more hours each day, skip St. Paul (and perhaps Chicago as well), and catch up to our schedule

Pretty Bad Scenario: The car needs a part that requires a few business days of shipping. Realistically, we leave on Thursday, and haul ass directly to either Seattle or San Francisco, fall a couple of days behind schedule, and make up for it in Texas

Worst-Case Scenario: Gramps turns out to be in bad shape. We realize that the oil leak caused engine damage, and the car is no longer fit for a trip around the country. I fly to Seattle to meet Ali, drive with her to San Fran, rent a convertible to drive down the PCH, chill in LA and drive to Vegas with Dustin, and then fly from Vegas to ATL, and try to convince Kirk to drive his new Bimmer to Atlanta from Chapel Hill, then back (via Nashville) and on to Virginia Beach. From VA beach, I'd probably fly back to NYC.  

Now that I type it out, I suppose the worst-case scenario doesn't sound that bad, but still, this whole thing is a serious bummer...

Cross your fingers, folks.

I Am Officially Naming The Car "Gramps"

Potential uses:

"Gramps and I are heading across the country together..."

"Good ol' Gramps here is about 104 in car years..."

"Let me go check on Gramps. He's been complaining since Rapid City..."

I think it works. It's endearing, and the possibilities are endless. If Gramps really makes it all the way back to New York, it'll be the feel-good story of the year...

Packing List...

4 bags. 3 duffels and a string backpack. Enough to hold all my stuff, but not too much for one person to carry. I feel like when I walk around fully loaded, I will look like a off-balance hotel porter on his first day of work. 

I am waiting until Thursday night to pack. Why? Because I'm an idiot, and because I am working unexpectedly long hours during my last week on the job. I was supposed to pack yesterday, but that didn't happen. Same thing happened today. So now I am hanging out with my homegirl Lianne, drinking Vodka Frescas (leftovers from the Pink Party, I swear), and procrastinating like a pro. 

Here's the list (unabridged):

Pillow
Digital Camera
$50 in Quarters (Parking meters are everywhere)
Sunblock (SPF 19532789374)
Copies of The Impostor Chef's Companion, the cookbook I just wrote (which I plan to show to local chefs in order to establish a bit of street cred and try to snag their recipes)

30 Burnt CDs
Contacts
Razor and Blades
Shaving Cream
Toothbrush
Deodorant
Toothpaste
Glasses
Nail clippers
Soap
Shampoo
Sunglasses
Car Key (Very Useful)
5 Gallons Water (in the trunk at all times...10 gallons for Texas)
White T-shirts
Wallet
Cell Phone
Computer
IPod
Boat Shoes
Adidas Superstars
Running Shoes
Nikes
Socks
Shorts
Cargo Shorts
Jeans
Boxers
AEPi Hoodie
Umbrella
Sweater
Braves Hat

Will it fit? We'll see...

101 Hour Countdown

So it's going to be an early departure: 6am EST Saturday, as we try to squeeze the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in before hitting up the Detroit Tigers at the Cleveland Indians at 7pm CST

Here's what you can expect from the blog at the beginning of each post:

1) Current Location

2) Total Miles Traveled

3) Current Roadtripmobile Mileage (I need to come up with a better nickname for my car)

4) Total Hours Driven

I will be posting pictures from the trip on each post (just bought my first digital camera yesterday - should come in the mail shortly), and will be posting as often as twice a day, depending on internet availability. I will certainly do my best to post at least every other day

I'll be packing on Thursday night. I've burned 25 CDs (back in 1990, the iPod was just a twinkle in Steve Jobs' eye, so need to run those beats back in that old school fashion), bought a quart of sunscreen, purchased and washed a dozen new white tees, ordered the aforementioned digital camera, studied my complimentary AAA maps, etc...

This is getting exciting. Jim has been packed for a week. Yikes. More to come before Saturday...

Roadtrippin' Buddies

So, uh, yeah. I really had nothing to say for over a month, but now that I only have 23 days before the trip begins, I should probably start focusing. 

Luckily, I haven't been completely idle since my last post, and have cobbled together the following slate of shotgun-sitting, map-reading, radio-switching adventurers who have been brave enough to sign up for a spot in my car for at least one leg of the journey:

New York to Seattle: The one and only Jim Morel, sexagenarian extraordinaire. Father/Son bonding makes you cool.

Seattle to San Francisco: Ali Wiezbowski, my northwest guru and Microsoft homegirl.

Portland to San Francisco: Eric Friedman, whose has found a way to ski in August (Mt. Hood).

San Francisco to LA: Ben Hittman and Aaron Weissman, my lawyer and my stylist, respectively.

LA to Vegas: Dustin Rosen, who is "the guy" to know in LA, or so he claims.

LA to Atlanta: Jeff Salomon, who will definitely do something ridiculous every 4-5 hours, like clockwork. Can't wait.

Vegas to Atlanta: Ravi Balasubramanian, the Thelma to my Louise.

Atlanta to Virginia Beach: Kirk Kirkland and Ryan Kenyon, the UNC grads who will be showing me how the Southern gentlemen do it down in dixie.

DC to New York: Jeremy Lerman aka Spongebob Squarepants aka my campaign manager aka the guy with whom I am going to be belting out Fleetwood Mac lyrics for hours on end.

Thanks to all these riders (and any others who are yet to volunteer) the only leg of the journey on which I am going to actually be alone will be the Virginia Beach to DC portion, which, according to Google Maps, is going to be 3 hours and 31 minutes of the sweetest self-reflection I-95 has ever seen.

More to come as August approaches...