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Where in the world is Miss Agatha?
- Thread starter jlaird
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Jim_Gruber
Yoda
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Miss Agatha is supposed to be in Gila Bende/ Hula Bend AZ today and gone in San Diego tomorrow. Driving around 300 miles a day and taking it easy.
Jim_Gruber
Yoda
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Tow vehicle issues cropped up yesterday. The Suburban was traded for a Conversion Van along the way. Price was right. Engine issues with Suburban. Bill indicated he was looking at weather and may have decided not to roll into the Pineapple Express and wait it out another day before pushing on to home. One adventure and problem to solve after another but he indicated he is up to the task. Almost home.
Jim_Gruber
Yoda
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Haven't heard from them today. Will let you know if I hear anything.
Bet you thought you left that stuff in the Pacific NW didn't you Bill! I here that you guys are getting caught up on your precip only all at once!
Kurt.
Hi all. we are back in San Diego. We spent the night in Benson, Arizona at a best western. Got up had breakfast
and started home at 8:00 A M mountain time and drove the last leg to Home which was about 370 miles. We arrived at my house at 3:30 PM pacific time in Bonita. We just got a little bit of rain in the mountains which was no problem.
and started home at 8:00 A M mountain time and drove the last leg to Home which was about 370 miles. We arrived at my house at 3:30 PM pacific time in Bonita. We just got a little bit of rain in the mountains which was no problem.
Jim_Gruber
Yoda
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So Bill we need to see pics and info on your great adventures along the way. I for one am curious about the new wheels you picked up along the way. And how does Miss Agatha like 60FROG. Hmmm be careful they might breed and multiply.
Glad to hear that you got home OK
The skies should be clear now until Tuesday when we will try to make up for 3 years of drought!
BillM
G
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Ok, there is your excuse, start packin'. :friendly_wink:
THE TRIP:
First we had to figure out how to get MISS AGATHA from Florida to California. Our first alternative was to rent a U-Haul. We would put the car in the U-haul and the parts and tow the trailer behind the U-Haul. So we went and checked out a U-Haul and sat in it. Both Joe and I decided we were to chicken to drive a U-Haul. So our next idea was to rent a Ford Explorer in Panama City Beach Florida and take it and have a trailer hitch put on it to tow the car to California. The problem with this approach was that when you rent a car you are not guaranteed you will get the exact car you asked for but may be given a similar vehicle. We would also have to have the trailer hitch removed before returning it to the rental place. also if we had an accident insurance would not cover us because we would be violating the rental agreement by putting a trailer hitch on the car.
We finally came up with the idea of buying a used vehicle in Panama City that had a tow package. we searched the Panama City Craigs List and found a 1999 GMC Suburban. We negotiated with the seller and sent him a refundable deposit and he agreed to meet us at our hotel in Panama City at 9:00AM and I paid him the final amount for the car.
Prior to flying to Panama city I went to San Francisco for Thanksgiving and Joe went to Kansas City to do the same.
On Thanksgiving Day Joe came down with an infection that led to him having a bad case of Sepsis.
So the Bad news was that Joe would not be able to make the trip for at least two months.
Since all our plans had been set in motion I looked for an alternative person to make the trip with me and MY dear Friend Charles of many years agreed to go on the trip with me. Charles is 86 and has poor eye sight so I would have to do all the driving.
So we proceeded to fly to Panama City on Thursday Dec 4th and picked up the Suburban on Friday Morning and drove to Niceville to
to pick up Miss Agatha.
The plan had been to meet Rut in Orange Beach and stay in Orange Beach and have dinner there. It started getting dark so I called Rut and said we would meet him on Saturday. So we started looking for a hotel along the way. We stopped at a Best Western and discovered they only had one room available and wanted $196.00 for it. The problem was there was a big car race near the area and all the hotels were booked. So we drove another 40 miles to get away from the area and finally stopped in Loxley Alabama. We had dinner at a Waffle House next to the Hotel.
Two things I learned from this experience. Don't drive at night and always park the tow vehicle and the trailer in such a spot that I would not have to back up because I learned I was terrible at backing up.
We got up in the morning had breakfast at the Waffle House and headed out to meet Rut.
We met Rut in a church parking lot in Orange Beach AL.
We left Orange Beach and drove to Eastern New Orleans and spent the night there. We thought about taking a cab to downtown New Orleans but the fare to get there was $60 plus mileage for each of us and the same coming back. So we ate dinner at a new fast food restaurant near the hotel.
We had reservations at a really nice hotel in Beaumont Texas where all our needs would be met. those needs were a place to park where I wouldn't have to backup, they would have a bar and a restaurant.
we had a good time in Beaumont and watched Sunday night football, while having one of the best steaks I have ever had.
The only bad part of the stay was the Chargers lost.
We got up had breakfast and headed to San Antonio. Where we stayed in a hotel that met our needs. I parked behind the hotel where I didn't have to back up.
At dinner the Manager of the hotel came to me and told me he would feel much better if I parked right in front of the entrance to the hotel so his staff could keep and eye on it. So I moved the car and parked there.
Our next stop was to be Fort Stockton.
I made the stupid mistake of not making any reservations at two possible motels Joe had picked out until the morning. When I called each motel I was told there were no Rooms available.It turned out we were in oil country and all the motels were filled with oil riggers. So I called Joe and told him the situation and he searched high and low and finally found the only room available in Pecos. I can't say enough bad things about the motel. The handle on the toilet broke off and we had to ask them to screw in a couple more light bulbs so we could see better.The entire parking lot was filled with huge trucks. We were the only people there who did not work in the oil fields.
We made the best of it and got up early to leave Pecos as quick as we could.
The Sun doesn't rise until 7:45 and it was pitch dark outside and I could barely see the road in front of me because of poor lighting.
So we pulled into this huge truck stop and had coffee and waited for the sun to rise. The convience store was packed with oil workers and you had to stand in a long line to pay for your coffee.
When the sun rose we headed back on the 285 North to get back on 10 west. It had been a 50 mile drive into Pecos and now a 50 mile drive out.
We made sure from then on that we made reservations ahead of time at a place that met our three needs
We drove to Las Cruces New Mexico and spent the night.
The plan was that our next stop would be Casa Grande Arizona and then drive to San Diego
27 miles out of Benson Arizona the Suburban blew the engine. We waited several hours for a AAA tow truck to come and tow us in to a garage in Benson. The final assessment was that the Suburban needed another engine new or used and that it would take a week before we could leave Benson with the Suburban. I called the only used car lot in Benson and finally procured a Dodge Conversion Van.
This is where a really bad situation turned out really nice. The owner of the used car lot , Leyland Barney, took us to his house where he had a garage down a dark unlit dirt road and told us to make our selves comfortable in his house and eat any thing we wanted.
Leyland welded a tow package onto the Dodge while we watched a movie in his house.
He then parked the Suburban and the Dodge side by side and had his three helpers transfer everything out of the Suburban and into the Dodge. When we were ready to go to a Best Western in Benson for the night which was around 9:00PM and we had broken down around noon. I asked them if they could drive us to the highway off the dirt road. I finally told them the since I had never driven the Dodge could they just take us to the Motel and I would figure out the Dodge in the morning. They kindly did that.
All I can say is that Leyland Barney was one of the nicest persons I have ever met and got us out of a tight situation. he was wonderful and I can't say enough about him.
While we had been waiting at the Garage for all this to happen the garage closed at 5:00 PM so I told Charles to go to the Saloon next to the Garage and have a drink while I waited for everything to happen.
We got up on Friday morning Dec 12th and did an eight hour drive to San Diego arriving at 3:30
On Saturday Joe came over and helped me get the Car off the Trailer. We washed and polished Miss Agatha and put her in the garage. Unhooked the trailer from the Dodge and the trailer and the Dodge sit in front of my house waiting for my next move.
So that is the story. I will try and put a few pictures together and add them later.
First we had to figure out how to get MISS AGATHA from Florida to California. Our first alternative was to rent a U-Haul. We would put the car in the U-haul and the parts and tow the trailer behind the U-Haul. So we went and checked out a U-Haul and sat in it. Both Joe and I decided we were to chicken to drive a U-Haul. So our next idea was to rent a Ford Explorer in Panama City Beach Florida and take it and have a trailer hitch put on it to tow the car to California. The problem with this approach was that when you rent a car you are not guaranteed you will get the exact car you asked for but may be given a similar vehicle. We would also have to have the trailer hitch removed before returning it to the rental place. also if we had an accident insurance would not cover us because we would be violating the rental agreement by putting a trailer hitch on the car.
We finally came up with the idea of buying a used vehicle in Panama City that had a tow package. we searched the Panama City Craigs List and found a 1999 GMC Suburban. We negotiated with the seller and sent him a refundable deposit and he agreed to meet us at our hotel in Panama City at 9:00AM and I paid him the final amount for the car.
Prior to flying to Panama city I went to San Francisco for Thanksgiving and Joe went to Kansas City to do the same.
On Thanksgiving Day Joe came down with an infection that led to him having a bad case of Sepsis.
So the Bad news was that Joe would not be able to make the trip for at least two months.
Since all our plans had been set in motion I looked for an alternative person to make the trip with me and MY dear Friend Charles of many years agreed to go on the trip with me. Charles is 86 and has poor eye sight so I would have to do all the driving.
So we proceeded to fly to Panama City on Thursday Dec 4th and picked up the Suburban on Friday Morning and drove to Niceville to
to pick up Miss Agatha.
The plan had been to meet Rut in Orange Beach and stay in Orange Beach and have dinner there. It started getting dark so I called Rut and said we would meet him on Saturday. So we started looking for a hotel along the way. We stopped at a Best Western and discovered they only had one room available and wanted $196.00 for it. The problem was there was a big car race near the area and all the hotels were booked. So we drove another 40 miles to get away from the area and finally stopped in Loxley Alabama. We had dinner at a Waffle House next to the Hotel.
Two things I learned from this experience. Don't drive at night and always park the tow vehicle and the trailer in such a spot that I would not have to back up because I learned I was terrible at backing up.
We got up in the morning had breakfast at the Waffle House and headed out to meet Rut.
We met Rut in a church parking lot in Orange Beach AL.
We left Orange Beach and drove to Eastern New Orleans and spent the night there. We thought about taking a cab to downtown New Orleans but the fare to get there was $60 plus mileage for each of us and the same coming back. So we ate dinner at a new fast food restaurant near the hotel.
We had reservations at a really nice hotel in Beaumont Texas where all our needs would be met. those needs were a place to park where I wouldn't have to backup, they would have a bar and a restaurant.
we had a good time in Beaumont and watched Sunday night football, while having one of the best steaks I have ever had.
The only bad part of the stay was the Chargers lost.
We got up had breakfast and headed to San Antonio. Where we stayed in a hotel that met our needs. I parked behind the hotel where I didn't have to back up.
At dinner the Manager of the hotel came to me and told me he would feel much better if I parked right in front of the entrance to the hotel so his staff could keep and eye on it. So I moved the car and parked there.
Our next stop was to be Fort Stockton.
I made the stupid mistake of not making any reservations at two possible motels Joe had picked out until the morning. When I called each motel I was told there were no Rooms available.It turned out we were in oil country and all the motels were filled with oil riggers. So I called Joe and told him the situation and he searched high and low and finally found the only room available in Pecos. I can't say enough bad things about the motel. The handle on the toilet broke off and we had to ask them to screw in a couple more light bulbs so we could see better.The entire parking lot was filled with huge trucks. We were the only people there who did not work in the oil fields.
We made the best of it and got up early to leave Pecos as quick as we could.
The Sun doesn't rise until 7:45 and it was pitch dark outside and I could barely see the road in front of me because of poor lighting.
So we pulled into this huge truck stop and had coffee and waited for the sun to rise. The convience store was packed with oil workers and you had to stand in a long line to pay for your coffee.
When the sun rose we headed back on the 285 North to get back on 10 west. It had been a 50 mile drive into Pecos and now a 50 mile drive out.
We made sure from then on that we made reservations ahead of time at a place that met our three needs
We drove to Las Cruces New Mexico and spent the night.
The plan was that our next stop would be Casa Grande Arizona and then drive to San Diego
27 miles out of Benson Arizona the Suburban blew the engine. We waited several hours for a AAA tow truck to come and tow us in to a garage in Benson. The final assessment was that the Suburban needed another engine new or used and that it would take a week before we could leave Benson with the Suburban. I called the only used car lot in Benson and finally procured a Dodge Conversion Van.
This is where a really bad situation turned out really nice. The owner of the used car lot , Leyland Barney, took us to his house where he had a garage down a dark unlit dirt road and told us to make our selves comfortable in his house and eat any thing we wanted.
Leyland welded a tow package onto the Dodge while we watched a movie in his house.
He then parked the Suburban and the Dodge side by side and had his three helpers transfer everything out of the Suburban and into the Dodge. When we were ready to go to a Best Western in Benson for the night which was around 9:00PM and we had broken down around noon. I asked them if they could drive us to the highway off the dirt road. I finally told them the since I had never driven the Dodge could they just take us to the Motel and I would figure out the Dodge in the morning. They kindly did that.
All I can say is that Leyland Barney was one of the nicest persons I have ever met and got us out of a tight situation. he was wonderful and I can't say enough about him.
While we had been waiting at the Garage for all this to happen the garage closed at 5:00 PM so I told Charles to go to the Saloon next to the Garage and have a drink while I waited for everything to happen.
We got up on Friday morning Dec 12th and did an eight hour drive to San Diego arriving at 3:30
On Saturday Joe came over and helped me get the Car off the Trailer. We washed and polished Miss Agatha and put her in the garage. Unhooked the trailer from the Dodge and the trailer and the Dodge sit in front of my house waiting for my next move.
So that is the story. I will try and put a few pictures together and add them later.
G
Guest
Guest
Guest
Offline
$60 each plus mileage ?!?!? You need to report them, that aint right. It would have been cheaper to get a cab from Slidell. Heck, I would'a drove yall in. Glad y'all are back.
