Wrapping Up The Trip

This will be the final post from the long trip to St. Louis and back; sure was a fun filled week, here's the last couple of days.
Up and out early on Saturday after doing Route 66 on Friday. Good weather, light traffic, and the Yellow Fish running well, a good way to start the day. On to I-55 North we go, heading up to catch I-80 East for the ride home. Of course, the Interstates don't give you the scenic fun that you get on Route 66, or The Lincoln Highway, but you can make much better time on them.
80 East is a pretty direct run to NY,  but again, the old car struggles to do more than about 65, and honestly, too much faster than that begins to feel a little scary. Four wheel non power drum brakes, and the engine screaming like a banshee will do that to you. Still, I made pretty good time, and managed to get all the way to Clarion PA by dinner time. Found a local motel which used to be a Microtel, clean and reasonably priced, and plenty of food and stores nearby, including two auto parts shops. On an impulse, I checked to see if either of them had a pcv valve for the car, since I think the one on the engine is clogged, contributing to the oil smoke that I've been putting out. Unfortunately, both of them had to order the part, so I just picked up a couple of quarts of oil, gassed the car, and started the search for dinner.
I had asked at the hotel, and the desk clerk suggested either the local "Roadhouse", burgers, steaks, ribs, etc, or the Mexican place just up the road, Cozumel. The Roadhouse was a little further up, and in a busy shopping center, so my guess was that it would be busy on a Saturday night. The Mexican place, however, was in the lobby of the local "Econolodge", and I figured it shouldn't be too bad. I checked the menu out on my phone, it looked good, so that was it.

Not just Mexican, but "Authentic" as well! Nice enough little place, off the motel lobby, three or four big screen televisions, all running NCAA football, a full bar in the corner of the dining room, and the usual "Mexican" decorations throughout. Like many Mexican places, a large menu, most of the usual dishes, but also a bunch of "American" offerings, including burgers, chicken sandwich, grilled cheese, pizza, and even hot dogs! As tempted as I was to see how they'd do some of these, common sense, for once, got the best of me and I stuck with the Mexican fare.
Started off with the usual, tortilla chips and salsa; sign says only one 'free' serving, additional portions are $3.50 each. Must be to discourage the drinkers from doing basket after basket with their drinks.

And there you go! Dos Equis amber, on draft, perfect way to wash down a good meal. The chips were pretty good, although a touch overcooked, which gave them a kind of 'nutty' flavor; and, much like the last place I'd been, they needed salt, they were totally bare. The salsa was pretty good, not real chunky, not real smooth. Nice flavor, a hint of garlic, but not much heat; once again, a couple of shakes from the hot sauce on the table fixed that!
Some nice choices for dinner, plenty of seafood, and steak items, but I was in a chicken mood. and one item caught my eye, "Chicken A La Diablo". Described as white meat chicken in a spicy tomato/herb sauce. Served, of course, with the requisite refried beans and Mexican rice. 

Good portion size, plenty of chicken, and lots of the deep, dark red sauce. The meal was served with warm flour tortillas, so you could put chicken and rice together in them and make sort of a burrito. But, first, let's check out the spice level; HOT! Nice spicy sauce, with just a hint of sweetness at the finish, very good. The beans were typical, probably canned, but hot, good cheese on them. The rice was also good, with a little zing and a hint of garlic. Using the tortillas, I did two portions as burritos, then cleaned the plate with the fork. A second Dos Equis to finish the meal and relax a bit, and done. And, a bargain to boot, just under $20 before tip, and that included two cold frosty beers. So...if you're ever in Clarion PA, this spot gets a thumbs up! Back to the room, catch some television, speak to Karen, and bed. Looks like I'll get home on Sunday afternoon instead of Monday. The benefits of pushing myself to do over 500 miles today.
Sunday dawns cloudy and misty, and a little on the chilly side. Grab a cup of coffee at the convenience store next door, up the road and back on to I-80. Boy, it IS chilly! Gotta crank up the heat in the car (because, like an idiot, I didn't take any sort of jacket or sweatshirt with me), which actually works very well, and I settle in for the ride. The morning passes quickly enough, and I'm making pretty good time. As I approach the 200 mile driven mark, I stop for gas, which will give me enough to make it home without having to stop again. Off we go, and into New Jersey, and with that, the rain starts, slowly at first, but building by the minute. Just what you don't want in this car, with the aforementioned borderline climate controls, and the silly little wiper blades, which have only one speed. But what choice is there? Gotta get home, so I fiddle with the defroster, and keep putting the wipers on and off, as I head east. About halfway through Jersey, I notice a little 'chirp chirp' sound coming from somewhere, but I can't pinpoint it. Rolling along, and the noise gets louder...and chaned from a chirping sound to more of a screeching, almost grinding sound. Yeah, now I recognize it; it's the speedometer. It used to make this sort of sound in the cold weather, but hasn't done so for a long time now. And the further I go, the louder it gets. It's intermittent, starting, stopping...and it goes on for a while. Then, about 5 miles from the Jersey Turnpike, it gets really loud, and the speedometer starts jumping up and down, sweeping wildly from side to side; then, a loud 'snap' sound, and the speedometer, and odometer, are dead. And, the noise has stopped. I think the speedometer cable finally gave up and broke. Fortunately, none of this affects the operation of the car, so I push on. Over the GW, down the Degan, across the Triboro, and onto the Grand Central. It is now really pouring, there are large puddles on the road, and it's getting a little dicey pushing the old car through. But, I persevere, and finally pull into the driveway right around 2:30. Made it!
A terrific trip, approximately 2,200 miles, just over a week's time from when I left, and loads of fun along the way. And, after doing this trip in the old car, boy, do I have even more respect for my Dad, from the trips he took us on.
When you're a kid, you sit in the back of the car, watching the scenery, whining about what's on the radio, annoying your sister, you know, the usual stuff. But you never really pay attention to what's going on in the front seat; well, except for the times Dad's temper got the best of him and it would get loud. But you never realized how difficult it was, especially in those old cars, to do all those miles each day. For most of our vacation trips, Dad drove a Valiant Station Wagon which had pretty much the same engine as the Yellow Fish, and, like the Fish, no power steering or brakes, and no air conditioning. Yes, Dad's car had the automatic transmission, but once you're out on the highway, there isn't much shifting to be done with the manual, so my experience with the Fish on this trip was similar to what Dad had on all those vacations long ago. And to be honest, he'd do a lot more miles each day than I did, and on much worse roads. The Interstates weren't fully finished back in '63, and every so often, he'd hit a detour. And then it became all eyes watch for the detour signs so we can find our way back to the 'highway'. Oh boy. What a job he had. But, he loved it. Getting all of us in the car and going somewhere - anywhere, really - was one of the true joys of his life. I guess I absorbed that attitude from him, because that's the way I've always felt. When the boys were young, I really looked forward to those trips to Pennsylvania Dutch country (The Red Caboose Motel!), Niagara Falls, Disney World - heck anywhere - because I wanted my kids to have the same great memories of being on the road with just our little family as I had from my own childhood.
And now, as you all know, being on the road to anywhere, in my car, has become one of the great joys and passions in my life. I look forward to every chance to road trip; going to see Karen's son Dennis, in NC; up to Saratoga for State Recreation Society meetings; anywhere I go for CPO Courses; off to see minor league hockey games with the boys; doesn't matter, really, when I'm out in the car, I'm having fun!
So that's it, the St. Louis trip is in the books. And in a nice little twist, I've written this from my hotel room in Nashville, where I have driven for the next CPO Instructor School. And yeah, I had fun getting here, and I'll be posting a few trip reports from this ride also.