Subj: Larry's Adventure: Day 1
Date: 10/26/99

This is a multipart travel log to my friends and family describing my trip to Fontana, CA for the Champ Car Race and then to Las Vegas for the Driving 101 experience.

Disclaimer:
1. If this is not appropriate for the server, please tell me before I become the "black sheep" of the club.
2. I'm just a poor farm boy from rural Maine, so if any of you are Literary/English majors, you may not want to read this unless you like that special feeling that comes when your stomach churns.

Day 1
Up at 0600. I'm feeling better today than yesterday. Seems along with the stuff I hauled back from Maine, I hauled back a cold. I decided to drive to California in the Accord because I haven't got the parts I need to put the NSX back in shape. Although it handles fine at slow speeds, not having the front air dam attached changes the aerodynamics and the car doesn't feel as stable as it did at high speeds. I know that once I got to the deserted desert roads, like Highway 50 (the loneliest road in America) I would open the NSX up and let her breath into the triple digit speeds. I choose discretion over valor.
Things are going well other than I haven't been able to contact the person that has purchased the tickets for the race and their phone number has changed. I fear that I will get to Fontana, tickets will be sold out, and I won't be able to find them in the crowd. I have formulated plan B, C, and D (military training paying off).
I depart at 0800 and stop at a nearby gas station to top off the tank. I am there longer then anticipated. Somebody asked me how I liked my Honda. There are two subjects that no matter how hard I try, I just can't give a short answer to a simple question. Hondas and tigers. I'm sure the poor soul got a boat load more of information then expected, but I leave rejuvenated.
It's a great day to travel. The temperature is in the mid 60s, the trees in Virginia are at full color, traffic is light, little construction to impede the flow, and I've settled into my traveling speed. By nature I tend to drive about 5-10 MPH over speed limit unless I'm with a certain group of people (AND YOU KNOW WHO YOU ARE ! :-)
I am not always the easiest person to travel with because I do not like to make many "pit stops." When the car is out of gas, I'll make a pit stop. Since the Accord has a 550-600 mile cruise range, most people complain that their back teeth are floating by then. But today I'm traveling alone and I'm chugging down bottles of water (drinking plenty of fluids) like beer at a frat party. I'm at a monotonous section of road and the only entertainment is watching air bubbles rise in the bottle like bubbles that glug up in a water cooler (hey, it isn't like I can down shift and blow the doors of some menacing Mustang).
The low fuel light is on, and my high pressure bladder light is flashing danger! So I pull into a fuel station in the volunteer state of Tennessee. Like a good cowboy I take care of my steed first and then hit the restroom. My neighbor was right; the longer you hold it, the better it feels when you go! Looking at the novelty bumper stickers, I am amused as to "what is hot" in Tennessee. Stickers like: "Cat: the other white meat" and "If it's tourist season, how come we can't shootum?" Speaking in my best Southern accent and trying not to make direct eye contact I quickly seek the security of my Honda and get the heck out of there.
One thing (along with a bunch of others) that has amazed me about the NSX is the fuel mileage I get at 70 MPH. Follow: The NSX is 6cyl vs 4cyl, has twice the horsepower, and turns 250 RPM faster at 70 MPH, and yet I get about the same gas mileage as the Accord; 33 MPG. At slower speeds (55-60 MPH), the Accord is capable of 38-40 mpg but there is just to much wind resistance at the higher speeds.

(5 point toss up question: Why do I usually get better gas mileage traveling eastbound vs westbound (answer later)

The sun is starting to set and again I am reminded of the toll taken on my windshield with 285,000 miles on the car. All I can see is little sparkles on the glass caused by crazing. I'm thinking either the insurance company can replace my windshield now or maybe the whole car after I fail to see the obstruction in front of me.
When I traveling I try to sleep on military bases. I feel I'm in a secure place and the room rates run from $8-$35, depending on the particular base. I've stayed at FT. Carson near Denver Colorado, for $24. That will get you a 5 room suite, solid wood furniture, complete kitchen and dining room (with real silverware), and stocked bar. (for $24@ night, you should get some amenities, right)?
As I enter Nashville Tennessee, I hear that not only did Harrison Ford crash a helicopter practicing autorotations with an instructor, but Payne Stewart died in a plane crash. I'm thinking that within a week there will be another plane crash because they always seem to come in three's. I also must stay focused on the road because there are teenage drivers darting across all four lanes passing cars, doing maneuvers that their cars were not designed to do safely. Traffic is moving quickly and I must remember that I'm not in the NSX, but in my trunk heavy Accord. My boss said that if I ever go off the road it won't be in the NSX but in the Accord trying to negotiate a corner.

(Answer: Due to prevailing winds, I get a push when traveling eastbound and buck a headwind when traveling westbound)

12 hours and 800 miles later, Ft. Campbell is coming into view (my stop for the night.) It brings back memories of a Black Hawk accident I investigated here earlier this year that killed 7, and a "how did I ever survive that one" car story that I'll tell later. During the trip, I did not have to look at a map. The disturbing part is that I could have got to this location by three totally different routes without using a map (I'm thinking, maybe I travel to much)

That's it for tonight, I'll report from somewhere in the Midwest tomorrow.
Larry
92 NSX Wht/Blk, 92 Accord Grn/Tan, 87Civic Wgn 4WD Blu/Blu, 86 Civic Wgn Wht/Blu, 78 Honda CX500, 90 Honda lawn mower (Do you think I might have a Honda fetish?)