Escape from LA - Escape to New York

[jamie]

Jamie, fine pics... what's the story? I've totally missed this. All the way across the US on a C90?

C70 - they didn't do a 90 in the US. Chicago to San Francisco - a story for another time!

[Mitch]

Chicago to San Francisco - a story for another time!

I guess people cycle it all the time, so why not on a C70?! Don't leave the storytelling for too long... please

[DustyM]

Just read this from the start, cool story, looking forward to the rest.

Also started my journey into cars with a Beetle, BugJam and Santa Pod in the late '80s.

[neilbardsley]

Oh - also been on the receiving end of the "We like to party" line. Fuggin' hell...

i lived in the states for 2 years and noone ever offer to party with me

I did however get asked to be an Australian mouse in an animated film

[J-Low]

I stopped for a refuel in Baker; it's one of those odd places on the edge of the desert, just lots of petrol stations & a couple of food joints. Admittedly, I felt a certain sense of trepidation before driving into Death Valley. I had visions of conking out miles into the middle of nowhere, & no one discovering the desiccated corpse for a long time to come, like one of those old movies where the bleached bones of a skeleton lies alongside the road pointing at something long gone in the distance.

What kind of preparation do you do, for driving miles into the middle of nowhere? Top of my list was water. A 24 pack of bottles shoved in the boot, alongside my backpack. Some food to keep me going, I'm thinking survival here. Survival, with a bit of variety thrown in. I bought a bumper pack of granola bars. 3 flavours, 24 in the box, that should be enough to keep me going. Variety is important, so I also bought a box of chewy granola bars, just for to mix it up a bit...

Deep breath, & a left turn along the Highway 127 towards Death Valley Junction. 109 miles, 2 hours. Gloria's running really well, she feels content, just humming along at 60mph. It's not a fast road, a bit rough in places, besides, it's not like we're late for an appointment, so why hurry?



There's a really quirky opera house at Armorosa, run by an old lady who has been putting on performances since the 1960's.... It's right up there as 'only in America'...




It takes a couple of hours, with some stops along the way for pictures. When I arrive, the sun has begun to set behind the mountains, but it gives me enough time for a look around & some dinner at the cafe there. I met this kid, I didn't catch his name, but he was sporting a cool t-shirt & shades, a Bob the builder measuring tape & a plastic pump action shotgun....



I went over to the motel before I headed off for a quick look around, don't ask me why.... Maybe I'll have some oddball desert holiday.... When I was driving through the desert, there were loads of RV's pulled over in a group with bunches of people riding quad bikes in circles. Exciting stuff... Anyway, I bumped into the kid with the shades, he's looking serious...

'Do ya have a knife?' He asks...
'Nope.... I don't have a knife'
He thinks for a second 'have ya got a credit card?'
'No, I don't have a credit card, why's that?'
'I'm trying to break into this room...'

I made my excuses, & left the little desert boy to carry on keeping himself occupied....

The sun was going down, & I wanted to get going to Las Vegas, where I was going to stay the night, 112 miles away. Driving towards Vegas, I spotted these signs on the side of the road, a couple of local councillors were up for re-election. I had to pull over just to make sure I wasn't seeing things....



Followed by.......



Eventually, I made it to Vegas. I'd booked I to a cheap room down on Fremont Street in the old part of town.



Minding my own business as I checked in, a guy from a group I'd seen in the garage queue in front of me looked over & asked:
'You drivin' the Porsche?'
'Yep.....'
'Its a beautiful car.... Hey guys! She's got the Porsche, we're hangin wi' you tonight!'
So, that was my evening booked, hanging out with a professional softball team, plus their wives & girlfriends, of course....

Day one, in total, I drove approximately 430 miles over 7 hours. I slept well.

[fryardds]

Nicely done Jude.

What were the temps in Death Valley this time of year? I've been through there in an Early 911 in the late Spring, it was like driving in an oven on broil. It was even hotter when you put your hand out the window while driving. I have never experienced anything that hot before.

[hot66]

[

The sun was going down, & I wanted to get going to Las Vegas, where I was going to stay the night, 112 miles away. Driving towards Vegas, I spotted these signs on the side of the road, a couple of local councillors were up for re-election. I had to pull over just to make sure I wasn't seeing things....



Followed by.......

These have brought back memories ..... I was on the exact same route about 2 weeks before you, although in a crappy impala . Anyway, these signs had me and my wife in hysterics , kids were too busy on their iPods to notice

[J-Low]

Nicely done Jude.

What were the temps in Death Valley this time of year? I've been through there in an Early 911 in the late Spring, it was like driving in an oven on broil. It was even hotter when you put your hand out the window while driving. I have never experienced anything that hot before.

Hey Brian,

The temperature was just nice, mid 20's.... Flip flop weather, & getting a bit cooler in the early evening. Vegas I needed a jacket, it was quite chilly. Mind you, the beer helped keep me warm

I wouldn't want to be there in the summer.....

[DeRRis]

Did you get pulled over for not having a licenseplate?

[neilbardsley]

Great story. Keep it coming. I am correct in saying that in some roads in Nevarda there aren't any speed limits?

[dean1057]

Drive through Death Valley in July when we was over for the Moto Gp at Laguna and the temperature was showing 116deg F. When you put your hand out of the window it was like a hair dryer blowing on your hands. Keep the photos coming J - low its fetching back great memories!!

[Bootsy]

This kid got style!

[J-Low]

Day 2
I got on the road fairly early... Again, no fixed plan, but I knew that I wanted to drive out of Vegas, drop into the Hoover Dam to do the touristy thing, & get underway to Arizona. I picked up free wi-fi at the casino, had a quick look at the route & started driving.

As you probably know, everything in America is just so much bigger than the UK; the cars, the hair, the food portions.... Driving for hours gives you plenty of time to work out the exponential increase of your backside over a period of time based on the amount of burgers you can eat. Do the maths, it's scary....

Breakfast therefore, was a combination of convenience & taking care of my arteries. I hadn't been stranded in the desert for weeks, so there were loads of granola bars to work through. They can be pretty palatable when washed down with a cuppa from a petrol station. Now, the thing is, I've become so used to all the small conveniences modern motoring, I'd forgotten how useful & essential a cup holder is. I bet you take it for granted as much as I do.....

The weather had been pretty warm, & I was wearing flipflops so I found a new use for my shoe.



Now, the sharper eyed among you will have noticed that I have no rear number plate. When I got to the States, it transpired the plate had expired, & the guy I'd bought it from hadn't provided the required 30 day temporary tag. The rest of my paperwork was in order, so after weighing up the options, it was decided that driving with no plate & good paperwork was better than driving with one which was out of date.

This is all good, until you get stopped by the cops.



I was pulled just entering the Hoover Dam, & asked to provide my paperwork, which happened to be in the boot. Now, cops in America can, quite rightly, be mindful that you are about to flip out & pull a gun on them. My paperwork was in my backpack in the boot, so I had to rummage around to find it. The boot lid can be pretty annoying, can't it? Doinking you on the head repeatedly, just when you thought it was going to stay up....

'Ma'am, you're not going to pull a weapon on me are you?'
'No, you asked me for the paperwork, which is in here somewhere. Would you mind holding the lid open for me, please?' In my best BBC World Service accent
'Ok ma'am...'

I must have looked slightly dodgy because he called for back up anyway. After a pretty intensive chat, & a lot of calls back to his HQ, he hatched plan to help me out. If you have seen the movie Double Jeopardy, this will,sound familiar.... Issuing me with a Federal citation rather than a State citation, should, in theory, mean that I cannot be charged again for the same offence in any other state whilst the conviction is 'live' (unpaid), therefore, I should be able to reach New York without picking up another charge. This, I could take on the chin, because I counted myself pretty lucky that he didn't tell me to turn around & head back to California to get the plate sorted.

I left Nevada & headed towards Arizona.

I decided to randomly drop into some of the old ghost towns along Route 66.....

Things go slow in Kingman.... No one partying here...





Not quite the Final Frontier at Truxton



Followed a Chevvy Bel-Air to Hackman where I met a lovely old guy & his wife, out for a Sunday drive





Time was getting on, & I wanted to make up some miles,so I fired up Gloria, & carried on......

[Ant22]

Super cool. Just think, you could have bought a car locally ... what a waste that would have been! Stunning car, not the tired housewife you initially described ... I'm thinking very classic but subtle beauty. Most jealous of the amazing experience, well done.

[fryardds]

Jude,

It seems Kingman is a magnet for early 911s. (Actually photos from our cross-country trip going from East to West in the fall of 2008.)





Since you didn't visit this room, here is a special treat for the DDK boys of the decor of the men's room.