[DeTomaso] POCA Fun Rally Chronicles, Day Three

[Christopher Kimball]

Day Three, May 19:  A little sunshine between downpours, and
another 366 miles


My family owns two dogs. 
If you were to observe how my wife treats them, however, you would
assume they own us.  Without going into agonizing
detail, suffice it to say, despite my wishes to the contrary, they have not
been trained to be quiet.  They bark and
yap and it drives me crazy; especially on those mornings when I’m supposed to
get the chance to sleep in.

 

What does this have to do with the Fun Rally?  Well, remember the lady next door at the
Econolodge hotel?  Remember that bulldog
I mentioned she had with her?  Although
it didn't approach our dogs on the yap-meter, it did make a number of sounds
during the night which had a negative impact on my slumber.  I thought it a bit ironic that one of the
things I was planning to enjoy was a few dog-free weeks, yet here was that
bulldog!

 

That inconvenience wasn't as problematic as what I found
under my car cover.

 

During the night it had rained (again).  In past trips, when I've used my car cover,
things weren't wet, but dusty.  What I
discovered as Donny and I removed the cover on the morning of our third day was
the result of lots of water soaking through the cover which was full of
dust.  In a word:  MUD!

 

Poor Pandora.  Even
though some may argue a mud pack is good for the complexion, it didn't do much
for Pandora, other than make her look gross. 
Fortunately, I had my trusty bottle of Griot’s Garage Spray-On Car Wash
with me.  Using that and a couple of
Griot’s micro-fiber cloths, the car was back to its shiny self in no time.  

 

Although the dirty-car problem was solved, the car cover was
still soaking wet.  All I could think to
do to get it dry was bring it in and drape it over the beds while we ate
breakfast in the hopes it might get a little less moist before cramming it in
the back of the Pantera—on top of our duffle bags full of (what we hoped would
remain dry) clothes.

 

Nothing helps one forget the threat of damp clothes like a hearty
breakfast of Cocoa Puffs—especially if they’re complimentary.  It’s a good thing I like them so much,
because other than breakfast cereal, there wasn't much else in the way of
choices.  I think Donny managed to find a
Bagel and a banana, although his appetite was muted due to a bit of an upset
stomach.  We could have had some protein,
if only I hadn't so impetuously flushed that spider down the toilet so quickly…

 

We loaded up, gassed up, and luckily Donny didn't throw up,
and said goodbye to our new-found friends—the motorcycle guys and the swearing
woman.   At the gas station I checked the
oil and found it  a quart low.  Although my oil pressure is very strong, I do
seem to go through about a quart of oil every 600 miles or so.  Funny thing is, I don’t see any evidence of
leaks or excessive oil burning.

 

We hit 101 and for a few hours it was sunny.  What an incredible road!  Sweeping corners, newly paved asphalt, little
traffic; it was great.  I told Donny that
few hours of spirited driving made the whole trip worth it.  The car was running great.  About a month ago I had my front wheels
straightened and balanced, so there was absolutely no shimmying.  It felt fantastic.

 

We pulled off for lunch into the town of Del Rio.  Before filling our tummies, we filled up the
car’s tank.  While doing so, I asked
about local restaurants.  I was told the
town had a grand total of three.  Of the
choices, our best sounded to be DJ’s Burger Bar.  Well, it sounded best to me because a burger
bar usually offers milkshakes.  Donald
was feeling better, and said he didn't mind where we ate.

 

We arrived at DJ’s just as it started raining again.  There is a picture of my car sitting in the
parking lot being inundated with rain, but the email forum doesn't seem to
allow photographs unless they’re small enough, so if you’re reading this
through that email system just use your imagination.  Think of a Pantera, and then think about the
bucket of filth being dumped on Carrie’s head in the movie of the same name.  You get the idea.  

 

 Despite the terrible
weather, the lunch was delicious.  I
enjoyed a corn dog and a large Boysenberry milkshake.  Donny scarfed down a double bacon burger with
fries and a glass of water.  My corn dog
was especially good because, according to the paper in which it was wrapped, it
was a “honey baked” corn dog.  Of course—adding
the word honey to anything makes it better.

 

By the time lunch was finished, the rain had gotten even
worse.  We waded to the car and continued
our journey.

 

As we headed to San Francisco—our next stop—we encountered
some heavy traffic.  We also encountered
the Golden Gate Bridge.  Signs prior to
the bridge indicated there was a toll when crossing the bridge.  No problem; I prepared my wallet and rolled
down my window.  However, as we
approached the toll booth, I realized there was no toll booth!  It was all done automatically with cameras
(and probably a few devious drones).  I
was very confused—the signs said not to slow down, but just keep driving, which
I did.  At that point I wasn't sure what
I was supposed to do.  There was some
information on one of the signs about going to a website, but it all happened
so fast I was gob smacked.  Plus, aren't
we never supposed to text while driving? 
If we can’t even text, how in the world do those people expect me to go
to a website while keeping control of a car!

 

Later in the hotel I went on-line and found a phone number
to call so I could pay with my credit card ($7.00, I think it was).  Welcome to California!  There is no better way to make someone feel
welcome than to charge them to enter your city.

 

It’s interesting that South San Francisco is actually a
separate city apart from San Francisco. 
I didn't know that was true until my GPS couldn't find the address of
hotel.  I called the hotel and learned of
the difference.  I didn't ask if there
were plans to create a North, East or West San Francisco.  Heck, maybe they already exist!

 

We arrived at the Comfort Inn in South San Francisco around
6:30 PM, and unloaded.  Unfortunately,
the car cover was not only still damp, it was now a warm kind of damp—similar
what I experienced when I was too scared of my third-grade teacher to ask her
if I could go to the restroom, and just stayed at my desk.  Big mistake.

 

The appearance of our room was cheapened somewhat as we hung
the car cover from the curtain rod, and wet micro-fiber cloths from the towel
racks, but I had no choice.  The last
thing I wanted was for the moisture to seep into our clothes!  Once in third grade is enough.

 

We had dinner at a combination Wendy’s/truck stop-store.  The advantage of this arrangement was that I
could order a nutritious chicken salad from the Wendy’s side of the building,
and a jumbo-sized can Kern’s strawberry banana nectar and large strawberry milk
from the truck-stop side.  A match made
in Heaven (unless you’re a nutritionist).

 

The hotel room was really nice (except for those unsightly
curtains and dirty, blue towels), and we both slept well, preparing us for a
great next-day.  		 	   		  
-------------- next part --------------
   Day Three, May 19:  A little sunshine between downpours, and another
   366 miles

   My family owns two dogs.  If you were to observe how my wife treats
   them, however, you would assume they own us.  Without going into
   agonizing detail, suffice it to say, despite my wishes to the contrary,
   they have not been trained to be quiet.  They bark and yap and it
   drives me crazy; especially on those mornings when Im supposed to get
   the chance to sleep in.


   What does this have to do with the Fun Rally?  Well, remember the lady
   next door at the Econolodge hotel?  Remember that bulldog I mentioned
   she had with her?  Although it didn't approach our dogs on the
   yap-meter, it did make a number of sounds during the night which had a
   negative impact on my slumber.  I thought it a bit ironic that one of
   the things I was planning to enjoy was a few dog-free weeks, yet here
   was that bulldog!


   That inconvenience wasn't as problematic as what I found under my car
   cover.


   During the night it had rained (again).  In past trips, when I've used
   my car cover, things weren't wet, but dusty.  What I discovered as
   Donny and I removed the cover on the morning of our third day was the
   result of lots of water soaking through the cover which was full of
   dust.  In a word:  MUD!


   Poor Pandora.  Even though some may argue a mud pack is good for the
   complexion, it didn't do much for Pandora, other than make her look
   gross.  Fortunately, I had my trusty bottle of Griots Garage Spray-On
   Car Wash with me.  Using that and a couple of Griots micro-fiber
   cloths, the car was back to its shiny self in no time.


   Although the dirty-car problem was solved, the car cover was still
   soaking wet.  All I could think to do to get it dry was bring it in and
   drape it over the beds while we ate breakfast in the hopes it might get
   a little less moist before cramming it in the back of the Panteraon top
   of our duffle bags full of (what we hoped would remain dry) clothes.


   Nothing helps one forget the threat of damp clothes like a hearty
   breakfast of Cocoa Puffsespecially if theyre complimentary.  Its a good
   thing I like them so much, because other than breakfast cereal, there
   wasn't much else in the way of choices.  I think Donny managed to find
   a Bagel and a banana, although his appetite was muted due to a bit of
   an upset stomach.  We could have had some protein, if only I hadn't so
   impetuously flushed that spider down the toilet so quickly


   We loaded up, gassed up, and luckily Donny didn't throw up, and said
   goodbye to our new-found friendsthe motorcycle guys and the swearing
   woman.   At the gas station I checked the oil and found it  a quart
   low.  Although my oil pressure is very strong, I do seem to go through
   about a quart of oil every 600 miles or so.  Funny thing is, I dont see
   any evidence of leaks or excessive oil burning.


   We hit 101 and for a few hours it was sunny.  What an incredible road!
   Sweeping corners, newly paved asphalt, little traffic; it was great.  I
   told Donny that few hours of spirited driving made the whole trip worth
   it.  The car was running great.  About a month ago I had my front
   wheels straightened and balanced, so there was absolutely no
   shimmying.  It felt fantastic.


   We pulled off for lunch into the town of Del Rio.  Before filling our
   tummies, we filled up the cars tank.  While doing so, I asked about
   local restaurants.  I was told the town had a grand total of three.  Of
   the choices, our best sounded to be DJs Burger Bar.  Well, it sounded
   best to me because a burger bar usually offers milkshakes.  Donald was
   feeling better, and said he didn't mind where we ate.


   We arrived at DJs just as it started raining again.  There is a picture
   of my car sitting in the parking lot being inundated with rain, but the
   email forum doesn't seem to allow photographs unless theyre small
   enough, so if youre reading this through that email system just use
   your imagination.  Think of a Pantera, and then think about the bucket
   of filth being dumped on Carries head in the movie of the same name.
   You get the idea.


    Despite the terrible weather, the lunch was delicious.  I enjoyed a
   corn dog and a large Boysenberry milkshake.  Donny scarfed down a
   double bacon burger with fries and a glass of water.  My corn dog was
   especially good because, according to the paper in which it was
   wrapped, it was a honey baked corn dog.  Of courseadding the word honey
   to anything makes it better.


   By the time lunch was finished, the rain had gotten even worse.  We
   waded to the car and continued our journey.


   As we headed to San Franciscoour next stopwe encountered some heavy
   traffic.  We also encountered the Golden Gate Bridge.  Signs prior to
   the bridge indicated there was a toll when crossing the bridge.  No
   problem; I prepared my wallet and rolled down my window.  However, as
   we approached the toll booth, I realized there was no toll booth!  It
   was all done automatically with cameras (and probably a few devious
   drones).  I was very confusedthe signs said not to slow down, but just
   keep driving, which I did.  At that point I wasn't sure what I was
   supposed to do.  There was some information on one of the signs about
   going to a website, but it all happened so fast I was gob smacked.
   Plus, aren't we never supposed to text while driving?  If we cant even
   text, how in the world do those people expect me to go to a website
   while keeping control of a car!


   Later in the hotel I went on-line and found a phone number to call so I
   could pay with my credit card ($7.00, I think it was).  Welcome to
   California!  There is no better way to make someone feel welcome than
   to charge them to enter your city.


   Its interesting that South San Francisco is actually a separate city
   apart from San Francisco.  I didn't know that was true until my GPS
   couldn't find the address of hotel.  I called the hotel and learned of
   the difference.  I didn't ask if there were plans to create a North,
   East or West San Francisco.  Heck, maybe they already exist!


   We arrived at the Comfort Inn in South San Francisco around 6:30 PM,
   and unloaded.  Unfortunately, the car cover was not only still damp, it
   was now a warm kind of dampsimilar what I experienced when I was too
   scared of my third-grade teacher to ask her if I could go to the
   restroom, and just stayed at my desk.  Big mistake.


   The appearance of our room was cheapened somewhat as we hung the car
   cover from the curtain rod, and wet micro-fiber cloths from the towel
   racks, but I had no choice.  The last thing I wanted was for the
   moisture to seep into our clothes!  Once in third grade is enough.


   We had dinner at a combination Wendys/truck stop-store.  The advantage
   of this arrangement was that I could order a nutritious chicken salad
   from the Wendys side of the building, and a jumbo-sized can Kerns
   strawberry banana nectar and large strawberry milk from the truck-stop
   side.  A match made in Heaven (unless youre a nutritionist).


   The hotel room was really nice (except for those unsightly curtains and
   dirty, blue towels), and we both slept well, preparing us for a great
   next-day.