Prologue

I’ve never really been a beach resort or cruise ship guy when it comes to vacationing. For that matter, I’ve never really been a vacation guy when it comes to vacationing.

Trip Prep Begins

Trip preparation, at least as far as the car goes, has begun in earnest. The general idea is to fix, seal, freshen up, or otherwise make good all of the important mechanical bits before I get going.

Prep Progress

It was engine day yesterday, wherein I attempted to chase down all the various small oil leaks. As suspected, the main culprit was the crank pulley seal, which was bad. To be honest, there are enough bad seals on this thing to start an aquatic mammal

More Progress

Reassembly has begun...pretty much everything that needed freshening has been freshened, so now we start bolting things back on the car. If nothing else, all the major components are definitely a lot cleaner than they were when I started...unfortunat

It's The Little Things

Lots of progress, but also a couple of day-long diversions for things that you wouldn't normally think would be a big deal...

It Lives!

Happiness is a motor that starts on the first try.

Good News and Bad News

I have a friend who once said "I never read the directions, because then I'd never learn anything for myself." I was never quite sure if that was genius or idiocy, but after yesterday, I'm leaning a little toward idiocy. At least I'm pretty sure it m

Aaand...We're Back

I probably needed practice taking the motor out and putting it back in again anyway. You can never be too good at that. 

Eve of Departure

Well, we're packed up and ready to go. Shooting for an early departure tomorrow to try to beat some of the heat. 

Day 1: Vegas to Yuma, AZ

Day One was a trip through some of my current stomping grounds, Nevada and Arizona. And it was a hot one. Final stats for the day were 385 miles in 8 hours of driving and about 11.5 hours of total travelling--that's a longer day than I'm planning on

Yuma to Del Mar: Across the Imperial Valley

Today was a study in contrasts. Hot and cold, rich and poor, dry and wet...it was definitely a day with some variation and range.

Del Mar: Beach Bum Days

Very little "road" in the road trip over the past couple of days, but it was fun being a beach bum for a day.

Dana Point to Disneyland

 More fun and sun in Southern California, on another short (60 mile) day.

Disneyland! (and California Adventure)

 In the immortal words of countless Superbowl winners: "I'm going to Disneyland!"

Anaheim to Venice Beach

I finally got a chance to put on those hiking shoes that have been taking up space in my trunk up until now.

Los Angeles

Four days in LA makes for a really long blog post...sorry for the gap in coverage there for a bit.

Santa Barbara & Paso Robles

I'd been through Santa Barbara before (home of Ronald and Nancy Reagan, among other notables), but I'd never really stopped to check it out.

LeMons @ Buttonwillow

I took a little break from driving around the country by going someplace where it was 40 degrees hotter and driving around in circles for three days.

Sequoia, Yosemite, and Points North

Lots of trees, lots of Datsun fans, lots of heat, and lots of fun.

Eureka

There's some truly fabulous scenery up in this neck of the woods. I got to see a lot of it, but also had the first technical problem of the trip with the car.

Mt. Shasta to Klamath Falls

Wherein I go from never having attended a Datsun Roadster get-together before to attending my second one in three months.

Crater Lake & Myrtle Point, OR

Big lakes, big trees, big volcanoes, and a little farm. 

In and Around Bend, OR

On the difference between living someplace because you want to live there and living someplace because you have to live there. 

Portland and Northwest Oregon

Beer, wine, and food...for a bunch of tree huggers, Portlanders are pretty hedonistic. 

Walla Walla and Waitsburg Washington

Because my trip was sorely lacking in alliterative destination names, this post is brought to you by the letter "W".

Small Towns, Big Mountains, and Rainforests

Exploring a lot more of Washington State.

And Now, A Brief Intermission

We interrupt this road trip for a short diversion to New Mexico...

Back In The Saddle

This concludes our intermission. We now return you to your regularly scheduled roadtrip…

The Pacific Northwest

 Wherein I get almost as many miles by boat as by car.

Into The Great White North

 While this is my second run into Canada this trip, it was the first where I really got farther into the country. It was indeed great, and thankfully not white where I was driving. 

Coeur d'Alene and Glacier

 I really have to watch that Ken Burns “National Parks” documentary sometime soon, because these places are spectacular, and it’d be nice to get some backstory. 

Yellowstone and Grand Teton

 No matter how many pictures I take, I will not be able to come close to what this place is like in person.

Idaho Falls to Salt Lake City

I hopscotch across southeastern Idaho and see some pretty interesting stuff along the way.

I Acquire A Passenger

 I have acquired a very tall guide for my trip through Colorado.

Utah and Colorado

 Up one side of the Rockies and down the other.

The Black Hills and Devils Tower

 Journeying into the land of Crazy Horse...

North Dakota

Western North Dakota is an oil boomtown, which means it's not a great place for a little sports car.

The Midwest

A six state blitz through the upper Midwest.

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Michigan and Ontario

Fall is definitely well on its way.

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Upstate New York

Exploring the Finger Lakes region of New York.

Start of Leg #3

I have reached my most north-easterly point and am heading south now...

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Eastern Canada & Quebec

Once more into the Great White North...

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New England

Lobster and soccer in the northeast. 

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New York City

Little car in the big city...

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Eastern Pennsylvania

Touring the Amish country

New Jersey

Back to where I came from.

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Washington, DC

A couple of days in and around the nation's capital. 

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The Virginias

A little time in both of the Virginias, West and regular. 

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North Carolina

Somewhat unexpectedly, my favorite state so far.

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Charleston and Savannah

Visiting two iconic southern towns.

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Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas from the road!

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North and Central Florida Coast

Beaches, rockets, and Disneyworld.

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Hi Petrolicious People!

Welcome to anybody wandering in here from Petrolicious.

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Miami, The Keys, and the Gulf Coast

Communing with the gators and the pelicans in South Florida.

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Back to the South

North through Alabama, Georgia, and Tennessee

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Looping Through the Midwest

A big loop through the Midwest to pick up the states I was going to miss.

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A Visit to Nissan US

One of the best experiences of the trip. 

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Nashville and Memphis

Two points of the Mojo Triangle.

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New Orleans

Down to the Big Easy.

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The Lone Star State

My whole trip through Texas in one convenient post. 

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New Mexico

Cruising around the Land of Enchantment. 

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The Wild Wild West

Up close and personal with some of the local wildlife.

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Final Week

All over Arizona and then back to Los Angeles.

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Day 268: Home

Back to where we started.

New Petrolicious Video

A really great video from Petrolicious to wrap up the trip.

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Epilogue

Finally, a wrapup post.

Post-Roadtrip Roadtrip

Back into California for some more driving fun. 

The 2014 Solvang Roadster Classic

Visiting the annual Solvang Roadster Show.

Petrolicious Malibu Rally

Driving in the Petrolicious "Drive Tastefully" Rally in Malibu

Off to Arkansas...in a Pickup

A trip to pick up some roadster parts in Arkansas...

Summer Adventures 2014

Various trips around the country during the summer of 2014.

A Little Roadster Work

Getting started on getting the car back into shape.

Back on the Road

Finally, an update to the blog...

Onward to Canada

Into the Rockies