Kellen has put together an impressive tool kit for the road. He includes lots of little touches, fluids of all sorts and tools. And a box for snacks. Very good thinking on his part, the snacks I mean. My tool box has a single tool, a phone.
More Preparation on the Volvo /
Kellen has been working on his car with more refinements and a couple of “touches” getting ready for launch East on April 10th from Wilmington on the Atlantic Ocean beach. He has added aluminum gauge rings, painted the engine cover a brilliant blue (heat proof undercoat, blue sprayed and then a heat proof clear), installed polyurethane subframe bushings, solid billet strut bar bushings, trailer hitch for his bike rack, replaced the older spark plugs with new Bosch platinum spark plugs, did an oil change, installed a neat dash cam, and replaced steering stop limiters. I am really glad he got the stop limiters done. Next on the list tell Granddad what steering stop limiters are!
Adjustments and Refinement /
We worked one evening to make a more complete itinerary. We adjusted the trip from LA to SF on 101 because of the landslide at Big Sur. We will still get most of the plan but will move inland a few miles earlier than originally planned. We also have added a drive through Yellowstone. We found out the western entrance and the northern entrance are open by April 1. Probably. So we hope to see a few of the geysers and hot pots in that corner. We also decided to skip our jaunt into Canada. No idea if they will open by our trip but the closures were just extended into April so we are adjusting accordingly. Lots of maps.
The Way East /
This is, of course, a tentative plan at this point but likely pretty close to the actual trip, or at least we hope so. Part of that will depend on things we cannot control: will Canada be open by April or will the giant hole in Route 101 by Big Sur be fixed by April? We also may find something on the trip that is preferable to the plan or be delayed by some issue. But generally this is the course. We plan to go along the coast toward SF then veer northeast to Virginia City in NV, across on 50 to Ely then north to the Salt Flats, around Salt Lake City into WY and a couple of National Parks in WY and SD and stops in Chicago, Dearborn, MI, Pittsburgh and Johnstown, PA and to the Atlantic at Chincoteague. We are open to things we ought to see and places we should not miss, hit the comments to help us choose.
Update /
The Civic which was the emerging choice for the trip has now been sold. Someone got a wonderful car.
The MINI is going to auction late February.
The Volvo has been inspected by the Volvo dealer in preparation for the trip and their response was, “There is a scratch on one wheel. Even the spare tire is inflated correctly.” Kellen has ordered LED lights to replace all the interior and exterior lights. He also purchased on E-bay a Volvo pen in the correct finish to match the interior and fit it into the holder on the dash! In the photo you can see the pen, the three updated climate control knobs and the new car play stereo.
The Way West /
For Kellen and Geof the trip begins oceanside near Wilmington, NC and from there they cross portions of 15 states: NC, SC, GA, MS, AL, TN, AR, OK, TX, NM, CO, UT, NV, & CA. Kellen will be in 10 states for the first time and Geof, two, I think. Some notable waypoints are: Atlanta, Birmingham, Memphis, Hot Springs NP, Big Texan Steak Ranch, Blue Swallow Motel, Echo Amphitheater, Four Corners, Monument, Zion NP, Las Vegas, Hoover Dam, California City and Santa Monica Pier. In five states they will be on old parts of Route 66.
If you have suggestions for things to see or do, places they are near but missing, or great stops for food and ice cream, please add to comments.
The Auto Adventure (4 photos) /
The decision was made after two different mechanics went over the Honda Civic that it was more than up to the task of a 7000 mile two week trip. Neither of them found anything wrong or worn that needed replacement. There were a few cautions, it has 160k on it, it is a Civic so it runs well but it is not high in comfort and tight quarters. But the choice was made as in my hint posted on the 19th with the SI logo. Until the middle of last week.
Geof saw a Volvo 2003 C-60 T-5 with only 53,000 miles on an auction site, Cars and Bids. The car had a manual transmission and very few cars sold were so equipped. It was only at $3500 with two days left. He and Kellen started doing research and became more and more interested. It was very slowly rising in the bidding but still below what it appeared to be worth. They were excited and decided to bid. First at about $5700 with a few minutes to go, then to $5900, topped again by a bid of $6000, they went to $6100 with a minute left and they won the auction under the maximum bid they had set.
So on Friday morning, Cindy and I, Geof and Kellen left for Maryville, TN. Correspondence with the owner was very positive and the photos showed a really nice car - but we had not seen it yet. We arrived after lunch at the storage unit and unveiled the car (it was under a fitted car cover.) It was much better than anticipated. It was perfect. If you did not look at the odometer it might have been on the showroom in 2003 it was that clean.
We set off on the return to Raleigh. Kellen drove to Abingdon, VA where we stopped to eat, I drove it to Wytheville and Geof has a spin before Raleigh. 767 miles later we were back home. Tired.
Kellen has a new car. The C2C2C now has an official car. And one to sell, though interest in the 2012 Civic is high so it won’t be for long. And I will be right at home having owned a 245 and a 242 that were great.
Interview with Kellen Hileman /
When did you first think about a cross country drive?
About two years ago on a trip to NYC and I thought of how much fun it would be to cross the whole country.
When did it become ocean to ocean?
Once I thought about ending at the end of Route 66, I decided we should start at the Atlantic Ocean.
Where is the start?
Wilmington, NC
So at first you enlisted you dad, what were you planning to drive?
We looked at lots of options. My car, a Civic, renting a car and flying back, transport a car for someone else or buying a car here and selling it out there.
The renting was a problem because of my age, the transporting is just to iffy and we needed a definite time and the issue of selling the car just seemed to be have a lot of possible problems.
How did I get into the mix?
When we were figuring out the car, we needed a driver to come back to NC.
Your route to California is mostly a southern route, do you have it all mapped out?
Mostly but we are still flexible.
Which car is going?
Come back on Wednesday for the adventure story! The photo is another hint!
What is C 2 C 2 C? /
As I wrote today, Kellen has graduated high school. What do you want to do with some of the time before college? Kellen wants to drive across the US. From Wilmington - parked along the Atlantic Ocean, to the pier at Santa Monica, the end of the fabled Route 66. He and his dad will be leaving in early April and their route is more or less across the Southern US. (details soon). Cindy and I meanwhile are flying to Los Angelos and renting a car to visit a few parks and tour for a week before heading back to LA to be there to welcome them to the west coast. Then CJH and Geof fly back to Raleigh and Kellen and I head north on 101 toward San Francisco. From there across Nevada, northern Utah, WY and South Dakota taking a northern trek to Chincoteague, VA and park again in sight of the Atlantic Ocean.
This is the spot where there will be details of planning, what car, what is being packed, what cities and sights are in the mix and, I expect, lots of stories.
Kellen and Geof will be able to post as well, so it will be the first TLT multi-person posting chronicle. C 2 C 2 C will have photos too and there will be some of them on the trip East that will be on the main TLT page. So, for today a photo of Kellen with a hint about the transportation.
