They paved Paradise

Saturday - We head south to Mount Rainier National Park, taking diesel at Auburn off the highway on 164 to Enumclaw. A pitstop at 7-11: "Every Cup Code could win the Big Gulp Chopper" built by the stars of American Chopper, a dysfunctional family, from the hit TV series. We pass White River Amphitheatre where Motley Crue are appearing later in the day.
Listening to Herman's Hermits "Henry the Eighth" on the radio - "second verse same as the first!" We follow a Porsche 914/6 for miles on the highway. Into Mount Rainier (say it Ran-ear) National Park. Just short of Paradise, WA we stop for a picnic in the pine forest enjoying the peace and quiet. A raven is calling insistently from a tall tree, and changes tone on getting a reply.
We are advised: "if you are near a river and notice a rapid rise in river level, feel a prolonged shaking of the gound, and/or hear a roaring sound coming from upvalley - often described as the sound made by a fast-moving freight train - move quickly to higher ground!" You run out of superlatives to describe the scenery.
On arrival in Paradise we see that it is a great big parking lot with hundreds of cars so we pass swiftly by. On exiting the park we are just in time to see the Mount Rainier Scenic Railroad steam train departing. We run back to town, past Boeing Field, and end up in the city of Seattle by accident but manage a short visit to Starbucks HQ, another export from this bustling place.
To Alki beach to join our hosts for a fish supper - the container ships are coming and going in the sound - the locals are going nuts over the smart as we cruise the strip.

You are experienced

From the Microsoft Museum and Shop in Redmond to the Experience Music Project [EMP] in downtown Seattle. Managed to park the smart for $3 and rushed indoors to make the most of our two hours.
Potted history of Northwest music: The Ventures were from Tacoma, WA with the instrumental "Walk, Don't Run" and their choreographed movements, much copied by The Shadows in England. Portland, OR band The Kingsmen hit big with "Louie, Louie" in 1963, a song every band played in England for years after. It was also released by Paul Revere and the Raiders.
Heart, featuring sisters Ann and Nancy Wilson, hailed from Seattle and broke through in 75-76. Followed by grunge rock and Nirvana with their thrift-store fashion sense.
Jimi Hendrix was born in Seattle in 1942. His early bands were the Rocking Kings and James Thomas & His Tomcats. Of touring with Little Richard he said "bad pay, lousy living and getting burned." I guess Noel Redding would later say the same. Hendrix also played in the backline with the Isley Brothers.
Chas Chandler his UK manager described him as "The best guitar player I'd ever seen." He played Monterey, Woodstock and the Isle of Wight.
The EMP is a Frank Gehry-designed building funded by Paul Allen, founding partner of Microsoft. The building is supposed to represent a smashed guitar a la Hendrix and looks like CADCAM run amok.
In the evening we sample Tex-Mex food in West Seattle, at the newly-opened Matador, which is heaving on a Friday night. The locals are glad of the developing scene as they don't have to travel into town for entertainment.
Some pictures now at: http://smartcar.blogspot.com/

Work is a four-letter word

Now at Microsoft on the campus in Redmond, WA - catching up on the software scene - for old times sake. They have a fleet of Toyota Prius hybrid-cars for ferrying folk around the countless buildings here - egghead heaven - everybody pointing at the smart. A pleasant 78 degrees. Going in search of Jimi Hendrix later. Have booked the smart car in for a service in Vancouver on Tuesday before starting the trip back east. Nice to be off the road for a short spell staying with Annette's sister.
Hi to Martin & Dilly.

I was born a rambin' man

The smart car tour 2005 reaches Seattle, WA - home of Amazon.com and the Microsofties.
Lunchtime at Salem, OR and we are rolling north on I-5 with the trucks and road-trains, loggers among them - "Rambling Man" by the Allman Brothers is on the radio.
We reach Portland in heavy traffic passing about a five-mile jam in the carpool lane - if these things work how come they are empty? Across the Columbia river with a magical view upstream to Mount Hood. The temperature is only 95 degrees, for which we are grateful, and we check at Best Western, in a backlot on the road, but they are charging $130 or so and we carry on to Kelso WA at $80 including breakfast. We completely crash out - supper consists of two cans of iced tea and a granola bar.
Next morning we check out some hot rods for sale down the block - a Rambler catches my eye. We photograph the smart apparently towing a huge boat on a trailer by the simple expedient of backing up to the hitch.
North from Kelso, WA we take to the backroads, finding diesel at Toutle, to Mount St. Helens. The volcano blew its top in 1980 killing 57 people. A massive effort at replanting 18.4 million trees followed the devastation. A road through the valley is now buried in 150 feet of ash. The Forest Learning Center assures us we have "learning opportunities."
We enjoy spectacular views, from 3,000 feet and retrace our steps to the highway. Stand out tracks are "Saginaw, Michigan" by Lefty Frizzell and "Streets of Bakersfield" by Dwight Yoakam and Buck Owens.
Lunch at Safeway - they have Chinese food and a small seating area. Soon we are lost in the suburbs of Seattle, on the wrong side of the tracks, but we dig ourselves out, passing the trolley-buses, and on to our stop in West Seattle, with views of Puget Sound. Oh, and we saw Mount Rainier and other snowy mountains en route.
Coming events: Travis Tritt and SheDaisy are at Sweet Home-Oregon tonight. Hi to Andy Reeve and Harry Ryan.

Shanana

To Trinidad Bay, CA for breakfast at the Eatery & Gallery, a contender for the best breakfast (both food and service categories) on tour. Just one more coffee before driving down to the harbour. The coast up here is more scenic than down south with many rocky outcrops and rolling breakers. In northern California and Oregon there are plenty of hitchikers, not seen in other parts.
We stop to see a bull elk, with big antlers, and then we come across the herd crossing the highway. We are shortly back among the redwoods, miles of spectacular trees. We leave California at 11:30 and step up our search for a library to blog - budget cuts in the Golden State mean that a library that is open is a rare find. We make a pit stop at Brookings Harbor - the smart curious begin to cluster - and a woman rushes up to award us a free ice-cream in a promotion for a bank. On to Coos Bay and a couple in Safeway car park direct us out to a municipal campsite at Bastendorff Beach, $16 for the night. The wind is chilly off the Pacific and we are glad that we are in a pine forest.
To the Kozy Kitchen Family Restaurant in North Bend for breakfast - at $10.90 for two a bargain. "Concrete & Clay" by Unit 4+2 is playing in the cafe. We leave the coast at Reedsport and follow the Umpqua River to Drain, OR where they have a splendid new library. We pass a gaggle of original minis out on a road cruise, a moke among them.
Coming events: Chicago and Earth, Wind & Fire are playing the Rose Garden in Portland on August 30th. Shanana are at Mills Casino, Coos Bay, OR on 16 September.

Keep rocking while you still can

To Mill Valley, CA to meet up with Dean and Patty Smith. Dean is an old college pal who has prospered in the west. We tour his three-storey mansion in Marin County and ogle the view toward the city. They have renovated an old hillside house into a modern hi-tech marvel. The fog rolls in off the Pacific through the gaps in the hills - they call this Granola County.
Next morning we head for Santa Rosa to visit the Zap showroom - they are trying to market the smart car in the US but without the assistance of Mercedes-Benz. We meet many members of staff who crowd the parking lot where we are stopped, taking pictures and asking questions, while feeding the parking meter. They have a selection of 'alternative' vehicles in the showroom, including smarts with 'not-for-sale' signs.
Back on 101 we stop off in Leggett to see the Skunk Train, a tourist railroad, and soon we are among the redwoods visiting a drive-thru tree, not very politically correct in this day and age. Next "The Avenue of the Trees", mile after mile of giant redwood trees up to 360 feet high and 2,000 years old.
We stop for gas at Rio Dell and head into Eureka (shopping at Safeway) and a quick tour of the old town before a nightstop at the KOA where we rent a cabin. For the first time it seems properly cold at night, next to the Pacific Ocean, and I put on all available lagging. Up at six o'clock next morning writing up my notes on the front porch swing before going in search of breakfast.
Coming events: Herman's Hermits (with Peter Noone) are playing Hot August Nights in Reno, Nevada. Peter Frampton is at the Marin Center in October.

Far out, man

We stop in Petaluma proper where an old hippie bums a cup of coffee - he is in the movies, building electric cars and into eastern religion in no particular order. He carries his possessions in a golf bag and his heart on his sleeve. He refers to dropping acid in the old days and I guess he took one tab too many.
I've noticed that California has many old veedubs - the classic beetle, the microbus and the Karmann-Ghia. Many have faded paintwork and are in need of body repairs - but they soldier on in an air-cooled timewarp.
We cruise to Napa, via Sonoma. The town is chic, and as you would expect, heavily into wine. The old downtown is pedestrianised with quiet streets on a Sunday morning. We browse the bookshops for bargains. A black '56 Chevy Coupe goes by, "Little Deuce Coupe" by the Beach Boys on the stereo.
Back on the road we are blundering about lost when we see a sign for Infineon Raceway and the NHRA Summit E.T. Series Bracket Drags and suddenly we are in the grandstands at the drag races. This is a low-key event - just our stripe - and we photograph the smart car next to a wicked black 9-second Chevy Camaro in the paddock.F

Little Deuce Coupe

Cruising round Monterey shopping at Longs Drugstore (two-for-one sunscreen) and gassing up - diesel hard to find. Onto 17-mile drive with magical sea views and seabirds (cormorants and pelicans). Also many expensive houses out of our price bracket.
We are listening to KPIG - "the pig" - best station so far with the coolest music - they are promoting Salinas Rodeo, $400,000 in prize money. Then north on the coast highway into San Francisco - streetcars, SBC Park (home of SF Giants), Fisherman's Wharf (heaving), and out across the Golden Gate for Petaluma. A guy in the city rolls down his window and says, " Did you drive that thing all the way from Ontario? Congratulations!"
The KOA Kampground is very busy with a rock band playing covers by the pool - come back Joan Jett all is forgiven. Up early for breakfast at Pete's Restaurant (open 24 hours) where there is a 1928 Ford Model 'A' Tudor parked out front. Petaluma featured in the movies "American Graffiti" and "Peggy Sue Got Married" - will a white 'T' Bird come cruising by or Harrison Ford show up in his Chevy? Nostalgia is not what it used to be. More coffee please.

California Dreaming is becoming a reality

Saturday 23 July, Monterey, CA. Heading for 17-mile drive, Pebble Beach and then a short trip up to the Bay Area later.

North on the Left Coast

No sooner is Route 66 ended than the Pacific Coast Highway is started. With the ocean on our left, we have the best part of 1500 miles to reach Vancouver for the start of the trip back east.
After a hot panini in Malibu we are rolling north for Santa Barbara. I'm feeling much better and polish off a quart of milk on arrival at the Sandpiper Motel. We contact John and Linn Porter in Lompoc and arrange to meet the next morning.
We turn off the highway at Buellton on 246 for Lompoc. The Porter family are distant relatives from a branch of the family that emigrated to Canada in 1909.
We tour the wine country at Solvang, a Danish model village, and Los Olivos (home to Michael Jackson's Neverland Ranch). In the evening we go by Ford Navigator to "Brothers Restaurant at Mattei's Tavern" in Los Olivos. This was an old stagecoach stop and we have a splendid dinner, accompanied by a local Merlot, in this historic building.
Next morning we hose down the smart car and take family photos prior to departure. We say a big thank you to the Porter family and head for the coast highway which snakes north towards Big Sur, Carmel and Monterey. We make a lunch stop in Morro at the "Pizza Port." The weather is perfect and the scenery stunning.
The Holiday Inn Express in Monterey charges $168.10 weekend rate - by far the most expensive night of the tour. We luck out stumbling into a custom car show in town with the classics showing that touch of California class. A girl on an Indian motorcycle wants to know all about the smart - an old guy assures us that the car is built in Washington state - "my daughter is working there, they can't build them fast enough!"

Mother Road to the Mother Lode

Up early in Prescott, AZ to see Persephone at Denny's in Prescott Valley - she is a musician and songwriter, a children's entertainer, booked for Rocket FM.
Then north to Ash Fork where we rejoin old Route 66 heading west through Seligman, Peach Springs, Barstow and Kingman. We leave 66 as the pavement disappears, and divert via Bullhead City, on the Nevada border. We can see Laughlin, Nevada on the other side of the Colorado River and the usual array of casinos.
We lunch at "Earle's at the Castle", asking about the Mojave crossing. The waitress said it is OK to cross in daylight - "just get to somewhere cooler as soon as you can!"
We reach Needles, CA at four o'clock and launch out across the desert. The engine temp on the car reaches 100 degrees C on the inclines (four pips lit on the smart). We tune into Mojave Radio which lures travellers to Las Vegas. The Dave Mason Band (ex-Traffic) is playing Laughlin Casino. After 2½ hours we are clearing the desert and we reach El Cajon where the traffic charges down the mountain from 4,000 feet.
We are in SoCal "proper" at last. We bypass San Bernardino, destination of my Willmett relatives in 1921 who drove from Brantford, Ontario in a 1919 Chevrolet, before the mother road was built.
Overnight at the Lemon Tree motel in Pomona, CA. Breakfast at Johnny's Famous Hamburgers (overwhelming portions) then to the Wally Parks NHRA Museum of Drag Racing at the LA Fairgrounds. This is a fantastic collection of old race cars - many of them featured in Hot Rod Magazine in the 60's and 70's. I buy a remaindered 'T' shirt (30% off) and the lady at the till comes out to photograph the smart outside.
We pickup 66 again and ride through Pasadena, with the San Gabriel mountains on our right, onto Sunset Boulevard and the Strip, past the Hollywood sign and the Beverly Hills Hotel. We hit the ocean north of Santa Monica, which is a mistake, but we cruise into town and the end of the road.
Santa Monica is a letdown as there is little indication that the road is ended. We cannot see a plaque in a park on the seafront as we cannot park the car. Beachfront parking is $6 and up so we decide to lunch in Malibu where parking is free. They say it is better to travel hopefully than to arrive.

Hitting the Barrier

No, I haven't crashed the smart car but I have blown up somewhat myself. Whether it is heat exhaustion or eating something dodgy (or visiting Gallup, NM) I don't know - but we are holed up in Prescott, AZ, approx 465 miles from Los Angeles, California and the cooling Pacific breeze. Like countless travellers before us we are at the point of wondering whether we will ever get there.
So yesterday we decided that we would not be going to the Grand Canyon or to Scottsdale where the temperatures have been hitting 116 degrees. The front page of The Arizona Republic this morning says "Record Heat Kills 3 Men." Apparently the temperature is 9 degrees above "normal."
Instead we decided to cut south-west for three hours via the resort town of Sedona, Cottonwood and through the pass at Jerome, where the smart climbed to 7,023 feet, with spectacular views in all directions. Deprived of the Grand Canyon this was considerable consolation - depite feeling thoroughly second-hand I couldn't help but enjoy the trip.
We are now spending two nights at the Holiday Inn Express in Prescott, AZ before attempting the last leg of Stage One of the tour. We plan to cross the Mojave desert tomorrow night. Sorry no pics as yet but processor padlocked here.

Standing on the Corner

Made it to Winslow, AZ for usual photoshoot at the "corner" - a parkette created for such purposes is fenced off due to some safety issue. They have thoughtfully parked a Flatbed Ford truck to add to the ambience. There is nothing else to do in Winslow so we move right along.
Rolled into Flagstaff, AZ mid afternoon and after setting up camp head into the trendy downtown core. A guy in a cream '57 Thunderbird, complete with porthole hardtop, waves to us. We shop at Fry's Food and Drug for supplies - a guy in the checkout line tells us not to bother going to California. Flagstaff is a Birkenstock sort of town with a touch of the Bohemian. A much needed snack at the Downtown Cafe and a stroll around the grid-pattern streets and we retire to the campsite for a well-earned can of Heineken from the mini-eskie.
After seeing endless freight trains with up to four diesel engines pulling double-stacked container cars full of asian goods we finally see an Amtrak passenger train. The Southwest Chief goes from Chicago to LA, via Albuquerque, Flagstaff and elsewhere. For how much longer is anybody's guess.
On most campsites we are surrounded by huge rigs, great mobile homes, pickups towing trailers, fifth-wheels and everything but the kitchen sink, except they have that too. Sites offer hook-up to cable TV and campers expect all the comforts of home. Mobile phones and Wi-Fi mean contact with the world 24/7. We make common cause with the bikers who prefer the simpler life like ourselves. Maybe I'll just buy a Chevy Suburban and a monster trailer and have done with it!

Goodbye Earl

On into Albuquerque, NM - I used to say I would be a cab driver here when asked as a kid what I wanted to be. Lunch at Nick's Crossroads Cafe at 400 Central SW. Veggie plate for Annette, Chicken Kebab for me. A pleasant atmosphere with the wind blowing through an open door - about the first city we have lingered in since Chicago.
Across the Rio Grande with the usual routine of dodging on and off the Interstate to visit points of interest. We head for Grants, NM and cross the Continental Divide on the frontage road. We are slammed by a dust devil but the smart survives the side-swipe. In Grants there is a massive biker conclave - shiny machines parked in a row for at least a mile. We are greeted by waves and whoops from the bikers.
On to the campsite at Gallup, NM which is over 6,000 feet up. The campsite is new and not geared for tents ($20), as we are steered toward a patch of hard standing in a corner of the car park in high wind. We quickly realise this is not a goer and splurge on a cabin ($35). To Denny's for dinner and an early night - the wind has got up and we help some folk retrieve their belongings as they blow about the campsite. We get our washing done in a humongous laundromat which is on site - never seen so many machines in one place.
Day 9 - Up next morning and after a total refit we head into town to Earl's Family Restaurant - recommended by the folks at the campsite. This is Navajo country and we are served a superb breakfast [scrambled egg, hash browns and sausage with chili salsa] while Annette buys a medicine pouch at the table. The smart is causing consternation in the car park - a big guy says "I'd need two of those." We spot another "Muffler Man" in town, stop for a photo op and the smart immediately draws a crowd. A Navajo woman is practically in tears she wants the car so bad.
We stop to photograph a Ford Anglia 105E perched on top of a tower at a wrecking yard outside of town. To the Painted Desert and Petrified Forest ($10) in a National Park. The Cashier at a coffee stop tells me all about his Saab two-stroke and V4 cars from years gone by and rushes out to photograph the smart for his son. It is just amazing how fair people can be.
Now in Winslow, AZ to "stand on the corner" - hi to Derek Watts, Eagles fan. Annette is tumbleweed spotting. Flagstaff tonight and Grand Canyon tomorrow with luck.

Bye, Bye Buddy

North west from Clovis, NM across the plains listening to Garth Brooks [from Yukon, OK] "I've got friends in low places" [an early hit, he never topped it].
Suddenly, quite unexpectedly, you are dropping down into Mesa country, and all the Hollywood westerns you ever saw are here. The temperature is crowding 100 degrees and are we ever glad that we ordered aircon on the smart. Can't be long before Tim McGraw is back on the radio singing "Do you want fries with that?"
The smart is standing up to everything we have thrown at her - touch wood - and confidence levels are building such that we are overtaking the trucks. You've just been outsmarted!
Rolled into the campsite at Tucumcari, NM early for first afternoon nap of the tour - later cruising the strip in town to see the neon signs, motels [in various states of delapidation] and gas stations [open and permanently closed]. We stop at an ice-cream parlor only to be told "We don't sell ice-cream any more." We retreat to Denny's for banana split and strawberry sundae - enjoying the cabaret of the waiters yelling for their orders. Mercifully we are losing touch with the outside world.
Now in Moriarty, NM at midday heading for Albuquerque and Gallup [for overnight stop, campground already booked].
For more http://smartcar.blogspot.com

I Saw Miles and Miles of Texas

Up early and head into Amarillo TX. Breakfast at the Sonic Drive-In - everything smothered in cheese. To the Cadillac Ranch - a truly spiritual experience - works on all levels with no supervision, concession stand or anything else - just a bunch of old Cadillacs nose down in a field. On to the Midpoint Cafe in Adrian TX, half way along Route 66, and the lady owner rushes out to photograph the smart car in front of the midpoint sign. We backtrack a short way and head south on a straight deserted country road on the high plains of the Texas Panhandle. We receive a text message from Peter Flanagan. Past the massive feedlot at Bovina, TX with thousands of cattle penned up.
We head into Clovis, NM on the trail of Buddy Holly. You need an appointment to visit the Norman Petty Recording Studios at 1313 W. 7th Street but the 'just show up' philosophy works as we are greeted by Ken Broad, who will show us round after lunch. We go down the street to the Foxy Drive-In, "where Buddy used to hang out."
It hasn't changed a bit and we snack on a chicken burger waiting to get indoors at the studio. We photograph the Nor-Va-Jak sign at the studios as Ken returns. The studio is in a timewarp with all the original gear on display - I'm freaking out as I listen to Buddy through the original sound system while sitting in the chair in the control room - all the hits were recorded here. Roy Orbison was here and the hit "Sugar Shack" by Jimmy Gilmer and Fireballs, an NM band, was also recorded in this studio. What a blast!

Hard Amarillo Highway

Lunch at the Trolley Stop cafe in El Reno, OK. Back on the 'bump, thump' road to the Twenty-Eight Pony Bridge which featured in the film "The Grapes of Wrath" - Granpa Joad died here. To Elk City and the National Route 66 Museum. Then the ghost town of Texola, with the widest main street anywhere, and across the stateline into Texas. Saw the Leaning Tower of Texas, a tilting water tower built as a gimmick, and the large cross both in Groom, TX. Camping at KOA in Amarillo, TX. You can order supper at the office and a guy comes whizzing up in a golf cart from the Kowpoke Kafe and delivers your dinner to your pitch. We pitch our tent in a pea gravel "tray" which is supposed to drain if rains - I hope we don't have to test it. A stretch limo with bull horns is cruising the campground offering a free ride to the Texas Steakhouse - home of the free 72oz steak - you have to eat it all! Sitting in the evening sun watching freight trains, aircraft landing at the local airport, and huge RVs arriving towing a car far larger than the smart. Annette is talking to Persephone in Scottsdale, AZ on her mobile phone to arrange to meet up later in the trip. I'm chugging on a Bud Light - it'll never replace beer!

Get Your Kicks

Breakfast at the Ranch House in Stroud fielding enquiries from the good old boys - "is it a Ford?" Annette opts for biscuits and gravy with 1 egg - finds she likes it - $2.49 plus 80 cents unlimited coffee. Photograph the Phillips 66 gas station in Chandler and the Round Barn in Arcadia. Receive a text message from Andy Thomas in Yukon, OK, the home of Garth Brooks. To El Reno, OK to ride the streetcar, but the streetcar is "broke." Splendid museum in old railroad station, also the relocated El Reno hotel.
For more see:
http://smartcar.blogspot.com

Living on Tulsa Time

Up early on I44. Coffee Stop at Marshfield Missouri - free coffee at Wal-Mart since it's Tuesday. Bank Tellers fascinated by smart - most exciting thing in Marshfield in a while. Some bikers say "Enjoy America - diesel is the answer!" Delightful lunch at the Bradbury Bishop Deli in Webb City replete with 50's memorabilia and stainless steel soda fountain after stopping at Carthage Drive-In Theatre. Listening to Buddy Holly and to old NASCAR guy Richard Greek giving us the lowdown on the Missouri racing scene. Cool Chevy street rod parked outside.
On to Galena, Kansas - almost a ghost town - park the smart next to an electric car built in Sebring, Florida with friendly locals joining in a gabfest. On to Baxter Springs in the constant search for diesel with a nozzle that fits the car. We stop on the road to check out vintage tin for sale, mostly cheap rust-buckets. Through Tulsa and on to Stroud where we gas up before spending the night at the Best Western - more rain is forecast so we forget about camping. Staying off greasy food - tuna salad for supper. Digestion calmer. 375 miles covered.

Accross the Big Muddy

Left Springfield mid-morning. Took a short section of Route 66 "The Brickroad" at Auburn. Lunch at the Sister's Cafe in Staunton, Illinois - another top notch family restaurant, we're avoiding the chains. Across the Big Muddy at St Louis with a quick view of the Gateway Arch - hair raising driving in the rain with no time to change lanes and rigs coming from all directions. To the famous Ted Drewe's Frozen Custard for a "concrete" and fudge sundae in the 'burbs - not so crowded in drizzle, more Q&A sessions with the locals. On to the Black Madonna Shrine in the Ozark Mountains in the pouring rain - when it rains in the Ozark Mountains it rains. Meramec Caverns Tour - pure kitsch Americana - geology, what's that?
All you can eat steak buffet at Sirloin Stockade - we stick to seafood - and Best Western overnight in Rolla, Missouri, where a group of Brit/Euro Bikers were staying on their Route 66 Harley Tour. Back-up bikes on a trailer make us feel superior - we pull out before them and leave them far behind.
243 miles covered.

The real Springfield

Breakfast at Jungle Jim's Cafe, 1923 Peoria Road. (Near to Shea's Gas Station Museum.) Walls covered in car racing pictures and memorabilia. Double eggs over easy. Little old lady comes up to chat re the smartcar, drives a yellow beetle. Morning stroll in the town of Abe Lincoln. Public library for free internet.

West of the Windy City

Made the Indiana border at 7:20 am. Blasted through to the Illinois border by 8:03. Arrived in Chicago and were most impressed by the revitalized waterfront. Used automated breakfast menu at the Wild Bean Cafe which is part of BP gas station. Easily found the sign that marks the beginning of Route 66 at Michigan and Adams, and we cheerfully hit the Mother Road. Out through the suburbs of Cicero and Berwyn to Lockport, Illinois, a historic canal town. Running into Nascar fan traffic at Joliet, Ill., with roadside scalpers. They have come to see Dale Earnhardt Jr. win the USG Sheetrock 400 at Chicagoland Speedway. We divert and get lost in rural countryside ending up on I57 south. Back on Historic Route 66 and photographed the Gemini Giant in Wilmington. Stopped in Dwight to look at beautiful historic railway station and Bank designed by Frank Lloyd Wright. Lunch at Wishing Well Cafe in Odell in retro heaven then to restored Standard Oil Gas station. Atlanta Illinois to see Bunyon statue. Overnight at riverside campgrounds in Springfield, Ill.,

Day 2: Kitchener-Stevensville 346 miles
Day 3: Stevensville-Springfield 340 miles

780 miles from Toronto.

Smarter

Lunch at Lapeer, Michigan. Across Michigan to Stevensville. Stayed at Ray's Motel which had been owned by four generations of the same family, and it showed. Driver of a funky woody-style PT Cruiser stopped at traffic lights ran back to us and asked, " How did you get a smart car into the USA?". More photo ops and "thumbs ups" on highway

Smart start

Moblogging letting us down as US networks not accepting texts. Friday July 8th - Dep Toronto law office of John Damery for Kitchener, On. Listening to Jimmy Buffet in a rainstorm on Highway 401. Overnight stop after gentle 94 miles. Saturday past statue of Queen Vic in Victoria Park. Take Highways 7/8 to Stratford, ON.
Fuel at Goco 88.9 cents a litre. Paid $2.50 on toll bridge at Sarnia and on the other side of the international bridge, paid $6.00 US for immigration form that was stapled into my passport in Port Huron. Audi passenger was first of many leaning out of car windows to photograph the smartcar whizzing by with their photo phones.

North American smart car tour 2005

Toronto-Los Angeles-Vancouver-Toronto. Kicks off this afternoon at approx 15:00.

More reports to follow. Message from Andy Thomas in the UK wishing us "Bon voyage."

News from the trees

John May is blogging here.

Full cost of Olympic folly revealed

After the Dome the multi-billion Olympic folly unfolds. Nowadays a device for selling hamburgers and fizzy pop to a sedentary TV audience while watching discredited drug-fuelled freaks on the track. The Telegraph has the numbers. The British taxpayer has to underwrite this shindig, carrying any losses without a share in the profits. The government is not funding basic services like schools, hospitals and transport yet can waste money on this circus.
The "Olympic Movement" long ago lost sight of its sporting ideals in the rush to get rich. Bad luck to them.