BC or Bust roadtrip

Pic by RLT.
A one-way trip to my new little house in the west. Mostly following the Trans-Canada Highway from Toronto to Sidney on Vancouver Island.
(I could have gone via the USA, but a combination of rudeness and paranoia at the border is off-putting. Their financial loss.)
My 2005 smart car, with trusty diesel motor, never missed a beat.
Thursday 7 June.
Depart 05:30 with a full tank of gas. Bye bye Hogtown. Election Day in Ontario and reports on the radio of a deadly shooting in Scarborough, with a cop being saved by his kevlar vest. Take the 400 Hwy north initially but turn off via Kleinburg, Nobleton, Thornton on Hwy 27. Taking a last look at familiar places. Back on the 400 Highway at Barrie.
Pitstop at Tim Horton's, 35 Lone Pine Road, Port Severn. using up Tim's gift card. Coffee $1.77. Past Parry Sound through the rocks towards Sudbury. The 4-lane highway runs out in Canadian Shield country.
At Sudbury I divert into town for Esso Sudbury #253, 1813 Regent Street South: diesel $18.40 with discount card. Subway lunch at E4-2408 Long Lake Road, Sudbury. I leave keys in ignition.
Out of town past the giant chimneys at the mines hereabouts.
Listening to Steppenwolf - "Magic Carpet Ride"; Toby Keith - "I Love this Bar."
Now westbound thru Massey, past Elliot Lake, Lake Lauzon, Blind River, with road works and hold-ups. Arrive 15:25 at Delta Hotel, 208 St Mary's Drive, Sault Ste. Marie. Views of namesake town in Michigan across the river.
While watching election coverage in the hotel View restaurant + bar a woman is loudly dropping the 'F' bomb at regular intervals at the top of her voice. Attending a "heritage conference" is this what women fought for? (Bar tab $25.14, no alcohol.)
I take a stroll by the river. A random woman asks "Are you graduating today?" Me: "Why would I be graduating?" "You could be getting a Masters in Psychology." Me: "That is very flattering!" End of conversation.
A giant laker is in the St Mary's River: MV Indiana Harbor.
429 miles.
Friday 8 June.
Dep 05:30. Start with a wrong slot, straying west to Gros Cap, instead of north. Wasted most of an hour in the boondocks running short of gas. High anxiety. Happy to reach Trading Post Esso, The Trading Post, 1332 Great Northern Road, Sault Ste-Marie at 06:34.
Through miles of gravel roadworks to breakfast off the road at Twilight Resort, Hwy 17 North, Montreal River Harbour. A self-described greasy spoon in a shack, we talk of the old days. This was a camp for conscientious objectors in WW2, mostly Mennonites, who were interned and put to building roads. There were also POW camps in the district, some prisoners stayed on after the war. Nowadays there is a mixture of holiday makers and contractors working on local building projects at this lakeside resort.

Pic by RLT.
I stop to talk to Dale Walker, cycling on his Trek 520 to Minneapolis to see family. I help him out with some water and three energy bars. I couldn't help with "medical marijuana." He has been on some epic cycling tours: https://www.peacefulvalleywalker.com/
I stop at the Visitor Centre for Lake Superior Provincial Park on Highway 17. A kind lady from Abbotsford B.C. takes an interest in the smart car with the "B.C. or Bust" sign. I see more cyclists.
I stop for gas at Esso on the main highway at Wawa: $10.05. Then at Tim Horton's I encounter a couple from Zurich/Montreal who are attempting Ottawa to Vancouver by bicycle. I stop to help another cyclist but no help required - he is simply walking up a hill - no shame in that.
Through Schreiber, ON, a railway town. Stop at Esso Terrace Bay, Hwy 17, diesel $17.40. A man with relatives in Blighty takes an interest in the smart car.
Across the new Nipigon River Bridge, with triple tower cable-stay design.
Arrive at Prince Arthur Waterfront Hotel & Suites, 17 Cumberland Street North, Thunder Bay, ON, P7A 4K8. Hotel kitty corner from the old CPR railway station. Noisy - freight trains and partying - but great view of Lake Superior. I am not feeling too good so ice cream for supper.
Listening to: Johnny Paycheck "Take this job and shove it!"
464 miles.
Saturday 9 June.
Dep 05:42. Find Trans-Canada Highway (TCH) no trouble. Gas at Shell Canada Products, 4794 Highway 11 & 17, Kakabeka Falls at 06:16. Happy to find diesel at this early hour.
Breakfast stop at Black Spruce Motel & Old Country Kitchen, south of Upsala. Breakfast special $5.99, coffee with refill $1.99. Sixties music playing. The good ol' boys have been fishing.
Listening to CBC "bang on" politically correct radio - some lady gardeners calling themselves "eco-feminists" (since when was gardening a political statement?), endless global-warming baloney (what Canada could use is warming up a bit!).
Past Lake Wabigoon (Wobegon?). Tim Horton's at Dryden, ON, arr 09:35, lose an hour. Ask for mug, not disposable cup. The drive-through is choc-a-bloc. Nearby take gas at BG Fuels Gas Bar #3878, 647 Government Road, Dryden, ON. ($16.11). Clean windscreen. Stop at garage sale on exit of town, there is a table of tools but nothing has my name on it.
Endless pickup trucks towing boats. The road is empty for stretches - motoring as she used to be.
Divert through Kenora and Lake of the Woods. 12:40 reach Manitoba, three days of riding through the rocks comes to an end, as I have reached the Prairies. Speed limit rises to a more sensible 100km.
On to Winnipeg - arrive at Travelodge at 14:39 but it is sold out. So to Canad Inns Destination Centre Windsor Park, 1034 Elizabeth Road, Winnipeg, where I apparently get the last room at 15:10. A peculiar hotel where they demand a $200 deposit on the room. Crash out until 21:00 approx - I must have been tired. Snack in hotel $17.67 incl tip, avoiding mayo. There are freight trains and a busy road at the end of the street.
Good Lovelies play Mariposa Folk Festival, Orillia, ON, Sunday July 8th.
432 miles, running total for three days 1,325 miles.
Sunday 10 June.
Dep 05:00. Signposted out through Winnipeg city centre, not a snag at this time of day. Turning left at Union Station, I can't help thinking of George Ernest Willmett. Followed by a cop car for a while - unnerving. Take gas at Petro-Canada, 2607 Portage Avenue, Winnipeg, at 05:35: $15.
Early morning fog, past Portage La Prairie, to a stop at Sidney, Manitoba - a rather dog-eared town with a rusty old Pontiac Parisienne taking pride of place, amongst other vintage tin.

Pic by RLT.
Stop at Brandon on TCH for fry-up at A&W (The Dub). The good ol' boys are in residence:
"You going out to the lake?"
"Don't do anything till I get back!"
Listening to The Farm country radio: Chris Janson: "Drunk Girl" (are drinking songs back in fashion?); Dierks Bentley: "What was I Thinking?" Radio reception much better on the Prairies.
Gas at Esso Amethyst Stores Ltd, Trans Canada Highway, Elkhorn at 10:13 - $14.40. Past Moosomin, SK, where the Red Barn is a favourite stop.
Wind and hail warnings on the radio. Travel-trailers fishtailing on the highway. Horrible wrong slot at Regina - a sign simply says road closed ahead - no advice about what to do. I turn south drifting eastward to Krona.
After a spell on gravel roads where I am cursing loudly I regain the TCH, finally back on the black stuff. After passing Reed Lake I reach the Holiday Inn Express, 1301 North Service Rd E, Swift Current ($125.67). The local Co-op is closed, so I dine at Tim Horton's, making a big effort to rehydrate.
551 miles - the Queen Stage.
Monday 11 June.
Dep 05:43. A mama duck and brood are attempting to cross the TCH. I hoot loudly and they flee in another direction. I fear for them. Soon after a stag is crossing the road in front of my car, more hooting to deter two followers. Let us hope they made it. Too much roadkill on the highway testifies to daily carnage.
Gas at Gull Lake Esso, Junction Hwy 1 E and Hwy 37 N, Gull Lake, SK at 06:32. The cashier berates me for cleaning more than the glass on the smart car: "No washing!" Good breakfast at adjacent International Diner, Gull Lake, deserved $5 dollar tip. I'm told the boss is an Englishman, speciality English fish and chips.
Gas at Shell Canada Products, 1343 TransCanada Way, Medecine Hat: $10.
Drizzle. I can see the Rockies at last from 100 miles away. Stop at splendid rest area. Chat to local couple heading out to a summer job with a big rig.
Gas at Calgary Co-op Edgefield Gas Bar, 140 Edgefield Place, Strathmere, AB: Total $13, $1.229 per litre. (Due to a collapse in civility in Canada you have to prepay for gas in many places, which leads to a guessing game as to how much you need. Get it wrong and you have to go back for change - that is two transactions instead of one.)
To Co-op store, bought lunch, on quick look round prices seemed higher than in Toronto. Buying beef is everywhere promoted. Cowboy hats are popular in store, both customers and staff.
I take a huge loop around Calgary, with a pitstop for a pic-nic about 50 miles short of Banff in another rest area. Views of snowy mountains. A huge traffic jam is developing eastbound.
Banff has succumbed to mass tourism and is not a pleasant experience. Prices are through the roof. I drive the strip as endless tourists disembark from buses. Managed to find a room at Bumpers Inn: interminable check-in procedures, crashed out at 18:00. $232.37.
402 miles.
Tuesday 12 June.
Dep Banff 04:55 for a day of endless mountains. Good idea to go early avoiding traffic and grockles. To Lake Louise for a short tour, taking in the old log railway station from 1910.
Kicking Horse Pass (fantastic), stop at spiral railway tunnels, then down Ten Mile Hill. Cyclists are coming the other way. Crazy. Dropped in at the tiny village of Field, BC, but it was closed. (I am now in B.C.) On to Golden, BC, for gas ($20) and A&W breakfast. Through Rogers Pass to Revelstoke, a railway town with museum, where I take tea at the Main Street Cafe, served by a girl from Melbourne, Australia.
I cut south towards Kelowna, pitstop at Safeway Vernon Square, 4300 32 Street, Vernon for gas $15.00 and a drinkable yoghurt $1.04.
Then at helpful Kelowna tourist information with maps. Over the mountains to Merritt, after struggling to find turn-off. I consider stopping here for the night but think better of it, plenty of cheap motels but not much more than a logging camp.
I carry on to Hope, arriving at Best Continental Motel, 860 Fraser Ave at 17:25 approx. I manage to negotiate a room on the ground floor at Seniors rate, $89.27 - saves battling upstairs with luggage. Good value. To Rollo's Restaurant, next door, a delightful old-fashioned diner, three courses $27 incl tip. Friendly staff, recommended. I take a short stroll after dinner and spot a row of charging points for Tesla electric cars. 
Pic by RLT.
Hope has the mountains like Banff but none of the gouging. I prefer it.
467 miles.
Wednesday 13 June.
Dep 05:00. Find Chevron gas station at Hope - open early. Take coffee while chatting with the cashier about the old days on the Saanich Peninsula (where I am headed) - he laments the loss of commercial daffodil growing, pushed out by development of subdivisions.
Running in the rain in heavy traffic on the TCH. Stop at a welcome rest area where there are many rabbits. Through the southern outskirts of Vancouver.
Reach Tsawwassen for B.C. Ferries "Spirit of Vancouver Island" 09:00 sailing to Swartz Bay (Undersize vehicle and driver: $72.50). Take Starbucks breakfast at Tsawwassen Quay Market. We depart ten minutes late but the captain says he will make up the time. Car alarms keep going off on the car decks. We pass "The Spirit of British Columbia," headed the other way, in the narrows. Rapid unloading at Swartz Bay and I arrive at the house in Sidney at 11.02.
107 miles, total for trip 2,852 miles.

Chuggabug Tour 2013

Annette is blogging our smart car tour here on SCOOT.

Dream combination for a great day out

Can you fit two Brompton bicycles in the early version of the smart car? Answer: yes! We drove to the Caledon Trailway for a 12-mile round trip cycle ride, proving that minimal motoring and folding bicycles make for a great day out.

After a thorough clean the new, old, red 2000 Brompton was ready for a first proper excursion in Canada. We started by taking coffee and fried egg sandwich at the Trailside Bistro, Caledon East. We then headed west towards Inglewood, along the old railroad bed. Parts of the trail reminded me of the Cuckoo Trail in Sussex - there can't be many Brompton bicycles that have been on both trails. This was ideal cycling on a hot day as much of the trail is shaded by woods. The surface is dressed with crushed limestone - just about good enough for the Bromptons to cope.

We bought an ice cream at the General Store in Inglewood, our turning point. We had visited here before when riding the Forks of the Credit railroad. The more sporty cyclists were missing out on the wildlife. I stopped quietly to observe some birdlets, which I think were kinglets. We were back home by 14:00 after a pitstop at Bulk Barn for trail mix and Garibaldi biscuits.
More tours are in prospect as the potential of the smart/Brompton combo dawns.
Pics by RLT.

To and from Dixieland

Overnight at Franklin, TN, and next morning to Dotson's, 99 East Main St, for breakfast. The grits are a bit watery, but they are forgiven for offering sliced beefsteak tomato as a side dish. Veggies are hard to find on the road. The cafe walls are covered with pictures of country musicians, notably the Judds and Kathy Mattea. We head for the Lane Motor Museum, 702 Murfreesboro Pike, Nashville - $7 a head. This place warrants a second visit - a haven for European cars in an unlikely spot.

We head north into Kentucky for our second visit this year, passing the railway museum at New Haven, a stop in the spring, on the road to Bardstown. We check out Frankfort, but the town is confusing with roadworks and diversions, so we carry on to Lexington, a home to horse-racing, pausing at Versailles for diesel. We stop at the Holiday Inn Express and dine at the DQ (Dairy Queen).
Next morning eastbound in the rain we stop at Olive Hill, KY, for the post office, where Railway Street is much boarded up. This is not postcard country. We reach Huntington, WV, named for Collis Potter Huntington of the C&O, close to the Ohio river. The railroad station has been unsympathetically restored and the ALCO #10 engine is left out in the weather, a rotting national monument. Still worth a visit.
We take a salad lunch at the River & Rail Bakery, snapping up the last two Snickerdoodle cookies. We press on for Charleston in a monsoon, resolving to spend the rest of the day indoors at the WV archives, looking for distant relatives of Mad Jack Fuller. Next morning we search for the Fuller and Kries family graves in the Mount Olivet cemetery, on top of a hill.
We head northeast stopping for diesel at Clendenin, WV, where the customers are straight from Central Casting. We are in oil and gas country. A stop at Walmart for supplies was followed by a roadside picnic. We crossed the Mason-Dixon line to Morrisville, PA, overnighting at Waynesburg, PA, close to the Marcellus shale gas field. Motel rooms are hard to find.
We drive into Pittsburgh, PA, following the GPS to Bicycle Heaven, in an industrial estate, mostly featuring Schwinn krate bikes. The NOS parts are priced for restorers only. We take the backroads to Jamestown, NY, in time to visit the Lucille Ball-Desi Arnaz Center late afternoon. The prerecorded shows were filmed by Desilu in front of a live audience; taping them enabled the bonanza of reruns that has kept Lucy front and centre down the decades.
On our tour we have driven over hundreds of miles of freshly-layed tarmacadam - if resurfacing roads leads to economic salvation then surely America is on the way back. But I am not so sure.
Just when you have despaired of North American road engineers, with their endless stop signs and stoplights, you reach Hamburg, NY, which features roundabouts and bike lanes, looking the epitome of modernity. You could be in Holland. Even dear old Buffalo, NY, has streetcars. Across the Peace Bridge and we have Toronto in our sights.
Pics by RLT.

Elvis and Tammy

July 21: Up early Saturday morning to Tunnel Hill, GA, which featured in the Great Locomotive Chase. The hooter of a northbound freight is heard long before the CSX double-header comes into view. We head into Chattanooga to ride the Tennessee Valley Railroad through Missionary Ridge Tunnel, quite the best short rail excursion anywhere. The new VW factory is nearby and the Passat is being shipped by rail.
Heading west from Tennessee and Georgia into Alabama we stop at the Fame recording studios in Muscle Shoals. Unfortunately, tours can only be arranged in advance and there's nobody there to help. After a quick stop at a Frank Lloyd Wright house in Florence, we dip south and travel the Tammy Wynette Highway into Mississippi, to Tupelo, the birth place of Elvis Presley. Evidence of his (former) presence is everywhere from a lake named after him to a cardboard cut-out in the hotel lobby.
Sunday morning and it is very quiet at the Presley birthplace. The family's two-room home, with front-porch-swing, remains original (but is it on the original site?). A $4 million museum/auditorium complex is under construction just behind. It is slated to open in August to commemorate the 35th anniversary of his death. On display is a 1939 Plymouth, similar to that which took the Presley family to Memphis.

We meet a friendly couple from Wales - turns out he is a teacher and she comes from the same part of the country as my late father. They join us in a visit to the Tupelo Car Museum, which boasts a complete set of Elvis movie posters and a car that he gave as a present to the Denver, CO, Chief of Police. This 1949 Allard caught my eye. Recommended.

We head northeast on the Natchez Trace, a tourist highway devoid of trucks, but with precious little of interest along the way. We stop at the gravesite of Meriwether Lewis, with its ongoing mystery as to cause of death.
Pics by RLT.

Backroads and Blue Highways

July 16: The Deep South tour rolls on, leaving Pennsylvania behind and heading down the Delmarva peninsular, passing close to Wilmington, DE, an Amtrak stop at New Year. We are making for Georgetown, DE, an overnighter away from the coast, which saves dollars. We lodge at the Comfort Inn & Suites, 20530 DuPont Blvd, $105.95 incl tax. We find some bagels for supper in a strip mall at J&J Bagels, 28 Georgetown Plaza, Georgetown, DE.
In the morning we head for Lewes, DE, twinned with Lewes, East Sussex, England. It is a wonder anybody visits as there are no signs off the highway and, like its counterpart in England, the place is plagued with parking meters. Founded in 1631 by Dutchmen, and shortly after named Lewes, the town is a relative newcomer, but claims to be the first town in the first state of the US.
Friendly folk greeted us at the Chamber of Commerce and the Historical Society, who both do a fine job of promoting the town, once you find it and a place to park. We find some postcards at the latter, hard to come by in Lewes. I guess folk are sending less cards.
Next we hug the coast, driving through endless beach resorts crowded with holiday makers. It's hard to imagine a sharper contrast to the Amish farmland we left yesterday. We turn inland and off the highway to Pocomoke City, MD, which turns out to be a rewarding lunch spot by the Pocomoke River. The newly-opened Riverside Grill, 2 Riverside Drive, sells hamburger lunches at popular prices. I was amused by the nearby MAR-VA cinema.

We take the Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel, an engineering marvel and an attraction all by itself. Opened in 1965, the toll costs $12 to cross the 20 mile stretch of bridges, man-made islands and two 1-mile tunnels. We detour via Elizabeth City where we fill up with diesel at $3.58 per gallon, rightly fearing worse on the Outer Banks. We learn that diesel will be cheaper in South Carolina where there is less tax. An overnight stop at The Travelodge, Kill Devil Hills, is a bit spendy at $160.88 incl tax. We meet up with Tracy next morning, a friend for over forty years, and go out for brunch. She has lived in KDH for many years and has many tales to tell about the local scene.
We leave the Outer Banks, spotting our first Piggly Wiggly at Plymouth, NC. We take diesel at Pinetops, NC, where I spot this Winnebago for sale. A snip at $2,000!

Avoiding the interstate we pass fields of tobacco, cotton, peanuts and other crops. A heavy driving day in the over 90 F heat we cover 260 miles before checking in to the Comfort Inn, 1957 Cedar Creek Road, Fayetteville, still in NC. This is the cheapest yet at $67.66 incl tax.

Next morning we stop to photograph a Renault Dauphine, atop a defunct gas station on Hwy 301. There was a time when Renault gave VW a run for their money in the US, but those days are long gone.
"South of the Border" billboards proliferate beside the highway as you drive towards South Carolina. A phoney Mexican attraction, right in the middle of nowhere, it has got more kitsch than Route 66. At Darlington Raceway we visit the small NASCAR musuem which has an impressive collection of stock car racing exhibits. This is stock car country as she used to be, a world away from the slick-suited businessmen of Daytona. The Darlington track, "Too tough to tame," is a holdout from the days of Rockingham and North Wilkesboro. We reach Augusta, GA, and crash out with takeout.
The highlight of the tour goes pear-shaped at Madison, GA, - see Punchbuggy Passim.
Skirting Atlanta we stop at Kennesaw, GA, to visit the Southern Museum of Civil War and Locomotive History, which features the story of the "General" locomotive. During the Civil War, "Andrews' Raiders" stole the General and a chase ensued north through the mountains toward Chattanooga. A different perspective is given here than that at the museum in Strasburg, PA, on the "Great Locomotive Chase." Another exhibit contains the only fully restored belt-driven locomotive assembly line in the US, which was rescued when the Glover Machine Works in Marietta, GA, was demolished.
We ride on to Dalton, GA, for a stop at the Holiday Inn Express, with supper next door at the Holiday Inn.
Pics by RLT.

Microcar Museum complete PITA

Bruce Weiner Microcar Museum: If you are planning a visit to this museum don't bother. These time-wasters are a complete PITA.
We planned a visit, calling in advance to check they would be open. We drove from Toronto in Canada to Madison, Georgia, for the high spot of our tour, to find they have shut for the weekend. A phone call to a member of staff meets with ignorance and evasiveness.
We called in at the Madison Visitor Centre in town, where they let us know that we were the latest in a long list of visitors unhappy with their treatment by this outfit. These people have more money than manners, treating folks with contempt. Bad luck to them.
I recommend if you want to see microcars at a proper museum go to the Lane Motor Museum in Nashville, Tennessee.

Steaming in Lancaster County

We overnight at Hershey Farm Restaurant and Motor Inn in Ronks, PA. After a splendid breakfast, with grits, we head for the Strasburg Rail Road and The Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania. These separate establishments are opposite each other. We ride the 09:30 Susquehanna behind Baldwin #90 for a 45 minute trip in Amish country.

Pics by RLT.

Turbo tames The Giant

Up early to Giants Despair hillclimb. First we nip into Wilkes-Barre to the post office and then off up Northampton Street to the races. We park near the startline, guided by Eddie Brooks in the house opposite. Everybody is welcoming and gracious.
We talk to John Hartmett, #232, who is driving a self-built car based on an Elden FF chassis, powered by two snowmobile engines and fitted with a sprint car wing. He says the biggest buzz is being asked for his autograph.

We then encounter Brit Nigel Cass in a 1982 Le Grand Formula Ford, bought as a rust heap. He is wearing a James Hunt tribute helmet and is a huge McLaren fan. A former autocrosser, he says "Hillclimbing is so addictive, it pulls you in." He is currently restoring a Lola T342 Formula Ford.
Steve Mestrow has a Merlyn Mk29 FF, imported to the US in 1977 and bought locally as a basket case. Some twenty years ago he raced a Merlyn Mk6 sports car fitted with an Alfa-Romeo engine, quick but unreliable.
Darryl Danko has the tyre warmers on his 1998 Lola T8900 Indycar, fitted with a turbocharged Buick V6, giving 900 bhp. A time of 40.01 sec looks good for best time on this power hill. The car is bottoming on the new tarmac - the driver says "there is no testing so you have to go with what you know." The Danko shop is at the top of the hill.

In the evening we spot a McLaren supercar in the unlikely setting of the parking lot of the American Legion Post 815. Allegedly owned by Honda for evaluation purposes. Some benchmark. We head into Wilkes-Barre and find the Thai Thai Restaurant at 41 South Main Street. Dinner for two inc tip $41, bring your own alcohol.

Next morning back at the track and I give an interview on WYLN 35 TV about hillclimbing. A downpour halts proceedings but soon the track is drying and this classic event unfolds. The McLaren is giving rides on the hill driven by Ted Klaus Junior. After another shower we pull out for Ronks, PA.

Hillclimbing in the Keystone state

A day in Corning, NY, with the smart car parked for the day. Cooked breakfast at Donna's on Market Street, with Pyrex collection and 95 cent coffee. We take the shuttle bus to the Corning Museum of Glass. We took in the Frank Carder collection, missed on a previous visit, plus the exhibition re the 1972 flood in the Rakow Research Library. Combination tickets $36.50 for two, includes art museum.
Hot Dog lunch at Jim's Texas Hot, followed by watching the Elmer Darling Duo singing country tunes in Centerway Square - "Happy Trails to You." Annette buys some Snickerdoodle cookies from an Amish gentleman at the Farmer's Market.
To the Rockwell Museum of Western Art:
"There was no where to go but everywhere, keep rolling under the western stars." - Jack Kerouac.
I never saw a backroad that I didn't want to go down.
In the evening we planned a quiet snack in the Steuben Bar at the Radisson. First the fire alarm went off and wouldn't stop, so the fire brigade turned out. Then a tiddly grandma to be, tipped gin and tonic all down herself and insisted on demonstrating how it was done. We retreated upstairs and a large dog started barking outside our door. Never go back.
Next morning depart 07:53 on Hwy 17 for Elmira, NY. Great road breakfast up at the counter at Lights Bakery & Coffee Shop, 211 West 2nd Street, $12.64 for two incl tax with bottomless coffee. South on Hwy 14 towards Canton crossing into Pennsylvania. Hwy 154 to Laporte, then via Nordmount and Sonestown. Take diesel at Endless Mountain Market, Muncy Valley - $3.79.9 per gallon. They have Goldenberg's peanut chews!

Arrive Wilkes-Barre at 12:50, after checking into the Comfort Inn we divert to Wegman's for grocery. They have grits, the shape of things to come. Reading The Times Leader, the local paper trailing Giants Despair hillclimb this weekend. Speed Channel is also advertising the hillclimb, admission free.
More here. Pic by Annette.

Come on Baby Drive South

The Deep South smart car tour is underway. We left Toronto at 07:15 on Tuesday heading for Fort Erie. After a pitstop to deliver a package in Oakville, we reached the Peace Bridge at 09:25. Our luck was in and we cleared customs in half an hour. Next stop Arcade, NY, after a short detour to climb the old Holland Hill Climb course. It is at this point that we discover that Annette's camera contains no memory card.
In Arcade we snack at Ma ma's Home Cooking, apple crisp $2 a piece, opposite the Arcade & Attica Railroad station. We do some research at the Arcade Free Library, which turns out to be a bust.
We then head for Hammondsport, NY, on the backroads, and the Glenn Curtiss Museum. This is a mixture of bicycles, motorbikes, cars, boats, aeroplanes and a delightful travel trailer. Recommended. We are tired by 17:00 and glad to find the comfortable Keuka Lakeside Inn in Hammondsport, $99.68 incl tax. We walk to The Union Block Italian Bistro for supper, good food with a shouty waitress.

We are up early and head for Watkins Glen and the Glen Mountain Bakery and Market for a light breakfast. There is a Corvair pickup - see Punchbuggy Passim - and an old Corvette parked outside. On to the International Motor Racing Research Center, a regular port of call. I subedit some copy for a newspaper back home.

We break for lunch at Jerlando's Pizza in town - there is enough left over for supper. We ride down to Corning, NY, by 16:00 where we are staying at the Radisson. We buy an 8gb SD card for $10.80 at Walgreens - deal. We stroll round the shops but are back in time to watch the Tour de France on TV. More here.
Pics by RLT & Annette.

Day 18: Seattle, Washington to St. Helens, Oregon

To smart centre, Tukwila, Washington. Then Starbucks to catch up with wi-fi. We work our way south on the backroads to Chehalis where we take lunch at Market Street Bakery and Cafe in town, two-hour free angle parking in a living town centre. We drop in at the Chehalis-Centralia Railroad.

We cross the Columbia River into Oregon and take Hwy 30 to St. Helens. We stop at the Best Western Oak Meadows Inn - $103 incl tax.

They keep turning up

To the land of miles, gallons and fahrenheit; to Watkins Glen, New York. Spotted this Barracuda in a field outside of town.

Out at the race track Bob, a former cop, took me for a tour of the circuit.

Downtown to the Glen Mountain Market for coffee with the good ol' boys and this Chevrolet Corvair 95 pickup for a conversation piece. Note smart car lurking in the background.

Hogtown City Limits VII

David Miller, Toronto's "large imperfect" mayor, has blown another gasket over the Toronto City Centre Airport. Plans to purchase a new ferry to take passengers to the thriving airport have coincided with a so-called attempt to pack the Toronto Port Authority committee that controls the airport.
Miller is whomping on about the economy when the airport brings businessmen to town; provides employment for pilots, airport staff and cab drivers; purchases many millions of dollars worth of locally-built Bombardier aircraft and locally-built ferries for that matter! Plans for a new terminal will also bring construction jobs.
Miller goes into victim mode and sulks because his best efforts could not destroy the airport - having killed the bridge to the island airport he wrongly thought it would die on the vine. Thank goodness resilient businessman Robert Deluce, and his Porter Airlines, are made of sterner stuff.
Miller pledges to hold his salary to $163,040 - we weep for him - still time for a round of drinks down at Mackenzie's. Former hack Adam Vaughan is also non-plussed by the end-run by the feds. His discomfort makes my day here at PunchBuggy.
Update: Many thanks to Lloyd Alter, no relation, for his constructive comments. I met Lloyd back in May on a trip to the airport on my bike. I ride a Brompton folding bike and drive a diesel smart for longer trips, sometimes with the Brompton in the back.

Wild West Tour wrap-up

For the highlights of the smart tour see SCOOT. Check out the real-world gas mileage.

Brompton breakout

Out on the Brompton bicycle early Sunday morning in Toronto. Down along Wendigo Creek, past Grenadier Pond, with a bunch of Cormorants spectating. An Asian guy is photographing the birds with a telephoto lens. Out onto the Lakeshore where it is quite cold, turn left toward the city and I'm soon bombing along. I take the hill up past the Canadian Legion in top gear. What is going on? I've got the saddle jacked up so I'm dancing on the pedals. The Brompton has been into Curbside Cycle for a service. The gears have been playing up for some while, so time to get some expert help. They cleaned the Sturmey-Archer gears, new grease, adjust and we are good to go for $30 plus tax. I was impressed by the service at Curbside - "bring it back if you have a problem and we'll fix it for free" - well a proper test ride proves they have done the business. The bike feels like new but is in fact a 2000 L5. The bike mechanic spots I'm struggling to fold the Brompton outside the store to pack it into the back of the smart car. He is there in an instant and a quick tweak of the handlebars and the Brompton is folding up a treat.
I cycle on to Queen's Quay and stop at Tim Horton's for a coffee - it is quite cold so I fold the bike and go indoors, sitting on a bench which has a niche that could have been made for the Brompton. There is a new Sobey's groceteria indoors bringing another outlet to the downtown. Unfolding the bike outside I strike up a conversation with Harry who is from Vancouver and riding a battle-scarred mountain bike. He says he's heading for Ottawa and I bung him the price of a coffee. Back along the Quay and I spot a smart car with a bike rack containing two racers.
Home via BMO field where eleven trucks are parked for the WWE wrestling show. I head north crossing King and then Queen Streets and back to Bloor. About twelve miles in all, two hours including the pitstop at Tim's.
Earlier I went to Midtown Mercedes to get the smart car serviced. There was going to be a transit strike in Toronto that day. In the event it didn't happen until later but I stuck to my original plan and stowed the Brompton bicycle in the back and cycled home. Nine miles in 70 minutes. Usual list of extra items to be serviced - "they haven't done this, this, this and this!" They called to say the smart was fixed at 16:00, having said it would not be ready until next day. So I hopped on the Brompton bike and did another nine miles, in busy city traffic, to pick up the car. $1,353.12 for service and a new set of boots all round. The smart is now good to go for the summer trip out west.

Going down to Dixie

I am in Waynesboro, Virginia having driven down from Toronto over the last two and a half days. Left Dubois, PA, yesterday morning and drove through Maryland, and a short run through West Virginia to reach Virginia mid-afternoon. Wrong slotted on the road to Luray after stop in Front Royal. Marvelous old high-level steel railroad bridges. Finally found the mountain road. Saw a black bear, turkey vulture and numerous deer on the trail. Last night at Big Meadows lodge on the Skyline Drive - great view of the Shenandoah Valley and good value at $80 for a double with no TV or phone to bother about. CAA discount card proving invaluable for lodging. Cheapest diesel so far here in Waynesboro at $2.759 per US gallon. The smart car is going well. You can follow the tour here.