tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-65555004917122852252012-01-29T00:24:27.904-05:00Our 8000 mile trip driving Lotus Elises around the United States in April 2007.Crudsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10735589632551776830noreply@blogger.comBlogger351100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6555500491712285225.post-47365849014192989352007-05-04T14:58:00.000-05:002007-05-04T15:06:49.818-05:00Just thought I would point people to the discussion on elisetalk I created once I got home: <a href="http://www.elisetalk.com/forums/showthread.php?t=39042">http://www.elisetalk.com/forums/showthread.php?t=39042</a><br /><br />Also here is the Chicago meet thread that towards the end has pictures and comments after we met: <a href="http://www.elisetalk.com/forums/showthread.php?t=37776">http://www.elisetalk.com/forums/showthread.php?t=37776</a><br /><br />Note that there is a link section on the right of this page. I hope you have all been reading <a href="http://web.mac.com/jaredstack/iWeb/Elise%20Road%20Trip/Welcome.html">Jared's blog</a> too. He has some great photos there too, including this fantastic one of some lightning at Todd's place:<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://web.mac.com/jaredstack/iWeb/Elise%20Road%20Trip/Photos8_files/DSCF3987.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 320px;" src="http://web.mac.com/jaredstack/iWeb/Elise%20Road%20Trip/Photos8_files/DSCF3987.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://web.mac.com/jaredstack/iWeb/Elise%20Road%20Trip/Photos8_files/DSCF3987.jpg"><br /></a><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/6555500491712285225-4736584901419298935?l=elises07.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Crudsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10735589632551776830noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6555500491712285225.post-29013759429857327432007-05-03T06:17:00.000-05:002007-05-03T06:22:08.930-05:00I made a little video last night. It's my first go using Windows Movie Maker, so excuse the roughness. It is quite an intuitive program to use, but I have never had a program crash so many times in my life. I estimate perhaps 75 or more crashes during the course of making it. However, enabling idiots like myself to put together little videos is pretty impressive. I do have a Mac too, and next time may try that iMovie thing, if it allows similar results; I have never run it yet.<br /><br /><embed style="width:400px; height:326px;" id="VideoPlayback" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" src="http://video.google.com/googleplayer.swf?docId=-1080137837418482280&amp;hl=en" flashvars=""></embed><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/6555500491712285225-2901375942985732743?l=elises07.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Crudsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10735589632551776830noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6555500491712285225.post-15447230430576492007-05-02T15:54:00.000-05:002007-05-02T15:58:31.242-05:00I can now sift through all the pictures and video clips I took when on the journey. I am in the process of creating some montage videos; hopefully they will turn out good enough to share. I am totally new to doing video editing to a soundtrack, but I think I have enough Heineken for it to work. I will also be writing a final summary of the trip, including a list of stats that are fun and interesting.<div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/6555500491712285225-1544723043057649?l=elises07.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Crudsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10735589632551776830noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6555500491712285225.post-34509095425486096852007-05-02T03:21:00.000-05:002007-05-02T11:08:37.951-05:00Today was the parting of Jared and I. It made sense for Jared to head down to North Carolina from Chicago, as I continued east towards Philadelphia. I wanted to visit Chicago first and Todd kindly took the morning off to take us around the city. Jared hadn't overcome his urban driving fear so after 25 days together we waved each other goodbye and he peeled off as Todd and I entered the city.<br /><table style="width: auto;"><tbody><tr><td><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/crudson/2007USAElises/photo#5059668690830288882"><img src="http://lh3.google.com/image/crudson/RjeN3fYa5_I/AAAAAAAABgk/vwsAiq7WzTQ/s144/IMG_4008.JPG" /></a></td></tr><tr></tr><tr><td style="font-family: arial,sans-serif; font-size: 11px; text-align: right;">From <a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/crudson/2007USAElises">2007 USA Elises</a></td></tr></tbody></table><br />As we neared Chicago I was thinking about what I knew about the place, and realised everything I did know came from The Blues Brothers. This made me feel a little guilty as it's a city that I have always wanted to visit. Todd was a great tour guide though; we drove around for a while and then parked at the Planetarium, which sits over the lake and offers spectacular views of the city. I probably drove him mad though, as all my questions about Chicago were like 'are we near that bit in The Blues Brothers where...'. Sorry Todd!<br /><table style="width: auto;"><tbody><tr><td><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/crudson/2007USAElises/photo#5059817176439646290"><img src="http://lh4.google.com/image/crudson/RjgU6fYa6FI/AAAAAAAABhk/Vq4TZ9edrbk/s144/IMG_4024.JPG" /></a></td></tr><tr></tr><tr><td style="font-family: arial,sans-serif; font-size: 11px; text-align: right;">From <a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/crudson/2007USAElises">2007 USA Elises</a></td></tr></tbody></table><table style="width: auto;"><tbody><tr><td><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/crudson/2007USAElises/photo#5059817189324548194"><img src="http://lh3.google.com/image/crudson/RjgU7PYa6GI/AAAAAAAABhs/L7yVC0mUtpE/s144/IMG_4027.JPG" /></a></td></tr><tr></tr><tr><td style="font-family: arial,sans-serif; font-size: 11px; text-align: right;">From <a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/crudson/2007USAElises">2007 USA Elises</a></td></tr></tbody></table><table style="width: auto;"><tbody><tr><td><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/crudson/2007USAElises/photo#5059817236569188514"><img src="http://lh6.google.com/image/crudson/RjgU9_Ya6KI/AAAAAAAABiM/kvq65Pxu6Ow/s144/IMG_4050.JPG" /></a></td></tr><tr></tr><tr><td style="font-family: arial,sans-serif; font-size: 11px; text-align: right;">From <a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/crudson/2007USAElises">2007 USA Elises</a></td></tr></tbody></table>Rey, who had been at the barbecue the day before, met us at the Planetarium. Todd had to head back to work (I vaguely remember work), but Rey and I continued driving around Chicago, one Ardent Red Elise substituting for the other. We did a quick tour of Chicago neighborhoods, Gold Coast, Old Town, Lincoln Pk, and then a quick lunch in Wrigleyville. Chicago has a large 'good' area it seems, extending all up the water front, rather than other cities where the nice areas are separated by unsavoury ones.<br /><br />Another thing that stood out about Chicago was how civilised the drivers are. There is very little aggression on the road, but the main thing I noticed was how people stop immediately when traffic lights turn amber. In Philly amber means 'ok, only another 15 of you are allowed through'.<br /><br />After lunch (thanks Rey!) I headed off solo through Illinois, Indiana and Ohio. It was a fairly run of the mill drive, although both a car and a truck had a tyre blow out as I was going past. The truck one was particularly dramatic, and I had to swerve a few times to miss the principal debris pieces.<br /><br />I arrived in Akron, Ohio by early evening and met my friend Robin and her friend Victor for dinner. Robin and I have known each other for a few years now but only now finally met in person. It was a very enjoyable meal with two great people.<br /><table style="width: auto;"><tbody><tr><td><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/crudson/2007USAElises/photo#5059817275223894242"><img src="http://lh3.google.com/image/crudson/RjgVAPYa6OI/AAAAAAAABis/qv2lgUMUsuk/s144/IMG_4070.JPG" /></a></td></tr><tr></tr><tr><td style="font-family: arial,sans-serif; font-size: 11px; text-align: right;">From <a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/crudson/2007USAElises">2007 USA Elises</a></td></tr></tbody></table><br />Feeling invigorated I decided to push on back home to Philadelphia. In Akron we were right on I76, the road which I live off, and Pennsylvania is only and hour and a half or so from where we were. These all make it sound close...oh no. Pennsylvania is pretty big when driving west-east, and it was six or seven hours later when I finally got home. I was glad I did it then rather than staying in another hotel and doing another day of driving; the desire to get back is pretty overwhelming when within touching distance of home.<div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/6555500491712285225-3450909542548609685?l=elises07.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Crudsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10735589632551776830noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6555500491712285225.post-83106511943857023502007-05-02T00:38:00.000-05:002007-05-02T11:02:54.102-05:00A local country buffet place was recommended to us for breakfast. I am normally scared of buffet food for breakfast for two reasons, both being that I'll eat far too much and then want to go back to sleep afterwards. It was a great place, and the food was excellent. I ate too much and didn't care.<br /><br />The place was like 'Farm Land' in a Disney park, with tractor rides, the staff dressed in farming attire, drinks served in jam jars and agricultural oddities and souvenirs everywhere. I wonder whether it's just what Iowa is like, or just catering to tourist's expectations.<br /><table style="width: auto;"><tbody><tr><td><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/crudson/2007USAElises/photo#5059098362123052866"><img src="http://lh3.google.com/image/crudson/RjWHJ_Ya50I/AAAAAAAABe4/CyTAnktXfMI/s144/IMG_3974.JPG" /></a></td></tr><tr></tr><tr><td style="font-family: arial,sans-serif; font-size: 11px; text-align: right;">From <a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/crudson/2007USAElises">2007 USA Elises</a></td></tr></tbody></table><table style="width: auto;"><tbody><tr><td><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/crudson/2007USAElises/photo#5059098516741875538"><img src="http://lh3.google.com/image/crudson/RjWHS_Ya51I/AAAAAAAABfA/HnrG4JdxuRM/s144/IMG_3975.JPG" /></a></td></tr><tr></tr><tr><td style="font-family: arial,sans-serif; font-size: 11px; text-align: right;">From <a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/crudson/2007USAElises">2007 USA Elises</a></td></tr></tbody></table>We chatted with the tractor driver who was a really nice chap, but the English/American sarcasm gap reached new lows with the conversation. After I commented on John Deere stealing the green/yellow Lotus livery, Jared implied the contrary. I then quipped that surely the farming profession didn't predate Formula One, to which he began explaining that I must be wrong. I pictured a Greek farmer unable to try out his new Archimedes Screw due to his mates racing their cars around the field.<br /><br />Iowa by day is a little less exciting as it is by night. We passed a place called What Cheer. Indeed. There was also another called North English. We call it topspin where I come from. Another was Keokuk, which I had to laugh at as it was on Krusty the Klown's list of amusing sounding places he taught at clown college <span style="font-style: italic;">"OK, memorize these funny place names: Walla Walla. Keokuk. Cucamonga. Seattle."</span> We passed Cucamonga when entering Los Angeles. Not sure where Walla Walla is, and we went nowhere near Seattle, but two out of four isn't bad.<br /><br />The trip to Todd's house an hour or so west of Chicago was actually a little shorter than we expected. The weather was pleasant, but very windy. We passed a place called Joliet, which I recognised from somewhere. After some thought realised I had misinterpreted a bit from The Blues Brothers all this time. When Jake says 'And I thought I had it bad in Joliet' I always assumed that Joliet was a slang word for Jail, not an actual place. Apparently the jail is all that is there, so maybe I wasn't too wrong.<br /><br />We had a little trouble finding Todd's place, but thankfully he heard us in the area and like a sheepdog herded us back on his motorbike. We were about an hour earlier than planned, which gave us a little while to get settled before people arrived.<br /><table style="width: auto;"><tbody><tr><td><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/crudson/2007USAElises/photo#5059098821684553602"><img src="http://lh6.google.com/image/crudson/RjWHkvYa54I/AAAAAAAABfY/rvgyjN7ytD8/s144/IMG_3990.JPG" /></a></td></tr><tr></tr><tr><td style="font-family: arial,sans-serif; font-size: 11px; text-align: right;">From <a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/crudson/2007USAElises">2007 USA Elises</a></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><br />The barbecue was fantastic with really nice people. We had 11 Elises there and Mike, a former Elise owner, brought along his Vette Z06. One of Todd's neighbours also brought his yellow NSX over, so a good group of cars. It was a great afternoon. Thanks to Tracy for grilling!<br /><br />Very special thanks though go to Todd and Margarite for putting us up for the day, hosting everyone so kindly and allowing us to crash there overnight. It turns out we were the perfect alibi to finally get Chicago Elise owners together, as they have not really had many meets outside of track events. It seems they may get together more often now, so everyone won. <a href="http://www.elisetalk.com/forums/showthread.php?t=37776">Here </a>is the Elisetalk thread about the meet. The first few pages are preparing the event, but there a plenty of comments and pics afterwards.<br /><br /><table style="width: auto;"><tbody><tr><td><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/crudson/2007USAElises/photo#5059099079382591394"><img src="http://lh6.google.com/image/crudson/RjWHzvYa56I/AAAAAAAABfo/NAQ5R2THT1I/s144/IMG_3997.JPG" /></a></td></tr><tr></tr><tr><td style="font-family: arial,sans-serif; font-size: 11px; text-align: right;">From <a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/crudson/2007USAElises">2007 USA Elises</a></td></tr></tbody></table><table style="width: auto;"><tbody><tr><td><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/crudson/2007USAElises/photo#5059101433024669666"><img src="http://lh6.google.com/image/crudson/RjWJ8vYa5-I/AAAAAAAABgQ/qtx2DjGqt04/s144/IMG_1890.JPG" /></a></td></tr><tr></tr><tr><td style="font-family: arial,sans-serif; font-size: 11px; text-align: right;">From <a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/crudson/2007USAElises">2007 USA Elises</a></td></tr></tbody></table><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/6555500491712285225-8310651194385702350?l=elises07.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Crudsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10735589632551776830noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6555500491712285225.post-84335291189230791292007-04-28T23:29:00.000-05:002007-05-02T00:37:42.120-05:00Before we set off we bid farewell to the lovely lady who ran the Gas Lite Motel (many apologies as I forgot her name).<br /><table style="width: auto;"><tbody><tr><td><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/crudson/2007USAElises/photo#5058729664950494706"><img src="http://lh6.google.com/image/crudson/RjQ30_Ya5fI/AAAAAAAABac/l2jjO2avvqA/s144/IMG_3908.JPG" /></a></td></tr><tr></tr><tr><td style="font-family: arial,sans-serif; font-size: 11px; text-align: right;">From <a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/crudson/2007USAElises">2007 USA Elises</a></td></tr></tbody></table><table style="width: auto;"><tbody><tr><td><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/crudson/2007USAElises/photo#5058729810979382818"><img src="http://lh4.google.com/image/crudson/RjQ39fYa5iI/AAAAAAAABa0/ndQy-8ediAQ/s144/IMG_3915.JPG" /></a></td></tr><tr></tr><tr><td style="font-family: arial,sans-serif; font-size: 11px; text-align: right;">From <a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/crudson/2007USAElises">2007 USA Elises</a></td></tr></tbody></table><table style="width: auto;"><tbody><tr><td><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/crudson/2007USAElises/photo#5058729974188140114"><img src="http://lh6.google.com/image/crudson/RjQ4G_Ya5lI/AAAAAAAABbM/zEi4PGyDG04/s144/IMG_3925.JPG" /></a></td></tr><tr></tr><tr><td style="font-family: arial,sans-serif; font-size: 11px; text-align: right;">From <a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/crudson/2007USAElises">2007 USA Elises</a></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><br />The Gas Lite Motel was in our guidebook and seems to be quite popular, and she told us of a number of celebrities that have stayed there, including some big movie stars and that band Limp Biscuit or whatever they are called. It's a really nice place and if you ever find yourself in western Wyoming then stay there :)<br /><br />The remainder of Wyoming and Nebraska didn't offer too much to write home about. I amused myself mainly with the road signs and place names (see the gallery for some of those). I think that it would be almost impossible to fall asleep at the wheel in Nebraska though as the rather pungent 'farming smell' keeps one quite alert. The generous 75 mph speed limit also helps cross the state. For this part of the journey lots of old British Indie music was my audio entertainment: Ride, The Wonderstuff, The Family Cat and Inspiral Carpets. Great stuff.<br /><table style="width: auto;"><tbody><tr><td><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/crudson/2007USAElises/photo#5058730184641537746"><img src="http://lh3.google.com/image/crudson/RjQ4TPYa5tI/AAAAAAAABcM/__wyHDWMiqE/s144/IMG_3947.JPG" /></a></td></tr><tr></tr><tr><td style="font-family: arial,sans-serif; font-size: 11px; text-align: right;">From <a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/crudson/2007USAElises">2007 USA Elises</a></td></tr></tbody></table><br />So I quite enjoyed going through Nebraska, but I couldn't help think that it must be one of the worst states for Elise ownership. Highway on and off ramps are the only corners we encountered. Admittedly we were only on the highway but saw no real evidence of anything too exciting road-wise off of it.<br /><br />Jared and I have split the leading/following pretty evenly throughout the trip, and we keep together quite well, but today I noticed him lagging behind once or twice. I finally radioed to him to see if he was ok, only to find out his radar detector had been going off so he was being cautious. Apparently I was either bait or a sacrifice as he kept me in the dark about this!<br /><br />We got to Omaha in the early evening. It's a place I knew nothing about, other than 'Lady Fanny of Omaha' from the brilliant Michael Caine and Steve Martin film Dirty Rotten Scoundrels. I know it's a remake, but have never seen the original, so I have no idea whether that line was in the first one. We had planned to stay there overnight but after consulting the maps, and given we had to make it to Chicago the next day decided to grab a snack and head onto Des Moines, Iowa. We left Omaha with me knowing nothing about it other than 'Lady Fanny of Omaha' from the brilliant Michael Caine and Steve Martin film Dirty Rotten Scoundrels. Oh they have a mall there.<br /><br />Darkness was setting in at this point, and we made one of the few night time legs of the whole journey. I am a big fan of night time driving, and I find the music I listen to changes when doing so.<br /><table style="width: auto;"><tbody><tr><td><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/crudson/2007USAElises/photo#5058730287720752930"><img src="http://lh3.google.com/image/crudson/RjQ4ZPYa5yI/AAAAAAAABc4/TVL5c7QY1rQ/s144/IMG_3964.JPG" /></a></td></tr><tr></tr><tr><td style="font-family: arial,sans-serif; font-size: 11px; text-align: right;">From <a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/crudson/2007USAElises">2007 USA Elises</a></td></tr></tbody></table><br />As we were going through a rural area with little light for about two hours it was a perfect drive to listen to a classic album. I consider Jeff Wayne's 1978 musical version of War of the Worlds one of the greatest concept albums ever. A superb orchestral rock album with Richard Burton's haunting narration. It is best enjoyed at night and turned up very loud. Some people have a problem with the disco elements that pepper the album, but I can't imagine it without them. The album used to scare me as a boy when my dad played it.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://ec1.images-amazon.com/images/I/51zs8UJ6XVL._AA240_.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 213px; height: 213px;" src="http://ec1.images-amazon.com/images/I/51zs8UJ6XVL._AA240_.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/6555500491712285225-8433529118923079129?l=elises07.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Crudsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10735589632551776830noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6555500491712285225.post-83420487823722288612007-04-28T00:04:00.000-05:002007-04-28T01:09:48.631-05:00Today was another long driving day, so we got going at 9am. We realised one thing before setting off; we'll be losing an hour a day as we head east through the time zones. When coming west earlier in the journey it was a pleasant surprise to find we had occasionally gained an hour, but losing time is something one is much more conscious of.<br /><br />We had the last small portion of eastern Nevada to drive through before Utah, and were treated to more amazing scenery.<br /><table style="width: auto;"><tbody><tr><td><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/crudson/2007USAElises/photo#5058327733321000162"><img src="http://lh6.google.com/image/crudson/RjLKRfYa5OI/AAAAAAAABWk/JdyVEDg6544/s144/IMG_3830.JPG" /></a></td></tr><tr></tr><tr><td style="font-family: arial,sans-serif; font-size: 11px; text-align: right;">From <a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/crudson/2007USAElises">2007 USA Elises</a></td></tr></tbody></table><table style="width: auto;"><tbody><tr><td><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/crudson/2007USAElises/photo#5058327922299561250"><img src="http://lh6.google.com/image/crudson/RjLKcfYa5SI/AAAAAAAABXE/ySAlC-mTY8A/s144/IMG_3839.JPG" /></a></td></tr><tr></tr><tr><td style="font-family: arial,sans-serif; font-size: 11px; text-align: right;">From <a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/crudson/2007USAElises">2007 USA Elises</a></td></tr></tbody></table><br />As we entered Utah the terrain almost instantly changes to the famous salt flats, but there are still lots of hills around. At some places it looks as if we were surrounded by water due to the famous 'shimmering' effect given off by the ground. Around Salt Lake City there is (obviously) water, and some fun elevation changes. Thankfully extra lanes are provided for the many trucks to labour up.<br /><table style="width: auto;"><tbody><tr><td><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/crudson/2007USAElises/photo#5058327995314005314"><img src="http://lh3.google.com/image/crudson/RjLKgvYa5UI/AAAAAAAABXU/cSZLgB1q7MU/s144/IMG_3849.JPG" /></a></td></tr><tr></tr><tr><td style="font-family: arial,sans-serif; font-size: 11px; text-align: right;">From <a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/crudson/2007USAElises">2007 USA Elises</a></td></tr></tbody></table><table style="width: auto;"><tbody><tr><td><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/crudson/2007USAElises/photo#5058328072623416674"><img src="http://lh5.google.com/image/crudson/RjLKlPYa5WI/AAAAAAAABXk/4yBgM4Xkeow/s144/IMG_3855.JPG" /></a></td></tr><tr></tr><tr><td style="font-family: arial,sans-serif; font-size: 11px; text-align: right;">From <a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/crudson/2007USAElises">2007 USA Elises</a></td></tr></tbody></table><br />We past near the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bonneville_Salt_Flats">Bonneville Salt Flats</a>, the location of the land speed record attempts.<br /><table style="width: auto;"><tbody><tr><td><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/crudson/2007USAElises/photo#5058327939479430450"><img src="http://lh6.google.com/image/crudson/RjLKdfYa5TI/AAAAAAAABXM/m2Eq7mYWmhY/s144/IMG_3846.JPG" /></a></td></tr><tr></tr><tr><td style="font-family: arial,sans-serif; font-size: 11px; text-align: right;">From <a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/crudson/2007USAElises">2007 USA Elises</a></td></tr></tbody></table><br />As we were crossing the narrow part of Utah in the north, it doesn't take too long and we were soon into Wyoming, which offers yet more new terrain. Some of the pronounced striation on the hills is beautiful.<br /><table style="width: auto;"><tbody><tr><td><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/crudson/2007USAElises/photo#5058328261601977778"><img src="http://lh5.google.com/image/crudson/RjLKwPYa5bI/AAAAAAAABYM/M3pY8WotdZo/s144/IMG_3882.JPG" /></a></td></tr><tr></tr><tr><td style="font-family: arial,sans-serif; font-size: 11px; text-align: right;">From <a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/crudson/2007USAElises">2007 USA Elises</a></td></tr></tbody></table><table style="width: auto;"><tbody><tr><td><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/crudson/2007USAElises/photo#5058328343206356418"><img src="http://lh4.google.com/image/crudson/RjLK0_Ya5cI/AAAAAAAABYU/4SX3IE4GI34/s144/IMG_3886.JPG" /></a></td></tr><tr></tr><tr><td style="font-family: arial,sans-serif; font-size: 11px; text-align: right;">From <a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/crudson/2007USAElises">2007 USA Elises</a></td></tr></tbody></table><br />Otherwise though Wyoming looked mainly like the following picture. Not too exciting, but I kept busy today by listening to all the (very funny) Baddiel and Skinner podcasts from last year's World Cup, although I had to skip the one where England were knocked out.<br /><table style="width: auto;"><tbody><tr><td><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/crudson/2007USAElises/photo#5058328227242239394"><img src="http://lh5.google.com/image/crudson/RjLKuPYa5aI/AAAAAAAABYE/v7xccXKTmx4/s144/IMG_3877.JPG" /></a></td></tr><tr></tr><tr><td style="font-family: arial,sans-serif; font-size: 11px; text-align: right;">From <a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/crudson/2007USAElises">2007 USA Elises</a></td></tr></tbody></table><br />We had a little break at a rest stop, at which there was a brave colony of Prairie Dogs.<br /><table style="width: auto;"><tbody><tr><td><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/crudson/2007USAElises/photo#5058328399040931298"><img src="http://lh5.google.com/image/crudson/RjLK4PYa5eI/AAAAAAAABYk/sXQvauW549I/s144/IMG_3892.JPG" /></a></td></tr><tr></tr><tr><td style="font-family: arial,sans-serif; font-size: 11px; text-align: right;">From <a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/crudson/2007USAElises">2007 USA Elises</a></td></tr></tbody></table><br />We ended up at Larimie, and headed to the wonderful Gas Lite Motel. It's packed with Old West memorabilia inside and out, and the proprietress is a big animal lover. Being Polish she was happy to learn one of my cats is called Kicia (Polish for kitty). I am now happily sitting in the cosy reception area. Here is a picture of Sheba, one of the cats here, preventing me from writing this, so blame her for the lack of a big blog today :) I will take more pictures of the motel tomorrow, before we set off on what is apparently a flat, mundane journey across Nebraska.<br /><table style="width: auto;"><tbody><tr><td><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/crudson/2007USAElises/photo#5058326053988787378"><img src="http://lh3.google.com/image/crudson/RjLIvvYa5LI/AAAAAAAABWM/d1QuW-3niZw/s144/IMG_3904.JPG" /></a></td></tr><tr></tr><tr><td style="font-family: arial,sans-serif; font-size: 11px; text-align: right;">From <a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/crudson/2007USAElises">2007 USA Elises</a></td></tr></tbody></table><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/6555500491712285225-8342048782372228861?l=elises07.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Crudsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10735589632551776830noreply@blogger.com20tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6555500491712285225.post-88832394571143410072007-04-27T02:18:00.000-05:002007-04-27T03:59:16.023-05:00Today Priya had to head back home sadly so our first destination was the airport, which is only 15 minutes or so south of the city.<br /><table style="width: auto;"><tbody><tr><td><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/crudson/2007USAElises/photo#5057962411992736626"><img src="http://lh3.google.com/image/crudson/RjF-A_Ya43I/AAAAAAAABQ0/Jblth9yJB2I/s144/IMG_3769.JPG" /></a></td></tr><tr></tr><tr><td style="font-family: arial,sans-serif; font-size: 11px; text-align: right;">From <a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/crudson/2007USAElises">2007 USA Elises</a></td></tr></tbody></table><br />We dropped her off at 11am, so had to eagerly get driving as we had a long drive today of about 8 hours. The next few days will all be of similar length as we have had to revise the itinerary once again. This is my fault as the itinerary I had put up on the Automapic journey plan included two September 26ths, which implied we would be in San Francisco and Battle Mountain Nevada at the same time. This reminded me of the bit in the first Red Dwarf book when Rimmer fails (yet again) in preparing for the Astro-Navigation exam by including two Septembers in his revision timetable.<br /><br />Mentioning the Red Dwarf story isn't so random as it seems. Some people were asking whether the drives are getting boring, and what I do during them to stay interested. Audiobooks are a great way to make long drives fly by, and before leaving on the trip I stocked up on plenty including Red Dwarf, Terry Pratchett's Discworld, The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, Agatha Christie and James Herbert. I also bought a few stand up performance CDs by Eddie Izzard and Rowan Atkinson. Podcasts are also great for long trips, especially as there is new material almost daily. My staples here are World Soccer Daily, various BBC Five Live ones, Adam Curry's Daily Source Code and some other news and sports ones. I also had some that discussed Lost, but I haven't seen it since we left so can't listen to those anymore. Music still fills much of the day though. Iron Maiden has randomly been the most played band. What started as an amusing nostalgic listen to an old Maiden album has completely rekindled my childhood love for the band.<br /><br />Back to the itinerary, the reason for the long drives over the next few days is that Todd off EliseTalk has had a barbecue planned for us in Chicago on Sunday. Due to my error with the schedule, we have one day less than we thought to travel the 2,000+ miles to Chicago. We really don't want to miss it, and the final date of the whole journey is something that we can't really adjust due to commitments both Jared and I have once we return home. From here to the end is going to be all road and no stay.<br /><br />Yosemite Park was the latest planned destination that had to be pruned from the journey, and instead we traveled north east up through California towards Nevada. Once past Sacramento it's an incredible drive on undulating roads with sweeping bends; not the hairpin twisties we had driven near LA by any stretch, but nice roads to be on. The road surface was awful however, and we later learned that this is probably due to heavy snow chain usage ripping up the road. We had obviously started the day at near sea level, but just a couple of hours later were at 8000ft or so in snow-banked mountain roads with crisp, cool air. Very cool.<br /><table style="width: auto;"><tbody><tr><td><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/crudson/2007USAElises/photo#5057962540841755538"><img src="http://lh5.google.com/image/crudson/RjF-IfYa45I/AAAAAAAABRE/FGHf-3AkUzM/s144/IMG_3777.JPG" /></a></td></tr><tr></tr><tr><td style="font-family: arial,sans-serif; font-size: 11px; text-align: right;">From <a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/crudson/2007USAElises">2007 USA Elises</a></td></tr></tbody></table><table style="width: auto;"><tbody><tr><td><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/crudson/2007USAElises/photo#5057962695460578226"><img src="http://lh5.google.com/image/crudson/RjF-RfYa47I/AAAAAAAABRU/NvqbIHiN3D0/s144/IMG_3783.JPG" /></a></td></tr><tr></tr><tr><td style="font-family: arial,sans-serif; font-size: 11px; text-align: right;">From <a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/crudson/2007USAElises">2007 USA Elises</a></td></tr></tbody></table><table style="width: auto;"><tbody><tr><td><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/crudson/2007USAElises/photo#5057962815719662546"><img src="http://lh5.google.com/image/crudson/RjF-YfYa49I/AAAAAAAABRk/BdV85s30fKw/s144/IMG_3796.JPG" /></a></td></tr><tr></tr><tr><td style="font-family: arial,sans-serif; font-size: 11px; text-align: right;">From <a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/crudson/2007USAElises">2007 USA Elises</a></td></tr></tbody></table>Just after we passed into Nevada we stopped at Reno for lunch. Not much to report there, although I had yet another sign misreading that startled me. I knew Nevada was a state of vice, but seeing an advertisement for 'Loosest Sluts in the State' is still a shock. Of course it is 'Loosest Slots in the State', which could in itself be considered a bit dodgy.<br /><br />I realised that this would be the only time in the whole trip that we'd visit the same state twice, of course not including Pennsylvania and North Carolina, myself and Jared's respective starting and ending states. This time through Nevada we'd be passing through the north of the state, rather than the small southern section we visited when in Vegas. The terrain is very impressive, although there is very little civilisation between Reno and Salt Lake City, Utah. The 75 mph speed limit in Nevada it most welcome.<br /><table style="width: auto;"><tbody><tr><td><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/crudson/2007USAElises/photo#5057963142137177154"><img src="http://lh5.google.com/image/crudson/RjF-rfYa5EI/AAAAAAAABSc/dv2TQF-AZ_Y/s144/IMG_3821.JPG" /></a></td></tr><tr></tr><tr><td style="font-family: arial,sans-serif; font-size: 11px; text-align: right;">From <a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/crudson/2007USAElises">2007 USA Elises</a></td></tr></tbody></table><table style="width: auto;"><tbody><tr><td><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/crudson/2007USAElises/photo#5057963094892536882"><img src="http://lh6.google.com/image/crudson/RjF-ovYa5DI/AAAAAAAABSU/KnEmjcdge4U/s144/IMG_3816.JPG" /></a></td></tr><tr></tr><tr><td style="font-family: arial,sans-serif; font-size: 11px; text-align: right;">From <a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/crudson/2007USAElises">2007 USA Elises</a></td></tr></tbody></table><br />We finally reached our planned destination for the day, Elko Nevada. It has to be the winning town so far for turning heads; we may as well have rolled into town dressed in pink ball gowns riding penny farthings with our heads on fire. Having said that though I have to stress how nice everyone is in greeting us and inquiring about the cars. I had envisaged encountering occasional hostility or snide comments towards two brightly coloured foreign sports cars turning up in the middle of nowhere but that has turned out to be an unfair expectation. People's open warmheartedness absolutely everywhere we have been has been a humbling pleasure.<div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/6555500491712285225-8883239457114341007?l=elises07.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Crudsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10735589632551776830noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6555500491712285225.post-71384302623257132352007-04-26T03:48:00.000-05:002007-04-27T02:18:37.280-05:00<table style="width: auto;"><tbody><tr><td><br /></td></tr><tr></tr><tr><td style="font-family: arial,sans-serif; font-size: 11px; text-align: right;"><br /></td></tr></tbody></table>Priya felt a bit under the weather so Jared and I explored San Francisco by ourselves. One recommendation we had was to visit the Fisherman's Wharf area, and the best way to get there was by tram. It turns out the word 'tram' is one of those aluminium/aluminum words, and I kept getting corrected to use 'trolley' instead.<br /><br />The trams are a central part of San Francisco's charm, and must be experienced. They aren't necessarily high-tech, with clunking gears, loud running and involved two man operation, but these things add to their delight. The driver stands in the front center area, surrounded by open air outward-facing wooden benches and standing platforms, and the rear is an enclosed seating area. Another manual element of the tram system is the way they are pushed at the end of the line to rotate them 180 degrees, as in this photo:<br /><table style="width: auto;"><tbody><tr><td><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/crudson/2007USAElises/photo#5057543420753142402"><img src="http://lh4.google.com/image/crudson/RjAA8fYa4oI/AAAAAAAABN4/e5nOmdV-j1M/s144/IMG_3713.JPG" /></a></td></tr><tr></tr><tr><td style="font-family: arial,sans-serif; font-size: 11px; text-align: right;">From <a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/crudson/2007USAElises">2007 USA Elises</a></td></tr></tbody></table><br />We rode the tram to Fisherman's Wharf, which offered some really nice views along the way, and more San Francisco quirks, such as the signs reminding people how to park on slopes to avoid runaway vehicles. Almost every single car parked on a slope has its wheels either turned towards the curb (when facing downhill) or away from it (when parked uphill), so it's a habit people get used to quickly it seems.<br /><table style="width: auto;"><tbody><tr><td><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/crudson/2007USAElises/photo#5057543545307194018"><img src="http://lh5.google.com/image/crudson/RjABDvYa4qI/AAAAAAAABOI/i_qJB-dS8Zs/s144/IMG_3717.JPG" /></a></td></tr><tr></tr><tr><td style="font-family: arial,sans-serif; font-size: 11px; text-align: right;">From <a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/crudson/2007USAElises">2007 USA Elises</a></td></tr></tbody></table><br />We stopped at the top of a famous little road on Lombard Street that winds tightly down a steep hill for one block. I recognised it from Grand Theft Auto, but didn't know it had a name. The map we had labeled it 'The Windingest Road'. <span style="font-style: italic;">Windingest</span> is one of those American adjectives that makes me cringe, like reading that a sporting coach is the <span style="font-style: italic;">winningest</span> in history. I am sure my English teacher would have cracked me over the head with a stick for using that at school.<br /><table style="width: auto;"><tbody><tr><td><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/crudson/2007USAElises/photo#5057543652681376434"><img src="http://lh6.google.com/image/crudson/RjABJ_Ya4rI/AAAAAAAABOQ/smUp9Fyk8f4/s144/IMG_3719.JPG" /></a></td></tr><tr></tr><tr><td style="font-family: arial,sans-serif; font-size: 11px; text-align: right;">From <a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/crudson/2007USAElises">2007 USA Elises</a></td></tr></tbody></table><br />Fisherman's wharf is a rich area of shops, restaurants, museums and the like. Some pedestrian areas had live music and open air cafes, which are always nice to walk around. We were directed to a popular seafood restaurant within the small market area, and had an excellent fishy lunch.<br /><table style="width: auto;"><tbody><tr><td><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/crudson/2007USAElises/photo#5057543991983792882"><img src="http://lh5.google.com/image/crudson/RjABdvYa4vI/AAAAAAAABOw/NAkXBjJ2oys/s144/IMG_3731.JPG" /></a></td></tr><tr></tr><tr><td style="font-family: arial,sans-serif; font-size: 11px; text-align: right;">From <a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/crudson/2007USAElises">2007 USA Elises</a></td></tr></tbody></table><table style="width:auto;"><tr><td><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/crudson/2007USAElises/photo#5058003197002179698"><img src="http://lh3.google.com/image/crudson/RjGjG_Ya5HI/AAAAAAAABVM/gL3WPpozOGI/s144/IMG_3733.JPG" /></a></td></tr><tr><tr><td style="font-family:arial,sans-serif; font-size:11px; text-align:right">From <a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/crudson/2007USAElises">2007 USA Elises</a></td></tr></table><br />The piers in the area normally offer great views of Alcatraz and the Golden Gate Bridge. The latter was almost completely obstructed by a docked ship and fog, but the famous prison island was close enough to get some snaps of.<br /><table style="width: auto;"><tbody><tr><td><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/crudson/2007USAElises/photo#5057544116537844498"><img src="http://lh6.google.com/image/crudson/RjABk_Ya4xI/AAAAAAAABPA/Maem7YQQMIM/s144/IMG_3743.JPG" /></a></td></tr><tr></tr><tr><td style="font-family: arial,sans-serif; font-size: 11px; text-align: right;">From <a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/crudson/2007USAElises">2007 USA Elises</a></td></tr></tbody></table><br />The next pier over has become a big attraction over the last few years. Pier 39 has been adopted by a big colony of Sea Lions, who bask on floating wooden things (they must have a name) and spar with each other. <a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/crudson/2007USAElises/photo#5057999640769258594">Here is a little video</a> of some snoozing.<br /><table style="width: auto;"><tbody><tr><td><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/crudson/2007USAElises/photo#5057544228206994210"><img src="http://lh4.google.com/image/crudson/RjABrfYa4yI/AAAAAAAABPI/mnDyhxTfubE/s144/IMG_3748.JPG" /></a></td></tr><tr></tr><tr><td style="font-family: arial,sans-serif; font-size: 11px; text-align: right;">From <a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/crudson/2007USAElises">2007 USA Elises</a></td></tr></tbody></table><table style="width: auto;"><tbody><tr><td><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/crudson/2007USAElises/photo#5057544417185555266"><img src="http://lh4.google.com/image/crudson/RjAB2fYa40I/AAAAAAAABPY/axBTaxCOKlo/s144/IMG_3755.JPG" /></a></td></tr><tr></tr><tr><td style="font-family: arial,sans-serif; font-size: 11px; text-align: right;">From <a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/crudson/2007USAElises">2007 USA Elises</a></td></tr></tbody></table><br />At this point it's worth mentioning the worryingly large number of homeless people in the city. Especially at night, one can't walk more than a few paces without being met by someone asking for a donation. We are always happy to help them out, but the sheer number of people on the streets is upsetting. Some are more industrious than others in looking for cash; down at the wharf we were scared out of our skins when what we thought was a stationary bush leapt out at us. It turns out that one guy was crouching down, a bush in each hand, and waiting for innocents such as ourselves to walk past, at which point he would scream and leap. This was accompanied by quite a large number of onlookers across the road howling with laughter, many recording the action on their phones, so I expect there is a youtube video of me jumping 5 feet in the air and screaming like a girl.<br /><br />We had a fantastic Italian dinner, possibly the best meal of the trip so far, including the amazing deserts pictured here:<br /><table style="width: auto;"><tbody><tr><td><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/crudson/2007USAElises/photo#5057958851464848210"><img src="http://lh6.google.com/image/crudson/RjF6xvYa41I/AAAAAAAABQk/4clxelLrhTs/s144/IMG_3765.JPG" /></a></td></tr><tr></tr><tr><td style="font-family: arial,sans-serif; font-size: 11px; text-align: right;">From <a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/crudson/2007USAElises">2007 USA Elises</a></td></tr></tbody></table><br />Afterwards we went to the same Irish bar as the night before with Priya's friend Jesse, a really nice fellow who is in the Coast Guard. Another brilliant day. Please check out the gallery as always for more pictures.<div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/6555500491712285225-7138430262325713235?l=elises07.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Crudsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10735589632551776830noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6555500491712285225.post-76064391552646311152007-04-25T13:35:00.000-05:002007-04-26T03:41:30.260-05:00Packing up is getting harder to do every time we leave a hotel, given all the stuff we keep buying. Plus packing the same bag becomes less and less space-efficient as neatly folded clothes become stuffed bundles in any available space. On the plus side we are becoming more efficient at getting things packed into the Lotus, and my years of playing Tetris down the student union are really paying off.<br /><br />Heading out of LA:<br /><table style="width: auto;"><tbody><tr><td><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/crudson/2007USAElises/photo#5057433980691472834"><img src="http://lh6.google.com/image/crudson/Ri-daPYa4cI/AAAAAAAABLQ/udw2ES08oI8/s144/IMG_3672.JPG" /></a></td></tr><tr></tr><tr><td style="font-family: arial,sans-serif; font-size: 11px; text-align: right;">From <a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/crudson/2007USAElises">2007 USA Elises</a></td></tr></tbody></table><table style="width: auto;"><tbody><tr><td><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/crudson/2007USAElises/photo#5057434075180753378"><img src="http://lh4.google.com/image/crudson/Ri-dfvYa4eI/AAAAAAAABLg/lQzE_-y4kgk/s144/IMG_3676.JPG" /></a></td></tr><tr></tr><tr><td style="font-family: arial,sans-serif; font-size: 11px; text-align: right;">From <a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/crudson/2007USAElises">2007 USA Elises</a></td></tr></tbody></table><br />One of the most popular suggestions I received when planning the trip was the Pacific Coastal Highway (PCH) drive, and after dabbling a little on that road near LA we agreed we simply had to drive it. The PCH drive up to San Francisco is in reality much longer than taking one of the major roads. After a couple of hours we realised that we simply weren't going to honour our 6pm appointment meeting a few EliseTalk people in Santa Clara. Begrudgingly we cut back across to the 101, and the apparently best portion of the PCH will have to wait until another time.<br /><br />In the meantime the <a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/crudson/2007USAElises">gallery</a> has some shots of scenery we saw along the way.<br /><br />We were ultimately glad we missed the central bit of the PCH as we got to Santa Clara on time. We were in fact the first ones there, and after a little trouble finding the place saw some other Elises patrolling the area.<br /><br />The fellow Elise owners we met with in Santa Clara were a terrific group. Thanks to Rahul for setting up the meet, and apologies to people for talking cricket, curry and geeky stuff at dinner!<br /><table style="width:auto;"><tr><td><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/crudson/2007USAElises/photo#5057434341468725842"><img src="http://lh6.google.com/image/crudson/Ri-dvPYa4lI/AAAAAAAABMY/Uj-CANkz6Eg/s144/IMG_3707.JPG" /></a></td></tr><tr><tr><td style="font-family:arial,sans-serif; font-size:11px; text-align:right">From <a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/crudson/2007USAElises">2007 USA Elises</a></td></tr></table><br /><br />After dinner we said goodbye and headed on into San Francisco. I love urban driving, especially in a new and exciting city, and was having a ball zooming around the San Francisco streets reliving Playstation driving games. However I selfishly forgot Jared's opposite feeling doing this, and to his relief we soon found Union Square and parked the cars up for a couple of days.<div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/6555500491712285225-7606439155264631115?l=elises07.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Crudsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10735589632551776830noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6555500491712285225.post-524294671319729282007-04-25T13:30:00.000-05:002007-04-26T02:46:12.911-05:00We had stayed up late the night before, Priya gossiping with Mohini, and myself mucking about on the computer, so we got off to a bit of a late start. We did manage to take advantage of the hotel breakfast though. I think this was actually the first time since I left Philadelphia that I ate one of the complimentary breakfasts. The weather was the best of the Los Angeles days so far.<br /><table style="width: auto;"><tbody><tr><td><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/crudson/2007USAElises/photo#5056673082697876386"><img src="http://lh5.google.com/image/crudson/RizpYJd8g6I/AAAAAAAABIU/uciJpot2fT0/s144/IMG_3619.JPG" /></a></td></tr><tr></tr><tr><td style="font-family: arial,sans-serif; font-size: 11px; text-align: right;">From <a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/crudson/2007USAElises">2007 USA Elises</a></td></tr></tbody></table><br />As we cruised over to Universal Studios we found a new way to survive the terrible LA roads by going 'Aaaaaaahhhhhh' and making amusing sounds as the abysmal washboard roads shake us. We have a ChaseCam clip somewhere of that hilarity. I also think we only got lost 4 times, which is almost a record low.<br /><br />We got to Universal Studios in mid-afternoon and had a Hard Rock Cafe lunch. As we ate we learned it is currently off-season, and therefore the park was closing at 6pm. Panicking a little, we rushed down the (pretty awful) lunch and rushed into the park. Thankfully it wasn't that busy and it looked as if we could go on all the rides of note before close. It's quite a small park and there were only five things we wanted to go on.<br /><br /><table style="width: auto;"><tbody><tr><td><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/crudson/2007USAElises/photo#5056861520093021138"><img src="http://lh4.google.com/image/crudson/Ri2Uwpd8g9I/AAAAAAAABJM/pAz2nIb7VwY/s144/IMG_3629.JPG" /></a></td></tr><tr></tr><tr><td style="font-family: arial,sans-serif; font-size: 11px; text-align: right;">From <a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/crudson/2007USAElises">2007 USA Elises</a></td></tr></tbody></table><br />1) Studio Tour<br />This is the classic Universal Studios bus tour, going around sound studios, outdoor sets, special effects demonstrations and the like. Although it has been the staple attraction of the park for some time, it is often updated with new bits and pieces, whilst retaining such classics as the Jaws scene and Bates Motel. I could see small children getting quite scared on it, as there are loud bits, bits where you get wet, bits with intense special effects and a really cool bit in a 'rotating' tunnel which gives the sensation of falling over. We were quite scared.<br /><br /><table style="width: auto;"><tbody><tr><td><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/crudson/2007USAElises/photo#5056861571632628722"><img src="http://lh4.google.com/image/crudson/Ri2Uzpd8g_I/AAAAAAAABJc/xtp4FJtA9wo/s144/IMG_3632.JPG" /></a></td></tr><tr></tr><tr><td style="font-family: arial,sans-serif; font-size: 11px; text-align: right;">From <a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/crudson/2007USAElises">2007 USA Elises</a></td></tr></tbody></table><table style="width: auto;"><tbody><tr><td><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/crudson/2007USAElises/photo#5056861588812497922"><img src="http://lh4.google.com/image/crudson/Ri2U0pd8hAI/AAAAAAAABJk/Ya9IZHDwxDo/s144/IMG_3649.JPG" /></a></td></tr><tr></tr><tr><td style="font-family: arial,sans-serif; font-size: 11px; text-align: right;">From <a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/crudson/2007USAElises">2007 USA Elises</a></td></tr></tbody></table>We both find movie making a bit magical and really liked the outdoor street sets, just for the sense of majesty they evoke. One more recent set that is preserved and visited on the tour is the crashed Airplane one from War of the Worlds. It is very impressive; they actually got a full sized jet and cut it up for the set. Quite eerie.<br /><table style="width: auto;"><tbody><tr><td><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/crudson/2007USAElises/photo#5056861666121909298"><img src="http://lh6.google.com/image/crudson/Ri2U5Jd8hDI/AAAAAAAABJ8/nYKTVuBRBy8/s144/IMG_3657.JPG" /></a></td></tr><tr></tr><tr><td style="font-family: arial,sans-serif; font-size: 11px; text-align: right;">From <a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/crudson/2007USAElises">2007 USA Elises</a></td></tr></tbody></table>2) Back to the Future<br />This is a hydraulic Delorean ride accompanied by a projected race against Biff in another car. It is very effective and quite unsettling at some points as the visual cues coupled with the movement of the car really make you think you're experiencing a range of extreme motions. Our one gripe with this one was that the video looks quite dated now. Surely it wouldn't be too much to ask to make a new hi resolution version.<br /><br />3) Jurassic Park<br />This is a water ride in much larger 'logs' than the usual ones of this type, and in a Jurassic Park style environment. As with the other rides at Universal Studios, they aren't necessarily the most extreme, but the effort spent in dressing them up in themes really adds to the experience. The Jurassic Park one is really entertaining with moving dinosaurs, some unexpected things leaping out and squirting water, and quite a dramatic final drop. We did this one twice as there was no queue, as was fortunately the case with all the other ones.<br /><br />4) The Mummy<br />Priya said this one was similar to the Indiana Jones one she went on somewhere once. It's an indoor coaster mostly in the dark with a really good sudden acceleration bit, stop and a backwards portion.<br /><br />5) Shrek 4D<br />We understood that this was a motion ride, but after a funny Shrek introduction in the staging room entered what looked like a normal movie theater. We donned our 3D glasses and sat back. The movie was really funny, as one would expect from a Shrek movie, and it was indeed a motion ride. The seats moved about in synchronisation with various action portions, and water and air squirted from in front and behind us. There were also things moving around our feet during the spider bit, although I didn't figure out how that worked.<br /><br />We were cheap and didn't fork out for the action prints, but I sneaked a couple of photos of the screens. Here are some of us on the Jurassic Park and The Mummy ones.<br /><table style="width: auto;"><tbody><tr><td><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/crudson/2007USAElises/photo#5056861670416876610"><img src="http://lh3.google.com/image/crudson/Ri2U5Zd8hEI/AAAAAAAABKE/bJS2oTa73-Q/s144/RidesFaces.jpg" /></a></td></tr><tr></tr><tr><td style="font-family: arial,sans-serif; font-size: 11px; text-align: right;">From <a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/crudson/2007USAElises">2007 USA Elises</a></td></tr></tbody></table><br />Jared had driven over to the park after visiting Lotus of South Bay, but got there even later than we did and just looked around the shopping arcade outside and waited for us to get out. We all headed back to the hotel and, being quite shagged out just had a local meal for our last evening in LA.<div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/6555500491712285225-52429467131972928?l=elises07.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Crudsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10735589632551776830noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6555500491712285225.post-20344695736559299652007-04-23T12:27:00.000-05:002007-04-23T21:51:04.178-05:00Every Sunday a bunch of LA Elise owners get together for a drive up through the hills. Their meeting place is in Marina del Rey, just a few minutes away from our hotel, so it was an easy decision to join them. The downside was their departure time of 9am, and this meant forcing myself out of bed at 8 after we had been out late eating and drinking. Later I understood the early time though; the traffic really gets heavy as the day goes on, and there is nothing worse than being stuck in traffic when on a fun drive. The early time also provided some fortunate fair weather; later in the afternoon it did start to rain.<br /><br />There were about 10 Elises, which I understood is a very good turnout. Some guy also showed up with an Ariel Atom. He was, to be nice, a bit of a misery but it was nice seeing the car and good having people over here buying them. I didn't get any pics, but Jared took some and may put them up in his gallery.<br /><table style="width: auto;"><tbody><tr><td><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/crudson/2007USAElises/photo#5056432324011131586"><img src="http://lh5.google.com/image/crudson/RiwOaJd8gsI/AAAAAAAABEw/LmHeECOoT4I/s144/IMG_3589.JPG" /></a></td></tr><tr></tr><tr><td style="font-family: arial,sans-serif; font-size: 11px; text-align: right;">From <a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/crudson/2007USAElises">2007 USA Elises</a></td></tr></tbody></table>The drive itself was incredible. Mile after mile of really twisty hill roads. As is sensible when driving any new area I took it easy at the start, but Josh who was behind me is an experienced canyon driver and filled my mirrors for the first few miles. As we progressed it became more and more fun, with plenty of fast corners and lots of heel-toe practice.<br /><br />I only caught the scenery out of the corner of my eye once or twice, and certainly had no opportunity to take any pictures. When we head out of LA tomorrow we may drive one portion of the route again in a more leisurely fashion and get some photos and absorb what I think were some pretty amazing vistas.<br /><br />I thought I was well prepared for the drive, but got everything wrong. I set up the ChaseCam but had forgotten the Compact Flash card, so no video. I was recording our GPS path but forgot to plug the laptop in, so the GPS track ends halfway through the drive. Then after the third canyon run I ran out of fuel. Thankfully Milton was kindly on hand to drive me to the very cheap $3.80 a gallon for 90 octane and $16 for a gas can station up the road. Here is a screenshot of some of the GPS route. I set my software to only capture a point every 10 seconds or so, and as a result there are many corners not represented in the path, but you can get the idea. They are really fortunate to have roads like that around here, and being able to drive the canyons is the perfect antidote for other, less desirable areas of LA.<br /><table style="width: auto;"><tbody><tr><td><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/crudson/2007USAElises/photo#5056435489402028866"><img src="http://lh6.google.com/image/crudson/RiwRSZd8g0I/AAAAAAAABFw/xz4srymnk_M/s144/DriveMap.jpg" /></a></td></tr><tr></tr><tr><td style="font-family: arial,sans-serif; font-size: 11px; text-align: right;">From <a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/crudson/2007USAElises">2007 USA Elises</a></td></tr></tbody></table><br />As I mentioned, the traffic on and around the PCH gets really heavy as the day goes on, and I passed more flashy cars than you could shake a stick at. However the lunch location we had planned to meet at was simply too busy and Priya was (finally) surfacing, so I headed back to Venice for a change of pace.<br /><br />Venice is a largely bohemian area with a busy boardwalk by the beach and a network of canals. Rather than recount the history of the place, the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Venice%2C_Los_Angeles%2C_California">Wikipedia page</a> is quite an interesting read. We walked the boardwalk for a while, buying some cheap nick-nacks from the hippy merchants, amusing ourselves with the street entertainers and grabbing some lunch.<br /><table style="width: auto;"><tbody><tr><td><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/crudson/2007USAElises/photo#5056432414205444882"><img src="http://lh6.google.com/image/crudson/RiwOfZd8gxI/AAAAAAAABFY/KV61R3zm84A/s144/IMG_3603.JPG" /></a></td></tr><tr></tr><tr><td style="font-family: arial,sans-serif; font-size: 11px; text-align: right;">From <a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/crudson/2007USAElises">2007 USA Elises</a></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table style="width: auto;"><tbody><tr><td><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/crudson/2007USAElises/photo#5056432418500412194"><img src="http://lh3.google.com/image/crudson/RiwOfpd8gyI/AAAAAAAABFg/5pQFZIZGcNw/s144/IMG_3606.JPG" /></a></td></tr><tr></tr><tr><td style="font-family: arial,sans-serif; font-size: 11px; text-align: right;">From <a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/crudson/2007USAElises">2007 USA Elises</a></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><br />We came across this fellow and Priya started cooing. He is apparently in a lot of movies and known for being a famous homeless person. He seemed to have a finely tuned sense of being the center of attention: I pointed a camera at him after he went by and he instantly span around, hand outstretched for a donation. Then in one motion like a ninja unsheathing a hidden sword he produced a tshirt from behind his back. He seems to have quite an industry going.<br /><table style="width: auto;"><tbody><tr><td><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/crudson/2007USAElises/photo#5056432435680281394"><img src="http://lh3.google.com/image/crudson/RiwOgpd8gzI/AAAAAAAABFo/ZaIA4BBk2zY/s144/IMG_3611.JPG" /></a></td></tr><tr></tr><tr><td style="font-family: arial,sans-serif; font-size: 11px; text-align: right;">From <a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/crudson/2007USAElises">2007 USA Elises</a></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><br />Later on we met Priya's friend Mohini and Jared for some Thai food in Santa Monica. Quite a full day but very enjoyable :)<div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/6555500491712285225-2034469573655929965?l=elises07.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Crudsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10735589632551776830noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6555500491712285225.post-29807334115011284402007-04-22T17:45:00.000-05:002007-04-23T12:26:50.438-05:00We cut the time in Vegas from four days to three, which would give us an extra day in LA. After visiting the Stratosphere (see last blog entry) we headed to Los Angeles, leaving the rest of the crew for another day in Vegas. Jared had left a day before us. Hopefully our trip to LA would be a little easier than him as he had taken over 6 hours due to accidents and traffic jams.<br /><br /><table style="width: auto;"><tbody><tr><td><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/crudson/2007USAElises/photo#5056111515723924066"><img src="http://lh5.google.com/image/crudson/Rirqopd8gmI/AAAAAAAABEA/bKRbiTz-YDM/s144/IMG_3574.JPG" /></a></td></tr><tr></tr><tr><td style="font-family: arial,sans-serif; font-size: 11px; text-align: right;">From <a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/crudson/2007USAElises">2007 USA Elises</a></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table style="width: auto;"><tbody><tr><td><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/crudson/2007USAElises/photo#5056111528608825970"><img src="http://lh4.google.com/image/crudson/RirqpZd8gnI/AAAAAAAABEI/1XV2RwZN0Xg/s144/IMG_3577.JPG" /></a></td></tr><tr></tr><tr><td style="font-family: arial,sans-serif; font-size: 11px; text-align: right;">From <a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/crudson/2007USAElises">2007 USA Elises</a></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><br />It was a relatively short drive and quite uneventful, but offers some nice scenery before entering Los Angeles. There is a really dramatic point when approaching the crest of one hill where the weather changes within a few seconds from sunny and warm to completely overcast and cold. It's caused by something to do with the ocean and hills, and perhaps the famous LA pollution, and butterflies, I don't know.<br /><br />A big mistake to make when passing that point and entering the outskirts of LA is to assume you have arrived at your destination. Ohhh no. It's a huge place. At one point we wondered what town those big buildings on the horizon belonged to, and it then dawned on us that they were downtown LA. We drove on I10 westerly across the city towards the ocean. This road is nice as the traffic moves quickly but it's in a disastrous physical state. The washboard effect is so bad we pulled off the highway at one point to check that my suspension hadn't failed and was causing the bouncing.<br /><br />Once we hit the ocean front all was forgiven. Other than getting to an amazing looking area, we had finally reached the Pacific. On one journey we had been at the Atlantic, Gulf and Pacific. Lots more pics and stories of the area to come over the next couple of days.<br /><br />We found a hotel in Venice right on the beach with a pretty nice view:<br /><table style="width:auto;"><tr><td><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/crudson/2007USAElises/photo#5056432281061458594"><img src="http://lh3.google.com/image/crudson/RiwOXpd8gqI/AAAAAAAABEg/rVHuh7WjVXs/s144/IMG_3584.JPG" /></a></td></tr><tr><tr><td style="font-family:arial,sans-serif; font-size:11px; text-align:right">From <a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/crudson/2007USAElises">2007 USA Elises</a></td></tr></table><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/6555500491712285225-2980733411501128440?l=elises07.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Crudsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10735589632551776830noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6555500491712285225.post-12500431819203240742007-04-22T00:13:00.000-05:002007-04-23T14:11:13.643-05:00Now that we have moved on from Vegas I can do a recap of what we got up to.<br /><br />All seven of us stayed at The Sahara, a casino/hotel that has by its own admission seen a more glamorous time (all the brochures talk about the Rat Pack). We actually liked the cheesy second tier feel of it, and because it is a little distance from the main strip not so crazily busy. It also has a really fun roller coaster attached to it. Having said that some bits of it are a bit frustrating, but we understand they are in the process of being taken over or something. Thankfully it is on the Vegas Monorail so all the major destinations are a quick ride away.<br /><br />Any Vegas recount has to include the gambling. I am not a big gambler myself; I see it as spending some money to have fun rather than trying to make money, and with Priya watching like a hawk we are really tame gamblers. Whenever we won anything she would make us stop and move on, and $3 War was our favourite game, which says it all. In the end we ended up about even cash wise, and definitely up given the amount we drank :)<br /><br />At The Flamingo for dinner and drinks:<br /><table style="width: auto;"><tbody><tr><td><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/crudson/2007USAElises/photo#5055395024984637794"><img src="http://lh6.google.com/image/crudson/Rihe_Zd8gWI/AAAAAAAABA4/tyegdpzxg2w/s144/IMG_3529.JPG" /></a></td></tr><tr></tr><tr><td style="font-family: arial,sans-serif; font-size: 11px; text-align: right;">From <a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/crudson/2007USAElises">2007 USA Elises</a></td></tr></tbody></table><table style="width: auto;"><tbody><tr><td><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/crudson/2007USAElises/photo#5055394960560128338"><img src="http://lh3.google.com/image/crudson/Rihe7pd8gVI/AAAAAAAABAw/0F7luXG_gsM/s144/IMG_3527.JPG" /></a></td></tr><tr></tr><tr><td style="font-family: arial,sans-serif; font-size: 11px; text-align: right;">From <a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/crudson/2007USAElises">2007 USA Elises</a></td></tr></tbody></table><br />We walked around a couple of the casinos. Here is the interior of the shopping gallery in Caesar's Palace:<br /><table style="width: auto;"><tbody><tr><td><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/crudson/2007USAElises/photo#5055785776814260674"><img src="http://lh6.google.com/image/crudson/RinCYJd8gcI/AAAAAAAABCQ/h5OBaJY19FY/s144/IMG_3547.JPG" /></a></td></tr><tr></tr><tr><td style="font-family: arial,sans-serif; font-size: 11px; text-align: right;">From <a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/crudson/2007USAElises">2007 USA Elises</a></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><br />Ben, Keith, Sophie and Declan had really wanted to go see Prince. The box office there was releasing extra tickets the night of the concert, so they tried their luck. After a couple of hours it looked bleak, but some people they had chatted up came into possession of 20 VIP tickets and all of a sudden they were getting royal treatment. Even Paris Hilton had worse seats behind them; someone sneaked a photo ;)<br /><br />As they were living the high life Priya and I went to see The Amazing Johnathan, something we had planned to do for months. Some of you may have seen him on Comedy Central. Billed as 'The Freddy Krueger of Comedy', his show incorporates silly magic and a lot of adult humour, a little similar to Penn and Teller but less actual magic and more laughs. We met him afterwards, but the poor fellow seemed a little burned out. I am sure Priya grabbing his cheeks made him feel a lot better.<br /><table style="width: auto;"><tbody><tr><td><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/crudson/2007USAElises/photo#5055785875598508514"><img src="http://lh5.google.com/image/crudson/RinCd5d8geI/AAAAAAAABCg/jQFIEySUwEg/s144/IMG_3554.JPG" /></a></td><td><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/crudson/2007USAElises/photo#5055785952907919858"><img src="http://lh3.google.com/image/crudson/RinCiZd8gfI/AAAAAAAABCo/Kl1Nlx068MU/s144/IMG_3555.JPG" /></a></td></tr><tr></tr><tr><td colspan="2" style="font-family: arial,sans-serif; font-size: 11px; text-align: right;">"Dance Monkey Dance" From <a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/crudson/2007USAElises">2007 USA Elises</a></td></tr></tbody></table><br />Before we left on Saturday we rode the Sahara coaster (again) and headed to the Stratosphere, 1,149ft high tower near the hotel that has three rides on top of it: one that goes up and down vertically on the top, another that spins around and hangs the riders off the edge, and a third that see-saws the riders again off the edge of the tower (<a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/crudson/2007USAElises/photo#5056528243515753298">here is a video</a> of Priya and Keith on this one). The last two are particularly terrifying, and I didn't go near them. They can be seen in the second picture here hanging off the edge.<br /><table style="width: auto;"><tbody><tr><td><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/crudson/2007USAElises/photo#5056111056162423330"><img src="http://lh6.google.com/image/crudson/RirqN5d8giI/AAAAAAAABDg/VBsJvOEfzGo/s144/IMG_3556.JPG" /></a></td></tr><tr></tr><tr><td style="font-family: arial,sans-serif; font-size: 11px; text-align: right;">From <a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/crudson/2007USAElises">2007 USA Elises</a></td></tr></tbody></table><table style="width:auto;"><tr><td><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/crudson/2007USAElises/photo#5056111365400068658"><img src="http://lh6.google.com/image/crudson/Rirqf5d8gjI/AAAAAAAABDo/AK0EsCIqvEo/s144/IMG_3557.JPG" /></a></td></tr><tr><tr><td style="font-family:arial,sans-serif; font-size:11px; text-align:right">From <a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/crudson/2007USAElises">2007 USA Elises</a></td></tr></table><br /><table style="width: auto;"><tbody><tr><td><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/crudson/2007USAElises/photo#5056111451299414594"><img src="http://lh6.google.com/image/crudson/Rirqk5d8gkI/AAAAAAAABDw/jLktOOVqvR0/s144/IMG_3559.JPG" /></a></td></tr><tr></tr><tr><td style="font-family: arial,sans-serif; font-size: 11px; text-align: right;">From <a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/crudson/2007USAElises">2007 USA Elises</a></td></tr></tbody></table><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/6555500491712285225-1250043181920324074?l=elises07.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Crudsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10735589632551776830noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6555500491712285225.post-60301357027937496762007-04-19T20:03:00.000-05:002007-04-19T20:06:46.925-05:00I got round to doing some more site work. GPS path performance has been optimised, but the biggest update has been addressing the scalability issues that have really slowed down the adding /deleting of markers (itinerary points, people and locations). Everything should be back to being nice and slick. Please email me if there are any issues at all with the site.<br /><br />This journey is the first testing of automapic.com so thanks for bearing with some of the teething problems.<div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/6555500491712285225-6030135702793749676?l=elises07.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Crudsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10735589632551776830noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6555500491712285225.post-80194915272610087562007-04-19T18:41:00.000-05:002007-04-20T01:30:27.550-05:00We are considering donating a day from Vegas to Los Angeles. This will mean spending three days in each place rather than four in Vegas and two in LA. We think three Vegas days is probably enough, and there are too many things we want to get done in LA in the time we had allotted.<div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/6555500491712285225-8019491527261008756?l=elises07.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Crudsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10735589632551776830noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6555500491712285225.post-11969314236310851402007-04-19T18:09:00.000-05:002007-04-20T02:13:47.467-05:00This blog entry is a bit late, sorry! We have been a bit distracted since getting to Vegas.<br /><br />Before we left Gallup we wanted to visit some of the local Indian shops in the area. According to our place mats at dinner the night before the area has the greatest density of native merchants in the state...or something. Jared has been wanting to buy a nice rug for the last few days, and had passed on some in San Antonio, so was eager to hit the shops. It seems the merchants had also been eager, but on their pricing. The rugs were nice, but $3000+ for a rug is just silly and we soon headed out empty handed.<br /><br />We had arranged to meet Steve (nvrblu on EliseTalk) for the leg between Holbrook and Flagstaff in Arizona. Getting the exact time was a bit confusing as we didn't really know what the time was. We had been through a couple of time zones, and my phone said one time, the computers we had said different ones, the television declared another, and we knew we were entering a new one when crossing from New Mexico into Arizona. This new time zone also didn't honour Daylight Savings, which just added to the confusion.<br /><br />Steve was ready for us once we got there, and wasn't angry so the time confusion wasn't too bad it seems. He has a really nice Laser Blue Elise and we convoyed to the big meteor crater in Arizona. Saffron Yellow and Chrome Orange aren't exactly the colour marriage made in heaven, but Laser Blue complements both really well:<br /><table style="width: auto;"><tbody><tr><td><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/crudson/2007USAElises/photo#5055267069318955234"><img src="http://lh5.google.com/image/crudson/RifqnZd8gOI/AAAAAAAAA-8/H9fb3dugDyM/s144/IMG_3485.JPG" /></a></td></tr><tr></tr><tr><td style="font-family: arial,sans-serif; font-size: 11px; text-align: right;">From <a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/crudson/2007USAElises">2007 USA Elises</a></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table style="width: auto;"><tbody><tr><td><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/crudson/2007USAElises/photo#5055267142333399282"><img src="http://lh6.google.com/image/crudson/Rifqrpd8gPI/AAAAAAAAA_E/uR-OX5PIYGU/s144/IMG_3502.JPG" /></a></td></tr><tr></tr><tr><td style="font-family: arial,sans-serif; font-size: 11px; text-align: right;">From <a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/crudson/2007USAElises">2007 USA Elises</a></td></tr></tbody></table><br />The crater is about 50,000 years old, so relatively young for such a sight, but a real treat to visit. The wind was ferocious, as can be gathered by <a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/crudson/2007USAElises/photo#5055402605601915298">this video clip</a>.<br /><br />Steve peeled off as we approached Flagstaff, Arizona, and headed south back to his house. Flagstaff is almost the center of the state, but is quite different to the rest of it terrain wise as there are lots of trees:<br /><table style="width: auto;"><tbody><tr><td><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/crudson/2007USAElises/photo#5055275057958125874"><img src="http://lh5.google.com/image/crudson/Rifx4Zd8gTI/AAAAAAAABAI/bUtHvmTMx7w/s144/IMG_3508.JPG" /></a></td></tr><tr></tr><tr><td style="font-family: arial,sans-serif; font-size: 11px; text-align: right;">From <a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/crudson/2007USAElises">2007 USA Elises</a></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><br />Nearing Vegas we went across (or through?) the Hoover Dam. I would like to say it's spectacular, but as with many structures experienced from an Elise, it is hard to see much due to being so low to the ground. Due to the volume of tourists however I am sure it <span style="font-style: italic;">is</span> spectacular though. After crossing the Hoover Dam one enters Nevada proper. The first thing I noticed was how the houses were integrated into the landscape. Remember the Hobbit village at the beginning of Lord of the Rings, where the houses are beautifully integrated into the scenery and look as if they have been living side by side in harmony for years? This is totally the opposite.<br /><br />We got to Vegas in the early evening, and over the next few hours everyone we were planning to meet up with arrived at the hotel, resulting in a gang of seven to enjoy the city together over the next few days.<div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/6555500491712285225-1196931423631085140?l=elises07.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Crudsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10735589632551776830noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6555500491712285225.post-34614720547920600922007-04-18T00:38:00.000-05:002007-04-18T02:05:28.576-05:00The weather was cooler today, so another day driving with the top on. We were both a little relieved as the sun had taken its toll on us a few days back. It is also much more tiring to drive in hot sun all day. We had the final portion of Texas to negotiate (an hour and a half or so), and after 4 nights in the state entered New Mexico.<br /><br />A friendly elderly gentleman at a petrol station in Lubbock had warned us of the police once we got to New Mexico. We don't drive over the limit anyway but we soon saw what he meant. After Clovis, which I randomly recall was the name of the policeman's cat in one Steven King tale, a Scion xB was trailing us. He then sped past and 5 seconds later a cop did a U-turn and put on his lights. In fairness the Scion immediately pulled over, even though he was in front of us. The reassuring thing is that the police haven't been unfair to us at all. Being paranoid one would think that two bright sports cars would be picked out over other vehicles, but we are going the speed limit and have not been unfairly singled out (fingers crossed).<br /><br />New Mexico is a stunning state. We weren't tempted to stop anywhere but the scenery in itself is a joy to experience. Unlike the north westerly Texas drive where we occasionally went through towns (well, enlarged crossroads), today was almost all highway driving. I really like the light green colour of the grass and the hills are spectacular.<br /><table style="width: auto;"><tbody><tr><td><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/crudson/2007USAElises/photo#5054630093150434530"><img src="http://lh3.google.com/image/crudson/RiWnSgU7NOI/AAAAAAAAA7c/7sWDtZAXgDE/s144/IMG_3432.JPG" /></a></td></tr><tr></tr><tr><td style="font-family: arial,sans-serif; font-size: 11px; text-align: right;">From <a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/crudson/2007USAElises">2007 USA Elises</a></td></tr></tbody></table><table style="width: auto;"><tbody><tr><td><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/crudson/2007USAElises/photo#5054630204819584338"><img src="http://lh5.google.com/image/crudson/RiWnZAU7NVI/AAAAAAAAA8U/1OasG2-E2Bg/s144/IMG_3448.JPG" /></a></td></tr><tr></tr><tr><td style="font-family: arial,sans-serif; font-size: 11px; text-align: right;">From <a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/crudson/2007USAElises">2007 USA Elises</a></td></tr></tbody></table><table style="width: auto;"><tbody><tr><td><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/crudson/2007USAElises/photo#5054630230589388130"><img src="http://lh3.google.com/image/crudson/RiWnagU7NWI/AAAAAAAAA8c/xxprQHfxZB8/s144/IMG_3454.JPG" /></a></td></tr><tr></tr><tr><td style="font-family: arial,sans-serif; font-size: 11px; text-align: right;">From <a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/crudson/2007USAElises">2007 USA Elises</a></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><br />Later at dinner Jared and I were discussing what kind of local economy New Mexico has. I know how some people get by: we paid $3.20 a gallon for 90 octane fuel at one point.<br /><br />The many roadside billboards kept me quite amused for much of New Mexico, especially when approaching an exit. By approaching I mean 50 miles before an exit they start, hyping up apparent wonders of the world that simply can't be missed. The excitement builds and builds with the promise of everything man, woman and child could ever wish for, and then finally a small run down shack with a 40 year old paint job anticlimactically goes by.<br /><table style="width: auto;"><tbody><tr><td><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/crudson/2007USAElises/photo#5054630144690042130"><img src="http://lh3.google.com/image/crudson/RiWnVgU7NRI/AAAAAAAAA70/COOm3eftkMc/s144/IMG_3440.JPG" /></a></td></tr><tr></tr><tr><td style="font-family: arial,sans-serif; font-size: 11px; text-align: right;">From <a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/crudson/2007USAElises">2007 USA Elises</a></td></tr></tbody></table><table style="width: auto;"><tbody><tr><td><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/crudson/2007USAElises/photo#5054630144690042146"><img src="http://lh3.google.com/image/crudson/RiWnVgU7NSI/AAAAAAAAA78/bRdcldkgZKU/s144/IMG_3441.JPG" /></a></td></tr><tr></tr><tr><td style="font-family: arial,sans-serif; font-size: 11px; text-align: right;">From <a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/crudson/2007USAElises">2007 USA Elises</a></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><br />One sign did catch my eye, which exclaimed "LET'S FAT!". It turned out to be another one of those poorly designed ones where smaller writing had in fact obscured the lower portion of second E, although my interpretation was probably closer to the truth.<br /><br />We had considered stopping at Albuquerque, but it was just a big blob of roadworks. All it took to decide whether to stop was a quick glance over to Jared, a mutual shake of heads and a slight depression of the accelerator. I had gone to all the trouble of finally learning how to spell the bloody place without looking it up and we ended up bypassing it. So, like 99.99% of the world my only experience of Albuquerque remains with that terrible Prefab Sprout song from 20 or so years ago.<br /><br />We had some interesting things to negotiate on the road. A random hail storm that lasted about 20 seconds was one. A little further on we had to swerve past a coyote that was dragging a carcass off the road, totally oblivious to the 80 mile an hour traffic. We also got some slalom practice in when a large number of tumbleweeds crossed the road. They can get pretty big, and although I am unsure what they would do to the car we instinctively dodged around them. It's worth praising Lotus here; flicking the Elise left and right at high speed is totally undramatic and rewardingly fun.<br /><br />Towards the end of the day I passed 4,000 miles driven since Philadelphia. This should be approximately half way distance wise for the whole trip based on our rough estimates. Jared should be at around 3,500. The cars are running brilliantly.<br /><br />Tomorrow we have the drive to Las Vegas and then three whole days of not driving an inch. Not that I am bored with driving, far from it; in fact only someone who loved driving could undertake such a trip in such a car and not go insane, but it will be nice to have some drinks, late nights and let our hair down. We will also be accompanied by Steve off EliseTalk for the section between Holbrook and Flagstaff.<br /><br />As usual there are more pictures in the <a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/crudson/2007USAElises">gallery</a> than I have linked here.<br /><strong></strong><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/6555500491712285225-3461472054792060092?l=elises07.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Crudsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10735589632551776830noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6555500491712285225.post-75848282291798834922007-04-16T22:49:00.001-05:002007-04-16T22:49:39.146-05:00Just a driving day today. We didn't do anything in Austin. I know we will get chastised for that, but there are some destinations that we just don't have time to explore. We also were staying a good 20 miles or so outside of the center, and were eager to get going on today's leg.<br /><br />Thankfully we were staying on the road we would be taking so hopped on and off we went. The drive today was quite long but really enjoyable. Rte 183 is a nice road as it has a 70mph speed limit, even when just one lane each way, and occasionally slows down to 30 to go through towns. This is a nice change from the major highways that we have spent hours on at constant speed. Having these breaks keeps one interested and it's nice to see the small towns. I want to get a sound clip of a needle being scratched across a record to play as people do stop and stare when two bright Elises roll through.<br /><table style="width: auto;"><tbody><tr><td><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/crudson/2007USAElises/photo#5054185016892020242"><img src="http://lh6.google.com/image/crudson/RiQSfqDzVhI/AAAAAAAAA5Q/0ZaM_zK62PQ/s144/IMG_3398.JPG" /></a></td></tr><tr></tr><tr><td style="font-family: arial,sans-serif; font-size: 11px; text-align: right;">From <a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/crudson/2007USAElises">2007 USA Elises</a></td></tr></tbody></table><br />Rural Texas is definitely big American truck country. Even though Jared's Elise in this picture is a little ahead of the truck it still looks ludicrously proportioned:<br /><table style="width: auto;"><tbody><tr><td><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/crudson/2007USAElises/photo#5054184853683262946"><img src="http://lh4.google.com/image/crudson/RiQSWKDzVeI/AAAAAAAAA44/ToHu7KkanmM/s144/IMG_3382.JPG" /></a></td></tr><tr></tr><tr><td style="font-family: arial,sans-serif; font-size: 11px; text-align: right;">From <a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/crudson/2007USAElises">2007 USA Elises</a></td></tr></tbody></table><br />Further along the trip the terrain opened out a little and some of the hills had a nice reddish tone to them:<br /><table style="width: auto;"><tbody><tr><td><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/crudson/2007USAElises/photo#5054185274590058082"><img src="http://lh6.google.com/image/crudson/RiQSuqDzVmI/AAAAAAAAA54/hFBEe-mpEaE/s144/IMG_3415.JPG" /></a></td></tr><tr></tr><tr><td style="font-family: arial,sans-serif; font-size: 11px; text-align: right;">From <a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/crudson/2007USAElises">2007 USA Elises</a></td></tr></tbody></table><br />There is also a huge wind farm up that way consisting of what seemed at least a hundred wind turbines:<br /><table style="width: auto;"><tbody><tr><td><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/crudson/2007USAElises/photo#5054185188690712130"><img src="http://lh6.google.com/image/crudson/RiQSpqDzVkI/AAAAAAAAA5o/UKnnTlTe4ws/s144/IMG_3407.JPG" /></a></td></tr><tr></tr><tr><td style="font-family: arial,sans-serif; font-size: 11px; text-align: right;">From <a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/crudson/2007USAElises">2007 USA Elises</a></td></tr></tbody></table><br />We ended up in Lubbock, which is in the middle of farming country. The locals we met were very friendly, but we knew we were not spoiled for choice culturally when the response to "Are there any nice restaurants around?" was answered with "There is a Red Lobster up the road". I have to say that in over 3500 miles and over a dozen states, everyone we have met has been incredibly friendly, which is a major factor in enjoying the country the way we are.<br /><br />We have two days to get to Vegas, and quite a long way to drive. Tomorrow's destination is Santa Fe, but we may head to Albuquerque as originally planned as this will make the next day shorter by an hour. Indeed we may go past there even and try and get as far as possible, as we have to get to Vegas by early evening on the 18th.<div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/6555500491712285225-7584828229179883492?l=elises07.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Crudsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10735589632551776830noreply@blogger.com30tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6555500491712285225.post-6282065219911485072007-04-16T09:51:00.000-05:002007-04-18T00:08:52.436-05:00Today we decided to head back down to San Antonio before the much awaited drive up through the Texas hills. On the way I finally got a new Compact Flash reader at Best Buy. Just for good measure we tested the CF card from the ChaseCam in a machine at the store. Thankfully it was ok, and it was an opportunity to use Windows Vista for the first time. It seemed quite nice but it crashed within 5 minutes. We popped the card eventually and left with a load of fatal error message boxes on the screen. All we tried to do was look at a clip off the card. Unimpressive.<br /><br />Finally we saw a ludicrously large item by the side of the road. Not quite "World's Largest Something-or-other", but it's a start:<br /><table style="width: auto;"><tbody><tr><td><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/crudson/2007USAElises/photo#5053803168529601730"><img src="http://lh6.google.com/image/crudson/RiK3NKDzVMI/AAAAAAAAA1Y/m_yV1Fvt3RE/s144/IMG_3344.JPG" /></a></td></tr><tr></tr><tr><td style="font-family: arial,sans-serif; font-size: 11px; text-align: right;">From <a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/crudson/2007USAElises">2007 USA Elises</a></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><br />We visited the Riverwalk area of San Antonio. It's astonishingly pretty and incredibly relaxing. One forgets that one is in the middle of Texas when walking by the side of the water there. It had an almost European feel to it.<br /><table style="width: auto;"><tbody><tr><td><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/crudson/2007USAElises/photo#5053803340328293586"><img src="http://lh6.google.com/image/crudson/RiK3XKDzVNI/AAAAAAAAA1g/Z0FAOeL5Pro/s144/IMG_3347.JPG" /></a></td></tr><tr></tr><tr><td style="font-family: arial,sans-serif; font-size: 11px; text-align: right;">From <a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/crudson/2007USAElises">2007 USA Elises</a></td></tr></tbody></table><table style="width: auto;"><tbody><tr><td><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/crudson/2007USAElises/photo#5053804074767701298"><img src="http://lh5.google.com/image/crudson/RiK4B6DzVTI/AAAAAAAAA2Q/bXUEGrgumNE/s144/IMG_3357.JPG" /></a></td></tr><tr></tr><tr><td style="font-family: arial,sans-serif; font-size: 11px; text-align: right;">From <a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/crudson/2007USAElises">2007 USA Elises</a></td></tr></tbody></table>As usual there are more pictures than I link here in the <a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/crudson/2007USAElises">gallery</a>. The "2007 USA Elises" links under each picture will also link to the gallery.<br /><br />Adjacent to the Riverwalk is a little gallery of shops. I picked up this Peruvian woolen rug thing that will look great at home on the wall. The shop staff were very proud that their merchandise was all authentic from Central and South American craftsmen. This was good of course, but the items are not cheap and I expect $200 is quite a lot for some of the places where these (very skilled) people are living, so I quipped that of course 90% of the price will go to the original artist. They insisted that they maintain a close relationship with them and they do indeed receive a healthy cut.<br /><table style="width: auto;"><tbody><tr><td><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/crudson/2007USAElises/photo#5054047625183188434"><img src="http://lh4.google.com/image/crudson/RiOViaDzVdI/AAAAAAAAA4o/F4hhk0fOhJw/s144/Image020.jpg" /></a></td></tr><tr></tr><tr><td style="font-family: arial,sans-serif; font-size: 11px; text-align: right;">From <a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/crudson/2007USAElises">2007 USA Elises</a></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><br />Leaving San Antonio we headed north west into the nice hill country. Weather was perfect; warm and sunny with a breeze, but not too hot. This was the first moment in the whole trip that I felt like we were closing in on the west coast. The hills reminded me a lot of some areas in California.<table style="width: auto;"><tbody><tr><td><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/crudson/2007USAElises/photo#5053804285221098834"><img src="http://lh6.google.com/image/crudson/RiK4OKDzVVI/AAAAAAAAA2g/UQOgKmV-g4E/s144/IMG_3366.JPG" /></a></td></tr><tr></tr><tr><td style="font-family: arial,sans-serif; font-size: 11px; text-align: right;">From <a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/crudson/2007USAElises">2007 USA Elises</a></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><br />At Fredericksburg we spotted another Elise on the road, but otherwise it was a town that didn't seem to have much worth stopping for. We had been advised to stop there but kept going as the only building of note was "Whittington's Jerky Store (Since 1963)". A bit further up the road a small sign indicated that we had entered a little town called "Hye". I was hoping that on the other side was another sign saying "Bye", but sadly there was none. Further along we came across this metal cow thing. Very cool looking, and it was solar powered too. One day I will find out what it does at night. Hopefully it has laser eyes and breathes fire to some techno moosic.<br /><table style="width:auto;"><tr><td><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/crudson/2007USAElises/photo#5053804594458744194"><img src="http://lh6.google.com/image/crudson/RiK4gKDzVYI/AAAAAAAAA24/-EUfYWvuas8/s144/IMG_3372.JPG" /></a></td></tr><tr><tr><td style="font-family:arial,sans-serif; font-size:11px; text-align:right">From <a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/crudson/2007USAElises">2007 USA Elises</a></td></tr></table><br />We were told to visit a twisty road called 'The Devil's Backbone', but he must be a spineless fellow to be honest given the road. Not really what we were expecting, although we suspect that perhaps we missed the main bit. Anyway, at that point we had driven enough off our main path and just gave up and rejoined the road to Austin.<br /><br />After some frustrating hotel hunting we eventually found accommodation and went out for some (surprise) steak dinner with my friend Mike and his family.<br /><table style="width: auto;"><tbody><tr><td><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/crudson/2007USAElises/photo#5054039142622778818"><img src="http://lh5.google.com/image/crudson/RiON0qDzVcI/AAAAAAAAA4g/jD1atBUUp8g/s144/IMG_3381.JPG" /></a></td></tr><tr></tr><tr><td style="font-family: arial,sans-serif; font-size: 11px; text-align: right;">From <a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/crudson/2007USAElises">2007 USA Elises</a></td></tr></tbody></table><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/6555500491712285225-628206521991148507?l=elises07.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Crudsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10735589632551776830noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6555500491712285225.post-56963858745783476852007-04-15T20:02:00.000-05:002007-04-16T09:51:14.879-05:00In the last couple of days the site has had problems adding or deleting markers and other lockups, like when I upload GPS data. I will work on this tonight (promise), but only after some Texas BBQ food...<br /><br />*update* I am homing in on the problem. Hopefully fixed later today.<div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/6555500491712285225-5696385874578347685?l=elises07.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Crudsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10735589632551776830noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6555500491712285225.post-1391405534449117462007-04-15T19:57:00.000-05:002007-04-15T20:02:26.971-05:00I bought a new Compact Flash reader today, and I now have access to all the in car video I have taken. Hooray! Hurroo also though. It turns out the card hasn't been able to keep up with the data being sent to it, and all the clips have occasional blips in them as the data stream gets reset.<br /><br />According to the ChaseCam forum I can:<br /><ol><li>Use a lower quality video setting.. or a lower screen resolution on the PDR.</li><li>Use a faster Compact Flash Card...or a smaller Compact Flash Card.</li><li>Make sure your card is freshly formatted before use.</li></ol>Seeing as the card came in a ChaseCam pack, I would expect to be able to use it so I don't think 2) should apply. I will try formatting but I have a hunch that I need to reduce to quality to get rid of the errors.<div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/6555500491712285225-139140553444911746?l=elises07.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Crudsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10735589632551776830noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6555500491712285225.post-72707910212721025412007-04-14T23:56:00.000-05:002007-04-15T00:49:10.552-05:00This morning I posted a request on EliseTalk asking for some things to do in Texas. Lo and behold someone responded saying that there was a LOST (Lotus Owners of South Texas) meet about 10 minutes away in 2 hours time! We got our stuff together and headed over. We knew we were on the right track when a black Elise appeared behind us, and arrived in a three car convoy.<br /><br />LOST are a wonderful bunch of people and welcomed a couple of outsiders warmly (I suppose that made Jared and I The Others). There were a good dozen people there driving mainly Elises, with a Seven and a couple of Esprits too.<br /><table style="width: auto;"><tbody><tr><td><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/crudson/2007USAElises/photo#5053486612260017202"><img src="http://lh5.google.com/image/crudson/RiGXTKDzVDI/AAAAAAAAAzI/zNm1Pj8N8L8/s144/IMG_3330.JPG" /></a></td></tr><tr></tr><tr><td style="font-family: arial,sans-serif; font-size: 11px; text-align: right;">From <a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/crudson/2007USAElises">2007 USA Elises</a></td></tr></tbody></table><br />They had their meeting and we convoyed over to a British pub for lunch. The drive was quite fun. Most of the time I was following the V8 Esprit which sounded phenomenal. I captured a ChaseCam video of it, but am still scuppered by the faulty CF reader so how it turned out will be a mystery until I get a new one. I am praying that the card itself hasn't gone bad as I have taken a lot of video so far that remains stranded on it.<br /><br />The food was good and the company even better: "Everybody say warranty"<table style="width: auto;"><tbody><tr><td><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/crudson/2007USAElises/photo#5053486711044265042"><img src="http://lh4.google.com/image/crudson/RiGXY6DzVFI/AAAAAAAAAzY/yMBpU1LMIaU/s144/IMG_3332.JPG" /></a></td></tr><tr></tr><tr><td style="font-family: arial,sans-serif; font-size: 11px; text-align: right;">From <a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/crudson/2007USAElises">2007 USA Elises</a></td></tr></tbody></table><br />As we were leaving someone noticed that Jared had a sizable piece of metal sticking out of his rear left tyre. We had to make a stop at a repair shop and after the usual lecturing on how to correctly jack up the Elise they removed the offending item. Thankfully it hadn't punctured the tyre and we were soon on our way.<br /><br />The LOST crew had given us some good tips on how best to cross Texas, including one suggestion that we should 'drive to Houston airport and catch a flight to New Mexico'. Reassuring stuff indeed for the days ahead, but we also managed to collect some terrestrial tips and updated the route once more. Today's plan was shortened to a relatively short drive to San Antonio where we would stay tonight.<br /><table style="width: auto;"><tbody><tr><td><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/crudson/2007USAElises/photo#5053486762583872610"><img src="http://lh4.google.com/image/crudson/RiGXb6DzVGI/AAAAAAAAAzg/CU0O9SWKQd8/s144/IMG_3334.JPG" /></a></td></tr><tr></tr><tr><td style="font-family: arial,sans-serif; font-size: 11px; text-align: right;">From <a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/crudson/2007USAElises">2007 USA Elises</a></td></tr></tbody></table><br />The weather was cooler today; a welcome change from the hot and muggy last few days. Storms were threatening in Houston but towards San Antonio it was really pleasant. We arrived in the city in the tourist section which is a really nice area. It's refreshing to see a US city geared towards pedestrians. We visited the Alamo:<br /><table style="width: auto;"><tbody><tr><td><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/crudson/2007USAElises/photo#5053486921497662610"><img src="http://lh5.google.com/image/crudson/RiGXlKDzVJI/AAAAAAAAAz4/2mLEvRVYiZ0/s144/IMG_3338.JPG" /></a></td></tr><tr></tr><tr><td style="font-family: arial,sans-serif; font-size: 11px; text-align: right;">From <a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/crudson/2007USAElises">2007 USA Elises</a></td></tr></tbody></table><br />It reminded me of the joke the late, great Brian Glover told in An American Werewolf in London:<br /><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-style: italic;">There was this aeroplane over the Atlantic on its way to New York, and it was full of men from the United Nations.</span><span style="font-style: italic;"> So halfway over the ocean the engines run low on petrol, so they have to lighten the plane.</span><span style="font-style: italic;"> So they heave out all the baggage, but it's still too heavy.</span><span style="font-style: italic;"> So they chuck out all the seats, but it's still too heavy.</span><span style="font-style: italic;"> Finally, this Frog, he steps up, shouts "Vive la France", and leaps out.</span><span style="font-style: italic;"> Then an Englishman, he steps up, shouts "God save the Queen", and he leaps out.</span><span style="font-style: italic;"> But the plane is still too heavy.</span><span style="font-style: italic;"> So the Yank delegate, from Texas, he steps up, shouts:</span><span style="font-style: italic;"> "Remember the Alamo", and chucks out the Mexican.</span><br /></span><br />Hotels in the city were pretty expensive apparently due to a boxing fight, so we traveled north for a while past the airport and found a really nice, quiet place for a more reasonable price. As we were arriving at the hotel we finally saw our first other Elise driving around. It only took almost 3000 miles, 9 days and 13 states!<br /><br />We couldn't pass on a good old Texan meal. I almost made it through an enormous chicken fried steak and some nice large margaritas (I made it through the drinks, just not quite the food).<br /><table style="width: auto;"><tbody><tr><td><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/crudson/2007USAElises/photo#5053487024576877746"><img src="http://lh5.google.com/image/crudson/RiGXrKDzVLI/AAAAAAAAA0I/NOtb1oTACAc/s144/IMG_3343.JPG" /></a></td></tr><tr></tr><tr><td style="font-family: arial,sans-serif; font-size: 11px; text-align: right;">From <a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/crudson/2007USAElises">2007 USA Elises</a></td></tr></tbody></table><br />More Texas to come tomorrow...<div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/6555500491712285225-7270791021272102541?l=elises07.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Crudsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10735589632551776830noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6555500491712285225.post-75386969680363254102007-04-14T09:26:00.000-05:002007-04-14T19:56:33.571-05:00New Orleans by day and New Orleans by night are so different they are, well, night and day. The older one gets the more enjoyable the days are over the nights., at least for me There is always something going on but we really struck gold as the New Orleans French Quarter Festival started on Friday. Music and food all over the place.<br /><table style="width: auto;"><tbody><tr><td><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/crudson/2007USAElises/photo#5053279551886676786"><img src="http://lh6.google.com/image/crudson/RiDa-qDzUzI/AAAAAAAAAwc/GXjKQOF7A-E/s144/IMG_3310.JPG" /></a></td></tr><tr></tr><tr><td style="font-family: arial,sans-serif; font-size: 11px; text-align: right;">From <a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/crudson/2007USAElises">2007 USA Elises</a></td></tr></tbody></table><table style="width: auto;"><tbody><tr><td><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/crudson/2007USAElises/photo#5053280178951902066"><img src="http://lh4.google.com/image/crudson/RiDbjKDzU3I/AAAAAAAAAw8/ZcnnA14J9IQ/s144/IMG_3319.JPG" /></a></td></tr><tr></tr><tr><td style="font-family: arial,sans-serif; font-size: 11px; text-align: right;">From <a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/crudson/2007USAElises">2007 USA Elises</a></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/crudson/2007USAElises/photo#5053281089484968882">Here</a> is a little video of a jazz band playing.<br /><br />We milled around there for a couple of hours, eating different dishes and listening to some great live music. One thing is for sure: the cities following New Orleans are going to have to do pretty well to match that. I actually experienced the first bit of sadness leaving New Orleans as we were leaving when a great event was starting. Also I had been there less than a year ago for the wedding of some good friends of mine and a wave of nostalgia for that great time swept over me.<br /><br />But...nothing gets you over the last like the next, and we headed onto Houston. The drive there was made to feel longer than it actually was due to another thunderstorm but more so by the awful road between the two cities (I10). Not much happened during the drive. After entering Texas I was expecting to see more adventurous food, but was still a little aghast to see a big sign advertising a "Human Buffet". After some scrutiny I realised the M was just a really poorly crafted N.<br /><br />Regarding the itinerary, we have decided to not go to Dallas. We played with the idea of taking the long trek through south Texas to El Paso, but after gathering a number of opinions we will do one day in San Antonio, then take the hill roads to Austin, and then go north west through Texas, staying in somewhere like Abilene or Lubbock, and then onto Santa Fe.<br /><br />Some people have been asking where the in-car footage is. I have taken quite a bit of it, but the compact flash reader I bought in Panama City has stopped working already, so it is all stuck on the card still. I am not taking any more for fear of overwriting the earlier clips. As soon as I get a new way of retrieving the clips I will put some up.<br /><br />From a technological struggle to a triumph: I have started using my phone to record little voice memos to myself when on the road as reminders when writing the blog. They are extremely handy, especially given my awful memory. Since learning this Jared suggested I do one day's blog as a podcast. It's an interesting thought, and if I can stay eloquent and interesting for sufficient time I may do one. Every voice memo I have recorded so far starts with "also..." which is really starting to annoy me, so I would have to fix that first :)<div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/6555500491712285225-7538696968036325410?l=elises07.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Crudsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10735589632551776830noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6555500491712285225.post-54599073630133440102007-04-13T01:03:00.000-05:002007-04-13T09:33:35.645-05:00<span style="font-weight: bold;">..and then there were two.</span><br /><br />Hot news of the day: Cory has left to go house hunting with his wife in Ohio. We wish him all the best with it, and understand that the timing has been bad for this trip with him and the whole house situation.<br /><br />This has left myself and Jared to fly the Lotus flag for the rest of the tour. We had a sit down and thought about the trip, and decided it was a good juncture to see how we could improve things. We decided that we are doing too much city-to-city driving without enough local culture, so from now on we are selecting some things to visit between destinations.<br /><br />Putting this plan into action, we decided to take the coastal road from Panama City to Pensacola. It seemed like the area was being aggressively built up and was a hot new area, but later when speaking to a couple in New Orleans I learned that it sustained considerable hurricane damage and is being rebuilt, although I think the truth is a combination of the two.<br /><br />On the outskirts of Panama City we visited a diving museum. That sounds boring but it was a great little place. Outside the building was an array of small submarines.<br /><div style="text-align: left;"><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/crudson/2007USAElises/photo#5052804970885370546"><img src="http://lh4.google.com/image/crudson/Rh8rWaDzUrI/AAAAAAAAAuA/S1p7UHtAueg/s144/IMG_3246.JPG" /></a><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/crudson/2007USAElises/photo#5052804923640730258"><img src="http://lh5.google.com/image/crudson/Rh8rTqDzUpI/AAAAAAAAAtw/H2KzmHt2PH0/s144/IMG_3239.JPG" /></a><br /></div>Inside we were greeted by a man called Doug. If one was asked to imagine the archetypal nautical enthusiast then he would be the result; sailor's cap and white beard. Brilliant. UK readers would have immediately thought of Uncle Albert, although the beard could have been bushier.<br /><div style="text-align: left;"><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/crudson/2007USAElises/photo#5052805000950141650"><img src="http://lh3.google.com/image/crudson/Rh8rYKDzUtI/AAAAAAAAAuQ/OMUKQVSs7xY/s144/IMG_3252.JPG" /></a><br /></div>Without any ceremony or introduction he launched into his lecture, declaring "The air on land is so-and-so inches of mercury and for every 100 feet one descends in water the pressure..." and continued for a few minutes on this theme. Upon finishing we introduced ourselves and he then then took us through the museum, playing DVDs and explaining the items. He was a really nice fellow and the museum was precisely the kind of diamond we were hoping to discover in the rough off the major roads.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><div style="text-align: left;"><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/crudson/2007USAElises/photo#5052804872101122674"><img src="http://lh5.google.com/image/crudson/Rh8rQqDzUnI/AAAAAAAAAtg/S-Myy2tR3Hs/s144/IMG_3232.JPG" /></a><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">After traversing eight states in the first two days we had been in Florida for five, and it was a little refreshing to hit new state borders: Alabama, Mississippi and Louisiana.<br /></div></div><br />One charming thing about the south is how people introduce themselves. We met a family at a petrol stop and the wife came over, shook my hand and said something like "Hi I am Lou-Anne Henderson from Mobile, Alabama". More information than I am used to in an introduction but I appreciate the openness. In hindsight my response of "hello" appears to be a little insufficient but never mind.<br /><br />A more confusing question we experienced was 'what's on the dash?'. My answer of 'not too much, a little dust and a parking stub from yesterday' was met with a bemused look. I then found out the man was trying to determine what the largest number on the speedometer was.<br /><br />We arrived in New Orleans and met up with my friend John and his friend Larry, had a nice fish dinner and patrolled the French Quarter for a while, catching some good live music and having a laugh.<br /><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/crudson/2007USAElises/photo#5052800637263368770"><img src="http://lh3.google.com/image/crudson/Rh8naKDzUkI/AAAAAAAAAtI/2KcTaUyPNPk/s144/IMG_3296.JPG" /></a><br /><br />I finally got the ChaseCam going today. It's a fabulous product but thankfully I did some tests clips and realised I do far too much 'steering-wheel guitar' and moved the camera location from the back window to in front of the rear view mirror. I took a fair amount of footage and will get some clips online once I decide the best place for them. I think Picasa can host video.<div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/6555500491712285225-5459907363013344010?l=elises07.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Crudsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10735589632551776830noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6555500491712285225.post-39826782652307678202007-04-11T05:55:00.000-05:002007-04-13T09:37:11.039-05:00We had a rest evening yesterday, and as a result didn't see any of Tampa. Hopefully next time I am here I can experience the city. However we did stay in the kind of motel that, as an Englishman, is associated with movies where bloody and gruesome things normally occur. The movie Memento popped into my head. "Lenny!"<br /><br />The original plan for today was to make it to Pensacola, but we changed this to Panama City. This helped as it equated today's and tomorrow's journey times as Panama City was an hour and a half closer to Tampa. We left in much better weather than yesterday:<br /><table style="width: auto;"><tbody><tr><td><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/crudson/2007USAElises/photo#5052322190791496018"><img src="http://lh4.google.com/image/crudson/Rh10Q6DzUVI/AAAAAAAAAqY/llZjBJd6eQg/s144/IMG_3210.JPG" /></a></td></tr><tr></tr><tr><td style="font-family: arial,sans-serif; font-size: 11px; text-align: right;">From <a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/crudson/2007USAElises">2007 USA Elises</a></td></tr></tbody></table><br />A few Lotus related things happened today: first off we drove under a bridge that was called "Jim Clark Road". I didn't have time to grab a picture of it unfortunately. At the next petrol stop we met a family whose father told us his mother was from Norfolk. He was quite pleased when we informed him that the cars he had just been cooing over were from there too. He did however come out with one of those classic lines for people with English ancestors: "my grandmother shot at V2 bombs in the war". It's like anyone with a long lineage in the US had family on the Mayflower; that ship must have been a massive cruise liner. Or anyone in Liverpool in the 50s used to go to see The Beatles at The Cavern, which of course held 100,000 people.<br /><br />There were a couple of mileage milestones: I hit 2000 miles for the whole journey so far, and my Elise clicked over to 25000 miles since I got her in April 2005:<br /><table style="width: auto;"><tbody><tr><td><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/crudson/2007USAElises/photo#5052322341115351474"><img src="http://lh3.google.com/image/crudson/Rh10ZqDzUbI/AAAAAAAAArI/cfT470bK8Pg/s144/IMG_3222.JPG" /></a></td></tr><tr></tr><tr><td style="font-family: arial,sans-serif; font-size: 11px; text-align: right;">From <a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/crudson/2007USAElises">2007 USA Elises</a></td></tr></tbody></table><br />We had to shop around for a hotel as down by the main waterfront it was full of college kids doing what they do, and we didn't want to leave the cars in areas where they would be up to mischief at night. It seems that Spring Break hasn't yet finished. That area of town was full of youngsters revving beaten up Camaros and Civics with body kits so we headed out a little. We ended up at a quieter area with rooms overlooking the cars so it all turned out ok. Dinner was (yet another) steak.<br /><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/crudson/2007USAElises/photo#5052522254663111138"><img src="http://lh6.google.com/image/crudson/Rh4qOKDzUeI/AAAAAAAAAsU/YHeQEU3o0Pg/s144/Image018.jpg" /></a><br /><br />I realised that we have yet to see another Elise (or any Lotus) so far on the trip. Tomorrow we hit New Orleans; I know there are a couple of EliseTalk people who live there so maybe tomorrow we will have more luck.<br /><br />See the <a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/crudson/2007USAElises">gallery</a> for more pics, and as usual today's GPS route can be seen at <a href="http://automapic.com/">automapic.com</a>.<div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/6555500491712285225-3982678265230767820?l=elises07.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Crudsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10735589632551776830noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6555500491712285225.post-88297610044091806762007-04-10T20:10:00.001-05:002008-09-09T21:31:37.395-05:00As we are having a quiet night in I am doing some updates to the site, based on feedback and my own to do list. These are the current things to do. (Be warned that this may be a little geeky)<br /><br /><ul><li><span style="font-weight: bold;">Fix zoom level and scroll position when selecting a leg.</span> When a leg is selected the zoom level is currently too high so I will scale that back. Also the map is centered incorrectly at the first Point of Interest, rather than the start of the leg. (I published this fix a little while ago.)</li><li><span style="font-weight: bold;">Fix the XML Atom news feed.</span> Although the feed contains a fair bit of information, the structure isn't correct and nothing other than the title is showing up in the news readers I have tried (Google Reader and Bloglines).</li><li><span style="font-weight: bold;">Fix the Calendar export.</span> The ICAL export button downloads the journey itinerary in iCalendar format so that it can be imported into a calendar application. This currently works fine for iCal on the Mac and Google Calendar (the only ones I have tried). However Outlook users are reporting that it complains that the calendar scale is not a Gregorian one. Even though I am setting it to Gregorian something isn't working with Outlook. Not sure how easily I can fix this as I don't have Outlook but it's on the list.</li><li><span style="font-weight: bold;">Google Earth export.</span> The Google Earth export buttons have been there for a while, but are simply teasing as I have yet to hook this up.</li><li><span style="font-weight: bold;">Nicer itinerary view.</span> Although the current itinerary shows a nice view of the locations of the stops and their dates, unless the itinerary is imported to a calendar there is no way to glance at the itinerary as a whole. I want to add in a popup table of the itinerary or overlay it on a calendar within the site.</li><li><span style="font-weight: bold;">Better URL handling for locations.</span> If a URL is set for a new location, it will not work correctly unless beginning with <span style="font-style: italic; color: rgb(51, 51, 51);">http://</span></li><li><span style="font-weight: bold;">Safari problems.</span> Safari has been working during my tests, but it locks up when displaying a leg path on Jared's machine. I am certain this is due to me not being clever enough with the Google Map path zoom levels; each point in a path has an associated zoom level at which that point should be displayed. I can probably just set every nth one to show up when zoomed out and scale them from there.<span style="font-style: italic; color: rgb(51, 51, 51);"><br /></span></li><li><span style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51);"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"></span></span>Some additions to the admin section, but those are low priority as they just affect me for now :)<span style="font-style: italic; color: rgb(51, 51, 51);"><br /></span></li></ul><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/6555500491712285225-8829761004409180676?l=elises07.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Crudsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10735589632551776830noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6555500491712285225.post-90800920787619202852007-04-10T18:39:00.000-05:002007-04-10T19:29:31.516-05:00A quick sprint today from Miami to Tampa. There was a danger that we would have to go a long way round as there were some big fires apparently along the road we were planning on taking, although by the morning these warnings had disappeared. We left Miami in reasonable weather; a little muggy but not raining, although it was threatening.<br /><table style="width:auto;"><tr><td><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/crudson/2007USAElises/photo#5051896297539457234"><img src="http://lh5.google.com/image/crudson/Rhvw6qDzUNI/AAAAAAAAAo4/suu2z2AnxFQ/s144/IMG_3186.JPG" /></a></td></tr><tr><tr><td style="font-family:arial,sans-serif; font-size:11px; text-align:right">From <a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/crudson/2007USAElises">2007 USA Elises</a></td></tr></table><br />An hour or so later and the threat level was increased from guarded to high.<br /><table style="width:auto;"><tr><td><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/crudson/2007USAElises/photo#5051896482223050978"><img src="http://lh4.google.com/image/crudson/RhvxFaDzUOI/AAAAAAAAApA/Z-f1CUT2sZc/s144/IMG_3190.JPG" /></a></td></tr><tr><tr><td style="font-family:arial,sans-serif; font-size:11px; text-align:right">From <a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/crudson/2007USAElises">2007 USA Elises</a></td></tr></table><br />Then we encountered a storm that would have had Noah scurrying anxiously to his workshop, wood plane in hand.<br /><table style="width:auto;"><tr><td><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/crudson/2007USAElises/photo#5051896881655009554"><img src="http://lh5.google.com/image/crudson/RhvxcqDzURI/AAAAAAAAApY/9UqmkbfZDa4/s144/IMG_3200.JPG" /></a></td></tr><tr><tr><td style="font-family:arial,sans-serif; font-size:11px; text-align:right">From <a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/crudson/2007USAElises">2007 USA Elises</a></td></tr></table><br />The Elises performed well in this weather even at decent cruising speeds, although I had no idea where we were or what was around us. I saw these supports at one point and inferred that we were on a bridge of some sort.<br /><table style="width:auto;"><tr><td><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/crudson/2007USAElises/photo#5051897006209061154"><img src="http://lh6.google.com/image/crudson/Rhvxj6DzUSI/AAAAAAAAApg/Uxj_fOAr2c0/s144/IMG_3203.JPG" /></a></td></tr><tr><tr><td style="font-family:arial,sans-serif; font-size:11px; text-align:right">From <a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/crudson/2007USAElises">2007 USA Elises</a></td></tr></table><br />Back to those fires; we saw no real evidence ourselves apart from some roadsigns warning of smoke and occasionally we could smell the remains of a fire. We were also hoping to visit a gator farm but they were apparently not on the route we took.<br /><br />Tonight we are relaxing in the motel, then tomorrow we are off to Panama City.<div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/6555500491712285225-9080092078761920285?l=elises07.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Crudsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10735589632551776830noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6555500491712285225.post-88385234732630412652007-04-09T22:49:00.000-05:002007-04-09T23:49:37.975-05:00Today was a rest day. Having said that we still drove for over an hour to the beach and back (the return bit took a while due to traffic and roadworks).<br /><br />South Beach, Miami is a really cool place; a quality stretch of restaurants and cafes with a very nice beach, and not cheesy or over crowded. There was a rumour that Spring Break was going on this week, but thankfully we saw no evidence of it. We got plenty of attention cruising around. Here is Cory about to race a Miami cop:<table style="width: auto;"><tbody><tr><td><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/crudson/2007USAElises/photo#5051613834720268354"><img src="http://lh6.google.com/image/crudson/RhrwBKDzUEI/AAAAAAAAAmM/61xZFdlLnls/s144/IMG_3167.JPG" /></a></td></tr><tr></tr><tr><td style="font-family: arial,sans-serif; font-size: 11px; text-align: right;">From <a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/crudson/2007USAElises">2007 USA Elises</a></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><br />He won but got arrested and tortured horribly. Never mind. Here is a pic of us heading into South Beach. I love the flared corners at the front of the Elise; they are the only things one can see in front of the windscreen when driving:<table style="width: auto;"><tbody><tr><td><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/crudson/2007USAElises/photo#5051613997929025634"><img src="http://lh4.google.com/image/crudson/RhrwKqDzUGI/AAAAAAAAAmc/RlMkigi2nXo/s144/IMG_3169.JPG" /></a></td></tr><tr></tr><tr><td style="font-family: arial,sans-serif; font-size: 11px; text-align: right;">From <a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/crudson/2007USAElises">2007 USA Elises</a></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><br />We had a brunch at the edge of the beach and walked around a bit. Weather was 85 or so with nice humidity and the water was lovely. I did my customary 5 mile swim. Well...I paddled around a bit with the water up to my knees then ran out of the water. One thing we did ponder was that there can't be many people that have undertaken a drive where they have dipped their toes in the Atlantic, The Gulf and The Pacific. Looking forward to completing that hat trick :)<br /><br />You know you are with Elise-obsessed people when they tell you to meet them at "the lifeguard hut that looks kind of saffron yellow and krypton green with the chrome orange trim" <table style="width: auto;"><tbody><tr><td><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/crudson/2007USAElises/photo#5051618434630242466"><img src="http://lh5.google.com/image/crudson/Rhr0M6DzUKI/AAAAAAAAAm8/yMmm-GZBl3w/s144/IMG_3181.JPG" /></a></td></tr><tr></tr><tr><td style="font-family: arial,sans-serif; font-size: 11px; text-align: right;">From <a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/crudson/2007USAElises">2007 USA Elises</a></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><br />I came across this place. I remember rolling a car here once. I think it was in Grand Theft Auto 3: <table style="width: auto;"><tbody><tr><td><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/crudson/2007USAElises/photo#5051618297191288978"><img src="http://lh5.google.com/image/crudson/Rhr0E6DzUJI/AAAAAAAAAm0/x-1Vfc66YcU/s144/IMG_3178.JPG" /></a></td></tr><tr></tr><tr><td style="font-family: arial,sans-serif; font-size: 11px; text-align: right;">From <a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/crudson/2007USAElises">2007 USA Elises</a></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><br />We cruised back to the hotel after the beach. Plenty of attention and amusing conversations coming back, including:<br /><br />Boy: "Is that a Lamborghini?"<br />Jared: "No it's a Fettuccine"<br /><br />40-something woman leaning into car: "How much does it cost?"<br />Me: "45 grand or so."<br />*pause*<br />"Are you Jewish?"<br />"No"<br />"Oh you sound Jewish"<br />"Ummm..." (light turned green at this point)<br />I never worked it out...<br /><br />The guy on his little moped revving enthusiastically next to us at a light made me laugh a lot, and he and his girlfriend were cracking up too. It's the little moments that make the day...<div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/6555500491712285225-8838523473263041265?l=elises07.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Crudsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10735589632551776830noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6555500491712285225.post-45383450755728435022007-04-09T13:05:00.000-05:002007-04-09T13:44:16.719-05:00First bit of sight seeing: we went to Kennedy Space Center. Here is heading towards it:<table style="width:auto;"><tr><td><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/crudson/2007USAElises/photo#5051270043014236594"><img src="http://lh4.google.com/image/crudson/Rhm3V2JvibI/AAAAAAAAAko/9D9ioTLCkmg/s144/IMG_3124.JPG" /></a></td></tr><tr><tr><td style="font-family:arial,sans-serif; font-size:11px; text-align:right">From <a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/crudson/2007USAElises">2007 USA Elises</a></td></tr></table><br />We had a nice chat with one of the security guards when we parked, as a big crowd of people descended on the trio of Elises. Given the amount we had to pay to get into the Space Center we could have subsidised that with charging for rides in the cars.<br /><br />Having said that Kennedy Space Center is an amazing place; awe inspiring, immense and very humbling. Truly the pinnacle of human achievement in my opinion.<table style="width: auto;"><tbody><tr><td><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/crudson/2007USAElises/photo#5051270133208549874"><img src="http://lh5.google.com/image/crudson/Rhm3bGJvifI/AAAAAAAAAlI/K1-dOn73fZw/s144/IMG_3145.JPG" /></a></td></tr><tr></tr><tr><td style="font-family: arial,sans-serif; font-size: 11px; text-align: right;">From <a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/crudson/2007USAElises">2007 USA Elises</a></td></tr></tbody></table><br />I had a nice time meeting a family from Ireland. I got my fix of talking football :) Meeting them triggered memories of our family trip to Florida in 1983 (I think), although their kids were a lot more well behaved than we were (again, I think!).<br /><table style="width:auto;"><tr><td><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/crudson/2007USAElises/photo#5051270184748157474"><img src="http://lh5.google.com/image/crudson/Rhm3eGJviiI/AAAAAAAAAlg/IaaWvWlTLdE/s144/IMG_1242.JPG" /></a></td></tr><tr><tr><td style="font-family:arial,sans-serif; font-size:11px; text-align:right">From <a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/crudson/2007USAElises">2007 USA Elises</a></td></tr></table><br />After the space center we moved on down to Miami. The traffic behaviour changed again about half way down. In northern Florida people are just fast drivers. Further south they are not only fast but pretty awful, and quite aggressive. We think one guy in his Acura blew his engine trying to weave and race around us. We had one police car pulling up beside us at a light, but she just wanted to hear about our travels and what club we belonged to.<br /><br />The hotel is nice and relaxing: <table style="width:auto;"><tr><td><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/crudson/2007USAElises/photo#5051424150735784498"><img src="http://lh6.google.com/image/crudson/RhpDgGJvijI/AAAAAAAAAmA/D4ChjEdDjtA/s144/IMG_3166.JPG" /></a></td></tr><tr><tr><td style="font-family:arial,sans-serif; font-size:11px; text-align:right">From <a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/crudson/2007USAElises">2007 USA Elises</a></td></tr></table><br />I am currently having a bloody mary outside a cafe in South Beach, Miami, but more about today tomorrow :)<div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/6555500491712285225-4538345075572843502?l=elises07.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Crudsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10735589632551776830noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6555500491712285225.post-80815129058827121602007-04-08T00:06:00.000-05:002007-04-08T00:09:29.970-05:00Something has the wrong timezone set (the database, web server or client machine), so points on the map for the Elise journey are currently set to GMT +0. I will cogitate this problem when driving around tomorrow and hopefully come up with a fix soon.<div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/6555500491712285225-8081512905882712160?l=elises07.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Crudsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10735589632551776830noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6555500491712285225.post-82452177771062185652007-04-07T22:10:00.000-05:002007-04-08T09:07:47.484-05:00Another long day, but an enjoyable one. The route can be seen <a href="http://automapic.com/journey.jsp?journeyId=2">here</a> (click on Day 2). It has been colder than expected so no top off driving as of yet. We passed 1000 miles of driving as we got to Daytona beach. The next few days will be shorter distances, perhaps half as long as we have been driving, so more stopping and visiting places.<br /><br /><table style="width:auto;"><tr><td><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/crudson/2007USAElises/photo#5050885733635557714"><img src="http://lh4.google.com/image/crudson/RhhZ0GJviVI/AAAAAAAAAjg/eOto7-2-Fus/s144/IMG_3090.JPG" /></a></td></tr><tr><tr><td style="font-family:arial,sans-serif; font-size:11px; text-align:right">From <a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/crudson/2007USAElises">2007 USA Elises</a></td></tr></table>We left Jared's place in Charlotte this morning, three bright Elises each with a number of little modifications so them. A nice touch about the Elise (and therefore Elise owners) is that they are all different the moment they roll off the dealership floor. We have three different exhausts: Quicksilver, Stage II and Larini. Wait for some ChaseCam clips with those three roaring. Then there are HID kits, LED lights, painted diffusers, petrol caps and shift knobs, audio and video recording hook-ups, carbon fiber mirrors, different rear view mirrors, upgraded stereos and speakers, Sector111 goodies a plenty, the list goes on...<br /><br /><table style="width:auto;"><tr><td><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/crudson/2007USAElises/photo#5050885819534903666"><img src="http://lh4.google.com/image/crudson/RhhZ5GJviXI/AAAAAAAAAjw/qGXd1pWyFBE/s144/IMG_3094.JPG" /></a></td></tr><tr><tr><td style="font-family:arial,sans-serif; font-size:11px; text-align:right">From <a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/crudson/2007USAElises">2007 USA Elises</a></td></tr></table>After a quick sprint we met Dave, a good friend of mine, for lunch in Columbia, South Carolina. By sprint I mean about two hours; but distance and time has a bit of a distorted scale when one is driving 8000 miles over the course of a month! South Carolina was nice as it had the first Palm trees. Being a Northener (and a Brit) it's one of those little things that gets you excited. Well it got me excited; the others couldn't have cared less.<br /><br />Then we went straight through South Carolina and Georgia without too much drama. We met a friendly bloke at a rest stop who was a guitar player on his way to a gig in Savannah, Georgia. He convoyed with us for 50 miles or so in his white pick up truck. He did pretty well in keeping up! With my rubbish mind though I forgot he was going to tag along and for a while was a little confused as to why this white pickup had raced up and leeched onto us.<br /><br />Next we headed down into Florida, our 8th state of the trip already. Dave was right; as soon as you get to Florida people drive a good 20 miles and hour faster. I decided to step up our speed when a 90 year old granny cruised past us in a beaten up Honda at about 90 miles an hour.<br /><br /><table style="width:auto;"><tr><td><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/crudson/2007USAElises/photo#5050885952678889890"><img src="http://lh3.google.com/image/crudson/RhhaA2JviaI/AAAAAAAAAkI/pox6gOLNdWw/s144/IMG_3114.JPG" /></a></td></tr><tr><tr><td style="font-family:arial,sans-serif; font-size:11px; text-align:right">From <a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/crudson/2007USAElises">2007 USA Elises</a></td></tr></table>We stopped off in Daytona at the enormous Harley dealership. They had a festival thingy going on outside which we milled around in for a while. I like the Harley crowd; we often exchange waves on the highway and they are always a good laugh to chat with.<br /><br />We have decided to have some kind of hotel plan before getting to a city. We tried to ad-lib it in Orlando and ended up in, let's be kind here, a bit of a slum. See the GPS route where we doubled back. We capped the day off with a steak dinner and a Yuengling; was a bit of a treat to have Philly beer down here.<br /><br />Off to Universal Studios tomorrow to go play then off to Miami!<br />** Update ** Cory is feeling unwell so sod it; I am going to go to Kennedy Space Center and dream about being an astronaut when I grow up.<br /><br />Some numbers so far:<br /><ul><li>1050 miles traveled<br /></li><li>8 states visited</li><li>12 tanks of fuel used between us all<br /></li><li>1 cars seen flipped over</li></ul><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/6555500491712285225-8245217777106218565?l=elises07.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Crudsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10735589632551776830noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6555500491712285225.post-66154676264636891382007-04-06T23:40:00.000-05:002007-04-07T22:09:50.270-05:00The journey is underway. Apart from some horrible traffic in Virginia it was otherwise nice and uneventful, although quite long. We are quite tired so will write more later, but here is a nice picture I took:<br /><br /><table style="width: auto;"><tbody><tr><td><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/crudson/2007USAElises/photo#5050541165589268786"><img src="http://lh5.google.com/image/crudson/RhcgbmJviTI/AAAAAAAAAjQ/s2KQk6kOUys/s144/IMG_3080.JPG" /></a></td></tr><tr></tr><tr><td style="font-family: arial,sans-serif; font-size: 11px; text-align: right;">From <a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/crudson/2007USAElises">2007 USA Elises</a></td></tr></tbody></table><br />GPS data for today is available at my <a href="http://automapic.com/journey.jsp?journeyId=2">automapic site</a>.<div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/6555500491712285225-6615467626463689138?l=elises07.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Crudsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10735589632551776830noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6555500491712285225.post-84102521359391136692007-04-04T20:47:00.000-05:002007-04-05T00:59:05.717-05:00Testing image linking to Picasaweb. Here is a screenshot from <a href="http://automapic.com">automapic.com</a> showing the journey path.<br /><table style="width: auto;"><tbody><tr><td><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/crudson/2007USAElises/photo#5049819104277399842"><img src="http://lh4.google.com/image/crudson/RhSPuGJviSI/AAAAAAAAAjI/4AHfefhMAjY/s288/autompapic-ss.jpg" /></a></td></tr><tr></tr><tr><td style="font-family: arial,sans-serif; font-size: 11px; text-align: right;">From <a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/crudson/2007USAElises">2007 USA Elises</a></td></tr></tbody></table><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/6555500491712285225-8410252135939113669?l=elises07.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Crudsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10735589632551776830noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6555500491712285225.post-15889611753279568962007-04-04T20:29:00.000-05:002007-04-04T22:19:31.884-05:00Welcome!<br /><br />My name is Doug Hudson (Crudson on <a href="http://elisetalk.com/">elisetalk</a>), and starting this Friday myself, Cory and Jared will be driving all around the US in our Lotus Elises. I will post all the stories and hopefully some nice pictures here.<br /><br />I have been creating software and a site for GPS tracking such a journey as ours. Please visit <a href="http://automapic.com/journey.jsp?journeyId=2">automapic.com</a> to see maps with the following:<br /><ul><li>the actual GPS route we travel<br /></li><li>the itinerary</li><li>people and places we should visit along the way</li><li>plenty of other goodies<br /></li></ul>You can also add yourself to the journey map or suggest a place to visit.<br /><br />Also make sure to visit <a href="http://www.coryharpell.com/">Cory's site</a> for plenty of more info and his photos and videos.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://automapic.com/images/journey-logos/journey2.png"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 105px; height: 79px;" src="http://automapic.com/images/journey-logos/journey2.png" alt="" border="0" /></a><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/6555500491712285225-1588961175327956896?l=elises07.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Crudsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10735589632551776830noreply@blogger.com4