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Celebrating our two-lane highways of yesteryear…And the joys of driving them today!

BlueRidgeMike

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Posts posted by BlueRidgeMike

  1. Cort,

     

    A lot can happen in a year, and I hope you don't wind up losing your Monte Carlos. In the end, no matter what, you still have the memories. My sister and I sold our parents' home of 38 years yesterday. It was difficult to let go, but the memories will always be inside.

     

    I truly hope everything works out well for you.

     

    Mike

  2. Hi Denny,

    I do have Jeff Jensen's book, and much of what I am doing right now is reversing his route to make it easier to navigate as we go along. Plus once we hit the Texas state line we're on our own so I'm still trying to decide between the various possible routes. By the way, I just bought the $9 copy of Eric Finley's book on Amazon. After reading that stellar review by some guy named Denny Gibson, how could I not. :D

     

    Mike

  3. Hi Denny,

    Thanks for the tip. I added the waypoint labels which makes it easier to track things. I still don't understand why it was doing what it was doing though. I was trying to get off of I-8 in California at Exit 80 to take a look at some 1927 and 1932 sections of US-80. The map shows an off ramp and then an on ramp. It allows me to exit there but will not let me get back on I-8 there. Instead it sends me back west to Exit 77, then I get back on eastbound I-8 at the same place and continue on. There doesn't appear to be an issue with the entrance ramp at Exit 80; I even double checked it visually with Google Maps and the off ramp and on ramp both appear to be open.

     

    In any event, the issue is solved, and I'm getting (slightly) better at using the program. thanks for the help, as always.

     

    Mike

  4. Hi Arnold,

     

    The Parkway runs right along my county border. I drive sections of it many times over the course of the year, including just to go up there at night and star gaze. I've driven the entire route once. The North Carolina and Virginia sections are very different, but both very beautiful.

     

    Mike

  5. Oh man this software is driving me crazy. After several hours I was able to create and print my route from San Diego to El Cajon. Then, starting to feel confident, I created the next section from El Cajon to El Centro. While the route includes all of the roads I want to drive on it also decided to put me on I-8 in the wrong direction, then off at the next exit, and back on I-8 to the original exit. It happened in three different places and no matter how many waypoints I add or where I move them it doesn't solve the problem. I even set my preferences to avoid limited access highways and that didn't help either. Any thoughts before I give up and use magic markers on paper maps to draw my 6,000 mile route?

     

    :wacko: Mike

  6. Hi Denny,

     

    Thanks for the feedback. I'm actually going to be in Charlotte all day at a car show, so it will probably be over the weekend some time when I can get back to this. I knew from some of your previous posts that you were familiar with using this software, so I'm sure I will be picking your brain. What precipitated my original request was that when I tried to create a specific route (not even sure of the process I used now) the software kept trying to "snap" back to a more direct route, typically along a nearby interstate. The only way I could force it to stay on my route was by inserting a whole bunch of artificial waypoints along the way. Eventually the software told me I had exceeded the number of allowed waypoints, which I think was 100. So I figured I was not using the correct procedure and rather than beat my head against a wall I would ask the experts. :sDOH:

     

    Mike

  7. I'm wondering if someone can point me in the right direction with the Street Atlas USA 2012 software I bought. I don't want to do anything particularly difficult with it (I don't think) but I haven't had much time to play with it yet. Basically, I want to be able to draw our route back from California to North Carolina and print it out section by section. Is there a simple way for me to do that? Any help would be appreciated.

     

    Mike

  8. Mike,

     

     

    It is a great guy who will help another guy find a job. Kudos! But I would consider taking that post down and using the message feature to reach Cort. Or I would edit the post to tell Cort to use the message feature to send you his email address.

     

    My concern is that you may eventually get so many emails from others that you have to change your mail box. Maybe not, but just a possible heads up. Heck, I'm ready to send you an e-mail and I don't even want to work!! :cheers:

     

    Dave

     

    Keep the Show on the Road!

     

    Thanks Dave. I took your advice and will contact Cort another way. You, of course, can email me anytime!

  9. Is your company hiring? This sounds like something that would be right up my alley in terms of interest and abilities. Sounds fun and interesting, too.

    We aren't currently hiring, but there may be other companies out there who are. I'll contact you with a few possibilities.

     

    LOL! I'm only laughing at this because I see myself in it ... almost exactly ... with the exceptions of the Ford and the Miata, MCS or Corvette. BUT ... I'm always checking out craiglist, ebay, etc. I'd love to add a 1989 Caprice Classic to my car family, but so far, I haven't found anything suitable or (at this point) affordable. Ugh. Anyway, somehow I missed (or forgotten, perhaps?) that your '72 MC is your daily ... that's sweet! Have you joined the First Gen MC Club, by chance?

    No I haven't joined, but I just spent the last hour pouring through the site. :) Thanks for the tip.

     

    Mike

  10. You definitely are a car guy Cort. You nailed all of them except the ES 350, which is a Lexus. My company does a lot of work with auto and motorcycle manufacturers; things like new product development, customer satisfaction, early buyer studies, etc. We specialize in something called a "car clinic" where we invite owners of cars from a particular segment (e.g., midsize owners, minivan owners) to come in and give us feedback on a prototype vehicle being developed by one of the manufacturers. We try to determine the relative strengths and weaknesses of the new design and provide feedback to the manufacturer so they can make whatever changes they deem suitable before the car is released into the marketplace. Because of the long lead time in vehicle development, this process typically takes place 3-4 years before the planned release of the vehicle.

     

    And yes, my newest car (and daily driver for now) is my 1972 Monte Carlo. I put a lot of miles on my other cars too. When the weather is bad I do my best not to drive any of them and I drive Sharon's Ford Escape instead. If I decide that I really need to have a new car I am inclined toward further impracticality, so maybe a Miata, Mini Cooper S or a Corvette. I can never quite stop stalking cars on ebay though, so my next new car is likely to be another old one. :P

     

     

    Mike

  11. Hi Kip,

     

    Even though we are planning our 4th end-to-end Route 66 trip this summer, I am already trying to figure out how to make time to join your tour in September. Last October we took a weekend trip from North Carolina to have a concrete at Ted Drewe's. Then we walked across the Chain of Rocks Bridge, then drove to Litchfield for dinner at the Ariston Cafe. The only thing that could top that would be to drive a classic car across Chain of Rocks. I really hope we can join you!

     

    Mike

  12. There is also a Best Western just around the corner from the Ohio House. I'm guessing it is a step up from the Ohio House and it does have parking. The Ohio House and this Best Western are the only two lodging facilities I know of in the downtown area that have parking. I'm guessing you're not to excited about giving you '37 to a valet.

     

    Thanks for the information; and the comment about Chicago Heights too. Good to know. My preference would definitely be to NOT give the car to a valet. :drive1:

  13. We are in the early planning stages of our next Route 66 trip which will also involve returning on some variant of US80 / Bankhead Highway / Lee Highway / Dixie Overland Highway. I'll figure that out later, but my more immediate concern is the early part of the trip. I think Sharon and I are going to spend a Wednesday night in the Wigwam #2 again in Cave City, KY. Then we will follow the western alignment of the Dixie Highway from there to somewhere close to Chicago on Thursday. My goal is to get to the Adams/Michigan Avenue starting point of Route 66 in Chicago very early - 6am or earlier on Friday so we can be clear of city traffic before it gets intense.

     

    I noticed that the Dixie Highway and Lincoln Highway intersect in Chicago Heights. Does anyone know of a good motel near there? It doesn't have to be exactly there; I just don't want a long drive to Chicago in the morning. The other thing is that we will very likely be in my 1937 Ford, so my preference is to avoid spending the night in a "sketchy" neighborhood.

     

    Any thoughts? I'll stay in a nice hotel with valet parking if I have to, but give me a nice, clean, historic motel on an historic road any day.

     

    Thanks.

     

    Mike

  14. Nice article Cort. I have been an automotive marketing researcher for 25 years, and I still don't understand why they do what they do. My pet peeve is the alphanumeric names they give so many cars now. They may mean something to the manufacturer, but with few exceptions they mean little to the consumer. Here are a handful, each from a different manufacturer. How many do you think the average consumer can match to the correct brand name?

     

    ZDX

    S4

    M3

    CTS

    300

    M45

    MKZ

    XF

    ES 350

    3

    C300

    9-3

    SX4

    CC

     

    These model names cross the import / domestic line, but the biggest offenders tend to be luxury vehicles. Oh well, maybe that's why, for the moment at least, my newest car is 40 years old. :)

     

    Mike

  15. I don't think you're going to make it from Greenville to Niagara Falls in that time frame (it's close to 800 miles) but you have lots of options from there. If you choose to loop around Lake Ontario on the Canadian side you can re-enter the U.S. around the Thousand Islands area of Upstate New York. Or you could pick up US-20 (America's longest road!) in Buffalo and take it to its eastern terminus in Boston. This takes you through the beautiful Finger Lakes region of New York and close to historic Cooperstown, which is worth a day trip in and of itself. There are some very interesting places to visit in Massachusetts too, like Hancock Shaker Village, which sits right on US-20.

     

    From Lancaster, if you aren't already pressed for time at that point, you might take US-11 back toward Greenville. It's a very pleasant drive, and you can always jump onto I-81 if you need to pick things up a bit. You can pick up I-26 to get you most of the rest of the way home, or get off in Asheville and follow the historic Dixie Highway route back to Main Street in downtown Greenville.

     

    Good luck, and have a great trip.

     

    Mike

  16. Days 1, 2 & 4 also contain a little Dixie Highway. I was really surprised on day 1 when I saw the Powell Airplane with an all new skin almost completely in place. I just now uploaded a picture of the plane to the forum's gallery here. Knoxville and the Dixie Highway are going to have a very nice new/old attraction very soon.

    Very cool. I drove through there just a few weeks ago but never saw it. It will make a good excuse for a day trip on the next nice weekend though.

  17. Hi Cort,

     

    As far as highways go I would definitely add the Dixie Highway and US-80.

     

    My all-time favorite car is the yellow 1932 Ford 5W Coupe from American Graffiti. The black 1955 Chevy from the same movie (and also Two Lane Blacktop), plus the white 1957 Thunderbird and White 1958 Chevy.

     

    Another great car is the Dodge Challenger from Vanishing Point.

  18. I was by the Old DH/county line on Tuesday and did not find a Lee/DH marked. There is a large stone Brevard county over on the current US-1 which may have also been the DH. Possibly more interesting was Dixie Lane which runs east-west about a mile north of the county line. We followed it to its end but I figured it really was somebody's lane but when I looked at DeLorne it was labeled Old US Hwy 1.

     

    I am certainly behind but I did get Tuesday's journal up earlier today. It's here:

    http://www.dennygibs...day05/index.htm

     

    Nice write up of the trip in your blog Denny. I particularly like the pics of the brick road section and that you had an opportunity to drive it this time.

     

    We spent some time in the Hendersonville, NC library yesterday, trying to go through some old maps and historic descriptions of the area but we didn't learn too much. There was a nice history of the Old Buncombe Turnpike, which ran from Hot springs, NC down into South Carolina, and was essentially the same route the Dixie Highway later followed, but no mention of the Dixie was made. The librarian told me that there are boxes of unsorted materials that include maps and area histories that he has yet to go through. Maybe he'll find something of interest. In the meantime I am keeping my eyes open on ebay for relevant Green Book and Blue Book tour guides of that area.

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