For the past few weeks I have posted only questions to the list, so I thought I
would stop asking and convey the joy of my weekend adventure. Until this past
weekend, I have not driven my car on a long trip - only around town and within
a radius of about 50 miles. Since we were having a surprise 80th birthday
party for my Mom and because my wife had to be in Birmingham to help her Mom
get situated in a nursing home, I decided to drive my TR6 to Dothan, AL from
Chattanooga, a round trip of about 750 miles (at least by the route that I
took).
The adventure started on Friday afternoon about 4:15 when the dog and I left
Chattanooga for Birmingham via I-24/I-59. After spending the night with my
daughter, son-in-law and grandson (the aire to my TR6 at only 1 year old), we
got up and met my other daughter and her husband for the three hour drive to
Dothan. I made the mistake of letting my children lead and my son-in-law
showed no mercy driving the Interstate portion of the trip in his new RX-8 at
80 mph. The little TR6 hung right in there. Thank goodness for the OD.
I stayed overnight with my parents and left Sunday morning about 9:00 a.m.
heading for Chattanooga. I had already decided that I wanted to take all back
roads, so I drove back through Eufaula and into Auburn where I attended
college. I left Auburn heading for LaGrange, Georgia on Highway 29 where I
turned north on Highway 27 that runs the entire length of Georgia and into
Tennessee. The backroads were great as were the small towns along the way.
When I arrived at Rome, Georgia (about 65 miles south of Chattanooga), I
decided to detour over to Ft. Payne, Alabama and drive by the Little River
Canyon, a mini Grand Canyon in north Alabama. From there it was back on I-59
for the 50 miles back into Chattanooga.
My car performed flawlessly and frankly I was surprised at how comfortable it
was at speed on the Interstates and cornering on the backroad curves. I can't
count the number of atta-boys I got on the road from motorist and motorcyclists
and when I would stop for gas. I am looking forward to my next trip, which
will probably be in late August or early September when I again go to Dothan to
see my parents. Might head that way the weekend of September 3rd to watch the
Auburn Tigers play the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets in Auburn, then head down to
Dothan after the game.
I have always been told that the destination is not what is important, but the
journey. This is exactly what I found in making this drive in my TR6 versus
the family car. I wasn't in a hurry and enjoyed the entire trip. I even think
I was less tired because I was more relaxed. Pardon the long and rambling
e-mail, but I am just tickled that my car performed so well over such a long
distance and was such a pleasure to drive.
John Shewmake
'74 TR6
Chattanooga, TN
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