On Sunday, May 7th, my wife and I started our trip to Dothan, Alabama to
retrieve our son from his co-op job with GE. Since 17 hours on the road is
not do-able for me any more, we decided to make it a two day trip. To the
rescue comes Phil Hall, founder of SEROC, with an offer to stay at his place
for the night in Huntsville, Alabama; a mere 11 hour drive. Kathy and I
arrived exactly as planned, at 5:00 PM, only to find that in Alabama it was
only 4:00 PM ( sorry about that Phil!).
Of course, as soon as I managed to get this old body out of the truck, I
headed for Phil's flat dash in the driveway. Thankfully, Phil came out
before the neighbors called the police. After a round of introductions
where Kathy and I met Phil's lovely wife Rhonda and his beautiful daughter
Malori, Phil and I got back to important things; like the car in the
driveway.
Phil's car is a driver with many unique features. Phil has made a deeper
chin scoop for under the radiator that certainly looks like it would help
with keeping the R16 cool in the 'Bama heat. Under the hood, the first
thing I noticed was a one-wire-alternator to keep the stereo fed. The next
eye catchers are the aluminum billet accessories Phil has made; a battery
hold down clamp and valve cover nuts. (Sorry if I have forgotten a part or
two!) The interior is graced with a polished aluminum gear shift knob and a
beautiful brown interior. Finishing off Phil's special touches is a home
made exhaust baffle. While his wife may argue that it is too long, and she
has a burn on her leg to back up that claim, I can assure you it sounds
great!
The evening closed much too fast. Dinner was excellent, so no matter how
hard Phil begs off, he is a Grill Master, and can grille a great steak.
Baked potatoes and salads made to order completed a fantastic meal. The
evenings entertainment was provided by Malori, who at the age of 22 months,
knows how to keep the audiences attention with her rendition of 'What does
the monkey say?'
The first meeting of SEROC and OROC was a complete success and I look
forward to many more. All the talk of southern hospitality only begins to
tell about the warm welcome we received. The evening's visit is one I will
remember for years and I hope to repay some day soon. That is if we can
convince Rhonda that it doesn't snow year around way up north, here in Ohio!
To the SEROC members in Gatlinburg this weekend, I hope the roads were
curved and the adventure was fun. To OROC and the rest of the roadster
community, don't pass up a chance to visit the newest roadster club in the
US, especially if Phil is cooking!
To Phil, Rhonda, & Malori; thanks for opening your home and sharing a day
with strangers. We can only repay your hospitality when you decide to
travel up this way and spend some time with us. Thanks you for everything.
Paul
OROC
BTW, My S10 averaged almost 29 MPG round trip on the 2000+ trip! I would
have loved to have taken the 1600, but the mileage would have suffered with
a bed and 1000 pounds of my son's 'stuff' tied to the roll bar on the ride
home!
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