What I Did on My Summer Vacation, by Phil Barnes
I had too much fun. I'm back at work trying desperately to figure out what
it is I do for a living. The trip to the convention was a great ride,
thanks in no small part to my travelling companions Bob, Henry, Fred and
Dan. (Nice opera music, Dan) We got to Portland uneventfully, but of course
got lost once in the city. Fred stopped a city bus in the middle of town to
ask for directions, bare-foot. It was great to put a face to all the
listers names, which I won't recite in the interest of brevity.
I managed to elbow my way into navigating for Bud Rolofson on the TSD rally
on Thursday. A bit of cajoling saw Henry Frye team up with Brad Kahler and
Tim Hutchisen and his wife Karen showed up at the last minute. Joe and
Kerri Merone were there, looking a bit lost, but willing to give it a
whack. The rally was very nicely done, with mileages to every turn. I
started out doing calculations for times, but abandoned that in the
interest having fun and enjoying the ride. The first control gave us a 55
early, which told us we were in the hunt. On the next leg, we caught two
cars and passed them at my urging. Big mistake; 223 early at the next
control. OK, time to get serious. I paid closer attention to our speed and
we were rewarded with a 1 at the third control. (That represents 0.01
minute error.) The fourth leg was going along smoothly until we got to a
drawbridge which was up. Panic! I started a clock right away to try to
figure out how much time to ask for at the last checkpoint. When we got
back on track and arrived at the control, I asked for 4 minutes and we got
a 155 for the leg. We came in 4th. Not too bad for winging it.
Thursday evening we went out to dinner and walked around the Old Port area,
after which I returned to the auction for a bit. Keith Erlich was the high
bidder for the convention banner, but was then faced with the job of
telling his wife and finding a place of honor for it at home. (How'd that
go, Keith?) I said my good-byes and prepared for the trip to Rumford in the
morning. Tim Hutchisen and I agreed to meet in Bethel, ME on Sunday morning
to ascend Mt. Washington.
The ride up to Rumford for the Maine Forest Rally was uneventful. I signed
on as a control worker, since no one need a co-driver at the last minute.
The next two days were spent running around northern Maine on both paved
and unpaved roads. By Sunday morning the TR6 was a mess, covered with dust
inside and out. I wiped the interior clean and set out for Bethel, a few
miles away, to wait for Tim. At 10 o'clock I hear the familiar sound of a
straight-six and am greeted by not only Tim, but also Bud Rolofson. Yeh,
Bud! We set off for Gorham, NH and Mt. Washington. The mountain was in the
clouds and the weather looked threatening, but we were going to give it a
go in any case. When we arrived, Tim arranged for us to drive the cars up
for free, since they are classed as antiques. Oh, yeah, Tim worked there
for 5 years and knows everyone there, too. :-) As we started up, the
weather began to improve and by the time we reached the summit, the fog
cleared and we were treated to glorious views of New Hampshire and Maine.
Tim was as good a guide as could be asked for, giving us the full tour.
Thanks, Tim!
After having some lunch, we parted company and Bud and I set out for the
trip home. I led us through the towns and Bud led the way on the
interstates, since he has the cruise control (nice set-up). Bud stopped for
the night in the Albany, NY area and I pressed on, arriving at home
(nowhere near NY City) at 2 AM yesterday.
What a time it was. I drove over 1300 miles from Wednesday to Monday
morning, used 2 quarts of oil and got about 27 MPG for the trip. The car
ran great, but is starting to show signs that the gearbox will need a
rebuild over the winter. I had plenty of time to think and relax. It
occured to me that it is the cars that bring us together, but it is
certainly the friendships that make it so much fun. Thanks to all my
friends for the memorable event.
--Phil
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