Travels with BillyBob Log

WHAT'S NEW is a chronological listing of updates to the BillyBob site.

TRUCK LINKS including vendor sites for old parts, custom parts, and tools as well as sites for classic car and truck organizations

STORE Operating in association with Amazon.com, books, recordings and tools can be purchased.

PLANNING for the restoration including project schedule and cost estimates.

TRAVELS WITH BILLYBOB With apologies to Steinbeck, this area of BillyBob's Garage will be used to log the trips BillyBob and I make together.

WORK-IN-PROGRESS is the restoration of parts of BillyBob that I can accomplish without a garage.

PRE-RESTORATION includes log entries of minor repairs and and adventures between time of purchase and the time when I started restoration, a piece at a time.

JR'S KORNER JR's Korner is the history of BillyBob before I got him authored by my brother, Wm. C. Kephart.

BILLYBOB MAINTENANCE Ever changing detailing, oil change, lube, etc. maintenance routines specifically developed for BillyBob, including required tools, materials and procedures.

PARTS SHOP The Parts Shop is a repository of How-To articles. Things that I have done over and over enough times to have developed a procedure. This gives me a checklist and saves brain cells.

STEALTH SHOP Urban residence design with large integrated shop and separate living quarters for a relative or renter.

10. Hutchinson Roadtrip Day 15

SITREP

The Orange Park hotel is a high class joint with a hot breakfast. I left this morning with a happy belly. They had special weekend rates to entice parents of graduating college students so it didn't cost anymore than the usual places I stay at. Sometimes, you get the bear.

Saturday, May 31th 2008
Day 15 PRE Check

Did all the fluid and tire checks. Only had to top off the coolant and tranny lube. Now that we're at sea level along the coast, I'll be switching back to regular gas from premium. I got BillyBob to start easier by givin' him a little choke. Set Mother for an A1A intersection in St. Augustine and we were off.


1.	Date and Time	May 31, 2008 about 9 am *
2.	Odometer	about 32,650 *
3.	Comfort Supplies	Cellphone, AAA+ membership, reading glasses, my lucky WWII Army Air Corps mechanics cap, cheap aviator sunglasses, small cooler with water and trail mix
4.	Roadtrip Supplies	Inventory
5.	Prep	Mount navigator, setup GPS tracker

Engage

It was nice secondary road for the short distance to St. Augustine. When I got to the intersection with A1A, I put Mother in passive mode and went the wrong way. Got turned around running south, as desired, and missed a turn. Found myself lost in the narrow alleys of the historical district. ~!@#$%^

Finally got squared away and, after leaving St. Augustine, traveled on a less congested stretch down the coast. In the distance are stilt houses on the ocean. Weather is good and not too hot yet. A lot of A1A in north Florida is undeveloped as yet and you can make some good time.

This is a stretch where the highway runs along public beach and I have a formation of pelicans running point for me. I really like to drive A1A but everytime I turn Mother on, she wants to run me down U.S.1. I leave her in passive mode for the most part.

After awhile we hit the more developed portions of A1A and eventually it merges with U.S.1 again. Mother is happy but I keep looking for signs back out to A1A. This development is mild compared to my neck of the woods and not unpleasant. It certainly doesn't feel like the busy saturday traffic I'm accustomed to.

In the New Smyrna Beach area, I find a causway leading out the A1A again. I turn south on A1A and put Mother in passive mode again after she tells me to hang a huey about five times. I should have listened to her this time. About six miles down the road, I see a sign "No outlet to the mainland". Curses! You can see this half hour detour as a dogleg on the Goggle map and Google Earth aerial.

In spots it looked like rain and I didn't want to waste any more time so I let Mother lead the rest of the way. The destination today is my Uncle Tom and Aunt Marianne's house in Melbourne, Florida. I wanted to get there by early afternoon so we would have time to visit. Mother assured me if I followed her directions, we would . . . and we did.

Day 15 Google Earth Track

Day 15 Google Map Track


1.	Date and Time	May 30, 2008 about 1:30 PM *
2.	Odometer	about 32,850 *
3.	Mileage	about 200 *
4.	Elapsed Time	about 4 hrs, 30 min *

* stats from here on out are WAG (wild ass guesses) 'cause they were written on scraps of paper and stuffed in my back pocket with gas receipts. First thing I did when I got home to the Krash Pad is wash those pants for something to wear to the cruise-in. The scraps of paper and receipts got washed too. Ratzen-fratzen!

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