5/3/10

Well, that was a good weekend. Saturday morning I picked John up at 0800 h and we headed north to Oklahomo City. Ms. Clio is NOT a cross-country car. I was beat down by the continuous drone of the zorst and tires, as well as not having the mobility to move my legs as much as need be. Also, after an hour or so, my wallet began to give me a backache. Shut up John, I told you then I didn't want to hear it. We eventually arrived at the host hotel but did not see the expected mass of Triumph cars in the parking lot. I went in and peed before we asked where they were. We were given directions to a horse race track and fortunately I saw the tiny little sign directing us to the park where they were. I was impressed with the number of cars there. We walked around and gawked at the assembly of TR-2s, 3s, 4s, 250s, 6s, 7s, 8s, Spitfires, Heralds, Stags, and the other sundry cars in attendance. There was what can only be described as a miniature Rolls Royce there with a Datsun A-14 in it! That really made my day. I found the guy who had told me about the event and he showed me a whole bunch of stuff under and around TR-3s which I would care about were I making a Concourse restoration. But I am not. I did get a few good ideas and thoughts planted and I'm getting a little more excited. Of course I now realize that what I'd really like is a TR-4 or preferably the six-cylinder TR-250. Oh well, what are you going to do? John took a whole bunch of pictures and I'm hoping to get them on a disk from him. They will be added to my screen savers. As we were leaving, a TR-3 fired up and drove out. “Yep,” I thought, “it sounds like a tractor.” I realized he was short-shifting until he had some heat in the engine though as we followed him out into the “real world” where he drove more spiritedly. I think I'll be happy with Nadine. I didn't ask to sit in one, much less to drive one, but John has sat (Set? Satted? Sitten?) in Nadine and we think a little rearward adjustment of the seat location ought to pay dividends. Anyhoo, we headed back south on I-35 and decided to try the Mexican restaurant mom recommended in Paul’s Valley, Oklahomo. It was closed. John used his phone to see what else was available and we just had to try “The Pig Store.” We found it and, as expected, it was a barbecue joint. We each had the sampler plate and enjoyed them very much. Afterwards we each had a peach cobbler with vanilla ice cream. John was more stuffed than I, but I'm not sure why that was. We headed south again. We filled the tank at the Race Track near John's house and calculated 31.6 miles per gallon for the trip. Fifi might have been more comfortable, but she would have drunk a lot more gas. I went home intending to go for a hoon in The Seven but decided against it for some reason. Mom and I ate something for dinner and I wasted the rest of the evening. Sunday morning, Larry called and we decided to meet at my credit onion so we’d only have to pay for one parking spot at the gun show. I took the Judge with me to see if I could trade it for a 3” chambered magnum model. We walked half the show and no one showed much interest in making a deal so we cut out and went to Benito’s for lunch. Back at Will Rogers, I paid for us to park again and we went back in for the back half of the show. This went much quicker than the front. I'm not sure why. I did not bring the Judge in with me this time. I was a good boy and didn't buy anything, though there were a few items I really wanted. I'm not going to tell y'all what they were, because I don't remember. I guess I really didn't need them if they didn't make that big an impression on me. Once we had walked the entire event, Larry wanted to see some things again so we went in search of them. I think we found all of his items, none of which he bought either, and then we left. He dropped me off at Fifi and I headed home. As I passed the Purple Cow I remembered that it was the first Sunday of the month. I called John to see if we were having an event. We were. I went home and took a quick nap before rolling The Seven out. It drove so well all the way there. I was quite pleased. We hung out and ate then I headed home. At the traffic light to turn west onto I-30, a Stupid Useless Vehicle was right up on my ass. When the light changed, I rolled into the throttle and left him way the hell behind. The car really like to run. I won't say it thrives on being thrashed, but it sure did enjoy being pushed a little harder than just cruising. I'm really happy with The Seven right now. This weekend is Birkinstock and I'm taking Friday and next Monday off for it. So, there you have it. I'll talk to y'all tomorrow.