6/3/2011

OK, when we left our intrepid adventurers they had just arrived in Hico for lunch. There were two cars that followed me through the first leg of the countryside tour. I ran the “twisty bits” at a reasonable pace, perhaps a tad faster than the average person might have gone but well withing the limits of the cars, but I wicked it up a bit once we got on more substantial thoroughfares. As an aside, I'm amazed I just spelled “thoroughfares” correctly the first time. I was expecting to have to do a spell check. But I digress. In Hico, as we all got out of the cars, I asked if the pace was acceptable. Both other drivers said yes while one passenger, the aunt of the little girl riding as my navigator, said that 90 miles per hour might have been a tad too hasty. I ‘splained that my speedometer read 80 and that speed was confirmed by the other car’s driver. We shrugged it off and waited for the rest of the group to arrive. They did about five minutes later. We all went in and had lunch. We think we saw Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison at a table across the room. It sure looked like her. Of course we also thought we saw Morticia Addams and Renee Zelwegger at other tables so it might have been the heat. After lunch I ran across the street to get gas in The Seven and then studied the map for the trip back to Glen Rose. Eventually I got my bearings and fingered out where we were supposed to go. When everyone was ready, I took off. The route was a little easier to understand this time and we took the “twisty bits” at a similar pace to before however my temperature gauge was reading a bit higher than I'd seen it before and I got a bit nervous. How much higher? Well, here’s the thing, it usually stays well below 180 degrees but on this almost 100 degree day it was just above that mark. I know, I know, “180 degrees isn't hot” but it was higher than I'm used to seeing it. Anyhoo, to make a short story long, I took it a bit easier on the non-twisty bits this time. I held it at 70 miles per hour. OK, so we’re rolling along on some “twisty bits” and I'm following the instructions. We’re on FM 51 and the route map says that the next turn is Hwy 67, unfortunately a sign pointing to a left-hand turnoff says, “Glen Rose XX miles.” I hesitate, grab the instructions, and have a quick think... at 45 miles per hour on a “twisty” back road. I decide I'm following the instructions and plow on. I am ever so glad I did too. That section of FM 51 was, by far, the best road we encountered the whole trip! I'm talking almost “Tail of the Dragon” good! It had so many twists and turns that it forced me to put the words “twisty bits” in parentheses when referring to the other roads we took. I thought they would have to perform a grin-ectomy after that road. Unfortunately it was followed by a long run back to Glen Rose on Hwy 67 at 70 miles per hour. Boring. Back at the hotel, we all parked and got out of the cars. Everyone said I did a fine job leading the group, whether they meant it or not I don't care. I was done being the leader for the day. As I was stretching, Harold Pace came up and asked if I would mind driving my car around front of the hotel so he could get a picture. I sighed and folded myself back into the car. Oh by the way, Harold Pace is a writer/photographer for Kit Car Builder Magazine and we’ll be in an upcoming issue. He took the pictures and I parked again. Inside the lobby, several of us sat and talked for a bit and I took my leave of them eventually. I swung though Granbury and stopped at my sister’s. She wanted to show off the car so I took off the Birkini and she and I piled in. First stop was the Hood county sheriff's house. He was his usual reticent self but gave me less “stink eye” than usual. From there we went to John's old boss’s house where a big-assed party was going on. Linda, my sister, grabbed the guy and drug him out to see the car. When we were finished “bench racing,” I headed home. I called Tony to see what his status was. He was just leaving Not Texas. A few hours later he called to say he was at a gas station near my house and that his differential was leaking. He limped the truck and trailer to my house and parked in the street where we had a look underneath. Yeah, “leaking” is not the correct word. The gear oil had sprayed out and soaked everything under and behind the truck... including his trailer and Seven. It was “raining” gear oil from every surface under his truck. We began thinking of how we were going to get everything back to his house. We called Gregg and made a plan. I was going to buy Gregg some new tires for his trailer, since his are shot and I still owe him for Lil' Wiggly, and he’d drag Tony’s truck home. I'd pull Tony’s Seven and trailer behind Fifi. Monday morning Gregg calls with the bad news. Both his trailer and driver’s licenses are expired. That, along with his cancer and it being Memorial day, caused him to back out. We decided to just see what a tow would cost. I'd already figured on being out $400.00 to get Tony home so I figured I could spring for a flat bed. Tony called a couple places and when one finally answered, the price was going to be... are you ready for this? $140.00. No, I didn't misplace the decimal point. One hundred and forty bucks! “Can you meet us here at one o’clock?” Tony asked the dispatcher. We decided to go for a hoon. Oh, we’d called the folks in Glen rose and told them of our dilemma and bowed out of the countryside tour back to Cresson as well. We took off out to my usual hooning roads and wound up at Tractor Supply on Hwy 377 in Benbrook. See, in order for Fifi to tow Tony’s trailer, we needed a 5” drop hitch and brake light adapter thingy. We bought them and began to head back to my house. One of the folks from Birkinstock was in the parking lot! He needed a trailer tire so we followed him back inside. TS didn't have what he needed so I led them to Northern Tool and Supply where found some. Tony and I headed to my house to meet the tow truck, which had called to say he was fifteen minutes away. We hauled ass to get the truck ready to load and when it was on the flat bed it took off to Not Texas. We hooked up Tony’s trailer to Fifi and loaded his car. I tossed him the keys and made him drive since it was his car, trailer, and house. After dropping off his stuff, we tried to go to a little Mexican Food place but it was closed. We settled on a little “Mom and Pop” Mexican place very similar to Taco Casa. I finally headed home and realized it was Monday and that “my stories” were going to start in an hour. I shrugged it off and decided that if I messed them, I'd miss them. I made it home just in time. And so there you have it. The tale of Birkinstock 2011 in three easy installments. Monday I'll tell y'all about tomorrow at the shop and Sunday at the Old School Japanese Car thing. Toodles.