4/18/2006 - Emails
We have recieved several emails from people we meet. Here is one:
Just was on your website, sorry it took us so long to
check it out, but didn't take the pc with us on our
trip. We returned home on April 9th. We had a better
than great time, and we too will be doing it again.
Joe and I visted of course Nashville, where Joe
received a hockey puck from the Red Wing game,
Richmond, SC, St Augustine, Fl, W Palm Beach, Disney
World of course, Naples, Marco Island, Pine Island,
Crestview Fl, back to Nashville where we missed the
big tornado by 5 minutes if that, Alpena MI and home.
We had dolphins outside our condo every day, he fished
till he almost turned into a fish and met many
interesting folks. I'm glad your trip was everything
you wished for. It was great meeting you and who
knows maybe we'll meet on the road again someday.
Best to you both
The Decembers
These were the people we meet in Nashville. Right before the brakes locked up. Good Times. :)
2/27/06 - Final Thoughts.
Keith's:
Ok, so you have all heard about our trip home. The entire trip was a
great time and I would strongly recommend to anyone to try a similar
trip. What we found out:
When people say there really isn't anything to see, more often then
not there really isn't anything to see.
Try to go to local places to meet the people because that is the
region is not the truck stop or mini mall.
Never plan to much because plans never work out and that will lead
to disappointment, stay flexible.
All in all it is very nice to be back home on my boat (it's still
floating and everything). The sights were amazing and the people
where awesome, We didn't have enough time to do everything in fact we
missed enough that it might be worth another cross country road trip.
To all the people and friends we met along the way, thank you for
being apart of our trip and making our experience amazing.
-- Keith
ps. always take a lot of pictures.
pps + 1 walmart
Grand Total for the trip
Cracker Barrels = 35
Walmart = 22
Andy's:
The was a blast! Would I do it again? HELL YES! Next time I would get a slightly more expensive car. Oh say maybe $2500. :) I would take more time to do it as well. I think we missed a TON of stuff. With more time I would also try and meet more locals and try and crash with them. I think that is the best way to get to know a place. Looking back on the trip I don't think I would want to do that with anybody other than Keith. We had several phrases we kept saying the whole way. Keith would say "It will all work out." And I would say "It will make sense when we get there." It is things like that that keep you sane. :) You know like when there is smoke coming out the dash and we just started laughing. :) Good Times!
What is also amazing is all the people that were cheering us on on the web site. It was pretty cool to see all the people following us. It was also amazing meeting all those great people. Simply amazing!
Ok, Here are some stats from the trip. Mind you these are rough estimates. a.k.a. Drinks not included.
Total Cost = $4320
Average Daily cost = $127
Average Hotel = $89
Average Gallon of Gas = $2.38
Average Cost per Tank of Gas = $39.18
Average Miles per Gallon = 16.30
Total Gallons of Gas = 215.46
Total Miles = 3682
Total Cost of Gas = $512
SO Keith and I each spent a little over $2k. I think it was well worth it. :) On a side note. Due the layover in Atlanta we got two free roundtrip tickets. With one of those tickets I am going to the Bahamas with my girlfriend. :) Good Times. :)
Well this is the last addition to this site. If you want to continue to see how crazy my life is, just check out http://clemenko.net/andy In the future I may move it all over this site. But for not it is where it is. :)
peace.
2/21/06 - Home at Last!
Well our layover last night was a pain. But we did each get two free tickets. Anyone want to go to the Bahamas? -A
Expect a big final update by the end of the week. :) -A
2/20/06 - Leaving Las Vegas
Well we are leaving Las Vegas this morning. We have a lay over in Atlanta. But should be home by 10pm (est). In the next day or two we will post some totals on prices and some final thoughts. Check back soon! ☺ -A
Atlanta.
Well after a unscheduled layover in Dallas we are in Atlanta. Apparently there were tons of storms here and everything has been backed up. We may even end up getting bumped. But Airtran would pay for the hotel, dinner and give us each two free roundtrip tickets. That would be kind of cool. Just think the trip that doesn’t end! -A
2/19/06 - 3682m - GOODBYE CARLETON!
11:45am
Yup we sold him to some random guy for $600. Good thing since the tranny and engine have major issues. Time to hit the tables! ☺ -A
2/19/06 - 3670m - Good Bye Carleton!
10:30am
Well the good and bad!
Good: I am up like $100.
Bad:
Carleton lost the Overdrive gear. Yeah It made for some good times on the road. Basically it was acting as if we had no tranny. We did not sell him yesterday. We are going to try to get $500 for it. Ugh. Bad cylinder, blown overdrive, exhaust leak. But we got here! ☺ More bad. The power supply on my laptop died. Well at least I am hoping it is just the power supply.
Last night was good. Keith and I walked the strip a little. Yeah not a good idea considering the strip is like 8 miles long! Tonight we are going to check out Fremont Street. Should be interesting. –A
Vegas is pretty cool. As Andy said Carleton being a little bastard. But we have to get rid of him today some how. This has been a great trip. I am still up a little. The Strip is pretty cool we walked in a bunch of the hotels and stuff but we forgot our camera so that sucked. Today more fun and then flying back home in the AM. – K
More to come. But since the laptop has no power supply updates are going to be sparse for the next day or so. Sorry! Please check back in a day or so! Thanks –A & K
2/18/06 - 3610m - Vegas & Hover Dam!
3555m
Vegas Baby! Vegas!
Well we made it! We even made to the airport to pick up Jenn. Yeah she was a little happy to see me. ☺ Well last night we has a late dinner and hit the tables. Jenn was even on the blackjack tables but hit the slots for $20. I was about $60 on the tables and keith won about $40. Good Times! We got some good fan mail today:
Hey A&K - Take Carleton to a big ass cleared lot in LV and open up the Carleton Resort and Casino. Bust out a set of cards on the tail gate and you'll be good to go. Sounds like a great trip, more entertainment than the Olympics. Plan B is to do a Thelma and Louise into Lake Powell and claim the insurance. (my granddad worked on that dam back in the day) Check out the fountains at the Bellagio, it's a great show - for
free.
Funny stuff! –A
33610m
We made to Hoover Dam. We took the tour and it was pretty cool. Tonight we are going to hit the town and sell Carleton. We will see how we do. So far I have been in town for 20 hours and I am up $60.00 - K
2/17/06 - San Diego to Vegas
Still in San Diego. Wish us luck. We are going to try and sell Carelton this morning. We do not think he will make it over the mountains to get to Vegas. I am thinking of renting a Mustang Convertible. How cool would that be? Last night was a good time. With all the walking and drinking I did pass out. I just woke up with all my clothes. No worries! -A
11:30
Well selling Carleton did not go as planned. So we are now headed to Vegas in Carleton, wish us luck. From what we heard, there is are some mountains we have to cross but once we do its all basically down hill. At least that’s what a PI told us the other night. We have coolant, engine oil and music, ready or not here we come. – K
3352m
1:34pm
Well Carelton is behaving so far. We are just outside Barstow, CA and we just added another quart of oil. Good thing we have two left. And we do not have to worry about keeping up with traffic. We are in a jam and doing 20 miles per hour. At this rate we should be in Vegas by March! ;) -A
Keith just reminded me that I did not mention anything about Tijuana. Well I can see why Mexico is considered a third world country. Well at least a second world. It is SUCH a tourist trap. But we had to go. It was kind of cool to be sitting there at lunch and watching the foreign street traffic.
Keith and I are still laughing about the dash smoking! And my idiot comment “lets just keep going!” Well we think the fuel additive help the oil leaking and compression problem. Our fingers are crossed! We ROCK! –A
2:47PM
3406m
Well we just stopped in Barstow to get a little more gas and check the oil. Well everything looks Good! Oh we go! –A
Holy CRAP! We added this STP Octane booster bottle. Dang that stuff works. It is supposed to stop knocking and add performance. The bottle even said it was “Barely Legal”! The funny part is that it really works. ☺ -A
4:30pm
3510m
Well we just crossed into Nevada. Way to go Carleton! No problems with him so far! Good thing because I am picking up Jenn at the airport. We have 40 more miles to Vegas. Fingers are crossed! –A
Oh the “Check Engine” light has been going on and off all this leg of the trip? Anyone know what that means? Cause the last time we looked under the hood, there WAS an engine. -A
So we have spent the last 30 minutes sitting in bumper to bumper traffic. Apparently we are heading into Vegas’s rush hour. 3600 miles just to sit in traffic. –A
2/16/06 - San Diego
So today we tried the San Diego trolley system, It’s kind of nice. We took it right down to the Mexican boarder, you walk right over a bridge and your in Mexico. Just incase anyone is wondering Tijuana is a fucking hole, at first I thought was a bit harsh but then I decided that Tijuana is just a fucking hole, no one ever needs to go there. San Diego is a cool city, we went out in the gas light district and had a good time in a few bars, this city seems to be a bit high class, lots of white table cloths and glass with stems. On another note today I figured that no matter where in the world you are if you ride mass transit after dark all the passengers belong on the Jerry Springer show. We will be trying to sell Carleton in the AM. – K
Loud Andy is not died just incase people were interested. He was going to write tonight but he kind of passed out. – K
2/15/06 - 2958m - Parker AZ to San Diego
8am
Good Morning Parker. It is odd to be waking up in a casino that has $1 blackjack tables. The bad part is that there is no internet access for miles. So this morning Keith and I are going to look for a McDonalds. Wish us luck! –A
9:00am
This casino is pretty cool for being out in the middle of nowhere. They even have a lake with a marina on in. I have some updates that have been late.
2/12 Walmart – 2
Cracker Barrel -2
2/13 Walmart – 1
Cracker Barrel -1
2/14 – Walmart – 1
Total Update as of 12/14
Cracker Barrel = 35
Walmart = 21
- K
9:45am
Well the McDonalds here sucks. So I am updating the blog from my cell phone! From a desert. Who knows where the cell tower is. –A
10:07am
I just got off the phone with a friend. And they asked me to get them some Viagra when I am in Tijuana. The funny part is that they were so adamant that they did not need it. But they were curious. This is the funniest request that we have had to date! Oh we must be in the RV capital of the world! There are thousands!
11:40am
Hello from Yuma AZ. We rolled the trip meter a few miles ago. We now have driven 3056m! ☺ We should be in San Diego in an hour. Well that is with the time change too! Yup we gain another hour. Keith just found another cracker barrel! And I am quoting him here, “There is a GOD!” LMAO! –A
12:45pm (pst)
3121m
Carleton has an upset stomach. We think it is a cylinder misfiring. And he is burning aa little oil. But we are at small repair shop in El Centro, CA. Geez we only have like 350m to go! Now the funny thing. They have an open wireless! ☺ -A
1:16pm
They say it is just the spark plug. But it could use a tune-up and some other little parts. But since we are selling the truck in a few days we just want to get up the road. ☺ $60 for the fix! Yupeee! -A
1:29pm
Correction – What does compression mean? Well it appears we only have 5 out of 6 cylinders. Good thing we have a few extra! ☺ Plenty of oil and he will make it to Vegas! YES! –A
5:12pm
3260m
Ever drive a car in a wind storm with the windows down because the car is filling with smoke from burning oil? Well we did. HOLY SHIT! Well this is all due to the bad cylinder. We must have put in about 6 quarts of oil between El Centro, CA and San Diego, CA. But we are here. Now it gets even funnier. When we stopped to put oil in we unplugged a vacuum line to get better access to the oil fill. Well we forgot to reattach it. This caused the truck to stall at idle. Yeah fun stuff. Basically I had to shift into neutral, and rev the engine with my right foot. All while breaking with my left. Then when we could accelerate again drop it back into gear. Good times! So after 5 stalls and several mis-turns we got the hotel. While checking the oil one last time we found the disconnected vacuum line. It turns out that was what causing the bad idle problem. LMAO! At one point during the smoke filled drive Keith grabbed the title. As he says, “you know, in case we have to bail!” LMAO! We may have another buyer here in San Diego. If the truck can not make it to Vegas on Friday we are going to get a rental car. Tomorrow we are looking to sell the truck. Plus tomorrow it the day trip to Tijuana! ☺ -A
This has been one of the more entertaining legs of trip. Let me just say sandstorms hurt. Since we were burning spilled oil and cab of the car, kind of filled up with smoke so we had to keep the windows down during the sand storm. Then the vacuum line OOPS. But now we are back to what we had early this morning. 5 out of 6 cylinders. I am glad they give you a few extra.
Walmart + 1
Cracker Barrel +1
GOOD TIMES WE NEED A DRINK- K
10:32pm
So after all of that, we made it. Tonight we went out for dinner to some stake house down the street. It was very good except for the fact they had Karaoke and after traveling 3250m we have decided that no place should have Karaoke. It falls in the category of things we wish we could disinvent. But other then that if was a fun evening. Have a good night all. – K
Keith is drunk, and I am almost there. ☺ Wow good times! So as you can read we had a crazy day! Check out the pictures and even check out the movie from the thick of the action! See you in Vegas! –A
Updating from the cell phone again! -A
2/14/06 - 2478m Chinle to Parker
Happy Valentines Day! Last night we got pizza and while getting sodas out of a machine we hit the jackpot! The machine gave us 14 free cokes and $.75. Wew Hew! Well today we are off the South Rim of the Grand Canyon. Should be some good pictures. Check them out!
Well we stopped next door for gas and boy is it expensive over here. Its running about 2.47 per gallon. Just a couple more days and we will be in California. – K
1:21pm
2673m
The GRAND Canyon. And yes it is GRAND! It took a few hours to get here. But well worth it. We are right now on the South Rim –Desert View area. We are at roughly 5200ft elevation. I mention this because both Keith and I are out of shape! Huffing and Puffing! The good news is that we are not sore from the 2.5mile hike yesterday. As we sit in the truck drinking coke and eating left over pizza from last night. Not to mention the free candy bar form the gas station this morning. ☺ Who knew 2 medium pizzas, and 14 free cokes could last for dinner, breakfast and lunch? Oh if you are ever out this way bring you own liquor! No alcohol on Indian Reservations. Keith is going through withdraw for rum! We will find him soon! Well off to Lake Havasu! –A
4:08
The Grand Canyon is amazing no wonder it is one of the 7 wonders of world, the guy that came up with last knows his shit. There is a lot to do out this way, I wish we had another week to see everything out in these parts. Carleton is having a good day Andy has been moody I think its do to the elevation changes or it might be because I find pissing him off funny. - K
11:35pm
2950m
Well Keith is still at the Blackjack table. Guess who just walked in! Yup that’s right Blackjack. While at a brew pub in Lake Havasu, AZ they, Yup we say the London Bridge, Then had a few drinks and someone recommended that we head towards Parker, AZ. They said the Blue Water Casino had a $35 room special. Well Keith apparently got the last $35 room. Keith is drunk and once again looking for the Gideons Bible. He thinks they are one step ahead of us on our trip. They must be checking the website out to see where we are going next! Tonight I drank a little and lost $100. Keith thinks he lost $40. Oh we had a few drinks at the oldest floating bar on the Lake. Check the pictures out. Oh due to the lack of internet access the pictures will be delayed. We have been told that San Diego is only 4 hours away. So we are on schedule to be there tomorrow. Tijuana on Thursday and Vegas on Friday! Right on schedule! Carleton had some issues today but we seemed to clear them right up. Ugh, I had a few drinks. See yall! Tomorrow! ☺
2/13/06 - 2280m Farmington, NM - Chile
Leaving the hotel, Carleton the truck needed some attention this morning. We got in to go and he would just not start. After trouble shooting for a few minutes we figured out it was the starting/ignition solenoid. We bypassed the solenoid with a pair of vice grips and then drove to NAPA and changed out the part in the parking lot. We also changed the battery connection for good measure. Since we had to work on the Carleton we will be forgoing our original plans to do laundry. – K
11:20
2332m
Cross over to AZ to head to the four corners. – K
2341m
12pm
Four corners is pretty cool. It is on Navajo Land. We think it is not the actual spot but still. Check the pictures out! They are amazing. And to think we added three states to our journey. Utah, Colorado and Arizona. Next stop Cayon De Chelley for some ruins. –A
2166m
12:45
Well, YES IT FINALLLY HAPPENED. ANDY GOT PULLED OVER. BY A VERY NICE COP. HE WROTE US A WARNING AND GAVE SOME TIPES ON HOW AND WHAT TO SEE WHILE WE ARE TOURING THE AREA. ANDY GOT PULLED OVER HAHAHA. – K
5:32pm
2478m
Chi
Well after getting the warning from the nicest cop we went hiking. Yup that is right we went to the Cayon De Chelly Park and saw some of the coolest canyons ever! We even hiked a 2.5mile trail. You HAVE to check out the pictures. There is even a picture of Keith hiking. Who would ever think keith would do something athletic? We went to a set of ruins called White House. Pretty cool stuff! Oh Good news! There is a laundry place across the street from the hotel. We are going to do laundry in a hour or so. Exciting isn’t it? Oh the camera battery died, if we can get it charged there will be pictures! ☺ Funny thing about breaking down again, the new owner is going to get some new parts. The price of the truck is going up baby! -A
2/12/06 - 1930m - Waking up in Tucumcari NM!
Leaving Tucumcari and heading for the Four Corners.
1999m
Yup we just rolled the trip meter again. We are about an hour outside Albuquerque to the east. Today we are heading for the four corners. You know the place where you can stand in Arizona, New Mexico, Utah, and Colorado. How cool? We are probably going to see some Aztec ruins too. Oh laundry update, we smell! Man there is nothing out here on the road. I mean nothing. -A
10:53pm
I have figured a few things out on this trip. Denny's taste the same no matter where in the US you are. When people say there is nothing to see, they really mean there is nothing to see. What we back east consider truck stops out here where there is nothing they consider towns. OH FABREEZE freezes just incase anyone was wondering so until we get our laundry done our bottle comes in the room with us. Today we say Coronado monument and then drove north and see the Aztec ruins both kind of cool. Tonight we went out to a local brewpub that was pretty cool. In the back room area they even had a a fire pit. All in all this has been a very interesting and exciting trip. In the AM we head to the four corners area and from there who knows. I hope the snow was not to bad back east. - K
Today was a tough yet good day. We put in like 400 miles. And we say several Native American ruins. Tomorrow some more of the same. I have a TON of fun on this trip. I hope the next 6 or so days are the same! : Night all! -A
2/11/06 - 1590m - Hinton OK
8:30
Well we are going to hit the road soon. The rest of the this trip will be sponsored by FABREEZE….. at least until we find a laundry mat. I hope you are all enjoying the snow back home. – K
10:10am
1629m
We just stopped at the Cherokee Trading Post. Damm is it windy. Good thing we do not have to worry about traffic. That is since we are driving on sections of the old route 66. It is pretty cool since it follows the highway by about 50 feet. –A
11:30am
1638m
Route 66 Museum was well worth the stop! They had a movie at the end for the audio tour that was amazing. It made us feel pretty bad for all the small towns and places that went under. Highways BAD! Route 66 GOOD! Keith is now having a ball driving another old section. The museum really made me think about everything this country has gone through. Makes you appreciate what we have now. More from Route 66 later! –A
2:30pm
Well we stopped by Sisters Café in Erick OK. Great little place for a good meal. We spoke with one guy there that told has dry the entire area has been, They have not had a good rain since September. We were informed that even though they live in the sticks they have computers so we gave some cards so they could follow us too. It is amazing driving down Route 66 and seeing how just moving the main road a few hundred yards entire towns closed down and become ghosts towns. Its very sad but if you ever get a chance to drive 66 I would highly recommend it. – K
1804m
4:45
Big Texan had a really big beer but did not try the 72 ozer – K
1820m
5:25
Cadillac ranch stopped to see 10 Cadillac buried in the middle of a field. Not as cool as we thought. OH Well still something you have to stop and see. Now we are headed west to find a hotel. -K
12:14am
1930m
Today was a full day. Keith already talked about some of it. So we ended up in Tucumcari New Mexico. It is an interesting little town. They have about 30 hotels and no other real industry. Pretty sad actually. We did meet some really great people. Starting with Toni. She is going to be in Vegas next weekend. And she is interesting in buying the truck from us for her son. I would love to sell the truck to her! I would be a great ended to the truck’s story to sell it to a family. ☺ We meet her and a few other people at the Pow Wow Inn. The had a little bar called the Lizard Lounge. The Inn is actually on the old Route 66. We still have not done laundry yet. And if the local laundry shop is closed we got an offer to go to Debra’s house. She was out waitress at the Lizard. How NICE! Well it is late and I am tired. Damm Keith making me drink! -A
2/10/06 - 1337m 9:14am
Wow motels ROCK! This morning we are going to look for a laundry. Good thing since I am all out of socks! The snow seemed to have passed us. But we have some rain. OOPS correction it just started snowing. Good thing we have a 4x4 button in the truck. The front drive axle seems to be missing. We hope it left us before our trip. Time to wash the socks! –A
10:35am
Side note from last night. Motels that are near train tracks rock! Oh and for ventilation ask for a room with a ½ inch gap under the door. Also the lack of power outlets was fun. Good thing the truck as two! We found a piece of paper at the motel saying we are 1439 miles from San Diego. Good to know! It appears we are half way there. It has stopped snowing. –A
12:30
1428m
When you are driving through Oklahoma make sure you stop by the Old West Museum (territory city) it is an interesting 15 minutes. But it is a deal when they only charge a dollar admission (it appears that he was a colleted and his wife told him to move all of his stuff out or the house so way back in 1964 he built a museum in front of his house. )\
On another note yesterday we saw another
4 Walmarts
4 Cracker Barrels
Earlier today we stopped and toward the Cherokee Court House Museum and that was FREE. Check out the Pictures. –K
1:15pm
460m
SONIC its Americas Drive In. We had seen the ads on TV but never had the experience until today. We highly recommend Sonic you even get after dinner mints with your meal. Where else can you sit on you fat ass in your car and get someone to bring you your Fat Food with a smile. – K
2:00pm
1488m
It took a lot of miles but we finally met a helpful Welcome Center worker. Lucky clued us in on what we have to see while we are heading west. He also hooked us up with a special map so we can do RT 66 tomorrow, YAHOO!!!! - K
1500m
2:20pm
We went to the Cowboy Hall of Fame, which is now the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum. It was kind of cool, lots of Art stuff to took at and a ton of old guns. Well now we are headed south into the big city we will see how this goes. – K
1507m
4:56pm
Well we just left Toby Keith’s Bar and Grill. Not bad. We are still in downtown Oklahoma City. The memorial was pretty cool too. We decided to head out of the city on the old Route 66. We are in search of a dive bar and a bad motel. Well maybe one with plenty of power outlets.
We heard from a bar tender that there is really nothing west of Amarillo. So stay tuned. –A
8:30pm
1590m
So we left Oklahoma City and headed out on the good old RT 66 funny thing is that all the signs have been stolen so it tends to be a bit difficult. In fact we took a nice 20 mile detour over dirt roads just to see the sights like farm land and stuff and it was not done because we got lost, no way we would never get lost. We ate a Mexican place tonight and now we are hanging out at our hotel. – K
Cracker Barrels +1
Walmarts +1
9:38pm
Keith forgot to mention how much of a dive the first motel we looked at tonight. It was right out Psycho. We asked the guy and he said it was $39 for the night. Then as a joke I asked about the Mircotel up the street. He said it was $45. Hmmmm. Let me think. Nice new hotel with free wireless, a pool, and free breakfast for $5 more? It was REALLY tough. ☺ Well we are more than half way there! :)
I have been getting tons of people jealous of our trip. All I can say is that everyone can do it! Just go and live life. Night All! -A
2/9/06 - 1230m - Memphis and Beyond!
2/9/06
Graceland a Comeith!
1032m
Graceland is a cool place. Check all the pictures out! Raise your hand if you knew he had a racquetball court building. Well off to Little Rock. We haven’t heard anything good about it. So we are thinking of a quick stop. Good times! Let the flat states ROLL! -A
I got a text message on my phone today.
this is kyle from the saucer last night, cool website and i love the pics, i was the tall guy with the mug
Pretty cool huh!
1:54pm
1052m
Arkansas Welcome center. Nice people but nothing to see in the state. They did say that Little Rock has a area similar to Atlanta’s Underground. I guess they didn’t like my joke about the Presidential Library and Cigar Ship. Not too sure if we are going to stay in the state tonight. Arkansas IS only 5 hours wide. -A
4:31pm 1232m
OK, who knew Little Rock was stupid. There was nothing worth stopping for. So we are headed for the border of Arkansns and Oklahoma. We did get to see and smell a good sized forest fire. It smelled good! –A
8:00pm
1337m
So we drove right on through Arkansas, unless its summer and your into camping there is nothing to really do. It appears all the towns around Rt 40 in this area are just big truck stops. We just ate at a Chinas Buffet for $3.99 each. Who says traveling has to be expensive. Now we are staying at a Super 8, our room doesn’t even have a clock and doesn’t smell that bad now that I sprayed the room down with Frabreeze. By the time we finish this trip we should be signed up with every type of hotel rewards program that they have, since we never seem to stay at the same type.
As far as last night goes it was a blast, Memphis is a cool city that is on the up and coming and Beale Street is a blast. Tonight we are just chilling since they are predicting snow tonight and in the big city of Sallisaw OK. We will just wait and deal with it in the AM. - K
9pm
More emails and text messages.
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Shoney's! I love Shoney's!
And Keith, Carleton is not a boat!
Mark
--------------------------------------------------------------
Helmsman, Team Eagle
http://www.teameagle.org
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hey Fellas,
Hi Keith and Adam-
Adam, you don't know me...but I'm an old drinking buddy of Keiths from the maritime academy, but thats a story for another day. I've got a customer of mine who is also a good friend who lives in Telluride Colorado--He and his bride run the only Thai resteraunt for like 300 miles there, the place is supposed to be unreal, I've had her cooking onboard the boat they cruise on in the summer and its key-- and thats on a boat. If you guys want I'll give him a shout and tell him your coming that way- He'll treat you right if you tell them I sent you...might even give you a place to crash, he's a fantastic guy, and loaded.
i'm fucking jealous of your trip for the record- you guys do rock and I've been checking your site 15 times a day, keep up the good work and goodl uck with the bronco.
…
Keep up the good work, I'm going to drink some beers for you guys tonight-
Rock on,
Cashen
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Whazup boys?
Been keeping track of you on the site. It sounds like you're having a blast. Wish I could be there for the journey
Tim Borland
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Hey Keith and Andy - Keith, your parents filled me in on your "Excellent Adventure" and it sounds like you guys are having a blast. You didn't miss a thing in Little Rock......been there, done nothing.
Be safe and have a great time - what a riot. I love your stories and pictures - it's fun to watch someone else acting as weird as your dad and I once were in the hotel business!!! Looking forward to hearing all about it when you come back to Punta Gorda next time. I'm going to try and get your parents buzzed a little on St. Patty's Day again - probably not a difficult job. We do enjoy ourselves here for old people. See ya. Lynne
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It is great having all these emails! Well I am about to walk across the parking lot here at the motel and find a wireless signal. Damm these updates take a while. ☺
Night yall from Sallisaw Oklahoma. –A
2/8/06 - 812m Still in Nashville!
2/8 812M
9:30am
Well we are still in Nashville. We got a call this morning about the truck. And I guess you need wheel bearings too? Who knew? Oh well, we got our check out time extended to noon. Fingers are crossed! FYI Shoney’s Breakfast Buffet is pretty good! - A
12pm
We are checking out of the hotel and going to sit on the curb. Good Times! – A
12:31pm
we are on the road again…YAHOO. Nashville has been unlucky for us so Memphis here we come. The guys at the shop took good care of us and the shop is spotless too check the pictures. FYI. Andy had an amazing break through last night ;) – K
860m
1:00pm Snow
965m
Been driving in the rain for a about an hour in heavy rain and now we hear a little noise that sounds like a little something loose in the front starboard side under the window. Solution turn up radio. Lets hope we make it to Memphis. – K
1000m
3:05
We just turned our trip meter. YAHOO!!!!!- K
1021m or abouts (update soon)
4:21pm
Yeah we made it to Memphis. We are heading out on the town tonight and then going to Graceland tomorrow. Not too sure what we are doing in Little Rock. Check back to find out ☺. We think we found what was making that sound. So we duct taped it! Check the pictures.
One request we don’t really know anyone the rest of the way out. So if you know or think you know of someone that can help. Please email us at me@clemenko.net Or call 410-212-3200. And please make sure the arrangements are flexible. We are just not too sure when the truck will get there.
Time for drinks and dinner! I think it is HAPPY HOUR – A
Cracker Barrels +6
Walmarts +0
- K
11:40pm
I fucking hate Keith! He makes me eat pizza at 11pm after drinking all night! He makes me pay for things saying “this is a once in a life time trip” and “it will all work out” while “It will make sense when we get there” is mine. Well we have a lot of shout outs tonight. Man what a good time! Keith and I started out at 5pm for what we thought was happy hour. But heck it turned into quite a good night! As we bar hopped UP the street we meet some good people. Lets start with Smokey at Memphis Music. He is one cool kat! Please check out their website at http://memphismusicstore.com. We kept running into him all over Beale st. He recommended some really good blues! If you like Muddy Waters please check out Freddie King, Elmore James, and a new kid Kirk Fletcher!!!!!! Next we meet Nicole at Silky Sulivan’s. She told us to head towards the Flying Saucer. They had some sort of mug night where you got to keep the mug. More to come. Next we meet Maurce at Bar Tap. He told use to head to Flying Saucer. Gee you hear a theme here? Nicole actually worked there. Well they had a mug night. And Maurce wanted one. So we traded him one for some drinks and some help in the future. Um check the pictures out! ;) So to get a good picture at Flying we need the help of someone. Well we ran into Scott Gair fom Scottland. It turns out that he know exactly where I had been backpacking in ’98. Wow what a small planet. We even started talking about the Scouser that I dated. ☺ I think I am falling in love with Memphis! You must get down here and check out Beale St.
I am so amazed by our trip. Keith and I keep saying “we rock!” . I love my life! ☺ This is probably one of the greatest adventures to date I have had! Memphis Rocks!
Keith is about to pass out! We did eat a medium pizza. Tomorrow we are heading to Graceland and then Little Rock. But we have heard nothing good about it. So we may continue on! Check out to see! ☺ Peace! - A
2/7/06 - 770m Waking up in Nashville
2/7 Waking up in Nashville.
Keith and I wanted to post some of the emails we have received along the trip. Here are two.
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Hey guys..
I am the guy you asked "if I was bored check this out".. You gave me one of your business cards.. I was sitting at the bar in NO WAY JOSE'S.. You asked me what time the superbowl starts. keep up the good work! I live in Brevard NC.. Keep up the pictures!! Nice meeting ya..
Mike Forbes
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And
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I can't wait for all the crazy photos :-) Better NOT forget that camera in
the future!
Mark
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Helmsman, Team Eagle
http://www.teameagle.org
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We also wanted to mention that Chris Caminiti is in a country music song writing contest with CMT. They are have viewers vote on the web site http://cmt.com Everyone please go on the web site starting on March 1st and vote for Chris! We will have a direct link to his song here, Soon!
Well the trip continues! - A
770m
10:45 Well we checked Carleton (the truck) out today and it appears that we still have fluids in all the spots they are suppose to be. Carleton is treating us well!!!! – K
812m – 4pm
Check that, Carleton the truck is not doing to well. So who knows what a master cylinder does. We do now! Oh and by the way you will also need brake pads and calipers. We know this because of a very nice grinding noise and metal shaving coming out of the tire. The Auto shop was a very slow 5 miles down the street. If you are ever in Nashville and need to get your car fix we highly recommend CUSTOM AUTO & REPAIR and see Johnny Boyd. He was nice enough to put us up in a Hotel Room for the night while they fix our truck. On another bad note the County Music Hall of Fame was closed today (they close on Tuesdays in the winter) just like Dollywood was the yesterday. We did get to see the Ryman Auditorium which was the Grand Ole Opry, that was really cool. Went to some bars and listen to some “up and coming country music” Well this a very interesting day. You will enjoy the pictures When ever we have a choice to made it just seems to work itself out in fact that has become a motto of ours:
It will work itself out.
Road trips are a blast I recommend them to everyone. Just don’t plan to much.
No Worries – K
What a day, what a day. Well with all the new parts for $500 Carelton should take us the rest of the way. SO, whoever picked Nashville wins the break down bet! Although technically it has been broken from the start. Odd thing is that we have been getting 16 miles per gallon. Who knows how many miles we will get with working brakes that don’t rub. Good Times! Part of the trip is for the stories. We now have a great story! Well we are now looking for a bar to drink at! Good thing our hotel is near the airport.
And for the record, I AM ON VACATION. Stop calling my cell for work. Although with the new expenses I could use the extra work.
I am posting the pictures so far today. Check for more pictures tomorrow! - A
8:36pm
Oh we forgot to mention the Decembers Mr. and Mrs. to be exact. What a nice couple! It was cool to meet them at Tootsies in downtown Nashville. Tonight Keith and I settled in with some drinks and tv. ☺ Night all! - A
2/6/06 - 770m Hello Nashville!
Well Gatlinsburg TN is a fun place. Yesterday we went toe the aquarium. That was a good time. After that we hit one bar then we went and played mini golf. I won so Andy had to buy dinner. Lets face it I am a highly skilled Athlete. Then we got our picture with a bunch of servers. (The waitress type not the computer type, computer geek) we met a lot of nice people at a bunch of bars. Andy put out cigarettes on his arm, not the smartest thing he has ever done. And for the record I was not trying to get laid everyone was trying to get me laid Big difference….My head hurts more later – K
540m
Mining for GOLD! Well not exactly gold but gems. We bought a bucket and mined it ourselves. Kitty was a hoot! She gave us each a little cut Smokey Quartz. How cool! And after keith sobered up a little he got into the panning. If you are ever in Pigeon Forge, TN you must stop by http://pfgemmine.com! Just check the pictures out! Oh NEW RULE not stupid shit that scares! Look for it in the pictures. Ouch. Well now we are making the trip to Nashville. Tonight we are staying with a good friend of my brother. There is something about him being in a song writing contest with CMT.
I think I am going to let my beard grow out until Vegas. I haven’t had facial hair in a long time. Lets see how long it gets before Vegas.
Keith wanted me to update. Cracker Barrel = 9, Walmart = 4 for the day.
Nap Time - A
8pm
Ok let me take a minute to finish up what all happened yesterday. Other then the night activities we went to the muscle car museum. We also need to say a big thank you to the Econo Lodge…. We also found 3 more Walmarts and Cracker Barrels.
Today we went to Cooters the Dukes of Hazard museum. Mining was cool. The mountains are beautiful to drive through. Tomorrow we head to Nashville to explore a little and then who knows where we will end up. -K
Updated Walmart count 12
Updated Cracker Barrel count 21
9:44pm
Chris and his family has been very accommodating tonight. Thanks! -A
2/6/06 - 536m - Gatlinsburg TN
Blog for keith:
2/5/06
445m – Good Morning!
Well brunch went well. There are certainly a lot of nice people out here. And the country is pretty too! Well we are off to Gatlinburg TN. We are giving a friend a call in Greensville SC to see if he wants to join us tonight. We will see. ☺ -A
536m
2/5/06
Way drunk! Well we just got back from several bars. And boy did we meet some fun people! Well I seemed to have lost the card with all the names. But from what I remember, we meet: Julie & Aaron, Hugh & Michelle and some others. Lets see first off we went to a weird bar for dinner. Then headed upstairs for drinks. The new place had girls on the bar dancing. Then we ended up winning a door prize of a inflatable chair and t-shirts. We gave the chair to a nice girl for her kids. Pictures to come soon. Good Karma points,. Lord knows we need them! Um Then we ended up at another bar were there was a Checz band playing. Keith tried to get laid and nothing happened. We ended up hanging out with some pretty fun people! This is after we meet some cool people from Ohio named Julie and Aaron. HI! Oh I forgot to tell you all about the cool aquarium in Gatlinsburg. Who knew? Wow what a day! It is weird to think that if the trip continues at this pace it will be exciting! ☺ Wow Keith was trying to meet new people and well lets say he is here alone with me.
FYI, - I miss my girl. ☺ Keith is too drunk to write tonight. More to follow! ;_) – A!
2/5/06 - Good Morning
Yes, it is still snowing. We did get up early today, to go see the cows get milked. It was pretty interesting. Now we are off to brunch, you will have to check in later today for more pictures.-K
2/4/06 - 445m - First Night In TN.
2/4/06 0m
We the offical time is 9:17am. Keith is drivin, I am scared. ;) Kidding. The adventure has started!
77.8m
We made it to our first "lets give the truck a little break" stop. Good thing since there was a little oder.
11:00am VA Still Raining -K
110m
11:10am reach 81 south just a mear 319 miles until TN. Good new cruise control works after a little MacGyvering. So far so good -K
181m
12:13 We figured out that our speedometer is off by about 10%. On another note Andy in a display of shear brilliance brought rechargable batteries but only one set so that when they are dead we are without music until the worlds slowest battery charge recharges the them. -K
Wallmart count 4
Cracker Barrel count 4
247m
1:42 Well after a little BK we are back on the road again. It is still raining a little. Good thing we got some RainX. Oh the radio situation is good so far. Plenty of country music stations. And we figrued out that we can plug the laptop directly into the radio. It should improve the sounds. Well even though the fm transmitter was working great! ;) More to come... -A
OH!
Cracker Barrel count = 9!
Walmart count = 5
340m
3:09
Snow and a Cracker Barrel sign! Craziness! - A
389m
3:53
Goodbye Virginia, Hello Tennesee!
(Tennesee clean rest stops!!!!!) - K
420m
4:40pm more snow
5:00pm who new they still had dry counties... I kind of feel out of Place. This explains the lack of Bars - K
445m
5:45pm
Well we made it to Keith's Aunt and Uncles. Man they have a great old house. Check the pictures! We had dinner here and now we are playing online and getting tomorrow sorted out. Already I can tell this is going to be one great trip! Oh we have scheduled for brunch tomorrow. :)
From a FAN! HI SWEETPEA!
-A
2/4/06 - We are OFF!
We the offical time is 9:17am. Keith is drivin, I am scared. ;) Kidding. The adventure has started!
2/4/06 - 0m - The night before!
We went out and saw a lot of people tonight. Andy Forgot His Camera so,we are without a pictures from this evening. The big news is James went out, yes you heard it hear first, James (Andy's Borther went out) tonight. The Biz cards were passed out, just another 490 cards to go..........
Well folks that is the first ever record of Keith blogging. Lord Help us! ;)
Well that is enough for tonight. Talk to you all Tomorrow! :) Shit in 8.5 hours.
Peace and axle grease!
2/3/06 - 0m - We leave in the morning.
If you are in the annapolis area please come out and join Keith and I. We are going out drinking tonight. :) We will have the truck with us. Funny thing, I wanted to name the truck. But "HE" named himself. We found a name tag in the back of the truck. His name is Carleton Robinson. Odd thing considering that is the same last name as my girlfriend. So there might be some pictures tomorrow from tonight. There WILL be pictures from the first day on the road. Right now we are planning on driving to Tennessee. Good times!
see you tonight!
1/29/06 - 0m - Keith and I Buy Truck
Keith and I bought the truck we are driving across country. The cool part is that we only paid $1000. :) Check the pictures out!
peace..
