This uttered by my co-piloto after we switched seats and I removed my sandals after becoming co-piloto.

Oh well, perhaps I should scrub down the summer footwear on occasion.

The drive was uneventful other than some fun roads once we left New York State. Wait a minute, who am I trying to kid? The designated co-piloto desided to run the really loud Bullitt Mustang to redline in the first three gears right in front of a NY State Trooper! Jackass!

Of course a few miles later the same cruiser appeared in our rear view mirror. Surprise!

Anyway, once we left the interstate, we found some incredible roads through three states. Once we hit Connecticut, I got back behind the wheel anticipating some twisties. I wasn’t to be denied. I’m not sure, but I think a windy rural road and 315 horsepower breathing through a more or less open exhaust do not equal 35 miles per hour. I can be pretty certain that our average speed for the last 20 miles was far in excess of that! Damn this car sounds and feels great.

Tomorrow, we’re headed a few miles down the road to Lime Rock where we hope to get tons of stories, not to mention some great photos. For now, it’s off to bed!

Frank as in Detective Frank Bullitt. The Garage is heading south for Connecticut early tomorrow morning. Destination: Lime Rock Park to cover the American Le Mans Series event. If we make it the whole way with our licenses intact, it will be a miracle.

In fact, I had been behind the wheel a grand total of about 7 minutes this afternoon before I decided to attack an on ramp. Right under the watchful eye of the local constabulary. Fortunately, Oakville Ontario’s finest must have had more important things to do than question a fat old man about his driving habits and he left me alone. We will have to mind our p’s and q’s along the way, as while Frank may look stealthy he has a healthy bark that attracts attention at every stop light.

It’s just so much fun to open Frank up and hear his heart growl that I’m sure the side roads through the Catskills are going to be a hoot. As the weekend goes by, we’ll be blogging and posting tons of photos along the way. My co-pilot this time out is a former Mustang owner, who will likely put in a few comments here and there about the improvements Ford has made in the last 19 years since he bought his LX. We’re going to meet up with a few friends from the web over the weekend, so we should have a few surprises along the way.

Recently, in the Carnival of Wheels, somebody made a comment about the incredible number of Prius’ on the road. I replied that we don’t see them here in the Toronto area. While in Connecticut, I see what they were talking about. These things are everywhere. The funny thing is that while traveling at 80 mph, I was passed by at least 4 of them.

A hybrid at over 80 miles per hour! Why bother you MORONS!

While I’ve only been here a day, Connecticut is weird. Firstly, it has to be the whitest place in the world. That in itself is odd, when you consider how ethnically diverse the place is. It’s hard to describe the vibe here. The closest thing I can compare it to is that it feels like a bad Seinfeld episode.

This morning at breakfast, there was the couple in their late Forties. She was dressed straight out of the Preppy Handbook. That said, so was he, right down to the button down, blue blazer and grey flannels. At breakfast. There was no question as she bitched her way through breakfast that she wore the pants in the family, until he finally exploded with “how many times are you going to tell me that. I don’t care!” Then, at his wife’s bidding, he began to berate the front desk clerk about the fact that they had to pay for breakfast.

Then of course, there was the 40 something east coast dyke in one of those Polo golf dresses. You know the ones, it looks like Ralph Lauren lengthened the golf shirt into a dress. If I remember the Preppy Handbook correctly, women are supposed to stop wearing that dress when they are about 14.
Continue reading →

For the first couple of hours, that’s all I saw yesterday. The suddenly, as the Violent Femmes belted out Blister in the sun, the sun broke through and blinded me through the sunroof. It only stuck around for a an hour or so, and then was dreary for the rest of the 9 hour drive.
Continue reading →