"Where's Hoss?? II" - The Return Home

Hey Y'all!

Let's not forget our intrepid Suby-Traveler as he heads back to his beloved Tennessee (and Sarah, too!)

Monday evening finds the "Suby-Hoss" in Grants, New Mexico, about halfway between Gallup on the western border, and Albuquerque, at about the Center of the state. He made a LOT of distance today, and has been cruising at about 75 MPH all day (somewhat faster than on the trip West, but then he's heading HOME this time! - gn) and his car continues to run very well - no problems whatsoever since the throttle return spring incident. Thanks, again, to all those who helped out!!

He hasn't done any precise fuel economy calcs - he's writing down mileage and fuel used but will figure it out when he gets home. All he knows so far is that it's "pretty good".

No side trips today - "just concentratin' on gittin home".

Mentioned lots of rain in the night very early Sunday morning, and it looked ominous at times during the show on Sunday, but he didn't get any rain where he and Sarah were. Today, he's seen off and on rain during the day, but when it hits it's only for a very few minutes and then gone - no big deal so far and the rain in the mid-west will probably move out before he approaches it, so he should have it clear all the way home....

He also mentioned that it was a little strange going to a two-day car event where no driving is done during the event. This echoes what we've been hearing from others who've attended Knott's (and the same is true of Carlisle, although we're doing some side trips this year) so it may be cool to come up with some regional "Destination Events" to attend during the Summer, which include some side trips or rambles. This should give us all some more planning to do during the 2005 Summer season for our different regions!!!!

So the "Suby-Hoss" is still runnin' strong, and he'll be callin' in again, tomorrow......

Stay tuned..... gn

Hoss's suby-tub is a pretty neat little car! When he hits the alarm button it makes a double-note tone that sounds alot like "SU - BEE". And his hat was a riot. When people were talking to me about power trains, I told them about the suby-tub and of course everyone wanted to see the car. Just look for the gentleman in the 10 gallon hat - oh there he is now, see him? And off they would go to meet Hoss!

Best wishes for a safe and pleasurable trip home in your lovely car.
angela

Wait.....he's got A/C, power windows AND an alarm system, too?? Well, I suppose if his exhaust note was quiet enough to actually hear the stereo without cranking it up over 100 decibels I might be jealous!!

But isn't the alarm system in his HAT???? You know....little laser thingies popping out of the hat at all angles and blasting everything in sight?? (Sorry, just finished watching 'Star Wars Episode II)

Anyway, John called in this evening and had arrived in Henrietta, OK, same place he stopped at the first night on the way West, so he's only one day away from home and Sarah.

Says he's looking forward to getting home, having a drink and sitting in a seat that doesn't hum all the time.

He's just missed the rain for most of the day.....had one time when he was heading straight for a cloudburst but, at the last minute I-40 turned just enough for him to avoid two thunderheads by driving right between them - that was pretty cool.

Still letting the Suby-tub stretch her legs and has been running 75+ most of the day. Doesn't seem especially light at speed, fuel consumption has been really good (although he still hasn't figured out his mileage exactly) and his butt's numb enough that the seat's really comfortable.

He's been careful about not eating too much and swelling out of his jeans (maybe Alan should tell him about "Long-Haul Jeans" for Truckers - they're wider in the seat! Oops! Sorry, Alan!) so he gets up with the chickens and gets an early start, then stops mid-morning for breakfast which then holds him for the rest of the day until a late-ish dinner and even then he eats light. Goes to bed early to get up early and start the routine again.

So that's the life of the long-haul 356 cabriolet driver. Nothing too exciting going on out there, just a few thunder storms here and there (mostly elsewhere) lotsa miles and a guy trying to get back home........

I sure hope we have a few Speedies heading to Carlisle from his neck of the woods to get him some company for that trip (in both directions)......

gn

John's a real trooper. I'm impressed with him and his car, also a little jealous. I hope he still has some driving in him next month when it's time to drive north.

Gordon,
Seats that hum all the time are not necessarily a bad thing.;-)
angela

OK, all you "Hoss Watchers"....last installment of "Where's Hoss II - The Return Home"

John called in around 7pm Tennessee time to tell me that he had arrived home safe and sound. Got his "glad to be home kiss" from Sarah and is looking forward to a relaxing drink and no more driving for a while.

He awoke this morning (in Henrietta, OK, if we all remember) to a dead battery |>(

He also carried along one of those battery booster gizmos that you charge up and take along to give your battery a jump when it needs it. Son-of-a-gun, the darn thing worked and he was on the road in minutes. Doesn't know why it was dead, it just was. Could've left something on, but he didn't find out and it was charging and starting fine for the rest of the trip, so that's that - time to push on.

Most harrowing moment came on the last day of the trip when a Ford E150 Van decided to occupy the same space in his lane that the (Now World-famous) Suby-tub was in. John had to do some A.J Foyt defensive maneuvering to avoid him, but was otherwise OK. He then pulled by the guy and gave him a dirty look, but the guy was pretty much oblivious of anything around him (and also much higher up), so what'cha gonna do?? We've all seen this type of people on the road - it's best to avoid them and press on.

Anyway, he's home, he's glad he's no longer driving, he had a GREAT time both on the road and meeting all of his friends at Knott's and elsewhere, and looking forward to that next great adventure.

"Where's Hoss? Central" - signing off - thanks for the fun, John!

gn

Great adventure Hoss! You will go down in the scrapbooks of our minds as one road warrior! So glad you got home safe and sound. It was great meeting both you and Sarah at Knotts and the look on your face when they announced you as winner of the Speedster class was priceless. I certainly hope our paths cross again in the near future.

Bruce

Hey Johnny2bolts - you're the man!!

Gordon: Great job with the coverage, thanks.

To paraphrase ZZ Top, "He's bad, he's nation-wide"!

Many, many thanks to Gordon for keeping track of me and posting my progress. The single funniest thing that happened on the trip to Knotts was when I heard a buzzing sound which did not go away. All I could think of was something electrical was going bezerk and I would probably have a dead battery as a result. The sound, I discovered when snooping around at a rest stop, was coming from my "vanity bag." .... I don't want to use the word toilet or toiletry. It was my "unwanted hair" clipper, which had somehow gotten switched on during the drive. Big DOH!!!

Here is the man.

Was the device unwanted, or the hair?

Yes.

Hoss - are you and Jim Ward in a "how many miles can I rack up before winter" contest? Are you still going to make it to Carlisle?

Yes Bob, definitely attending Carlisle after having missed it last year; the car wasn't quite ready. As far as the contest goes, after Carlisle, I will have put about 6,000 miles since late April. Jim is a driver, so he could catch up at some point. He put way more miles on his VS than I did on mine.