No, unfortunately it isn’t running again. I sadly have not touched the car since I had to have it towed back home from Greensburg. The general consensus is that whatever the issue is, it’s not one that will require the engine be pulled. One uncle strongly believes that I have a bent push rod.
In anticipation of the issue being larger, over this time I have procured some parts that are period accurate and performance upgrades. An Edelbrock 3890 TPI base, and a set of SLP Runners.
This post is more about a little thing I did over two years ago. The interior was really in need. When it comes to upholstery work, there is only one person on this earth that I trust, and that’s my uncle Ed. While there were still rumblings about some virus in China, I made a mad dash to Oklahoma with the driver seat.
The 30+ year old upholstery was in such bad shape that a seat cover was required due to the rips alone.
The lower portion was just as bad
While out there, my uncle gave me the good and the bad news. While he could repair the damage, what I wanted, it would definitely be noticeable. While minor, none of the new fabrics available look exactly the same as 30+ year old sun bleached fabric.
Thankfully, they no longer live in the stone age and have internet access that even satisfies me. So I began the hunt for new seat covers. While they can be had quite easily for these cars, that embroidery is the white whale. Most are generic, available in colors that did not come from the factory and generally the polar opposite of what I’m looking for.
I’m a professional googler by trade. This shouldn’t be “that” hard. I was really surprised to find exactly what I was looking for on of all places eBay. So I immediately purchased them. A set for the front seats only, a decision I now regret. I will find a cover for the rear at some point however. After a few hiccups with delivery, requiring I actually speak with a FedEX dispatcher and having him follow google maps to the location of my aunt and uncle’s residence, they were delivered.
A couple of weeks ago, my uncle sent me some photos. My driver seat is done.
Is this really the same seat?
I didn’t really have many words. I’m simply blown away at the result. Dad would be happy to have his handiwork on the car he never spoke about. My mind is only on getting the passenger seat out there to have that seat redone as well.
Like just wow!
He then cleaned up the frame and seat tracks. Automotive seats are something he does all the time. Trust is everything to me on the progression of this car. I trust this man with my life, and I know dad would have trusted him as well.
Looks like a brand new seat
So, as soon as I can figure out a time that works I’ll be westbound and down, loaded up and trucking. To see my family that I haven’t seen in years, provide them a laundry list of things I said I would bring, join the Cherokee and lord knows what else.
On our last “adventure day” on our wonderful get away, we did something I always wanted to do, we went on a legitimate Mississippi river boat. It was also July 4th, our nations birthday. I found this to be the best way to celebrate our country, to learn about one of the first engines of our capitalist nation.
While I wanted to go on the Natchez, it’s apparently out of service with “The City of New Orleans” fulfilling it’s duties for the time being. I chose the Sunday brunch cruise, not too early not too late. Perfect for us.
The line to board took me this far away
Personally, I had a blast. The adults enjoyed the food, which included grits that were so fine I originally thought they were mashed potatoes, red beans and rice and jambalaya.
The interior was pure 19th century recreated
While not an actual steam boat, The City of New Orleans gives you a similar experience, with it’s paddle wheel and large stacks.
Kira was originally scared of the paddle wheel, out of a fear of something I had done earlier when we went to the Children’s museum. Amelia showed her that it was nothing to be scared of, and I assured her that I would not throw her overboard or hurt her in any way, and she relaxed.
I can see it in her eyes, “don’t throw me into this thing.”
The cruise involved a jazz band, who’s music was streamed all over the ship on TV and audio, they were stationed on the 3rd deck. There was also a gentleman who narrated the history about the areas we were traveling through and past.
Many onboard, didn’t take the food option and grabbed seats on the decks instantly, so we didn’t have the opportunity to find a “good” place to see the sights on the river, but that was okay. I didn’t take too many photos because I was again on water, and after the swamp tour I was a bit on edge.
While there are some changes, I can only imagine this is somewhat similar as to what people saw hundreds of years ago as they came to the French Quarter.
The French Quarter from the Mississippi River
This is definitely something I would recommend any family do if vacationing in New Orleans. It was nice and fun, suitable for all ages. Not something that is applicable for all things New Orleans.
I’m thankful Amelia gave me some good photos, it’s such a rare thing anymore
The next day we planned our exit strategy and packed up. It was a wonderful time in the crescent city. The big easy pulled all of her charms on me, and opened my mind on so many things that had been closed for years.
After getting back from our jaunt to Florida, we took a day to rest. We got back late, and were all exhausted.
We took two day trips to two uniquely different locations that are as far south in Louisiana as you can go. Following The Great River Road, led us to Venice, LA where they even have a sign.
If you look closely, you can literally see the end of the road.
There isn’t much to do in this area of Louisiana, but there is much to see, to take in, to experience. With the loss of swamp lands due to the engineering of the Mississippi river, these lands could not exist within a few years.
The area is primarily filled with bunk hotels and heliports for oil rig workers. There are also many echoes of the past, with buildings that have been destroyed by hurricanes. Some are time capsules of sorts, as they appear untouched.
There is one pretty interesting place on the way to Venice however, Fort Jackson. There is another fort across the Mississippi river from it, but we had no way to access it. It was wet, and so we did not have an opportunity to access the interior of the fort itself.
From Wikipedia
We parked at the entrance and proceeded down the wood bridge to the gate, unknowing what we would find. The area was flooded, and it was soon fairly obvious to us that we were not going to be able to enter.
What we arrived to. The wheels were used originally to open the door that protected the fort
I didn’t know that any American forts ever had moats, but this one did. We then ventured over to the cannon battery as it looked like something we could catch a case of tetanus on.
It had some very hard to read but interesting plaques and memorials on it. Most of which I still have not read fully.
The views from the gun battery helped show the fort in better contrast. It’s very old, damaged from hurricanes, but it still stands today. I didn’t even know about this place until I was reading a very interesting story on the destination I was heading towards.
We didn’t visit the museum that is just down the road from the fort, but did stop at this very interesting memorial, which sits on the bank of the Mississippi river.
Walking up to it, I thought an animal tried to attack meCavelier De La Salle 1640-1687
On our way out, we then made notice of these brick and earth shelters that littered the grounds outside of the fort proper. I could only assume that they were storage bunkers for things such as gunpowder and ammunition. They were wildly fascinating to me.
The next day, we went to the other southern tip of Louisiana, Grand Isle.
I did all of the driving, so I was unable to get any photos of our trips to either destinations. This trip was more residential however, and was filled with plenty of ship yards. It was quite fascinating. The last leg of the journey involved a toll bridge, that I honestly didn’t mind paying the toll to use. The views were quite breathtaking. Now mind you, this wasn’t a regular bridge. This was a several mile long, Louisiana bridge.
Then we made it. Lyndsey and I enjoyed the laid back atmosphere, and thought it was adorable that all of the homes along the main drag had names. I noticed a trailer park that had all of the trailers in the air about 25 feet, with further reinforcements so the trailer did not fly off it’s supports. I had never seen anything like that before.
We proceeded to the state park, where we just made it in time. They were about to close the gate for the evening. There isn’t much to the park itself, there is a camping section, and a day use section. We ventured to the fishing pier where I enjoyed the views of the oil drilling platforms in the distance.
The Deepwater Horizon was out there somewhere…..The fishing pier is very photogenic
Just when we got there, a dolphin was almost at the shore line. The image I got would make you wonder, but others said it was a dolphin and not a shark.
Da da…….da da………She’s was in heaven when by the sea
We then made the arduous journey back to defend New Orleans which was made very complicated. The road we had taken in was closed on our way back. We didn’t learn this until our GPS took us to a complete dead end. For a while we were driving blind, in the middle of nowhere. It wasn’t until after about 30 minutes or so that we were shown signs of detours. This detour took us to Houma, where we ate and then continued on our way.
One thing I noticed on our way back on both trips was what I only assume is one of the protective systems Louisiana has. At one point, I noticed a large door/gate that blocked the entire road off which was accompanied by a levee the same height as the door/gate. I found this very fascinating and interesting at the same time.
The next day we made a run to Florida, in the section I was informed is called florabama by the locals, due to it being directly south of Alabama. It was an adventure for certain.
Our first stop was in Panama City Beach, and not for the beach. We went there to see a person I treasure, a person I look up to, a person who moved away years ago to which I said that I would see if I was ever in the area again.
We had some hiccups due to the loss of the wallet however, something they told me over the phone wouldn’t be an issue. I have to go on a bit of a rant about the hotel we stayed at before I get on with this post however.
Under any and all circumstances DO NOT stay at the Boardwalk Beach Hotel. FULL STOP. I refuse to link to it, but it is on all of the typical hotel booking sites. I only got the room because it was the cheapest one I could find, and Hotel 6 was charging $500 a night. At $390 a night, I was expecting to find some comfort after a long day on the road, but that was only after I went through their gauntlet of horrors. The line to check in was about 100 feet long, and while their convention space seemed nice, the hotel rooms were the polar opposite. The lady at the desk was extremely rude to us, giving obvious examples that she had no cares about our unique situation (my wallet being taken by an alligator). They required I provide a different credit card, even though I had already fully paid for the room with one I had lost. They then stated that I would receive a refund on my first card within 10 days. I didn’t, and reported this to both of my credit card companies – who were very displeased.
But I got to have dinner with my friend. She hadn’t seen Amelia in a few years, I had been telling her about how much she had grown, but she got to see my tales with her own eyes. I was first introduced to her by another friend who did all of the music for a movie she had just finished. Dad was still with us back then, and the local connection was invaluable to me. I thought she and dad would become instant friends, and he could be invaluable to her in her work in the visual arts.
We then tried to get some rest, all four of us in the double beds we were provided. We were unsuccessful in our quest, but arose to something beautiful the next morning.
The view outside our room
My girlfriend finally got some beach time. I could tell she was very happy in her soul.
I chose to stay in the room while the girls went down to the beach and played in the water. Before I knew it, it was check out time and we had another place to visit before we made our way back to defend New Orleans. So I went down to the beach to collect my wayward girls, pack up and hit the road.
I adore this image of Amelia
Before we left PCB, we had to make a few stops though. Amelia wanted to go to Ron Jons and Margaritaville to pick up some things. I only had Google Pay on my phone to purchase things – and it quit working. So it was all on Lyndsey, we walked out of Ron Jons with a $600 bill. I was shocked when I saw the receipt. Shocked I tell you. I swiftly returned snorkels that Lyndsey had picked up for the girls – they were $100 by themselves.
After a long, and arduous drive across the panhandle of Florida, we made it to our second destination, Pensacola Beach. We drove there to see Lyndsey’s half sister, whom she had never met before. I was pretty amazed at her home, on one side is the ocean and beach, on the other side is the inlet, and behind their house is a channel for boats.
We sat and talked for a while, where I just wanted to sleep. Unfortunately I didn’t get the chance to do that. Both Kira and Amelia kayaked down the channel with Lyndsey’s nephew. Amelia took some prying to do it, but eventually gave in.
The channel behind their house.
We then went to the inlet, where Kira was swimming while under the watchful eye of her cousin. We stayed to watch the sunset, it was pretty breathtaking.
Ain’t it beautiful?
We then scuttled off to Peg Leg Pete’s, a beach/island bar & restaurant. It was a hit with everyone.
I attempted to drive us home, but had to give up not too long into the trip. I was just too tired to really drive. So Lyndsey took the helm, and she did it well on this trip, driving about half way to our destination and the vast majority of the way back home. I’m really proud of the abilities her new car has provided her. Driving her old car was really a strain on her body.
Not literally, but in a way. In actuality, an alligator did. But I’ll get to that later.
After our day at the museum, we got organized and made some plans we both couldn’t cancel and had hard timelines on. We were to have a day split with time in the French Quarter and on a Swamp Tour, something a friend of mine had told me many times to do.
Since I had been to the French Quarter before, and we had some tight timelines, I decided it would be best to drive and park in the French Quarter. I found us a parking garage we could park in that was just a block away from Jackson Square, and pre-paid. We had this block of time, there was no going back. We decided that we were going to split up, each parent with their child. Go do things we wanted to do. But there was a slight hiccup, Lyndsey left her phone at the house, something we didn’t realize until we got there. To go back we would lose about an hour of time, so to hell with it.
Amelia and I instantly went to our place, Stanley. I didn’t get the picturesque photo that I got last time, but it’ll do.
We had our breakfast, and were on our way. When we came in 2019, we really didn’t do much. So we explored the French Quarter as much as we could. Stopping at many of the gift shops along the way. Google maps wasn’t of much help, as it kept changing orientation on me. So we made some disorganized criss cross motions around the southern end of the place.
We stopped at the Museum of Death, which was cool but nothing awe inspiring in my opinion. They do have David Koresh’s band shirt, which is pretty cool.
We then made our way to The Art of Dr. Seuss, part of the Angela King Gallery. It was a small space, but my eyes were in heaven. They had lots of pieces that I found highly interesting, but one stood above the rest. I found it curious as it had no price tag on it. It was from my favorite Seuss book, “Green Eggs & Ham.” I had to ask, I had to prod.
“Would you? Could You? In a Car?” Arabian Edition
It was apparently the only copy remaining for sale. I was told that any works where duplicates were made are all done in limited copies. The price they gave was something I could handle, and so I bought it. I had it shipped to my home, just receiving it a few days ago.
By this time, we were both getting hot and we needed some hydration. Trying to find a place where you and your underage daughter can sit down and drink something non-alcoholic in the French Quarter isn’t an easy task, but I found a Oyster Bar on Royal street that let me do just that. Amelia had water and Sprite while I had water and a Hurricane, because why not?
I then started getting messages from Lyndsey, via her watch. She kept telling me where she was, but I was not getting cross streets to get a proper location. It appeared that her and Kira had went the polar opposite direction as Amelia and I did. After some back and forth, I settled up and we made our way to find them. When I reached them, they were both hot, thirsty and hungry. I wanted to go to the Hard Rock Cafe earlier, but knew they were closed. So I thought we’d stop by there, grab some grub and then head to our next destination. By the time we made it there, we discovered that they didn’t serve food until 4pm.
So I decided we would cut our losses and get out of dodge, with the traffic in the quarter – we were pushing making it to our swamp tour. We drove to the nearest place everyone could agree on and/or eat at. I just drank copious amounts of fluids to re-hydrate myself.
We made it to the location of our swamp tour just in time. After getting our wristbands, we sat and waited until the boats were ready. Something had happened to the boat we were originally scheduled to use, which bothered Lyndsey, as the boat we were on was a little larger than the one we were to be on.
Our Boat
There were many warnings about either locking things in your car, or making sure they are zippered, as items have been known to get lost on these tours. We were going along, having a blast. We would stop in locations and our guide would throw out marshmallows and hotdogs. The alligators faces would soften up, and act like puppies that were trying to steal food from the table. It was adorable.
He then popped out a little stowaway, a baby alligator. Lyndsey felt like she was in heaven, and Amelia smiled – which is rare anymore. I refrained, but relished in their happiness.
Recall what I mentioned about things being lost? I had put everything but my wallet inside a zippered pocket of my shorts. Through all of the bumps and hits that you get on an airboat, my wallet slowly but surely slipped out of my back pocket. While we were sitting still, there was a noise on my side of the boat. Someone stated they thought it was a fish jumping out of the water, then someone else said, “no it’s that guys wallet.” I happened to be “that” guy. Just then, a large alligator came to the boat, coming right up to me.
Everyone thinks that gator ate my wallet. Our guide told me that the wallet was in about 5 feet of water, and that if he felt like there was a chance to retrieve it, he would have. He kept apologizing to me, but there wasn’t much that could be done. Sure, it dampened my spirits but there was nothing I could do about it. I just had to proceed forward and enjoy things as best I could.
I had fun on the swamp tour, but spent the rest of the time trying to figure out how I would get my credit cards, ID and other items I keep in my wallet back. This created a real situation for us the next day as I had booked us a hotel room in Panama City Beach so I could see a friend who had moved away.
I kept repeating this phrase when on our vacation. I’m not one to like normal tourist spots, do normal tourist things. Even when I am the tourist. The next day we planned on going to the French Quarter, do some exploring and some shopping. We woke up late and not feeling the best – but we sure had to do something. XY (That’s Christy for the uninitiated) told me that they just built a new children’s museum at City Park, so we went for it.
For those who have never been, City Park in New Orleans is amazing. I would go to New Orleans just to visit that park.
We started the way we started many of our days, with a visit to Café Du Monde, as they have a location at City Park that’s laid back, easy to access and hello did you even read the title?
Located in the Casino Building
After the beignets were consumed, we carried on to the Louisiana Children’s Museum. XY wasn’t wrong, the place was new and mighty interesting.
The kids and I had fun with these chairs, the fog is actually an art installation and provides a cooling effect
The building was made to be as earth friendly as possible, and it shows. I appreciated the thoughtfulness in the design.
Speaking of design, the main entry doors even have a door specifically made for children. It was adorable as it is thoughtful.
Kira felt embarrassed, but I thought it was the cutest thing in the world.
The main lobby is a little blah for my tastes, but once you get to the primary areas it’s a hit. The first floor didn’t have much that intrigued our 11 year old brewing drama queens except for a really awesome magnifying station. The rest of the space was more for the younger kiddies.
Next to this were shelves filled with jars of things to discover.
The design continued with the windows for the building, which is full of to let in natural light and help eliminate the need for heating systems. There are a few windows that are larger on the outside than on the inside, causing an opportunity for the photogenic mind.
Where’d the rest of her body go?
We then went upstairs, where they had a “toy” replica of Jackson Square, a large bubble machine, a music room and a really fascinating recreation of the Mississippi river.
Someone could have a lot of fun with this and Photoshop
I really loved the umbrellas hanging in the air.
Their interpretation of the river was great for all ages. So much so, that the kids (ours included) got in trouble for attempting to flood New Orleans.
We then ventured outside, which is really the beauty of the museum and City Park. We first took the path northward, leading to a floating classroom. There was a marsh like area that had Adirondack chairs, so I made myself comfortable. There were sight glasses, where Kira did some turtle watching as well.
I spy with my little eye.
We then made our way back to the museum, and explored the southern portion, taking a bridge to the labyrinth.
Kira was not impressed
The girls had more fun with the ducks and birds around the area though. Cries of “oh my he’s so cute, I want to get close to him.” Were heard more than anything else.
We then went back to our “house” and rested, and had dinner. We just had a big day. Children’s museums are always a big energy suck for parents.
We then made some plans for the evening. First up, dessert. The first place on my mind, Angelo Brocato’s. This place makes genuine gelato, and has since it first opened it’s doors in 1905. Thankfully it was just a few blocks away from the house we were sitting. Mid-City has everything you need I tell you.
There’s a marker on the door of how high the water level was during Katrina.
After getting our fill of sweets, we made our way over to The Broad Theater, on the recommendation of XY. A place that’s not even a thing around here, a theater with a bar. We watched Cruella and I had a beer.
It was a good day in the Crescent City. The Big Easy really wooed us, and we miss it.
After our glorious evening at the Westin hotel in Huntsville, we headed due south with a destination of Montgomery Alabama. No, we weren’t there to see something about the Bus Boycotts, or any other historical site. We were simply there to see a friend outside of town.
That friend is Hank Williams, who is buried just outside of town.
The grave of Hank Williams, and his wife Audrey Williams.
For those who don’t know, Hank Williams is often times referred to as the godfather of country music. Before him was Jimmy Rodgers, the real question to me is who he passed the torch to exactly. Growing up as I did, one side of my family listened to old school country, where the other was all classic rock & roll.
You’re probably curious about the AstroTurf. The story goes that upon Williams’ death (which is a tale of the trouble with the life of a music star) fans would come to his grave and take blades of grass, to the point where no grass ever grew there.
In-between his parents graves, Hank Williams, Jr. (a country music star of his own right) placed a plaque asking visitors to be respectful.
Alan Jackson forever memorialized this spot in his song “Midnight in Montgomery.”
It’s actually the reason why the title of this post is “A Friend Outside of Town.” This song had a tremendous impact on my views of music that came before me, and when I really dug deep into the genre.
I had to take the opportunity to give personal thanks to a man who directly and indirectly impacted the way music has touched my life. Music that continues to impact people’s lives around the world.
We then continued on our way to New Orleans, where we spent the evening with my friends in their home. They left the next morning.
We were off for vacation, but decided to take it easy instead of my normal route of hard and fast to our destination. So we took a look at the map to see what was on our route. Huntsville, Al seemed like a good place to rest and they have the U.S. Space & Rocket Center, an excellent place to go for a couple of girls who are interested in STEM.
An actual used Saturn V rocket
This is where the infamous Space Camp is held. They had lots of NASA and Space artifacts. It was a great place for all of us to start this whirlwind 25 day vacation.
A backup suit for Indiana’s own Gus Grissom
While here, I was blown away at the atmosphere of the whole area. Rocket and high tech companies surrounded us. It’s when I learned that my girlfriends father did a lot of work here, as he worked with the military and NASA on guidance systems for several different platforms.
Both of the girls had been here before, but I think this visit let them see the place in another light. I had never been, but I wanted to go to space camp as a kid. I think every kid my age did.
This building is incredible
There is so much to do here that it’s quite easily a full day affair, especially if you participate in their camp programs. What really made my heart happy was the freakin’ Blackbird they have. That’s right, there is a SR-71 blackbird parked right out front.
I drooled over images of this plane as a child.
After a full day of this, we went off to find something to eat and then checked into our hotel. I decided to get us a Westin for the night. Everyone enjoyed, especially the room service. I wanted us to be comfortable for the day ahead of us. As we were then off to Montgomery and New Orleans. I was already exhausted from the days’ events.
I was finally able to be a man of my word to the man who gave me my first blog. When Amelia and I visited for a short period in 2019, I told him I would house-sit for him while he took his vacation, then a worldwide pandemic happened.
We spent 25 days out and about. Primarily staying in and around New Orleans, but making stops in Huntsville, AL, Panama City Beach, FL and Pensacola Beach, FL. We also took day trips to Venice, LA (on the Great River Road) and to Grand Isle, LA.
B has told me over the years that Louisiana during June and July is highly humid, I can’t remember the term he used exactly but it was meant as a warning. That said, now that I have returned – the peculiar weather conditions in the south are actually better for me than those of the midwest. I was able to do all the things there, where I cannot here.
I’m very confused at this point. This is the first part of many writings on this 25 day vacation.
Last week, I took a trip to my familial homeland. It’s a place that much like Rodney Dangerfield, doesn’t get any respect. I respect it though, and it will always have a place in my heart. So much, that I have it tattooed on my body.
Keep it easy on the gas ’round these parts or Joe P Law will make you pay
I didn’t have many reasons to go, I just needed a break. I felt as if I was sinking deeper and deeper into a depression. Nothing that I tried would get me out of it. I knew this would.
The one reason I went however, was to give my uncle the driver’s seat out of dad’s IROC. It was ripped on the edge, and trust is more important than anything else to me on this car. I trust the man with my life, and I trust him with dad’s car. After looking it over, he believed the best route would be to completely replace the seat covers with new ones. Something I didn’t want to do, but his experience is trusted and valued. So I bought new seat covers for the front seats, a $600 expense I wasn’t expecting. They will be custom made and sent directly to him. Where I will then come back in a few weeks with my other seat to have brand new seat covers on the front seats.
I spent some wonderful 1:1 time with my 3 beautiful aunts, all of which I love and adore. They feel like the only family I have left sometimes.
I then went on a mission. Something I had thought about but never attempted. I went to Tahlequah, marched into the Cherokee Nation headquarters and asked what it would take for me to become a member. The staff was wonderful and very helpful. I knew my great-grandmother was on the Dawes Roll, which is the requirement for entry. They told me that I actually could enter via my grandfather. I just needed his death/birth certificate, the same for my father and my birth certificate.
One of my aunts provided me with my grandfather’s death certificate. Another gave me a copy of his birth certificate. When I returned home, I ordered a death certificate for my father and birth certificate for myself. Now I wait.
I felt refreshed and ready to take on the world, my trip was over. But why stop the adventure there? I decided to take a route home that I had never taken before. I decided to take a southern route via I-40 to Memphis, where I visited a place of eternal rest.
The most peaceful and calming cemetery I had ever been to.
It was a rash decision, based on my happenstance. An author who appeared in Ken Burns’ Civil War is buried there. His colorful and vivid oratory sparked interest in the subject for me from an early age. I felt it was a duty to pay my respects and thank him in the best way I knew how, for the gift he provided me as a young boy.
I’ve never been a big reader unfortunately, and had never read any of his works. I just purchased one of his novels and can’t wait to read it. If his writing skills were as good as his vocal ones, I know I will love it.
I’m back home now, where my amazing girlfriend missed me. I missed her as well. I’m finding my soul to be as complex as it is empty at times. I need quiet reflection. I need times completely alone and quiet, and I need ways to escape the mental anguish I continue to face. I accomplished that during this trip.
Now to begin a period of financial self restraint, which I’ve never been that good with.
