Day 4 – 49in 7 Drive – September 14, 2011

Posted in Uncategorized by drivindave on September 13, 2011

Today’s drive started an hour late at 1 am. Although Dave really needed extra sleep after driving so many hours the previous day the hour delay helped make for a REALLY long day. As I type this at 7:45pm California time, it’s 9:45pm South Dakota time and he’s still driving! In fact he has another hour plus to his night stop. Leaving late, driving on several little two lane roads, an extra 1/2 hour nap, and a quick stop to say hello to Tom Costello (the nice gentleman who changed Dave’s oil on the previous 49in9 drive), took a big chunk out of the planned driving time. When planning this trip, Dave planned on being at his night stop by 6 pm each evening; the schedule was based on that. It’s a good thing he’ll pick up an extra hour tomorrow – better known as extra sleep time – when he enters Mountain Time.

Dave said when he left this morning the speedometer wasn’t working which means that cruise control doesn’t work either. He believes it is a loose wire since it’s not leaking oil and the sending unit is okay. It’s a good thing he has the Garmen with him. It registers the car’s speed as well as helping him with directions. Other than that, the car is running fine.

When he got to Dubuque, Iowa the sun was just coming up. There is a great shot of the bridge he crossed over. Be sure and notice the billboard with “The King” on it. I thought he took the picture with it in the frame intentionally, but he hadn’t even noticed the billboard. He has seen lots sunrises but virtually no sunsets this trip. The direction he’s been traveling means the west and sunsets are behind him. He’s looking forward to seeing a sunset tomorrow when he gets to head South.

Wisconsin was an interesting but long drive. He passed through Amish country this morning, and said it was quite a sight to see all the buggies driving along the roadside with the horse’s mains flowing in the wind.

When you’re traveling by yourself, it’s really nice to see a friendly face on the road and Dave was more than happy to see Tom Costello. They had arranged to meet on Hwy. 52 where they met on the 49in9 drive. Tom was a life saver this trip as well as last. There is serious road construction in Minneapolis and Tom guided Dave around it. Later down the road they met up with Dale and Mike from the Minnesota Street Rod Association. Dave said he got to see Dale’s roadster pickup once again after seeing it at this year’s L.A. Roadster’s Father’s Day Show. One quick stop for a photo with them and was on his way again.

Dave had set this up previously with Tom, but he discourages anyone from following him. Besides being a safety issue, it can also be a traffic hazard and it really cuts into his drive time. So if you see him, please wave but don’t follow him.

That’s about it for tonight. Enjoy the photos.