My God, Nebraska is so far from Portland. While last year was a piece of cake in the huge and comfortable Ford Bronco, with its massive comfy seats, ample stretching room, and CRUISE CONTROL, it cost me over $1600 in gas at last Summer's prices... and rattled her to bits. This year I decided to drive my old Mark 1 Montero (branded as an 88 Dodge Raider), which I just spent a fortune restoring.. it, however, does not have cruise control, is half the Bronco's size, and is stick shift... but she is only costing me $400 round trip to drive cross country... so that's a plus at least, however my right heal is KILLING ME from all the constant pressure on the throttle. I took an extremely hot bath this evening at the Holiday Inn Express (just west of Jamestown, New York) in hopes that it would... alleviate some of my pain... well we'll see.
So we should be leaving the hotel by 2200, a mere two hours from now. I'm letting my crew-mate Brian sleep another hour or so... having slept a VERY restful four or so earlier myself. I want to be in Portland by 0900 tomorrow so we can begin getting her ready for sea next week. Currently I have a checklist of around thirty items that need attention before she's launched into the not-always peaceful Casco Bay.
It's also worth noting that our average mpg in the Raider is 21.88 miles to the gallon.
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