DAY 2 Solo Drive Spartanburg, SC. to Los Angeles, CA.

Now I know that everyone is probably not interested on my long road trip cross country, and they could not really give a rats ass. But I would just like to share my experience whether you like it or not, but they do include Hookers and a possible paranormal experience.

Day 2: 851 Miles - 8/16/2011

So the second day of the trip was upon me, and it was a doozy.

Back o the 40 I drove, without even realizing that I was only on 5 or so hours of rest. But screw it, I still had a half a Blimpie's Best sub, and a belly full of a Venti Iced Mocha from Starbucks.

Driving during the day was quite boring, you keep flicking through the radio stations. You end up finding a song that you like, only to realize that the singer isn't talking about some girl, but he is talking about Jesus and his relationship with God. Now I have no problem with anyone's beliefs, but in the midwest it is hammered down your throat in a big way.

I guess they don't call it the bible belt for nothing.

John Nikas contacts me because he is about 9 hours behind me. He asks if I could check the Autozone in Yukon, Oklahoma, to see if they have any Quaker State 20W/50. Well I am headed that way so of course I say yes, no problem because it is a great town and when we left heading east we both almost died. Well died is a strong word, but it was pretty scary. Let's just say the throttle pin on the Healey became dislodged on the fast lane of Rt. 40. Traffic was flying by and thank god my nimble uncut finger nails were able to unscrew the nut that held the damn thing back together. I literally saw a truck wizz by so fast missing John by inches, so fast in fact that it almost blew off his shirt.

So I stop at the Autozone, in Yukon, OK on Garth Brooks Blvd, Yes I said it Garth Brooks Blvd.

Let me tell you these employees were awesome, I want to say Peter and Roxanne, at least I think Peter was his name. But when I got there they were off for the day, and it was Juan the manager. I asked Juan Marez to stock up with anything the John Nikas my need, and I was glad to hear the Juan hooked up John with some oil and water. Kudos to Autozone Yukon OK.

Well the road called again, so I took off.

You gotta love western Oklahoma, because LOVE'S Travel Center is awesome. Did I say the gas was only around $3.39 a gallon and cigarettes, yes I know they are bad, but they are only around 3.50 a pack. So shut up and shoot me, only a woman will be ever get me to quit, And that woman will be the luckiest girl on earth!!

I could see that a storm was coming in and I for-warned John, via a text, little did I know this storm was bad.

As I entered Texas the clouds built, and the rain and the lightning began. Everyone knows what lightning is, but in Texas it is big. so say the phrase everything is bigger in Texas.

As I started into Amarillo, I couldn't help but laughing to myself, and coming up with the phrase.


'When it rains in Texas you can't smell the Bull Shit"

While politically it may sound mundane, it is a fact, because when it isn't raining all you can smell is bull shit. nothing but cows and bulls shitting in a field that goes on forever.

As I kicked into Amarillo it did rain hard and the lightning was blinding, I was waiting to see a big silhouette of Godzilla looming the background., which would've been awesome. (What Movie was that, Jody help me out) Think about it, 360 degrees and the sky lights up around you, so much you end up shielding your eyes, that's how bright it is.

Well as soon as I left Texas the rain disappeared, thank god.  New Mexico was ahead of me, and the road was clear.

Motel 6 (Carlisle) Albuquerque NM.

So Albuqeurque, NM was just like any other town that I dealt with. You scout out the Motel 6's in the area and find the one that has the least issues.  I found mine in the Carlisle area of New Mexico, while it might have been creepy in of itself, I was tired.

Now when I say the least issues I mean the one where I can crash hard.

I check in, the night guy is kind of, well kind of, I don't give a shit. But I was to tired to care, and I needed sleep, and my room number was 211.

This is where it gets kind of weird.

I park the car, go up to the room, typical , because that's what you do. But that is where the strange shit hits the fan, I get into the room.and lay down, as I close m eyes, I hear the click of heels and then feels like someone sitting down on my bed. Now I have done some part time ghost hunting, but this is something I never have experienced in the past. Then I saw something that shocked me, I look up and see the mattress lifted up as if someone has just sat up from the corner of the bed.

I am a big skeptic, when it comes to things like this, but I know what I saw, Then just as I write it off again, and roll over, because well I am tired, I then I feel what can only describe as, well does anyone have a pet that will jump on you because it has to piss, or it's hungry, let's just say that is what happened.

And it scared the crap out of me. I flipped around expecting to see my roommates cat, that's how real it was.

Whatever it was I literally said out loud "Please let me sleep and I apologize for taking up your space."

I then hear outside "come on Let's go bitch, time is money", I look out the window, and it's only what I can see as  2 guys and some girl downstairs. So it was to obvious pimps and prostitute, because well it's a freakin' Tuesday night and around 3 am

CARS SAFE  I AM GOOD.

The only other thing that made me think of the room ,.. ghost and all. was when I checked out.


Check out girl: 211, huh,..Did you sleep all right?


Me: Ya I'm good


Check out girl: Really??,..Lucky for you. (laughed)

I didn't think much about until it till I hit the road.

Wait did I just have a paranormal experience in a Motel 6 in Albuquerque. is what I saw really happen. As I think about it, I saw what I saw, no questions about it, I am kinda pissed that I didn't set up the camera and hit the record button.

I then again hit the road, hoping the ghosts don't follow me.

Drive I say Drive.

Part 3 coming soon:

DAY 1 Solo Drive Spartanburg SC. to Los Angeles, CA

So as many of you know I drove the chase car for John Nikas (1953 Austin Healey) and Drive Away Cancer from Los Angeles to Spartanburg SC, last week. And while that was adventure in itself, I would like to write something about my interesting solo trip back to Los Angeles.


DAY 1: 848 Miles. - 8/15/2011

The first day on the road consisted of driving to meet John about an hour or so south of Spartanburg SC, on Rt. 26 to drop off the tools and spare parts for the Austin Healey in Columbia, SC. After that I jumped on Rt 20 west  (Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi) to Rt. 78 West to Memphis (Mississippi, Tennessee) to catch Rt. 40 West (Tennessee, Arkansas).

Rt 20 had two things that made the first leg bearable, first off I see a BLIMPIES sign, BINGO, one "Blimpies Best" to go please thank you very much.

Than I stop to get gas and the name of the station is S-Mart (Shop Smart Shop S-Mart)

Now I wonder if this name was around before 1991 when I worked on the movie "Army of Darkness" aka Evil Dead 3, that is the name of the same store that Ash Williams (Bruce Campbell) worked at before he was sucked into a vortex back to the middle ages to battle demons and witches.

So now I leave with a smile on my face and hit the road, I then realize that Rt. 20 kinda goes more southern than I wanted to go, so I decide to cut up on Rt. 78, in Mississippi.

Now Rt, 78 begins as Rt 5, which is a highway full of stop lights, which sucks, but then it finally does open up. No one is on this highway except me, the stars,  and I saw a couple of shooting stars also. But this road is desolate, really really dark and kind off down right spooky. It's a 6 lane roadway and nothing there but me. I was waiting to see a Bigfoot, a Chupacabra, an alien or even a Ghostly Hitchhiker on the side of the road. Then this song comes on the radio, so a gunned it.

Finally I make it to Memphis and Rt. 40, ah civilization. I am now starting to get tired, so I sing whatever songs I can find on the radio, and believe or not on the whole trip they played nothing but Pink Floyd, The Who, The Doors, Rolling Stones, or some country song called "Remind Me", which is on constant rotation.

I finally made it into Arkansas and decided to call it a night. I went to look at a few Motel 6's around Little Rock, but you know the first area maybe iffy when you see gang bangers walking with a swagger, at 3 am. PASS. So went to the next one in town, I pull in and hear people screaming at each other and guys drinking forty's in the parking lot. hahaha PASS again.

Motel 6 in Conway, Arkansas

So I get back on the highway, check the GPS and up pops Conway, Arkansas. To which I head off to saying that I am tired and I'll stop there no matter what. I find the Motel 6 right off the highway, go to the clerk get a double bed room, for the price of a single, because they were fully booked. Well this might not be weird to me, but to some people it would have been, you see the clerk had a full size hand where his elbow should be. But he was very cool and friendly and let me know where to get anything I needed before I took off in the morning.

So after 14 or so hours on the road I got into my room, it was pretty , ehh no it wasn't, fell into an immediate deep sleep and still fully dressed.  In the morning walked to the car, didn't even realize that a Wal-Mart was right next door, and the parking lot was full already. I grabbed a Starbucks before hitting Rt. 40 and headed west.

Day 2: Coming Soon