Twenty-two States, Twelve Days!

The odometer read 5,643 miles driven as I pulled my MINI into the garage back in Littleton, CO. Twenty-two (22) states in 12 days in the dead of winter was the conquest and final tally. All things considered, it was an outstanding trip!

We started off in Greeley, CO at 6:00pm on January 6th, (Day 1) and drove through the night and following day motoring through CO, NE, IA, IL, IN and OH. Some 1,300 odd miles later we landed at a Motel 6 in Sandusky, OH bleary-eyed and punchy but ready to enjoy our repast of Domino’s pizza and beer. Uneventful thus far, with our adrenaline pumping excitedly, the biggest challenge during the launch of this journey had been to get ahead of a massive arctic front coming from our rear (west), carrying temperatures of 2 degrees Fahrenheit and various elements of rain, snow, sleet and perpetual grey.

A hot shower was welcome the next morning, Thursday the 7th, (Day 2) as I let the water clear the cobwebs. It was nine (9) hours until New Jersey and I was excited to see my family. Clearly, motivation was stronger than our delayed exhaustion and we drove, ducking and diving, through PA, despite incessant truckers and marble sized gravel, into Parsippany, NJ.

The 8th, (Day 3) was a long one. After a great dinner at Hunan Taste in Denville, NJ with my extended family the night before, today began with a client breakfast at the hotel (Marriott courtyard) and a 30min jaunt into New York City (NY) for the day. Driving past old familiar neighborhoods and stomping grounds we weaved our way down Route 3, past the Meadowlands (old Giants stadium) and through the Lincoln tunnel. Our first stop was mid-town to see an old friend, transplanted from California, and grab a bite to eat. I was excited to catch-up and, luckily, Francisco was willing to take us wherever in the city we’d like to go. My co-pilot and friend David’s head was on a swivel as we walked Manhattan transfixed by the size and energy. After lunch at Lugo’s (Italian bistro) we went underground to brave the subways. Like a surfer riding the waves, but in my case a titanium wheelchair, I slalomed in the cars as we took elevators, shimmied through exit kiosks, and dealt with overzealous security guards all the while transferring to the various lines heading to lower downtown (Wall St.). A Good Samaritan helped Francisco and David haul me up the final set of stairs as we emerged within 100 feet of Ground Zero! We spent a couple of hours lingering through the new museum (a tribute to the tragedy and where I paid my respects to a lost family member), the new trade center construction site and my former working playground of the financial district. At about 4:00pm we said thank-you and goodbye to Francisco and re-loaded into the MINI, scheduled to press on. Driving down the NJ Turnpike and then the GSP (Garden State Parkway) we had dinner at The Mill in Spring Lake, NJ with clients and then headed to Long Branch (beautifully re-gentrified) about 9:30pm to meet up with some old college friends at The Avenue. By midnight on the boardwalk we had officially finished the day and were looking for a hotel. We hadn’t booked one, and being late on a Friday night, decided to drive on until 3:30am when we arrived outside of D.C. at the Marriott courtyard in Chantilly, VA and crashed.
At about 10:00am on the 9th, (Day 4) refreshed, showered, fed and re-organized we piled back in the MINI towards our next destination ~ Mach V Motorsport in nearby Sterling. We took a tour of the impressive performance shop and it’s dyno-testing garage. As referenced in MC2 Issue #23 (Dec/Jan ’10) Dan Hurwitz and his staff were friendly, helpful and accommodating. My only chagrin was that we couldn’t spend more time checking out, exploring, and installing the MINI goods available! If you’re nearby, and especially a performance enthusiast, I highly recommend stopping by.
Charlottesville, VA was the final destination for the day and as we meandered through the rolling hills of Luray the caverns brought back a flood of memories of camping trips in the Blue-Ridge mountains in the late ‘70’s with massive army-issue canvas tents (REI didn’t exist back then) and gear crammed into my mom’s ’73 Toyota Corolla which, if memory serves, had good brakes and a simple mechanical throttle. [FONT=Wingdings]J[/FONT] We arrived about 6:00pm checked in and had dinner at the Boat House. Pleasantly plump after eating we were hotel’d by 9pm looking forward to a good night’s sleep and tomorrow’s experience at Monticello.

The morning of the 10th (Day 5) was crisp and sunny. We cruised through the UVA (University Of Virginia) campus and drove quietly through the surrounding, historical, area before pulling into the parking lot of Monticello at about 9:30am. I expected a larger crowd to have already arrived, but as luck would have it, we got a front row spot and an immediate transfer up to the main house. The tour was excellent and with the sun shining on the grounds we covered the entire estate as well as the museums. Back in the MINI by 1:00pm we were headed to Charlotte, NC that turned into an easy drive and an excellent dinner at Brio before turning in.

Monday, the 11th (Day 6) was an office and organizational day. Remote access is wonderful technology and for six hours I was able to focus on the markets and my clients while doing laundry and re-packing. Later in the evening I took four clients to dinner at Ruth’s Chris and by 8:30pm David and I were back on the road towards Jacksonville, FL. We arrived at approximately 3am (this was becoming a pattern) and hunkered down at the beach. We slept in on Tuesday, the 12th, (Day 7), enjoyed a leisurely breakfast and then met my brother Frank at the Jacksonville pier for some local sightseeing. By this time we were 3,000 miles from home and, being the old-school car guy that I am, took the car into Tom Bush MINI for an oil change and once-over. While the MINI was being lubed and serviced we saw the movie Avatar (yes, as good as anticipated) then went to Ragtime, (restaurant) in Jacksonville Beach for a great dinner with more family.

Cape Canaveral, in Orlando, FL was the goal for Wednesday the 13th (Day 8) of the trip. A late breakfast had been client cancelled so we had the day to ourselves. Arriving about 11:00am we made our way through security and into the park. Perpetually fascinated by NASA, it didn’t disappoint. The front part of the park with it’s various museums, atmospheric relics and astronaut history (including a graveyard) was excellent. You could easily spend three (3) days exploring the entire campus but, given limited time, we decided to embarked on a “Now and Then” tour that included the history of rocket propulsion and programs: Mercury, Gemini, Apollo, and Space Shuttle (Challenger, Endeavor) missions. I thoroughly enjoyed it; bring on Buck Rogers and Star Trek!

We had driven from Orlando to Sarasota on Wednesday after Cape Canaveral arriving for a late dinner at Barnacle Bill’s where we stuffed ourselves with wonderful seafood and beer before turning in. Today, however (Thursday 14th, Day 9), was beginning with a drive to Bradenton and brunch with clients at Mattison’s. We walked around the pier and docks checking out the area and private boat slips, then drove around quaint Anna Maria Island stopping for a little beach time. At about 4:00 we then drove to Columbia restaurant in Sarasota for a warm dinner with family. After a late evening we walked through the open mall, said our goodbyes and then got back on the road, headed northwest to Lake City, FL where we stopped, exhausted, for the night.

Friday the 15th, (Day 10) we drove through AR, AL, MS, GA and TN. Farms, single traffic lights and two-lane roads were the themes of the day and we plodded along the rural countryside. It seemed like forever but we reached our destination, Memphis, mid-evening and wound down the day with a repeat of our Day 1 meal ~ pizza y cerveza.

On Saturday the 16th (Day 11) we leisurely had breakfast and packed up the MINI for Elvis’ home Graceland and then an effort towards Colorado hoping to arrive back in my own bed sometime Sunday. The experience at Elvis’ compound was everything I expected. A virtual snapshot of ‘70’s shagadelic with stained glass peacock’s, the jungle room, a massive trophy building, two airplanes, a car museum and Eleven (11) differently themed gift shops I had heard and seen everything imaginable revolving around the King. An absolute slice of true Americana this was a great ending to our winter odyssey.

The remaining 1,000+ miles were pretty uneventful through OK, KS and CO and we arrived earlier than expected on Sunday the 17th (Day 12). I dropped David and his Garmin off in Greeley and wouldn’t you know it got disoriented trying to get back to the highway. 5600 miles with barely a directional glitch and NOW I’m getting lost! Ok, trip over; let’s just pull her in safely. Goodnight all, happy motoring.

The Intrepid Traveler,

Chris Chappell

 

WOW! Fantastic trip, and details! I know you had a ball, and are glad to be home in your own bed after all that riding! Bravo!

 

Wow, I am jelous. You are the example of mini motoring! Congrats... Sounds like a great ride

 

Cool write-up!

Thanks for stopping in, and for the compliments. It was a pleasure chatting with you guys.

--Dan
Mach V