What I Did Last Summer, Part 1

While you wouldn't know it from the weather, summer is drawing to a close.  We're gearing up for apple season around here, along with many, many questions about back to school.  What grade is Archie going into, when does he start school, etc.  We don't really stop school for the summer...we do light academics, but lots of activities.  This summer was no exception.  It flew by so quickly. 

We began our summer with trip to Mobile toward the beginning of June.  Phillip and Archie went on a road trip together in the Camaro--the Hot Rod Power Tour.  It began in Newton, Iowa and went city by city to end up in Mobile, Alabama a week later.  Since they were gone for a week, I decided it would be a great time to visit the folks.  More on that later.

 Anyhoo--the Power Tour...I think the boys really enjoyed themselves, but said they felt a bit rushed getting from city to city each day.  Archie helped with navigation and got some good mapping skills in.  The first day and night Phillip had to camp in (or near) Newton, IA by himself since Archie had a ballgame at home.  Phillip made friends with the campers next door to him in the campground and had a full evening of guy time.  Guy time began with a few beers and graduated to Vodka and Red Bull.  Phillip has since decided he's not a big fan of Vodka and Red Bull.  Needless to say, he was glad to pick up Archie the next day.  Not just for the father-son time and the company, but also to keep himself from misbehaving.  :-)  hee hee!

Traveling on the Power Tour was really neat because on the cruises to the next city on the list, the whole tour would go through these small towns.  There was very little interstate driving.  So the residents would line the roadway with their lawn chairs and watch the parade of fancy cars driving down the road.  Miles and miles of fancy cars.  This is what it looked like out the car window driving by:

The cool thing about going through small towns is that you find interesting sights along the way.  Unfortunately Phillip is sleeping (and I'm not!) so I can't ask in which particular towns these were taken. 

Here is a Blue Angel!  There was no shade in the entire area where the cars were parked to show, so Phillip and Archie sat under the wings to cool off.

Fried Bologna?????  Blech!  And what in the world goes with the Fried Bologna combo?  An abomination, to be sure. 

Ruby Falls in Chattanooga, TN.  It's a waterfall in a cave.  The lighting was real weird down there, so not many of the pictures turned out well.

This was really cool!  A life-sized Chess game! 

Now for some of the more interesting cars.

As Shrek once said, "Do you think he's compensating for something?"  The engine is as tall as Archie!!  Come on, now!

What the hell is this thing?  Is it a motorcycle?  Is it a car?  I have no idea!

Yes, some people broke down on the tour.  There was a special area set up for those who needed to make any adjustments to their vehicle.  It's hard to see, but that brown car in the back is Smokey from Smokey and the Bandit!!!

Yes, that is what it looks like...A COFFIN!!!!!! 

WITH NITROUS!!!!

Here's a close up of the...ahem...viewing area.  I believe the lining is some other material instead of the usual satin, though.

And what would you expect the tow-vehicle to be?   Why a hearse, of course!  Souped-up as well, I'm sure.  You can see the fancy-schmancy exhaust toward the back underneath.

And, well, the coolest, bestest car on the whole tour...

That was his campsight the first evening on the tour.  Yes, it rained.