Well, we wrapped up the *other* business of our road trip by visiting both Clemson and UGA on the same day. We have been frequent visitors to another small, college town, rural campus with a Tiger mascot, so Clemson felt oddly familiar. The most odd thing? My daughter loved it. She moved Clemson in front of Duke and UVA. Of course, she has a lot of time to decide, but at least we have places to visit again when the time comes. As expected, the very friendly ambassador was full of energy and provided an excellent tour of the campus.
We walked then across campus to the little town where an inordinate number of souvenir shops coexist, each within 100' of each other. I sent this one to all my Bama friends.
From Clemson, Athens, GA is just down the way. We walked around again, but this time on a tour of our own since the students were at Spring Break.
We stayed again on campus at the Alumni conference center. We return annually to one over Christmas, so we wanted to compare it with other schools.
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Day light savings affords a wonderful time for late driving. We were home before sunset, the laundry was started, and I was able to wash off the miles between home and North Carolina.
Moments later, I was taking a look at all the crevices that needed attention. Those of you who share the sickness know that this is a progressive effort. I'll continue to hit the high points until it looks like they've always had the love.
The next day was all about inspections. I was pretty sure the seller said he'd changed the oil, but I still wanted my own elbow grease on the dipstick. A buddy has a lift so I was in and out in minutes.
A short look around confirmed that we have no leaks on the diff, water pump, and head. There's a *bit* of rust on some of the bolts, but the threads are fine and I think we're good until a the 1st suspension overhaul.
Finally yesterday, my mother-in-law saw the car. It was her '01 that we sold for this one. I still haven't polished/paint corrected but the alpine white just glows with a clean surface and some quick detailer. One thing you need to be careful about with elderly folks is the resistance to change. She never really understood that it was just a different color inside and out until she sat in it. Yes, the radio- that she doesn't use) is different (no NAV to NAV) and yes, the HVAC has buttons instead of dials... but the seats and wheel adjust the same, the key is in the same place, and yes.. the air suspension is a lot more subtle than the coils in your sport package '01.
She hugged me! Now, I won't say that our relationship is strained. But for the 30+ years I have known her, she's not a touchy person. She is happy with her white 2004. And so are we. It'll serve nice kid duty for the foreseeable future and may even be what ours takes to college. It's just a few years away. And by then, I should have replaced most of the moving parts!
I hope you guys enjoyed our car-purchase-made-road-trip. We really did. In the end, you guys were with us for just a touch under 2,500 miles. I didn't check before, but it turns out we made that trip on the original Michelins from 2003- Woops.
But That's OK. The new tires for the 20's should be here this week. I'm hoping for some pics shortly after. Let's ride!
03-17-2019, 11:54 AM
Hybrid Mode
