Eased back into travel after Covid disruption-
Discussion
My travel schedule is beginning to approach a level of normality once again, and the last few months have been more like the old days.
It seems a world away now from February 2020. I was on a business trip and as I walked through Vancouver airport I noticed that the international gates were almost all closed. Numerous Chinese airlines use Vancouver.
This was the first time when the Covid world became real for me.
By March Canada was in lockdown, the centre of the city utterly deserted.
Most of my work became virtual/zoom stuff. I was an interim CEO at one stage for a company while we looked for a permanent replacement. Sat on several boards and only met physically very rarely.
We are now in the post covid world, but it is a lot different to 2019. Life is more expensive, many restaurants and bars have closed, quite a lot of retail is gone, and there seems to be a shortage of labour everywhere.
That being said, I had one more major change; I eased out of the various board positions ( I will be 75 is a few months, and have worked since I was 11). Loved work, but all good things must come to an end. I have travelled far and wide since I was 20.
I have no bucket list or any of that nonsense; there are things I will do and some things I will stop doing.
Only one new car in the period, a Cayenne GTS to replace my 300,000km Cayenne S:
So, October arrived and for the first time I had only the tail end of some work. Seemed like a good time to resume some level of my usual road trips. Put the GT cars away for the winter .The Cayenne is very comfortable and ideal for transporting the dog. Very quick with excellent roadholding.
OCTOBER
As usual flew down to Scottsdale AZ to open up the winter house and get the local cars running. Although stored in the garage, it gets to be 125c in the garage in the summer and this causes a lot of issues.
If you do not use tire cradles the tires will flatspot and the heat does some bad things to electronics. I had to replace the wiring harness on the 2003 SL 500 and replace flat spotted tire the previous year. Anticipated no problems this year.
The Jeep and the SL went off to service. On the way back from the dealers they both died on the road and had to be flat bedded. Both electrical issues, both minor. However, the Mercedes plastic trim around the seats bases has become eggshell-like due to the years of heat so I am gradually replacing all of it. Leather can easily crack but I have always used leather food so it is like new.
There is a house minder and gardening service so there was very little required to there the house operational. That left a few free days and I decided to take a run up to Las Vegas NM ( not Nevada) and then to Santa Fa…only about 400 miles so an easy run. Took the Jeep…you never know if there’s a trail.
It seems a world away now from February 2020. I was on a business trip and as I walked through Vancouver airport I noticed that the international gates were almost all closed. Numerous Chinese airlines use Vancouver.
This was the first time when the Covid world became real for me.
By March Canada was in lockdown, the centre of the city utterly deserted.
Most of my work became virtual/zoom stuff. I was an interim CEO at one stage for a company while we looked for a permanent replacement. Sat on several boards and only met physically very rarely.
We are now in the post covid world, but it is a lot different to 2019. Life is more expensive, many restaurants and bars have closed, quite a lot of retail is gone, and there seems to be a shortage of labour everywhere.
That being said, I had one more major change; I eased out of the various board positions ( I will be 75 is a few months, and have worked since I was 11). Loved work, but all good things must come to an end. I have travelled far and wide since I was 20.
I have no bucket list or any of that nonsense; there are things I will do and some things I will stop doing.
Only one new car in the period, a Cayenne GTS to replace my 300,000km Cayenne S:
So, October arrived and for the first time I had only the tail end of some work. Seemed like a good time to resume some level of my usual road trips. Put the GT cars away for the winter .The Cayenne is very comfortable and ideal for transporting the dog. Very quick with excellent roadholding.
OCTOBER
As usual flew down to Scottsdale AZ to open up the winter house and get the local cars running. Although stored in the garage, it gets to be 125c in the garage in the summer and this causes a lot of issues.
If you do not use tire cradles the tires will flatspot and the heat does some bad things to electronics. I had to replace the wiring harness on the 2003 SL 500 and replace flat spotted tire the previous year. Anticipated no problems this year.
The Jeep and the SL went off to service. On the way back from the dealers they both died on the road and had to be flat bedded. Both electrical issues, both minor. However, the Mercedes plastic trim around the seats bases has become eggshell-like due to the years of heat so I am gradually replacing all of it. Leather can easily crack but I have always used leather food so it is like new.
There is a house minder and gardening service so there was very little required to there the house operational. That left a few free days and I decided to take a run up to Las Vegas NM ( not Nevada) and then to Santa Fa…only about 400 miles so an easy run. Took the Jeep…you never know if there’s a trail.
Edited by RDMcG on Tuesday 18th April 15:18
This was an interesting little junket. I know SF very well, but the small town of Las Vegas was new.; Once a boom town it is now a quiet place, but it has a excellent old hotel ( La Castaneda) which was once part of a chain of railway hotels when train travel was luxurious; passengers would stay for a day or two along the way. Now there is only one transcontinental train in the morning and a return train in the evening. The hotel is not expensive and beautifully restored with good food.
The railroad station still had daily passenger service and is beautifully restored:
Noticed a fairly rare old Jeep in my wanders around town:
The railroad station still had daily passenger service and is beautifully restored:
Noticed a fairly rare old Jeep in my wanders around town:
So,into Santa Fe. A nice city I have often visited. Stayed in an astonishing hotel that has zero street presence, no big reception, almost no frontage, high walls. Called the Inn of Five Graces. This was one of the better upgrades I have experienced anywhere, a completely handbuilt suite:
SF has excellent restaurants. Ate at a good olkace called Geronimo which had a fun dessert......
an Apple:
except that it wasn't:
Quick run back to Scottsdale and onto the Toronto plane:
SF has excellent restaurants. Ate at a good olkace called Geronimo which had a fun dessert......
an Apple:
except that it wasn't:
Quick run back to Scottsdale and onto the Toronto plane:
Halloween came and went:
It was getting dark and cold in Canada
The dog does not like the cold so it was time for the winter dog transport trip...3700km from Toronto to Scottsdale
My co-driver and I approached the empty US border at Buffalo one December dawn........
This was also another turning point.
My co-driver who had been in innumerable automotive adventures with me from the Nürburgring to the Grand Canyon had moved cities and had taken on work that no longer permitted him to travel as we had done in the past. This would be our last trip, and the pressures of work were already weighing on him. We hightailed it down to Arizona and back with no stops for adventure.
One good thing though…. I got to know the new Cayenne over the long haul. The thing is bloody quick but amazingly comfortable. It has a heavy spec including s Burmeister sound system, all the stuff like wireless Appletalk and so on.
Great long-distance vehicle and dog-approved.
It was getting dark and cold in Canada
The dog does not like the cold so it was time for the winter dog transport trip...3700km from Toronto to Scottsdale
My co-driver and I approached the empty US border at Buffalo one December dawn........
This was also another turning point.
My co-driver who had been in innumerable automotive adventures with me from the Nürburgring to the Grand Canyon had moved cities and had taken on work that no longer permitted him to travel as we had done in the past. This would be our last trip, and the pressures of work were already weighing on him. We hightailed it down to Arizona and back with no stops for adventure.
One good thing though…. I got to know the new Cayenne over the long haul. The thing is bloody quick but amazingly comfortable. It has a heavy spec including s Burmeister sound system, all the stuff like wireless Appletalk and so on.
Great long-distance vehicle and dog-approved.
I had a week or so back in Toronto and then flew down to AZ for the holidays. This not working stuff is not really great for me. However I decided to try to to see better photographs just using the iPhone for a change.
Here are some I took just for the experience.
of course the Jeep is a handy old thing as you can run almost anywhere if you're noting a hurry:
Here are some I took just for the experience.
of course the Jeep is a handy old thing as you can run almost anywhere if you're noting a hurry:
Time for another road trip, so was curious to see how the drought was manifesting itself up at the Hoover Dam and Lake Mead. ( There is now some temporary respite due to the major winter precipitation but nobody believes it is permanent, and there will be some very hard decisions to be made affecting the Western States.)
I was to the Hoover Dam years ago and the difference was startling. In the event of no change the water will fall to the point were no electricity can be generated and water shortages will show up everywhere.
2011:
2022:
Driving around the area the water level fall is very visible. Marinas have closed or been moved and the white high water mark is everywhere.
Here you can see how much it has fallen in the wall behind the boatman:
Surprisingly the longhorns seemed to be doing OK.
However, there are alternatives to boating such as hiring a machine gun. I also saw a tank for hire if that appeals.
These just might have been my last pics ever......I was driving back on a divided highway when I was faced by a very fast Lexus SUV coming straight me on the wrong side. Luckily sightline were good so I avoided it.
I was to the Hoover Dam years ago and the difference was startling. In the event of no change the water will fall to the point were no electricity can be generated and water shortages will show up everywhere.
2011:
2022:
Driving around the area the water level fall is very visible. Marinas have closed or been moved and the white high water mark is everywhere.
Here you can see how much it has fallen in the wall behind the boatman:
Surprisingly the longhorns seemed to be doing OK.
However, there are alternatives to boating such as hiring a machine gun. I also saw a tank for hire if that appeals.
These just might have been my last pics ever......I was driving back on a divided highway when I was faced by a very fast Lexus SUV coming straight me on the wrong side. Luckily sightline were good so I avoided it.
JAN/FEB
Spent a fair amount of time in AZ.
Of course Scottsdale is full of car auctions in January , so I decided to drop into Barrett- Jackson. This is a huge event, 1900 cars in a week. Brilliantly organized and would take a week to see them all. A fleet of buses brings you from remote car parks to the venue which is in vast tents. I spent three or four overwhelming hours.
Next season I wil probably do a smaller auction like Bonhams
Spent a fair amount of time in AZ.
Of course Scottsdale is full of car auctions in January , so I decided to drop into Barrett- Jackson. This is a huge event, 1900 cars in a week. Brilliantly organized and would take a week to see them all. A fleet of buses brings you from remote car parks to the venue which is in vast tents. I spent three or four overwhelming hours.
Next season I wil probably do a smaller auction like Bonhams
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Decided to go off-roading in Valentine’s day , a wet and foggy morning. This was colossally stupid.The hills which looked shallow and benign turned to slick mud and the Jeep slowed to a halt. The slightest movement cause it to lose grip and it was too narrow to turn around. I had to reverse inch by inch for an hour and a half, praying that it would not gather momentum. This looked so easy.
I should have remembered- 30 years ago I lost a Cherokee in a flash flood down here. Written off.
I should have remembered- 30 years ago I lost a Cherokee in a flash flood down here. Written off.
Flew back to Toronto which suddenly decided to dump massive amount of snow. I was thankful for a heated driveway I had installed the previous year.
There was an exhibit of Edward Hopper at the Whitney in NY which I really wanted to see. Had not been in NY since before Covid so this was a welcome diversion.
First big surprise was La Guardia- it was a horrible place as long as I can remember. The new terminal is a delight
Still, Manhattan has vivid memories for me found back many decades. I did business in the WTC,had some people on the ground on 9/11 and my first call about it was from one of my people on 24th street when the first plane hit. I was there very shortly afterwards and the shock ands sadness was overwhelming,
A few old pics:
Twin Tower foundations from my hotel months later:
Now:
The amazingly expensively built subway terminal. The suns shines directly downwards on 9/11:
The complex ( I did not go to the museum, have been there before)......
I am not a big fan of NY hotels, but the small Greenwich Hotel in Trobea is very good with reasonable size rooms by NY standards:
There was an exhibit of Edward Hopper at the Whitney in NY which I really wanted to see. Had not been in NY since before Covid so this was a welcome diversion.
First big surprise was La Guardia- it was a horrible place as long as I can remember. The new terminal is a delight
Still, Manhattan has vivid memories for me found back many decades. I did business in the WTC,had some people on the ground on 9/11 and my first call about it was from one of my people on 24th street when the first plane hit. I was there very shortly afterwards and the shock ands sadness was overwhelming,
A few old pics:
Twin Tower foundations from my hotel months later:
Now:
The amazingly expensively built subway terminal. The suns shines directly downwards on 9/11:
The complex ( I did not go to the museum, have been there before)......
I am not a big fan of NY hotels, but the small Greenwich Hotel in Trobea is very good with reasonable size rooms by NY standards:
The Hopper Exhibition at the Whitney was superb:
I am no Hopper but this reminded me of an iPhone pic I took outside Starbucks
my pic:
The outdoor sculpture garden at the Whitney is nice also:
By April it was time to being the dog back for summer/ I had a new co-driver who had not been on Route 66. Also had a heavy foot, a good thing of the long runs. Waze is an invaluable tool for this kind of trip.
Earlier in the season the Sl and the Jeep had died. Just before the trip the new Cayenne died. Aargh. Needed a new battery ( and not just any battery it seemed). Had to come from Germany - four week delivery.
Decided to take the Panamera which is not a ideal choice for a great Dane. However, there was no choice. The Pan is a brilliant long distance car- 550bhp and perfectly balanced. The dog was going to have to grin and bear it.
I am no Hopper but this reminded me of an iPhone pic I took outside Starbucks
my pic:
The outdoor sculpture garden at the Whitney is nice also:
By April it was time to being the dog back for summer/ I had a new co-driver who had not been on Route 66. Also had a heavy foot, a good thing of the long runs. Waze is an invaluable tool for this kind of trip.
Earlier in the season the Sl and the Jeep had died. Just before the trip the new Cayenne died. Aargh. Needed a new battery ( and not just any battery it seemed). Had to come from Germany - four week delivery.
Decided to take the Panamera which is not a ideal choice for a great Dane. However, there was no choice. The Pan is a brilliant long distance car- 550bhp and perfectly balanced. The dog was going to have to grin and bear it.
Did a long first stint in foul weather, staying in some rathole town in Indiana,
Next day we hit Missouri and stopped at a very obscure, almost unmarked little strip of Route 66. This was where John’s Modern Cabins operated, a Juke Joint for black people prior to the restoration of civil rights . In the thirties this would have been one central building for music, food, entertainment, with cabins around it which were unheated and unplumbed. In those days there was a Green Book for black motorists which identified those establishments that were no segregated. This is a tough little strip to find in Route 66 as it is closed on both ends.
It has sadly deteriorate since my last visit ten years ago.
We took a quick run down the very short strip of 66 through Kansas. The cartoon CARS was all based on Route 66 and many of the characters were based on real people - also many of the buildings exist in reality.
After Kansas we headed West across Oklahoma.Stopped at the Rock Cafe. The owner Dawn Welsh is the model for the Porsche character. Sadly it was closed on Sunday.
Tulsa is a very prosperous oil town. How prosperous?...it has a Steinway showroom. Have never seen one before.
Stayed in a very inexpensive historical hotel (the Campbell) on 66 in Tulsa:
Heads west across Oklahoma stopped in the small town of Erick:
The closed West Wood Motel remains unchanged for years:
Lucille's roadhouse was one of the very last of the traditional gas stops which ran until Lucille died in the seventies:
and so, it was on to Texas:
Next day we hit Missouri and stopped at a very obscure, almost unmarked little strip of Route 66. This was where John’s Modern Cabins operated, a Juke Joint for black people prior to the restoration of civil rights . In the thirties this would have been one central building for music, food, entertainment, with cabins around it which were unheated and unplumbed. In those days there was a Green Book for black motorists which identified those establishments that were no segregated. This is a tough little strip to find in Route 66 as it is closed on both ends.
It has sadly deteriorate since my last visit ten years ago.
We took a quick run down the very short strip of 66 through Kansas. The cartoon CARS was all based on Route 66 and many of the characters were based on real people - also many of the buildings exist in reality.
After Kansas we headed West across Oklahoma.Stopped at the Rock Cafe. The owner Dawn Welsh is the model for the Porsche character. Sadly it was closed on Sunday.
Tulsa is a very prosperous oil town. How prosperous?...it has a Steinway showroom. Have never seen one before.
Stayed in a very inexpensive historical hotel (the Campbell) on 66 in Tulsa:
Heads west across Oklahoma stopped in the small town of Erick:
The closed West Wood Motel remains unchanged for years:
Lucille's roadhouse was one of the very last of the traditional gas stops which ran until Lucille died in the seventies:
and so, it was on to Texas:
The Cadillac Ranch in Amarillo continues as usual and a enterprising person has now got a paint truck so you can buy spray paint
Nearby is the RV Ranch that has adopted the same theme:
Texas celebrates being BIG....so there has to be a BIG cross. The 19 storey cross at groom does the job........
Across the State line to New Mexico
Nearby is the RV Ranch that has adopted the same theme:
Texas celebrates being BIG....so there has to be a BIG cross. The 19 storey cross at groom does the job........
Across the State line to New Mexico
Just across the NM border lies Tucumcari, a classic Route 66 town, and in it sits my favourite motel, the Blue Swallow. Look just like it did in the forties, even has dial tone phones. Spotless, comfortable and the last place I know to have the original garages beside the rooms
The whole places has a great fifties vibe:
The local diner has a slightly disconcerting mural set at each booth.........
There are interesting murals in various parts of the town:
Headed out next morning to the Arizona border. On the way stopped at the small town of Moriarty.
There, Mr Lewis sits each day among his vast array of cars and trucks, more of them unrestored outside and a smaller number inside:
We were now approaching the Arizona state line........
The whole places has a great fifties vibe:
The local diner has a slightly disconcerting mural set at each booth
.........There are interesting murals in various parts of the town:
Headed out next morning to the Arizona border. On the way stopped at the small town of Moriarty.
There, Mr Lewis sits each day among his vast array of cars and trucks, more of them unrestored outside and a smaller number inside:
We were now approaching the Arizona state line........
Not too far from their border there is a featureless exit to nowhere. At the end of the paved area is a rutted muddy track. There are no markings. However, if you proceed down the track a mile or so there is a gate and a sign. If you call the number or text it you can ask for the gate to be opened remotely.
This leads to an old abandoned part of Route 66, long closed. Driving carefully down 66 you come to the loneliest building of all. The Painted Desert Trading Post:
I would not try this in wet weather.
This leads to an old abandoned part of Route 66, long closed. Driving carefully down 66 you come to the loneliest building of all. The Painted Desert Trading Post:
I would not try this in wet weather.
Stopped for the event in Winslow AZ of Eagles fame ( they were never there) but there is an Eagles-themed corner on 66 complete with a flatbed Ford:
The best hotel (and not very expensive) on Route 66 is the La Posada in Winslow. Right on the main tracks, it was built in the heyday of train travel when passengers would alight and stay for a day or two. Now,there is one train each way per day, but over 100 freight trains. It has been wonderfully restored, has great rooms and a lovely restaurant. The margaritas are very good also:
Sitting at dinner I watched the Amtrak train disgorging its passengers:
and in the early morning I watched the freights go by:
They do an excellent breakfast there:
The best hotel (and not very expensive) on Route 66 is the La Posada in Winslow. Right on the main tracks, it was built in the heyday of train travel when passengers would alight and stay for a day or two. Now,there is one train each way per day, but over 100 freight trains. It has been wonderfully restored, has great rooms and a lovely restaurant. The margaritas are very good also:
Sitting at dinner I watched the Amtrak train disgorging its passengers:
and in the early morning I watched the freights go by:
They do an excellent breakfast there:
A fairly short drive down to Scottsdale past the San Francisco Peaks and through Oak Creek Canyon:
Very quick turnaround in Scottsdale, ( two nights) - in time tiger the cars stored properly, plugged in , fuel stabilizer and tire cradles. Leaving them resting on concrete flat spots the ties in the heat.
Panamera is not dog approved and dog is grumpy:
Heading back to Canada is a functional trip but hit some of the worst weather I have experienced. From New Mexico all the way up to Illinois there are very high winds which are so strong that I have to point the car into the wind before opening the doors. North of St Louis we get a tornado warning. I call the hotel in Springfield Ill which is our destination that night and they tell me that all guests are being kept on the ground floor as they are worried about roof.
It looks fairly benign initially:
The wind increases and the sky turns multicoloured. A massive thunderstorm develops and the lightning is non-stop.
I am steering based on the centre line that I can still see for two hours until we get under the storm. There was a lot of damage in the area but thankfully hotel was OK.
Springfield is the capital of Illinois, most commonly associated with Abraham Lincoln.
His tomb is a massive construct and you walk inside :
If you like architecture there is one of the finest Frank Lloyd Wright houses I have ever seen, from 1902. Built with no expense spared for a wealthy socialite.
Next day completed trip and arrived in Toronto
Very quick turnaround in Scottsdale, ( two nights) - in time tiger the cars stored properly, plugged in , fuel stabilizer and tire cradles. Leaving them resting on concrete flat spots the ties in the heat.
Panamera is not dog approved and dog is grumpy:
Heading back to Canada is a functional trip but hit some of the worst weather I have experienced. From New Mexico all the way up to Illinois there are very high winds which are so strong that I have to point the car into the wind before opening the doors. North of St Louis we get a tornado warning. I call the hotel in Springfield Ill which is our destination that night and they tell me that all guests are being kept on the ground floor as they are worried about roof.
It looks fairly benign initially:
The wind increases and the sky turns multicoloured. A massive thunderstorm develops and the lightning is non-stop.
I am steering based on the centre line that I can still see for two hours until we get under the storm. There was a lot of damage in the area but thankfully hotel was OK.
Springfield is the capital of Illinois, most commonly associated with Abraham Lincoln.
His tomb is a massive construct and you walk inside :
If you like architecture there is one of the finest Frank Lloyd Wright houses I have ever seen, from 1902. Built with no expense spared for a wealthy socialite.
Next day completed trip and arrived in Toronto
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