07-06-2009, 06:19 PM

nick 

Senior Member

 

Join Date: Apr 2006

Location: Los Angeles

Posts: 406

Updates


Sorry for the late updates, but I'm finally getting to a wifi. Here is the status:

269575. Minneapolis, MN. 1:25am, Friday, July 3, 2009

Left MSP Airport with 24 cubes and a full tank. We got off to a late start because of flight delays.

269791. Two Harbors, MN. 5:45am Friday

We cruised thru Two Harbors when the sun was rising. We snapped this photo of the mist on the harbor.

269793. Hwy 61, Silver Creek, MN. 6:02am, Friday.

Added two cubes. 12 deer sightings. It’s slow going with all winding roads

269866. Hwy 61, Canada Border Crossing. 8:10am Friday.

Like all other US-Canada crossing from previous years, we didn’t get any issues about our WVO. Since we were at a “rural” crossing, we asked us to get out of the car and enter the premises, which we did precisely as they requested. Upon entering the building, they said, “Guys, I see that you don’t have a problem parking here.” They never asked us to move our car, but in retrospect, we probably should have assumed they didn’t want us to leave our vehicle in the only border crossing lane.

269900. Thunder Bay, ON. 10:00am Friday.

We stopped off at a local favorite, “Finlandia Club – Hoito Restaurant.” They have a Scandinavian influence and their pancakes are ultrathin. Really good food.

269910. Trans-Canada Hwy. 11:12am Friday.

On the way to Kakabeka falls, we see a cop coming from the other direction. He drives passed, hits the e-brake, whips his squad around, and pulls us over. Note to non-Canadians, it’s illegal to possess a radar detector in Ontario. To add insult to injury, they destroy your device, for a $30 fee.

269920. Kakabeka Falls, ON. 11:30am Friday

Strangely, we calculated that I may have been at this very falls twenty years to the day. Note to visitors to the falls: the rangers have a parking kiosk that only takes Canadian coins, so bring more than just plastic or paper money. They patrol the area looking for unlabeled vehicle.

2699XX. Eagle Canyon Adventures. Noon Friday.

Just north of Thunder Bay, there is this private campground with zip-lines and cable suspension footbridges across a large canyon. After you sign away your rights (literally) and pay a $18 fee, you can climb across the 300’ and 600’ bridges. It’s a 150’ drop from the highest point and when a good wind gust hits you at the middle, it give you a good scare. Unfortunately, with the $18 fee, they don’t provide diapers.

2670XX. Somewhere along Lake Superior. Friday

Random picture of Lake Superior.

Nearby, there was a barren portion of land.

270230. Wawa, ON. 7:00pm Friday

Added two cubes. We ate at a local Chinese-Canadian restaurant that served us what could loosely be described as “chicken fried rice.”

__________________

-Nick

WVO Travel and Awareness 

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Maya MEL Scripting Manual

"I'd put that oil in my body, but not my engine."

07-06-2009, 07:32 PM

nick 

Senior Member

 

Join Date: Apr 2006

Location: Los Angeles

Posts: 406

More...


Previous day edit... Glenn wanted to mention that not only do the Ontario police take and destroy your radar detector at a cost, but they ALSO fine you $140!

270369. Sault Ste Marie, ON. 10:00pm Friday - 8:50am Saturday.

We got into SSM pretty late and begun looking for a cheap hotel. The first place we visited asked for a pricey sum, and then justified it by saying “Michigan is right over there.” We didn’t get what he was saying, because we’ve been to Michigan, and it’s not a bargaining chip.

We had an issue with some accelerated wear on the outside of the driver’s side tire. A professional alignment was done before the trip, but they must have missed something. The tires were even a little over-inflated, so the wear wasn’t due to the pressure being low. For diagnosis purposes, we decided to rotate the tires and see if the wear pattern progresses. However, this was not as simple as it seems, since our jack and spare were underneath the VO tank. It was an early morning of unloading the back of the car and extending the VO tank to the maximum extents of its umbilical.

Added 0.5 cubes.

270385. west of Sault Ste Marie. 10:00am Saturday.

Dispute was made over the missing beef sticks. It is evident that Glenn ate them and is blaming Nick for their absence.

270387. 10:05am Saturday.

Beef sticks found under seat.

270502. Webbwood, ON. 11:30am Saturday.

Added 11.4 gallons of Diesel.

Sudden noticeable loss in boost (while driving and on gauges). Found the pump to be non-responsive and extremely hot. Also, it wasn’t a fuse/electrical issue. We’ll drive in “safe mode” to Sudbury to find a new pump.

270558. Sudbury, ON. 12:55pm Saturday

We stopped off at the museum Dynamic North to check out their mine tour. We had a good view of the Inco Superstack (second tallest structure in Canada, just under the CN Tower) and that crazy two-story nickel.

270568. Leaving Sudbury, ON. 4:00pm Saturday.

Heading out of Sudbury, we stopped off at a home supply store to see if we could rig up something to cool the pump. We found some flexible plastic hosing that could suck air from outside the car. It’s a makeshift solution, but should get us around.

270573. Trans-Canadian Hwy. 4:30pm Saturday

We encountered the same pressure problem and found our VO pump to be functioning intermittently. It’s an inexpensive all-purpose fuel pump from a typical auto parts store, and it lasted several thousand miles, so maybe it’s fried. After several miles on Diesel, we got a check engine light, forcing us to immediately pull over. There was a strong Diesel smell and a small drop trail down the road. Turns out, we forgot to stop the manual purge when we got some VO pressure issues, which overpressurized the fuel lines. We attacked the fuel issues from several angles, verifying and removing filters, replacing and checking hoses, relieving pressure in lines, and cleaning up the engine compartment. It appears that the air hose had provided a cooler environment for the fuel pump, but one of our fuel filters may have been overstrained. All filters had reasonable, but restricted flow. We’re headed to Sturgeon Falls to buy a new pump and get spare filters. After letting the current pump cool for a few minutes, it will function for dozens (or more) miles, so it may last longer than expected.

While on the side of the road, a couple horses stopped by to supervise the maintenance.

270606. Sturgeon Falls, ON. 5:10pm, Saturday.

Stopped off at a Sturgeon Falls Canada Tire to see if they had fuel filters and fuel pumps. Turns out they had neither (of what we needed). Those places are pretty worthless, because this was the third CT we’ve been to and they all didn’t have anything we ever needed. The only thing we bought was a pair of sunglasses that broke an hour after purchase. Later, Glenn remarked, “The only good thing about Canada Tire is to go in and ask where a real auto parts store is.”

North Bay, ON. Saturday.

On the way to Ottawa.

270708. Clifton, ON. 7:48pm, Saturday.

VO pump still working fine with the air cooling.

Along the Trans-Canadian Hwy. 8:28pm Saturday.

Random image of the sunset on the TC Hwy.

Ottawa, ON. 10:30pm, Saturday

We had a few minutes to stop off in downtown Ottawa.

270859. Vars, ON. 11:30pm, Saturday.

Added two cubes.

__________________

-Nick

WVO Travel and Awareness 

Digital Sherpa Blog

Pants Pocket Saver (Tape Measure Holder)

Maya MEL Scripting Manual

"I'd put that oil in my body, but not my engine."

07-06-2009, 07:35 PM

nick 

Senior Member

 

Join Date: Apr 2006

Location: Los Angeles

Posts: 406

More, more...


Montreal, QC. 12:30pm, Sunday.

We spent a good deal of time in Montreal, since we didn’t get into Ottawa until late last night. We cruised throughout the city, visited the Montreal Tower (in the Olympic park) and toured the Stadium.

Here’s the stadium with the tour in the background:

Shot from the tour:

The ride.

Also, on the Ile Ste. Helene there is a Buckminster Fuller sphere, similar to the Epcot sphere.

270989. Northeast of Montreal on the 40. 3:40pm, Sunday.

Checked the pressure and tread on the front tires. Things are still dicey, but we’ll keep a look on them. If anything wears funny, we may need to get a new set in Halifax or Maine.

St Lawrence Seaway, around 9pm, Sunday.

271324 (est). Riviere-du-Loop, QC. 11:00pm, Sunday.

Added two cubes. A few hours prior, we ate at a Quebec City restaurant that served Poutine. They added chicken to mix too.

__________________

-Nick

WVO Travel and Awareness 

Digital Sherpa Blog

Pants Pocket Saver (Tape Measure Holder)

Maya MEL Scripting Manual

"I'd put that oil in my body, but not my engine."

07-07-2009, 06:11 AM

nick 

Senior Member

 

Join Date: Apr 2006

Location: Los Angeles

Posts: 406

Monday...


271598. Coles Island, NB. 3:30am Monday.

Added two cubes.

271731. Halifax, NS. 9:15am Monday.

Made it to Halifax by 6am and stopped off at their mall to get some food and relax. We got back to the car and noticed a small pool of VO under the engine. Turns out a hose came undone and was easily repaired.

We cruised around Halifax for several hours and visited the Citadel and the Prince of Wales Tour. The Citadel was probably the most organized museum/fort that we’ve visited, and we’ve seen several in the U.S.

272006. Lepreau, NB. 7:05pm Monday.

Added two cubes.

272025. Calais, ME. 8:05pm Monday.

Crossed into the U.S. without problems or delay. Planning on staying in Bangor and get ready for Boston on Tuesday.

__________________

-Nick

WVO Travel and Awareness 

Digital Sherpa Blog

Pants Pocket Saver (Tape Measure Holder)

Maya MEL Scripting Manual

"I'd put that oil in my body, but not my engine."


Last edited by nick; 07-07-2009 at 06:11 AM. Reason: Formatting

07-09-2009, 07:07 AM

nick 

Senior Member

 

Join Date: Apr 2006

Location: Los Angeles

Posts: 406

Tuesday, part 1


272156. Brewer, ME. 9:30pm, Monday – 10:10am, Tuesday.

If you are cruising through Bangor, and looking for a place to stay, you have stay at the Colony Motel. Amazing staff, cleanest rooms, great service, and fast internet. Also, it was inexpensive too. We’ve been a lot of these trips, and it was the best hotel yet.

Here are some photos of the trip down the coast:

Image of Maine 2:

Image of Maine 3:

Crossing into New Hampshire. 11:00am, Tuesday.

New Hampshire has a strange way of greeting people. They had a tiny sign saying “Welcome to New Hampshire,” but they had several government issue large lottery ticket/liquor signs.

__________________

-Nick

WVO Travel and Awareness 

Digital Sherpa Blog

Pants Pocket Saver (Tape Measure Holder)

Maya MEL Scripting Manual

"I'd put that oil in my body, but not my engine."

07-09-2009, 07:09 AM

nick 

Senior Member

 

Join Date: Apr 2006

Location: Los Angeles

Posts: 406

 Tuesday, Part 2


Boston, MA. All afternoon, Tuesday.

It rained for most of the day, for the trip down and while in Boston. We were able to park for free outside the Bunker Hill National Monument. It’s surprisingly tall and we didn’t get a good view of the city due to the weather.

Nearby is the USS Constitution, which was in renovations (but still open for boarding), and we couldn’t go on the Schooner Amistad and WWII ship Castle because lightning was striking everywhere.

A Bostonian recommended a bar for some food. It was the Warren Tavern, which apparently had been around since 1780 and had some great, inexpensive food.

Lastly, we entered the old part of town and visited the North Church and other sites.

272416. Massachusetts somewhere. 7:00pm, Tuesday.

Added two cubes.

Hartford, CN. Tuesday night.

We got a little behind schedule and weren’t able to meet up in Providence. We are on the road to Harrisburg, PA if possible before it gets too late.

@BillyBaru and Stevels: Sorry we couldn't stop by, but we were running behind. It's been pretty tight this trip. Maybe next time.

__________________

-Nick

WVO Travel and Awareness 

Digital Sherpa Blog

Pants Pocket Saver (Tape Measure Holder)

Maya MEL Scripting Manual

"I'd put that oil in my body, but not my engine."

 07-10-2009, 10:47 AM

nick 

Senior Member

 

Join Date: Apr 2006

Location: Los Angeles

Posts: 406

Wednesday Stuff...


North-east of Harrisburg, PA, 2:10am – 9:00am, Wednesday.

We stayed at a hotel just north east of Harrisburg off the highway. It was late coming in due to the cruddy weather and tornado warnings in New York and New Jersey.

Hershey, PA. 9:40am, Wednesday.

We stopped by the Hershey area in the hopes of seeing something interesting. Unfortunately, for those who think there is a chocolate factory to tour, you’d be sorely disappointed with the condition of the town of Hershey. Instead the Hershey company has strangled the life out of that town and transformed it into some hideous amusement eyesore. We spent a half hour in their Hershey park and left before they even had an exit gate open.

Their only interesting site is their new “Hershey Story” museum, opened in January 2009. If you want to maintain your sanity if you visit this town, sign up early for their Chocolate Lab. We got there just too late and missed their testing.

Here’s a pic of the city’s infamous lampposts, one of the highlights of the visit.

National Civil War Museum, Harrisburg, PA. 11:00am, Wednesday.

On the northeast of Harrisburg is the National Civil War Museum. It’s brand new and houses a substantial amount of authentic and replica Union and Confederate artifacts. Also they have staff in different portions of the building answering questions and whatnot. They even have an supervised exhibit where visitors are allowed to handle replica (but functioning) weaponry, like repeater and muzzle loader rifles, swords and bayonets, knives, etc. I thought these things were fake, until I checked some of the blades and rifles—they were sharp and the hammer and trigger functioned properly.

Also, this place is just an hour north of Gettysburg, so if you are planning a trip to this area, it would be prudent to visit this museum.

Harrisburg, PA. Afternoon, Wednesday.

Here’s a pic from the south of Harrisburg.

__________________

-Nick

WVO Travel and Awareness 

Digital Sherpa Blog

Pants Pocket Saver (Tape Measure Holder)

Maya MEL Scripting Manual

"I'd put that oil in my body, but not my engine."

07-10-2009, 10:48 AM

nick 

Senior Member

 

Join Date: Apr 2006

Location: Los Angeles

Posts: 406

Wednesday Afternoon...


Gettysburg, PA. 2:00pm, Wednesday.

A must see. It would take days to get a good understanding of the grounds here, but we had only an afternoon. Here are some pics of the Autotour:

. . .

And here’s the Minnesota and Pennsylvania memorials…

272901 (est.). Mt Holly Springs, PA. 5:00pm, Wednesday.

Added two cubes.

While loading up, we heard a loud pop. A car a few stalls over had its top radiator hose burst while idling.

Somewhere in the Appalachian Mountains, PA. 7:30pm, Wednesday.

Stoystown, PA. 8:30pm, Wednesday.

While trying to get to Dayton before sunrise, we noticed that the Flight 93 memorial was along our path. I looked this up before the trip, but it appeared to not be a formal site. That didn’t deter us, so we plugged it into the GPS. We found a church that constructed a monument near the crash site, shown here:

And here’s a portion of the WTC’s steel structure:

Newark, PA. 12:50am, Wednesday.

I had heard about the Longaberger building for a while, so I thought I’d investigate it for myself. It was a big ordeal to pull off the interstate, especially since the roads wind through the wilderness and small towns. The light was pretty dim, but we got a few shots.

On the way to Dayton...

__________________

-Nick

WVO Travel and Awareness 

Digital Sherpa Blog

Pants Pocket Saver (Tape Measure Holder)

Maya MEL Scripting Manual

"I'd put that oil in my body, but not my engine."

07-10-2009, 10:54 AM

nick 

Senior Member

 

Join Date: Apr 2006

Location: Los Angeles

Posts: 406


273342. Springfield, OH, 2:30am – 9:50am, Thursday.

Well... we didn’t get to Dayton and the GPS suggested some motels in a neighboring city, Springfield. We stayed at some “Motor Lodge” that was one of the worst hotels I’ve experienced in the US.

US Air Force Museum, Dayton, OH. 10:45am – 3:45pm, Thursday.

This museum was comprehensive to say the least. We spent five hours there and really only saw one hanger. It’s a great museum with videos, lots of content, and authentic aircrafts. I highly recommend it, and thanks for the suggestion. Oh yeah, it’s free too and a “must see” if you are visiting Dayton.

Here’s a compilation of some of the aircraft we saw:

Wright Brothers Interpretive Center and 4th Bicycle Shop Site, Dayton, OH. 4:00pm-5:30pm, Thursday.

This is a small collection of NPS sites that have artifacts and simulations of the Wright brothers’ work. They have an “original flight” virtual simulator, which is a tricky device to control.

The staff at the Interpretive Center said the Bicycle Shop would only be open until five, so we had to rush over there. We weren’t driving very fast, but two cars happened to be blocking up traffic in front of us. Finally, one pulled off at a stoplight, when one of the lethargic drivers paused to confront us with the statement “You can’t go no faster than 35 anyway.”

We were a bit shocked to hear this, so without much thought I said, “Oh yeah? Watch this.” Mysteriously, our vehicle was capable of exceeding 35 mph.

Once at the shop, the NPS staff member was great and even stayed open longer to chat with us.

Indianapolis, IN. 7:30pm, Thursday.

Unfortunately, we weren’t able to visit Ash Cave. We ran out of daylight, and even if we had some light, I’m not sure I wanted to tack on more hours of hiking on top of all that time spent at the USAF Museum. Gotta leave some things to see for the next trip.

Cruising thru Indy...

Stopping by the Indianpolis Motor Speedway...

Looking onto the racetrack...

I don’t know this sign is trying to convey, but it’s open to interpretation:

The Capitol building...

The Walker Theatre...

273712. Rockford, IL. 1:05am, Friday.

Added two cubes.

__________________

-Nick

WVO Travel and Awareness 

Digital Sherpa Blog

Pants Pocket Saver (Tape Measure Holder)

Maya MEL Scripting Manual

"I'd put that oil in my body, but not my engine."