Oh, where to begin... As some of you may know, I drove the Cobra to GA on October 8th (a week ago Tuesday) to visit some folks. The ride was a little dreary and weather could certianly have been better (and warmer) during my 3-day stay. Nonetheless, I had fun and the car behaved (for the most part). By Friday, one of the rockers had developed a bad clicking sound, so I drove the car to Southern Automotive on my way back to SC.
The first diagnosis was that a lobe was beginning to disappear from the cam, so I had to leave the car with John (one of Bill's fine mechanics) and head home in a barrowed vehicle. Of course, it was sunny all the way home (that figures).
Well, I recieved a phone call on Monday that the car was ready to pick up again. As it turned out, the cam was just fine. Apparently, one of the adjusting posts on the Dove roller rockers had decided to give up the ghost, so swapping the adjusting post had only taken minutes. I left early on Tuesday for McDonough. Most of my trip was marked with light sporadic misting. Nothing much to speak of. I arrived at SA around noon to pick up the car.
Before departing, I recieved a "fatherly lecture" from Bill about not having stripes on the car, driving on interstates too much, and allowing the car to get so dirty (just messing with ya, Bill
). Lewis just smiled and shook his head in disbelief that I would actually drive in weather like this as I pulled out and headed north for my grandparent's place in Canton (easily a 2-hour drive).
Remember that light mist I told you about? Well, forget about it. It started raining (and I do mean RAINING) before I left McDounough's city limits. And of course it rained all the way to Canton. I tried waiting for a bit under a cover at a local gas station, but it was pointless. By this point, I was wet and cold. The way I figured it, the sooner I got to my destination, the sooner I could put on some dry clothes.
As many of you are aware, a Cobra gets lots of attention wen travelling down the road on a normal day. Well, that attention is multiplied by 10 when it's raining. Some folks looked at me like I should be arrested, but most of them smiled, waved, and gave me thumbs-up's. One person even went so far as to take my photo while travelling north on I-75 in a rather bad downpour. After he took the photo, I looked over and he was just laughing out loud and waving. I eventually got home in one piece after several stops to warm my hands and allow the numbness in my butt to recede (the seats are not all that comfortable for long trips).
Remember those dry clothes I told you about? Well, forget about those, also. My duffle bag was in the passenger floorboard (the wrong place) and had become completely saturated in water. I actually had to spin the clothes in the washer before drying them. My grandparents contemplated having me commited, or at least questioned by a therapist.
The next day was drier. I had promised my sister a lunch visit, so I headed towards Marietta Square around 11:30 on Wednesday. Now, anyone who was anywhere remotely
near I-75 in Marietta on Wednesday will tell you that it was no place for a 550-HP Cobra. Apparently, a cattle truck had decided to dump it's cargo a tad early and all lanes had been closed for hours. I quickly learned that stop-and-go (standstill, actually) traffic is NOT this car's best friend. I had to pull over four times (yes, four times) to let the car cool and/or add water. I eventually had a nice lunch.
Well, I came back to SC yesterday. I took Dad's... I mean Bill's advise and traveled to Augusta on 2-lane roads through northeast GA...
...long twisting 2-lane roads... the shadows of trees flickering across the car... an image of the horizon shining up from the hood and fenders... the sun on my shoulders... a shadowy image of myself racing alongside me in the next lane... the smell of a hayfield being cut... my hair being blown into oblivion... Bill was right.
This morning the car recieved a much-deserved bath (it took four hours). Then I drove it to meet some friends for lunch. Again, it was a beatiful day... a warm breeze... beautiful skies... everyone rubber-necking to see who was making all the noise... the side-pipe symphony echoing back at me every time I passed a car... yes folks, today was a good day.
Keith