[Lowell W]

I didn't have to go to work yesterday, either, but I did get a chance to enjoy my car. A good friend lives in southeastern Wisconsin, about 135 miles northeast of here, so I decided to go visit him and see how the car was running. During the winter, I had installed a Pro 5.0 shifter and addressed a few little issues after putting on 10,000 miles last year, so I figured this should be a good shakedown cruise.

The weather was as nice as we've had so far this year: sunny after about 10:00, temp in the mid 50's or so, but with probably a 30mph wind out of the west. The trip there was beautiful, although the wind was a little bothersome driving north, but it didn't really blow the car around, so it wasn't too bad. I stopped at Joe's, in Marengo, for a couple of hot dogs, then continued on to my friend's place, arriving mid-afternoon. We spent a few hours visiting and looking around his shop and at my new (actually used, but hardly) Bridgeport mill he had found for me. While we were visiting, we remarked several times on how windy it was getting and how the temperature was dropping. By the time I left, at about 5:15, it was in the mid 40's and the wind had shifted a little and was now W/NW. Definitely time to put up the top! By the time we got the top up, my hands were blue. I started the car, let it warm up for a few minutes, then, with the Bridgeport in the trunk (naw, just kiddin'-we'll leave that for another trip), I headed for home. I did have a long underwear top on, with a flannel shirt, and a Carhartt work coat, but I still didn't expect to be very comfortable for the three hour drive. I stopped again at Joes for some of his delicious lasagna, and wasn't cold yet, although I was surprised at how cold it was when I got out of my cozy little rocket pod. Back on the road and I stopped for gas at about the 100 mile mark, as I didn't know for sure how much the headwind was affecting my fuel consumption (not a lot, actually), and now it was really COLD when I got out of the car. OK, back in the car with a cup of coffee and a muffin and headed for home. When I arrived it was 36 degrees and still windy. Yeah, my toes were a little cold but heck, I've been MUCH colder than that, and I was driving a COBRA!! I never once wished I had taken my truck instead. Hmmm-sun's out again today...