One Lap Update,,, LA and points east

["Bill Harkell" <billharkell@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

Hi all!

Well,  here I am In Tucson Arizona.

The Coast road was great, LA was ok, and I got to see a friend of mine 
there... I spent yesterday checking out the parts of LA I haven't sen 
before, and of course had to do Mullholland drive. What a road!. Of 
course, poor Sofia's shoes are scuffed well, but it's for a good cause.

I stopped at AR Ricambi in Glendale and said hello to Julian. He wanted 
me to reassure everyone that they are still heavily into the Alfa end of 
their business, just leaner and meaner. I picked up the KingDragon 
Catalog which they are carrying now, very cool racing stuff...

Yesterday, after doing the touristy stuff like Rodeo Dr. (helped push 
some rich lady's broken Mercedes out of the intersection) I headed out 
to go east, very depressing indeed, since it begins the end of my 
journey. I was introduced to LA's rush hour traffic in full scale. It 
sucks! 15 miles of "clutch knee". Now I understand road rage. It is a 
free for all if you try to get off the I-10 and  make progress. LogJam 
City... 

I stopped to have a quick meal with Tony and Linda Licalzi, and we had a 
good time. Tony is a good ol' Brooklyn boy, so I undderstood his accent. 
:oD Thanks for a much needed break in the trip folks!!
I may have to go back for Tony's Alfetta....I don't see many without the 
factory rust option... :o) I also watched the Torrey Pines event on 
Tony's video...what a different world out west!

I headed out last night and aimed for the desert. It is interesting at 
night, very dark and open out there. No population problem there~!
I stopped around Blythe, a teeming metropolis ( :o) ) and then this 
morning, continued on eastwards through the desert and into Phoenix. 
Pretty city from the road, but another tank of Nasty Gas...mileage is 
down to 20-21 mpg on this crud, and who knows what it is doing to 
Sofia...

8146 miles to date.... ugh!  I head east from here on I-10 towards Las 
Cruces, and if the time is ok, I'll visit the Mackeys. Then on to  Tejas 
which should take until spring to cross...

Today I have seen alot of sand, and tumble weed, as well as Ostrich 
farms, and truck stops.. Big wide open spaces... 75 mph speed limit 
makes it go quickly though.

Sofia is purring. Mileage is down, but running fine. My butt will need 
to be retreaded after this trip... I am impressed with how consistent 
the car is so far, no new noises, squeaks or rattles. Very tight and 
quiet, (except for the tail pipe ;o)  )  I saw a nice green 164 up on 
Mulholland Dr. Looked like it was at home...nice life.

I stopped at a Flying J travel stop, (very good places on the road) and 
was approached by a fellow Digester, Mark Smith, out of Tucson. He was 
going to pick up his car at a repair shop. Thanks, Mark, for the offers 
of assistance, should I need it... Hopefullly I won't. :o) 

I guess I am becoming a (very) minor celebrity...There has to be an 
easier way. Tony said I am on what the Japanese call a "flying trip".
Maybe a bit like a "Walkabout"? Well, Doug Gould? It is certainly 
similar to what Charlie Ford was talking about in his Journals  from the 
"Search for the Beginning of the Wind" {no, not beans, Sedon!}  You can 
feel really alone in the middle of LA...

The highway is more of a group of comrades, though. Just people trying 
to be somewhere else, quickly. 

Well, enough sike-o-lodgy.... Back to the basement parking lot and I-10 
towards the great state of enchantment - Nuevo Mexico.

Stats to date...
8146 miles
4 quarts of Mobil 1 15/50
2 headlight bulbs
1 gas cap {don't ask}
1 foglight bulb
4,506,853 dead bugs.
40% of 2 Pirelli P6000 SV tires...

The journey continues....
Remember Digesters, this trip is also Welty's fault. Damn Digest. :o)


Bill Harkell
Alfa Romeo Search and Rescue Society
Tampa, Florida
Currently on the roads of America!!!
http://pw2.netcom.com/~alfabill/enter.htm


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End of alfa-digest V7 #211
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