We crossed the border from Indiana to IL just after dinner last night. Admittedly, we did not have many sights or stops marked on our map for the Ohio Indiana stretch of the trip as we do from the Mississippi river on, so not much to report in the way of sight seeing. Joe had plans for visiting another abandon site, but as we arrived, we realized the information was dated, and now the old lakeside amusement part had been demolished and lakeside cottages and a marina had been constructed. Oh well, lesson learned, the Internet can provide miss-information as well. We reverted to looking for opportunities along the route, and sure enough we came across what at first looked like an old brick school house, but upon closer inspection, was a home or roadside Inn as some point. This provided the photo opportunity that Joe needed to get his fix for the day, and I took a couple shots myself with a more detailed focus -
Another day very uneventful from the automotive mechanical perspective (fingers firmly crossed). Joe looks at me a little funny when I say things like this, but the car has a personality, and like a family pet, you get to know it, and it will tell you when there is a potential issue. I listen to every rattle and squeak. We both know this car so well, it provides a comfort as we take this journey. I have coached him to watch the gauges carefully and check them frequently for any changes - oil pressure, oil temp, water temp... Rock Solid - all day -
However, there is one thing about a trip like this that you may not encounter with recreational and weekend driving around home. Although the car is not a trailer queen, we do tend to make it a fare weather driver. So, what would you expect us to discover on a trip like this - where does the rain go at 65 Mph? in our case, some of it finds it way under the dash and drips on our feet. Fare is fare, so both passenger and driver get one wet foot. We found this problem on day 1 as we hit our first showers leaving Bennington VT. I began to mentally scan the car for likely culprits such as the fresh air vents under the dash, and the fresh air scoop on behind the hood. An attempt to resolve it with some silicone alone a seam by each door / fender did not stem the tide as we found in the showers crossing Ohio on Day 3. We are now focussed on the front of the door jamb where the chrome trim meats the weather stripping. With any luck, we will have this solved by the time we hit the AZ desert. I have a feeling this issue will be the subject of more updates as we continue our journey.
We did make a few stops today, but we learned that Ohio small towns like to shut down on Sunday, and I think they all go fishing. Still looking for stickers for our "steamer trunk", we stopped in Cecil Ohio, we found that every shop in town with the exception of "Dollar General" - more on Dollar General in a future post - Even the local drug store was closed.
Quick mileage check - 1176 - half way to Telluride
Officially reaching the west today. After breakfast, first stop St. Louis Arch.
Tim
Regarding the water dripping on your feet. This is usually Dom the Air Intake, the grille that is between the top of the hood and the windshield. There are two rectangular vents, one on each side, that let air into the cabin under the dashThese vents each have a "door" 4" long by 1-7/8" wide with a rubber seal. If that seal is dried up or gone then you'll get wet. I'm not familiar with the early models but the later ones like mine ('71E) have a small handle to pull out on the far left and right immediately under the dash.
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