Headed to Maryland in the morning to pick up a complete Jetfire engine. 11.5 hours one way road time. Getting the engine is only part of the fun. I am taking our Silhouette van that is near the end of its useful life. It has 183,500 miles on it and runs OK at this time. It has a new water pump, transmission, head gaskets, and tires. The part that worries me is that the fuel pump is the original and the radiator is not in great condition. This may be a dumb thing to do but it may turn into a great adventure. I think back to most of my adventures and the ones we talk most about are the ones that didn't go so well. I was going to be by myself but talked my wife into going. This has changed things a little but not for the van.

If something small happens I will fix it on the road, if something big happens, I will rent a small truck and head home. I will have to mail the title to the tow company that picks up the van.

Let the fun begin!

 

Can I assume Ken Dennison is at the other end of that trip?

When do you plan to be in MD? I'm not that far from I70.

 

With the wife now going I am not sure. I want to drive through all the way Saturday and pick up the engine and head half way back Sunday. With the wife going I may have more pee brakes, lol. I think I would be entering Maryland by 3:00. I am not sure if I will go 70 to 79 to 68 and back to 70 or go 70 all the way? Mapquest and my GPS want me to go the first way but I think 70 all the way would be easier. Do you know the best way?

 

Sounds like a fun trip, good luck & be safe!

 

Have fun and be safe Eric.

 

You have to be a car nut to do a trip like that. That is why most of us have done them at one time or another. Have a good and safe trip Eric.

 

I'm very close to I-70 for the first 60 minutes or when you cross into PA (around Washington, PA). If you have any issues with the van in that area between Wheeling, WV and the PA Turnpike at New Stanton and need an assist, give me a shout. 412.804.1781 cell or vette442@hotmail.com.

Terry

 

Terry probably could give you better advice on going 70 through PA, I think it would be easier.

FYI- 79 meets 68 in Morgantown home of the WVU Mountaineers who play at 3 pm Saturday. You could easily run into some game traffic.

68 is a pretty drive though, just watch for the Staties around Cumberland.

 

Thanks guys. We will be leaving in an hour (5:30 AM). We may go one way and come home the other way just to see more country. If we have time I want to stop at Somerset PA and see the 9-11 memorial they built. We were there in 2009 when we went to the nationals in Seven Springs but they did not have the memorial built.

 

That's what I did when I made this trip about a year ago. I prefer I-68, however. Typically less traffic and fewer cops.

 

What a great day to drive. We ran into almost no road construction and very little traffic! Was cloudy all day so the sun was not bothering me. We left at 5:45AM and got to Kens house at 6:00PM. I got to look at Ken's Jetfire and it is coming along GREAT! We loaded the engine and talked for a while. We were there for about two hours and hit the road again. We just stopped at 9:30 and will head out again in the morning. I have a total 12 hours of drive time in today. We will be taking our time tomorrow and stopping more. May take extra time sight seeing and finish the drive home Monday. We got to drive over the Chesapeake Bay Bridge, That was a very cool sight to see. I was hoping to see some better mountain views but not to much of that. Highest elevation was 2800 foot. Didn't have much time to get pictures but I have a couple I will post when I get home.

 

Some pictures of the trip. Not much for pictures but my wife and I had a great couple days away. Stopped at the 9-11 memorial for flight 93 and what an experience. Not sure I completely understand the layout but it sure was moving to listen to some of the phone calls from the planes.

I didn't get the picture on time but had a great rainbow over a city we got to look down on.

The van did great. It wanted to get hot on the way home a couple time going up the small mountain areas. We just slowed down to not work it so hard. Other than that, it got the best MPG on this trip than it ever has. I wonder if it is running lean because it was getting 25 MPG every stop. The best we ever had was 23 in the past.