American World Cahs!!! (Cars in an affected accent...and REBIRTH???)

Well, well...I know I should be doing something else such as digital photo work rather than browsing the Internet or trying to fight sleep and/or my depression, but I am a self-admitted car junky. (Sort of.)

Anyway, I just came across a web site...the link is just below...http://cars.about.com/od/detoursanddiversions/ig/American-world-cars/

This particular site features American cahs (excuse me, CARS) which are offered in other parts of the world, but NOT America itself. I'm sure that some of you might remember the Chevrolet Caprice as well as the Ford Falcon and Fairlane. Well, you can still purchase the Caprice in the Middle East and if you lived in Australia or New Zealand, you can get a brand-spanking new Falcon or Fairlane.

These cars are not the 1960's, 70's, or 80's versions of the US models (even though back in the day, I do know that some of the car models worldwide were a few model years behind America), rather these automobiles are as new and fresh as your 2008 Jeep Liberty, Dodge Caliber, or Chevy Corvette.

I've even come across web sites where brand new 1957 Chevys (http://www.1957chevybody.com/index.html) are being produced...and I'm not talking about restorations, but actual cars which are true to the original. However, 1957 Chevys are NOT the only cars being reborn, but there are new 1953 (and other year) Corvettes as well as Cobras, Thunderbirds, etc. being produced (http://www.lonestarclassics.com/lsc-kit-cars-replicas/lone-star-classics-route-66-roadster-kit-car.cfm).

There also is a very interesting truck being produced by Southern Motor Company (http://www.southernmotorcompany.com) in Liberty, South Carolina. This particular truck favors the Chevy pick-ups of the late 40's and early 50's. Wow, dude! Sweet ride! Looking at the Southern 358 (the name of the truck) really sets my car lust in motion. Too bad the Southern 358 costs $63,000...but then again, that's not quite as much as some specialty autos on the market. A brand new 1957 Chevy Convertible would set me back $180,000.

It's also too bad I can't get a brand-spanking new 1969 International Harvester Scout 800A in 2008. If I could, I most certainly would! Now, that would be sweet...but that can't occur. So, I guess I still have to settle with my late dad's 69 Scout (still original and authentic) as well as my 2006 Jeep Liberty. I will say that I'm sort of tempted to actually purchase one of these "reborn" autos, but I would have to sell the Liberty (of course). But, the Scout??? Not in my lifetime...hopefully!

PS - If any of you are interested in knowing more about these reborn automobiles of the past (either as a kit or turn-key car), just go to Google and key in words such as "kit car, replica, new 1953 Corvette" or anything you want to. There really is too much for me to continue to share. I will admit that it is rather amazing!!! (Addicting as well.)

CRAZY HORSE FIRE DAMAGE in Clayton

I'm not sure if some of you might remember a post I did on the fire destroying an adult night club on January 6th???

Anyway, on January 26th (yesterday), I went and took some pictures of the damaged place. Above are a couple of them...and if you want to see more, click on the following link.

http://public.fotki.com/rettaman/miscellaneous/crazy_horse_fire_damage

Back at Work...and Recovering from the Key West/Marco Island Trip and Illness...

I finally went back to work on Wednesday the 23rd after being on vacation at Key West/Marco Island during the week before and after being SICK. My last day before vacation was Friday the 11th...and if I hadn't gone on the trip, I probably would've gone to work on Thursday the 24th because I still wasn't feeling that great on Wednesday. But, I wanted to because I would be using more of my vacation days since I'm not very well "stocked" on sick days currently. I actually was supposed to be back at work on Monday the 21st. Fortunately, I began to really feel more like "myself" on Friday the 25th even though I still don't feel quite as good as I did five or ten years ago. Ha! Is age catching up with me? I'll turn 35 on the 19th of next month. Anyway, it was good to go back to work despite all of the stress it causes me at times. :-)

RAGING JERKS on the North Carolina Highways...

As I was heading into work today (Friday the 25th), I encountered a familiarity on the NC highway...and no, I'm not talking about a deer or possum. I'm talking about a jerk.

Not too far from my home, a person pulled in front of me and I had to apply my brakes quicker than usual. I kindly flashed my lights to let the person know I was there because I didn't know if the person saw me or not. I did NOT blow my horn. The person then got all raged up and started giving me OBSCENE gestures!!! When he flipped me off and slammed on his brakes, I had to slam on mine! I then returned the flip along with a loud blowing of the horn. That was when I felt this burning rage beginning to go up my back.

The JERK (not me) then started acting like he wanted to get a piece of me. I just shook it off and went along my way to work. I immediately turned on the radio to 92.5 FM (BBN - Bible Broadcasting Network) for some HOLY encouragement.

I will say that during my trip to Key West and back, I did NOT encounter road rage or jerks. I guess that one of my co-workers is right. North Carolina drivers can be some of the worse...and at times I wish I could leave this state I was born and raised in.

(I might elaborate on this post later.)

Just Some Pictures from the Key West/Marco Island Trip...

I'm not as good at posting pictures on the blog as I am at my photo site, but here are a few more. I'll post some more here later and I'll post all at my photo site....SOON??? There are a few hundred! :-)

Here I am at the SOUTHERNMOST POINT Monument.

Here is my Jeep Liberty at the US 1 Beginning (Mile 0).

Here I am at the MILE 0 Marker.

Don't worry, I wasn't dead in this picture!

My Jeep Liberty SUCKS....(GAS, that is!)

The year 2008 has not progressed too far yet even though it's almost February. I usually try to key in my gasoline purchases at http://www.raleighgasprices.com/ to help determine the gas mileage, expenses, etc. for my hardy (and used!) 2006 Jeep Liberty.

Well, so far, the "damages" (err...total) from January 1st to the 21st have been...

[GET READY!!!!]

160.76 gallons of gas purchased @ an average price of $3.101 per gallon totaling $499.35. There have been TEN (10) fill-ups over a total of 2,591 miles and the average gas mileage has been 18.26....which isn't too bad, especially when you count in the fact of the Key West/Marco Island vacation I just went on with a small fully packed trailer being pulled behind the Jeep. (The highest mileage on the trip was 19.93 MPG and I could've gotten at least 23 MPG on the interstates. When the Liberty was driven to Cape Canaveral last August, it did get around 22 MPG.)

The trip itself was 2,090 miles...and I drove about 1750 of those miles. Oh yes, it was tiring! I almost think the driving back was what did me in since I did drive 536 miles straight with a few rest and "gas" stops along the way. I didn't drive anywhere on Monday the 21st during the day or night since I was sick with the 102.8 fever.

So, I guess when the trip is not taken into account, then a few things do change even though I still drive 350 or more miles each week doing the daily work commute as well as to social and other events/activities during the week. Still, the Jeep Liberty isn't quite the best eco-friendly SUV, but then again, it's not the worse gas guzzler there is either since I do get about 18 MPG on average, trip or no trip. :-)

I'm Home From The Key West/Marco Island Trip...and I'm SICK!

Just wanted to let you know that I'm home from the Key West/Marco Island Trip. We pulled into my driveway about 12:30 AM on Monday Morning (January 21st) in the sub-freezing temperatures (18 degrees without much snow on the ground). I also have been battling a fever of 102.8 degrees as well as a raw throat.

Fortunately, I've been taking meds and I actually got sick on Saturday when we were at Wooten's Alligator Farm and Wildlife Sanctuary (http://www.wootenseverglades.com/) on the Tamiami Trail. I was having chills earlier that day, but really didn't think much of it. I knew I was feeling cold and wanted to get warmed up. I wore a long-sleeve black shirt which I purchased from Porky's Bayside BBQ in Marathon (http://www.captainpips.com/) located in the Middle Florida Keys.

Anyway, when my friends were holding some of the smaller gators, I got out-of-sorts and had a chance to taste my breakfast a second time. I was extremely dizzy, clammy, etc. My vision was blurry as well. Too bad I didn't get a chance to hold any of the smaller gators. One of my friends decided to take my camera and do a few pictures. She asked me if I would like a picture of me on the ground. I said yes. So, there are a few pictures of me on the ground when I was sick. (It's all clean, though.) I do remember my friend's brother and sister-in-law asking me if I wanted to go to the ER...and I thought to myself, "NO!" I didn't want to end up staying overnight in a hospital room in Florida. Ironically, I was given Gatorade (in the middle of gator country in the Florida Everglades) to help hydrate me in the 85 degree heat. I don't know if it was heat stroke/exhaustion or not. If it were, then I would be feeling better now, wouldn't I?

(I do think that having to drive back to the Raleigh area from Daytona didn't give me much time for REAL rest even though I slept most of the day on Saturday after coming back from Wooten's. I will say that my sickness delayed our departure because this was the last day of the trip and we were going to try to do quite a bit of traveling that evening. We did actually leave Marco Island around 9:15 PM on Saturday and stayed in Tampa....and when we were leaving Tampa on Sunday we had to travel Interstate 4 to Daytona....and that was where that 70 car pileup with four fatalities occurred over a fourteen/fifteen mile stretch a couple of weeks ago. Also, the friend who was driving us from Tampa to Daytona actually got lost in Tampa despite the portable GPS system we've been using. That added about an hour or two on the ride back.)

Well, I'll close this post for now. Time to go back to sleep (in my own bed) because this fever has wiped me out. There still is quite a bit to share about this trip, such as going to Marco Island Beach on Friday, etc. When I start to feel better, I'll do some more posting on the blog. This trip really has been awesome even though I've been sicker than I've been in a long while and the trailer lost its right fender as well as my Jeep Liberty's left rear window's regulator getting all bad and such.