The fun begins

 June 9th
I got off work at 4, we finished loading up the car and we were off to begin our adventure.  We had to drop Fezzik off at my parents house, he wanted to come with us but that probably wouldn't be a good idea.  We were on the road a little after 5 PM. 

Between home and Texas Motor Speedway we saw 4 law enforcement vehicles.  Good thing we decided that our the theme for this trip is "It's all about the journey".  We want to relax, not get in a hurry and just enjoy whatever comes our way. 






Our first stop was the new Buckee's across from Texas Motor Speedway.  That place is huge, it should have it's own zip code. 
Then it was on to Salt Grass Steakhouse, which we love.  I had a $25 gift card so that was a nice treat.  We made it to the hotel around 9.  It was an older Fairfield Inn.  It was a clean basic room. 

 Friday June 10th
I didn't sleep well  and was up before 6:30.  I was nervous and anxious about seeing Valerie.  I told David that I was nervous because as teenagers we knew everything about each other but as adults we don't really know each other.  Anyway, we  were out of the hotel by 7:45.  First stop of the day was Buckee's in Terrell to top off the gas tank and grab some breakfast.  GPS said we should be at Valerie's around 12:30 - YIPEE.

Couldn't help but notice around the Tyler, TX area the road was lined with "real" trees.  They were getting bigger and taller, nothing like what we are used to at home LOL.  Somewhere around Marshall TX we saw the first vehicle that was also headed to the start of the Hot Rod Power Tour.  Only saw 2 law enforcement vehicles in TX before we crossed into LA around 10:20. 

We decided that our next pit stop would be at Shreveport LA.  We couldn't find anyplace to stop.  They hide all of the gas stations well off the road.  Finally somewhere south of Shreveport we took an exit and David stopped and asked a man that was weed eating his driveway where the nearest gas station was.  We ended up going about 3 miles off the highway, but "It's all about the journey".    Between the LA border and Alexandria LA we saw 5 law enforcement vehicles.  I guess they take their jobs pretty seriously in that area.   We thought this old barn, around Alexandria LA was pretty cool looking.

We finally got the Valerie's about 12:45.  Oh my, it was just like old times.  We just picked right up, it is great to have friends like that!!   Don & Valerie fixed us a fantastic lunch and we talked and talked.  They are getting settled into their new (to them) house, it is really nice and in a great location.  We forced ourselves to leave around 4:30, we could have spent several more hours catching up. 

 So we were on the road again and made a pit stop near Lecompte LA.  There were 3 other Power Tour vehicles there (all from Fort Worth) so of course we had to talk to them.  The rain started around Washington LA, we were on Hwy 49S and it wasn't too bad.  Somewhere along the way is a 10 mile long bridge that is 2 lanes each directions with no shoulder on the road, no place to pull over or anything.  Of course by the time we get to the bridge it was raining pretty hard and it was hard to see.  The car started to fishtail a couple times which that was pretty nerve racking.  Well, about 3/4 of the way across the bridge the car died, everything just shut off.  We were terrified, traffic was whizzing by and not slowing down at all.  David had to get out and found out that one of the battery cables had vibrated off.  Thankfully it was an easy quick fix and we were able to get off the bridge.  We pulled off at a convenience store right after the bridge and he made sure the cables were secure and we would not have that problem again and we were off down the road again. 

Less than 10 miles later he says "oh no, that's not good" and started heading for the shoulder of the road (thankfully there was one).  He got out and found out that the right front wheel bearing had locked up and of course about that time it started to rain again.    He got tools from the trunk and started pulling the wheel off and what do you know but the 3 Power Tour vehicles we met early were going by and stopped to help.  These people were so nice and were trying everything they could think of to help.  David told them go on, we didn't want to hold them up but they insisted on staying.  The rain was getting harder and it was thundering.  A local sheriff stopped to check on us and he ended up being a huge help.  Around 7:30 they decided it couldn't be fixed without a cutting torch of some kind so we had to call a tow truck.  You know it's bad when David calls for a tow!!  The sheriff's officer had come back around again and he started calling several people that he knew to find someone that could help us.  He finally got a guy that works for Hoffman Truck Service in Lavonia LA, that does road side calls for big rigs.  The guy came out and said "oh we can fix that, my shop is about a mile up the road."  He called around for the part that was needed and headed off to pick it up while we waited for the tow truck which showed up around 9 PM.  The sheriff stayed while they got the car hooked up and then escorted us to the shop.  We got there around 9:45 by that time we both needed to find a restroom.  The shop was locked up so the mechanic told us to take his truck and go to the truck stop a few blocks away.  By the time we got back they almost had the bad part cut off.   They worked on it and  a couple hundred dollars later, around 11 PM we were once again on the road. 

I can't say enough nice things about the Sheriff and they guys at Hoffman's, they took great care of us!!!

We finally made it to the hotel around midnight.  We were exhausted.