California Bound ...

[Garry Bopp]

Bright and early tomorrow morning, my trusty F-150 and I will leave home, trailering my coupe. We are headed to Healdsburg, CA to take part in a cruise with 11 other C#bras. This cruise is known as "The Second Occasional Un-Event". The cruise starts with a BBQ on July 3rd and then the driving starts on the morning of July 4th. 4 day cruise takes in the Napa Valley wine country and giant Redwoods. One of my stops along the way to CA will be Henderson, NV for a visit at BRE. I'll post pictures along the way and add to this thread.

Garry

http://i142.photobucket.com/albums/r102/theboppshop/California%20Bound%20June%202012/CoupeforCaJun12022.jpg

http://i142.photobucket.com/albums/r102/theboppshop/California%20Bound%20June%202012/CoupeforCaJun12018.jpg

http://i142.photobucket.com/albums/r102/theboppshop/California%20Bound%20June%202012/CoupeforCaJun12020.jpg

Spent most of Saturday detailing the coupe, inside and out ...

http://i142.photobucket.com/albums/r102/theboppshop/California%20Bound%20June%202012/CoupeforCaJun12001.jpg

http://i142.photobucket.com/albums/r102/theboppshop/California%20Bound%20June%202012/CoupeforCaJun12003.jpg

http://i142.photobucket.com/albums/r102/theboppshop/California%20Bound%20June%202012/CoupeforCaJun12012.jpg

http://i142.photobucket.com/albums/r102/theboppshop/California%20Bound%20June%202012/CoupeforCaJun12009.jpg

[The Stig]

Gary,

I for one am very much looking forward to hearing more about your "tour". Sounds like fun. I have no doubt that your car will be turning California's head everywhere you go. Please take lots of pictures and let us take the ride with you.

[riptide motorsport]

thats a beautiful coupe!!

[Garry Bopp]

Day One on the road was pretty eventful ... 10 hour drive actually took 15 hours! Just outside of Memphis, I had a blowout on one of the trailer tires. Called roadside assistance ... while waiting for them, unstrapped the coupe and backed it out of the trailer so that I could access the spare tire. All in all, it took 3 hours, including a trip to a tire store to replace the blown tire. Then, multiple lengthy traffic backups on I-40 for construction and also one for a dump truck that went off the road. I think I will sleep very well tonight!! Tomorrow is a short drive (maybe) to the Oklahoma City area, to visit an old friend and crewmember.

Garry

http://i142.photobucket.com/albums/r102/theboppshop/California%20Bound%20June%202012/CaliforniaBoundJune12001.jpg

http://i142.photobucket.com/albums/r102/theboppshop/California%20Bound%20June%202012/CaliforniaBoundJune12002.jpg

[Garry Bopp]

Thankfully, damage to the trailer was minimal. Hoping that today is "uneventful!"

Garry

[vnmsss]

Geesh!! What a way to begin the trip! I had the same thing happen last week towing my Serpent Express from So Cal. Fortunately, I was not far out of town and was able to get off the road to a safe spot to change it.

We're all looking forward to seeing you next week!! Stay safe!!!

Karen

[David Hodgkins]

Gary and Karen, great to know you got through those blowouts safe and sound! Keep the update coming; I love reading about a good road trip!

:)

[Garry Bopp]

Hello from Albuquerque ... gettin' closer!

Day two was much nicer than day one! A short drive of 7 hours, ending up at the beautiful home of Jim and Patt Watts in Edmond, OK. Jim and I were on the same KC-135 crew many years ago and have remained friends ever since. He is a gearhead with an XK8 convertible, Triumph TR-6 & a Harley that he has ridden for 81.000 miles! We had a nice dinner out at a local pizzeria with Jim's family as well as several neighbors.

Elvira finally had a chance to get some fresh air outside the trailer ... took Jim for a short, spirited ride ...

http://i142.photobucket.com/albums/r102/theboppshop/California%20Bound%20June%202012/CaliforniaBoundJune12004.jpg

http://i142.photobucket.com/albums/r102/theboppshop/California%20Bound%20June%202012/CaliforniaBoundJune12021.jpg

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Here's a look at Jim's garage ...

http://i142.photobucket.com/albums/r102/theboppshop/California%20Bound%20June%202012/CaliforniaBoundJune12012.jpg

I forgot to mention that Jim is restoring an XK-E Type Jag. It's hidden somewhere under all those parts ...

http://i142.photobucket.com/albums/r102/theboppshop/California%20Bound%20June%202012/CaliforniaBoundJune12017.jpg

Neighbor Herb Miller has this pristine '55 Chevy in his garage ...

http://i142.photobucket.com/albums/r102/theboppshop/California%20Bound%20June%202012/CaliforniaBoundJune12022.jpg

Day 3 was a very routine 10 hour drive from Edmond, OK to Albuquerque, NM. Sunday will be another 10 hour drive, ending in Henderson, NV. Monday morning will be a visit to BRE ... I'm sure I'll have a few pics from that visit. Hopefully, Peter and Gayle will bring their coupe to work that day!

Garry

[riptide motorsport]

WOW.....what: a trip! :D

[vnmsss]

Great pics, Garry! We're looking forward to your arrival!

Karen

[ehansen007]

Love your license plate Gary. Your garage is even better. Good luck on your trip.

[Georgia Coupe]

Keep us posted on the rest of the trip! Wish I was following you with my truck, trailer, and Coupe! :)

[Garry Bopp]

I covered Day 4 in a separate post ... not a fun day! With a second trailer tire "blow out" I decided to put a full set of new tires on the trailer. I was lucky to find a tire store open on a Sunday afternoon in Flagstaff, AZ.

Day 5 began with getting Elvira out of the trailer and washing off the "trail dust" from over 2,000 miles of riding in the trailer. Then, headed over to BRE to visit with Peter and Gayle and tour their new place of business in Henderson, NV. Got to meet the staff, as well ... Alison, Brian & Stan ... great group of folks. According to Peter, their will be 18 coupes gathered for the Monterey Historics next month, as part of the "Brock Coupe Group." I'm really looking forward to that. It's always a pleasure to visit with the Brock's ... mostly car talk, and always amusing anecdotes about the Shelby days. Of course, there are a few pics to prove it happened ...

Nice drive from Henderson, NV to Bakersfield, CA. No issues, just a routine day of driving through some pretty big hills! At the Tehachipe Summit, I saw more windmills in one place than I've ever seen before ... amazing! On to Healdsburg, CA tomorrow to join up with the other Cobra crazies!

Garry

http://i142.photobucket.com/albums/r102/theboppshop/CaliforniaBoundJune12033.jpg

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[Garry Bopp]

http://i142.photobucket.com/albums/r102/theboppshop/CaliforniaBoundJune12042.jpg

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[Jeff Collins]

Great adventure Garry, thanks for taking us along for the ride!