ROADTRIP!!!!

[CUDA JAS]

Well ticked off a bucket list item over the weekend.

My first, what I will call long distance road trip with the family (well most of it).

My daughter had a Karate tournament this past Sunday in Queens NY.  So we rented a car and we (daughter wife and I) made the 1600 KM (1000 mile) round trip.

We had a great weekend, spent some time in NYC and got to see some very cool stuff. 

My highlight was Grand Central station, and walking around Times Square at night, and of course the family time with my wife a daughter.

Of course driving the 2014 Charger we rented (V6) was also a highlight!  Great car, it ate up the highway miles, good on gas and just nice to drive.  Might have to buy one in the future.  I loved going through the mountains in NY state.  We had great weather on the way down.  The 9 hour trip felt like nothing. 

Low light was the weather leaving Queens at 5:30 Sunday night...took us 7 hours to get to Binghamton (12:30).  We had to stop at a crappy little Quality in and catch some sleep.  We continued on the next morning and made the last 5 hours of the trip home.  Better weather, but still some crazy road conditions in a few spots.

All in all a great road trip, something I have wanted to do for a long time.  We are already planning on another trip in the fall to Chicago, 7 hours or so (another karate tournament) and I think I have my wife convinced to do Carlisle and Syracuse Nationals in the cuda sometime in the next few years.

Oh, and of course seeing my daughter win Gold in her Kata (forms) division, and performing well in her Kumite (sparring) match (she received a Bronze medal because there were only 4 kids in the division) was priceless.  That feeling was only exceeded hearing her speak only of the positives about the weekend despite the adversity she faced in the Kata competition and her Kumite loss.

Like I said, great weekend.

Jason

[dfrazz]

Sounds like a great time and congrats to your daughter too!  This are the special moments that vanish so quickly, enjoy them!

[jimynick]

Good to hear you had a positive family experience Jas, they're the building blocks for a happy life! So ya liked NYC, eh? It's pretty neat. Did you get to Katz's deli for the corned beef or pastrami? You'll like Chicago, too. We usually go there every 2 years for the blues festival and the places to eat defy description! The old Congress is a decently priced hotel right on Michigan and about 1/4 mile from the lake. Glad to hear you made it safe and sound. 

[Chryco Psycho]

 

[Moparal]

WTG  yer getting to be like me going all over.  My record driving is 2300 miles in behind the wheel before stoping to sleep, or rest.  But don't try that with your family either  lol.

Glad you had that family time, nothing better than that. Not even cars

[Gumby]

Congrats! to you and your daughter! Sometimes them "crappy" hotels aren't as bad as they seem. Don't know what you are used too, though. I have fond memories of us staying in "crappy" hotels when I was a kid.
Sure beats sleeping in a car! lol. Some vacations back in the day we had to do that. Dad and Mom, my sister and me, in a 1969 Galaxy 500. Our family was like - let's tour every state that we can, back then.
Good times and bad. Gotta take the lemon with the meraungue, lol.  I'm sure it's different nowadays.   Did you ever have to stay in a halfway house full of hippies in the '70's? lol.
Then you have NO idea what "crappy" is! lol. You stinking kids have it SO rough these days, lol.
Good memories were had by all.

Sounds like you al had a good time! Take care!

[Gumby]

Just read an article on Charles Lindbergh and the Spirit Of ST. Louis. He went 33 1/2 hours flying from New York to Paris. Solo. Non stop. over the ocean.
I guess sleeping on the transmission hump of a '69 Galaxy wasn't  so bad after all. Or those "crappy" hotels, lol. We got to see some really cool road side stands full of Americana.

You know what's REALLY cool? I read a Smithsonian Magazine not long ago, and they talked about those roadside chickens that would play baseball and all the other animals?
Turns out, those animals were trained to be spys for the U.S. I **** you not. It was a cool article. All kinds of animals were trained to be spies back in the cold war. Those animals
that you saw in the road side displays were most likely trained to help the U.S. during the cold war.
Jaw dropping, EYE opening article. YES, it happened. Some of those animles were smarter than the humans! lol. Or could at least out think them.

[Gumby]

Sorry, didn't mean to hijack the thread.

[blown motor]

Chicago in the fall. Sounds like a road trip for the Cuda 

[tommyg29]

Great trip!
The wife and I went on a relatively impromptu roadtrip in novemeber. Roundtrip of 2750 miles over a 3 day weekend, in her 2012 Charger. Miami to Dallas to attend the Gas Monkey Dodge car show and see Motley Crue (her favorite band).
Had a great time together. Spent one night on my sons pullout couch at college, and another night in a crappy holiday inn in downtown Jackson, Miss.
Still, better than sleeping in the car!

[CUDA JAS]

Thanks guys.

Yep it was a great trip.  The family time was by far the best.

Great trip!
The wife and I went on a relatively impromptu roadtrip in novemeber. Roundtrip of 2750 miles over a 3 day weekend, in her 2012 Charger. Miami to Dallas to attend the Gas Monkey Dodge car show and see Motley Crue (her favorite band).
Had a great time together. Spent one night on my sons pullout couch at college, and another night in a crappy holiday inn in downtown Jackson, Miss.
Still, better than sleeping in the car!

That sounds like a great trip.

I am certainly not a great fan of the small crappy hotels, but yeah better then sleeping in the car, especially in the cold weather!!!

I remember as a kid, 12 or 13, my dad took my brother and I to the Hershey PA show and swap meet.  We spent the night in the car...78 Ford 4 door.  MY dad got the front bench, my brother go the back seat, me I got the rear floor (I was the smallest).  Packed up the floor with all the pillows and laid down over the trans hump.  Worked fine for us.

Jason