Travels with BillyBob Log

WHAT'S NEW is a chronological listing of updates to the BillyBob site.

TRUCK LINKS including vendor sites for old parts, custom parts, and tools as well as sites for classic car and truck organizations

STORE Operating in association with Amazon.com, books, recordings and tools can be purchased.

PLANNING for the restoration including project schedule and cost estimates.

TRAVELS WITH BILLYBOB With apologies to Steinbeck, this area of BillyBob's Garage will be used to log the trips BillyBob and I make together.

WORK-IN-PROGRESS is the restoration of parts of BillyBob that I can accomplish without a garage.

PRE-RESTORATION includes log entries of minor repairs and and adventures between time of purchase and the time when I started restoration, a piece at a time.

JR'S KORNER JR's Korner is the history of BillyBob before I got him authored by my brother, Wm. C. Kephart.

BILLYBOB MAINTENANCE Ever changing detailing, oil change, lube, etc. maintenance routines specifically developed for BillyBob, including required tools, materials and procedures.

PARTS SHOP The Parts Shop is a repository of How-To articles. Things that I have done over and over enough times to have developed a procedure. This gives me a checklist and saves brain cells.

STEALTH SHOP Urban residence design with large integrated shop and separate living quarters for a relative or renter.

7. Macungie Run

Day 17 SITREP

The Holiday Inn in Charlottesville was built to service the university. It is six stories and has a restaurant. I didn't have to settle for a continental breakfast this morning. I could get the real thing - eggs, bacon and potatoes. I got on the road late but I expected a short run today so that was OK. The next two evenings will be spent with relatives so I located the Holiday Inn in Whiteville, NC and made reservations for the night after tomorrow. Loaded that location into "Mother" when I got confirmation.

Monday, June 25, 2007
Day 17 PRE Check

BillyBob was parked on the flat so I checked all his fluids. As predicted, all the gear oil had leaked out of the steering box so, that was topped off again. Added the second quart of engine oil for the trip to BillyBob's crankcase too.


1.	Date and Time	June 25, 2007 11:00 AM
2.	Odometer	23,527
3.	Comfort Supplies	Cellphone, AAA+ membership, reading glasses, my lucky WWII Army Air Corps mechanics cap, cheap aviator sunglasses, small cooler with water and trail mix
4.	Roadtrip Supplies	Inventory
5.	Prep	pack up, mount navigator

Engage

The first hour or so of the run to Raleigh was pleasant. I let Mother have the lead after I turned off highway travel again. This time she took me on a pretty straightforward route but I wouldn't know that until we reached our destination. I'll have to read the Garmin manual again to find out if there is a way to know the route the navigator maps for you in advance. As it is, when it appears to go astray, you tend to hope it will get on the track you want at the next directed turn and, before you know it, you're deep in the woods.

I stopped at a convenient auto parts store and picked up a container each of gear oil and STP Oil Treatment and two containers of lead substitute. I was getting far enuf south and east now that the hot, humid climate was broiling me in BillyBob's cab. I passed a bank neon sign half way to Raleigh that said it was 96 degrees.

At least when you're traveling over a long bridge or causeway over a body of water, it seems cooler for a few moments. The four bottles of water and ice that I prep for the Igloo cooler on the floor of the cab are much more important for the southern legs of the roadtrip. It's difficult to get along without some arrangement like this if you don't have air conditioning.

Day 17 POST Check


1.	Date and Time	June 25, 2007 3:30 PM
2.	Odometer	23,719
3.	Mileage	192
4.	Elapsed Time	4 hrs, 30 minutes

I arrived at my cousin, Johanna's house by mid-afternoon. I sat contritely while she gave me the dickens for not calling her as she had requested. Anybody who knows me well knows I am not a phone person. People who are phone people find this incompresensible. I would rather talk face-to-face or send an email. If my boss really wants to punish me, he'll hand me his cell phone and ask me to get a photo off it and unto our server by using a Bluetooth connection. AAARUUGH!

I sat at Johanna's kitchen table as she started preparing dinner and told me about her work. She works for a local residential builder. Jo kept throwing chunks of food to Casey, a russet color golden retriever. When I looked closer, I discovered she was throwing him chunks of bell pepper. This dog likes veggies, including cucumbers, carrots and tomatoes as well. In fact, he ate their tomatoes right off the bushes once. Afterwards, they had tomato plants at several locations on their property where Casey had deposited a yard sausage.

When Jo's husband, Frank, got home and before her son, Michael, disappeared, they consented to pose with BillyBob. Even Casey got into the picture. My cousin Jo, Frank and Michael are on the left. That guy with the used car salesman pose on the right is Kyle, Michael's buddy. Jo is Uncle Corky and Aunt Marcella's second oldest.

Another cousin, Brenda, who lives in the neighboring town of Cary, NC, had a busy day with college orientation for one of her children and, afterwards, drove over to visit and get caught up. Brenda is Aunt Jane and Uncle Glaydon's second oldest. Are we confused yet! I had a good time visiting with my cousins and Frank. Brenda's husband, Jerry, had his hands full back at their house taking care of their youngest and I'm sorry I missed him.