Texas......

Well, Miz B went to the "Hair Dresser" aka Mechanic for her new "do" aka tune up for the trip to Texas!  She had developed a really irritating squeak and her brakes were a bit on the lacking side!

Well, five hours later and she was good as new!  Now all she needs is a "spa treatment" aka bath! And, she will be ready for the trip West!  I also picked up a new "cooler."  It plugs into the cigarette lighter plug, but also can be plugged into a regular household outlet.  No ice required!  This should be a great help in transporting our snacks and lunch items for the trip!

We are really looking forward to the trip to San Antonio.  We are going to take it easy on the way there and home - no more than 500 miles each day.  Although, it is not always the easiest to trailer an antique car.  First, I don't know how to back up a trailer....  This is where my wonderful husband comes in extremely handy!!!!  I would only find the way forward when trailering anything!  That means several trips around the block, sometimes!!!  But, all that said, we are going to see some good friends on the way to San Antonio in the suburb of Houston, Sugar Land.  Who knew that there was really a town called Sugar Land?  Anyway, the last time we saw these wonderful folks, was at the wedding of the daughter of other wonderful friends, in Connecticut.  We met them many, many years ago in Dallas.  John worked for this wonderful man and his wife was my port in the storm!  John travelled 5 out of 7 weeks and we had 2 children under 3 years of age.  Not only were they always there for us, but they had a wonderful daughter who babysat!  The best of all worlds.  Can't wait to see them!

We will arrive in New Braunfels for the tour on Saturday.  Who knows how early, may not be too early, considering there is going to be some serious catching up to do!  

I'll post photos and posts during the tour, stay tuned.........

Easy repair!

Coming out of church on Sunday morning, I noticed two young men checking out the front end mechanisms of Miz B.  I thought that was a bit odd, being that most folks are usually trying to figure out why the steering wheel is on the right side of a Ford.  You know, Fords are American cars and we have always driven from the left side, but on the right hand side of the roadways. Nope, they weren't too interested in that.  What had caught their eye was a very shiny silver ball joint that was exposed and didn't look like the other side, which had no shiny ball showing.  

My first thought - this is coming from someone who is not too mechanically inclined about cars - was that I hope it doesn't have anything to do with the steering.  I needed to run an errand and make it the 10 miles home.  

Well, this little car had never really let me down, so I put my faith in her and off I went.  Steering was fine and the brakes were working just fine, as well.  So, I ran my errand and then made my way home.  

Soon, John was home and he looked over the little car and came to the conclusion that it was the connection between the wheel and the shock absorber which had broken.  

On Monday, he was off to Smith and Jones to purchase the part.  But, wouldn't you know it, the item was out of stock.  It is a good thing that our mechanic has plenty of used parts that are in perfectly good condition.

This was an easy repair and probably the cheapest we have ever made on the little car.  $5.00!  Now Miz B is ready to roll again on her next adventure!

Happy New Year!

Well, it is still a relatively new year!  Today, Miz B went on her second tour of 2014.  The first was to Vent and Frances Mack's Place for the Annual Chapter Business Meeting and Lunch.  Lots of good friends and food.  Danny and Cheryl made their wonderful Chicken Stew.  Yummy!  The rest of us brought the sides and desserts.  

Today's tour had us leaving at a very decent hour of 10:30AM from the Lexington Kmart.  There were quite a few Model A's, but because it was pretty chilly and extremely windy, most folks drove their modern cars.  I think we had about 10 Model A's make the journey. 

It was a quick 40 minute ride to Shealy's Barbecue in Batesburg/Leesville, SC.  I had never been there, but I had been told that the food was really delicious.  I definitely was not disappointed!  You name it, it was on that buffet.  Everything from fried chicken to collard greens to the most delightful corn muffins, not to mention the fabulous barbecue and all the fixins!  Then there were a couple of more buffet lines with salads and desserts.  I don't think anyone left hungry! 

The rest of the crowd was going antiquing and hardware store hunting, but I decided to make my way home.  I was looking for a little bit of down time to catch up on the websites and the blog.  I didn't get home too fast, though.  I was coming my usual route through the countryside, avoiding Lexington, on a back road, when I came up on a line of stopped cars.  It seems that a garbage truck had hit a car and the car was in the middle of the road and no one could get around.  I eventually turned the car around and followed the Garmin toward home.  Unbeknownst to me, the road I was told to turn on - as a detour - became unpaved!  Not a problem, except we had just had a 6" snow and ice storm a few days earlier.  Of course, the dirt road was rutted and muddy!  Now Miz B really needs a bath!

The little car is due for a new windshield and frame.  John and Davin are going to work on it soon.  I just hope it will be finished and installed before the 5th of March.  That is when we leave for San Antonio and the 2014 MAFCA National Tour of the Texas Hill Country.  Our next adventure!