Our trip is over...heading home.

Our east coast tour and SVRA finale at Road Atlanta has come to an end. Our racing season for 2007 is over and we will be heading home tomorrow. This ends our roaming until next March.

Although not the biggest event of the year, Road Atlanta is always one of the best for me. I have been coming to R/A since 1970. Some of the best SCCA racing, via the Run-offs, took place at R/A in the early to mid 70's. This years Finale provided some very close racing, and of course, our annual banquet. The banquet was a huge success. All the awards, good food and good fun provided for a very pleasing evening.

We also had our final staff diner of the year which gave us a chance to reminisce and say goodbye to our good friends for another year. Both Linda and I are hoping to have some get-togethers in the off season.

The last act of our trip was to visit BMW heaven. This is a three and a half acre facility just south of the track (Strictly German) where all BMW's go to rest. They are lovingly and carefully dismantled and they give up their body parts so others may continue. This year it was new tailight assemblies for Ian's 318is.

Interesting and exciting news on the home front. Sarah called today and she and Jay have bought their first home, a townhouse in Bowmanville. They close on February 28, 2008. Seems like a longtime, the anticipation will probably drive them crazy.

CONGRATULATION KIDS!

See everybody at home Tuesday.

Fort Pulaski, Ga.

Ah, the best laid plans.....Fort Pulaski was to be the impenetrable fortress, until someone thought about rifled barrels for artillery pieces. What took 18 years to construct was literally obliterated in 30 hours of Union shelling from Tybee island during the Civil War. In 1842, when construction was started on Fort Pulaski, rifled canon were unheard of. By the standards of the day, Pulaski would have been impregnable. The Union Army bombarded Pulaski with 36 canon from Tybee Island causing little or no damage but for the one experimental canon with a rifled barrel. This new canon was able to breach the southeast angle and expose the powder magazine to Union artillery. One round into the magazine would have obliterated the fort and killed all stationed there. The fort was surrendered with only the wounding of three Confederate soldiers. The Union Army suffered one fatality.

The fort was garrisoned until 1885. It lay in disrepair and was returning to the elements until 1933 when work began to restore it back to it's historical importance. Although much of the fort has been rebuilt it is easy to see the magnificent workmanship that went into the original structure. The fort sits on wooden pilings driven 70 feet into the mud. The stabiltiy of the fort still shows today as there are no cracks caused by settling. The vaulted arches of the powder magazines in the Demilune are still in perfect condition.

The destruction of Pulaski by rifled artillery rendered the masonary fort obsolete.



Tomorrow morning we pull up stakes and head for Gainesville Ga. and a weekend of racing at Road Atlanta. This event marks SVRA's finale for 2007 and we will once again be free agents until the Sebring 12 Hours of Endurance in March of 2008.

addendum: Drove into Savannah tonight to eat at one of our favourite eateries....The Conch House. It was closed for renovations.....arrrgh. Had to eat at our second favourite place, 'Fiddlers Crab House'. After 18 raw oysters, 12 oysters Rockefellow and some crab stew. it was hard to remember our intitial goal was to get some craked conch at the Conch House...oh well.

Tybee Island, Georgia

One of the things I like about Americans is that they embrace their history. Canada should take note. Every town or city we visit is rich in history and has a reason for being where it is. Go into a Canadian city and you have to ask yourself why does it exist? My very hometown of Whity is the same. Why is it where it is and what was it's reason for being there.....try and find out and you will get a brief description of its importance as a stopover on the way to Toronto....big deal. What about it's importance as a lake port, as a training ground for spies during WWII....anyway, I digress.

Today we spent a lazy day sitting at a cafe on the beach, sipping marguritas, scoffing down seafood and just generally enjoying the goings on. We visited the Tybee Island Lighthouse and Fort Screven, built in 1885 as part of the nations coastal defense system. The fort was also the site of troop training during the Spanish-American War, WWI and WWII. A fine note to Whitby's history, Camp 'X' was demolished and turned into factories.

Tonight a walk on the beach and a late diner. Tomorrow it is up to Fort Pulaski then on a turtle tour

Day 4....Charleston (and area)

Todays excursion to Charleston consisted of a quick flyer into the 'Tinder Box' to get some Canadian cigarettes. They only had a few brands, Players Lights and Extra Lights. They had a full compliment of Export 'A' but had been trying to sell the 'full flavour green packs as menthol....ugh!

Today was a visit to James Island and more particularly, Folly Beach....welcome to Wasaga south. Beautiful beaches that far exceed Myrtle Beach, and for the most part, deserted. The summer is definitely over for the Americans. I guess once the temperatures drop below 100f they head for their winter woollies. The Atlantic is like a huge bathtub with water temp in the high 70's. Air temperature has been in the mid to high 80's with a couple of days touching the low 90's.

The four corners of Folly Beach consisted of a few skanky stores and eateries. Seeing as I hadn't had any dead animal meat for almost two weeks, I decided to dig into a 100% Angus beef burger.....should have stuck to seafood. Around five or six that evening I was in a constant state of nausea and hot and cold sweats. Survived the night and felt reasonably good the next day.

Day 5 will be a travel day down to Tybee Island in Georgia.

Charleston....Day 3

Patriot's Point, S.C.

BIG SHIP

little ship

tiny ship

There are only two types of ships,
submarines and targets

Charleston....Day 2

I have two preoccupations in life, food and cars, and not neccessarily in that order.

Charleston is DEFINITELY about food.

Charleston, S.C

Great new bridge

Great architecture

Great food.

What more could you ask................

oh yeah! Any guesses as to who this is???? Photo taken at the corner of Market and Meeting Str. in Charleston. (double click image to enlarge).

HAPPY THANKSGIVING

Pawley Island.......

Quaint.......nothing there but vacation homes. Can't see the ocean from the roads. Took no pictures.

Left Pawley Island and went to Brookgreen Gardens. This is a 9,700 acre rice plantation that was donated to the public in 1931. Somewhat interesting. They advertise a zoo but it was pretty pathetic. Part of the zoo is of domesticated animals that were typical to the plantations in the 1700-1800's. All I saw was a walking menu....BBQ chicken, steaks, hamburgers and roast lamb.

They offer a tour of a tidal river....seen one river, you have seen them all. Interesting that the guide would say "Oh, an alligator" but the boat had already slowed down before it was in sight. I think they have the poor buggers chained in one spot for the tourists. Everybody rushes over to the appropriate side of the boat which causes either a starboard or port list and the mad clicking of cameras. Seen one alligator....seen them all, but for those that never have.

There was one outstanding note on the day. In Georgetown, everything is closed on Sunday. So what do wandering travellers do for food. Well, you wander! We wandered into this complex of stores called 'Hammock Stores', an enclave of 21 establishments. One of which was Lois's Fish Camp. We had the very best meal since leaving home, bar none! I had as an appetiser 'Tomato and Bluecheese Napoleon...to die for. Main course was Garlic shrimp on fried green tomatoes with a green onion sauce....OMG! And, for dessert a great bread and butter pudding and a cup of coffee that rivals anything Timmies ever passed over a counter. When we got back to our digs we looked up this little establishment and found the following: Esquire magazine declared Louis Osteen "the premier interpreter of New Southern Cuisine"; and USA Today praised him for offering "the purest flavours." He's been named the James Beard Foundation, Best Chef; Southeastern winner. And his food is good too. Not Thanksgiving turkey but a great substitute, made all the better by the fact that Linda paid for lunch for my birthday

On the way to Pawley Island, spotted an exotic looking vehicle sitting in a mass of weeds. No license plates, obviously neglected. Curiosity got the better of me and I had to turn around and investigate. First indications were that it was a Lamborghini of unknown origin. Second indications were that it was a Fieroghini, what a disappointment. Here I thought I had found the scoop of the year and the opportunity to possibly pick up an exotic cheap, nope.

Tomorrow we leave Georgetown and head for Charleston SC. All reports are that we will really find Charleston of exceptional interest....lets hope so.

Later.

There is a Heaven........

and it is the 'Independent Fisheries' in Georgetown S.C. I guess this is sort of like a co-op where fishermen can bring their daily catch, have it sorted and sold. Fresh shrimp ranged from $2.89/lb for medium to $6.99/lb for LARGE. Scallops, crab and oysters at insanely low prices. Fresh oysters were $36.00/bushel or $19.95 for 1/2 bushel. Fresh oysters can be bought shucked and packed in their own juice for $8.99 per 1/2 quart. Man, you can squash a lot of unshelled oysters into a 1/2 quart.

Georgetown is a beautiful little waterfront town supported by a steel mill and a large International Paper plant. Tourism plays a big part in it's survival but it would appear that the tourist surge is over for this year. The waterfront has undergone extensive renovation since we were here almost 10 years ago. Here are a few shots from around town.

and of course.....the ever present bikers. The clock tower in the background is the 'Rice Museum'. Surprisingly, before cotton and slaves became the driving economic force, it was rice. The Sampit River provided the depth required to bring the ships 12 miles up river from the Atlantic Ocean to load rice for the European continent.

Fishing, particulary shrimp, is another main industry and Georgetown supports a large shrimp fleet. Tomorrow it is off to Pawley Island.......standby.

Georgetown, S.C.

We are now in Georgetown SC, one of the oldest seaports in the USA. The recorded history of Georgetown goes back to 1526. It is generally believed that the Spanish established an outpost on Winyah Bay. This would have been the first European settlement on the North American mainland. The first permanent settlers were the English who established a trading post with the Indians on the Black River by 1710.

More to follow when we get the opportunity to survey the countryside..

Another day Dawns...

and we are bidding a fond farewell to Myrtle Beach. Today we head for Georgetown where we have accommodations at a marina on the Sampit River. Could be fun, I guess.

Bike week is in full swing and it is hard to turn around without tripping over a biker. Harley Davidsons are obviously the bike of choice and the odd ricer/crotch rocket looks totally out of place. Being bike week, it is only appropriate that I include some bike pictures.

U.S.S. North Carolina

Today we drove 70 miles north to Wilmington NC to visit the USS North Carolina Battleship Memorial. The 728 foot keel was laid in 1937 and the North Carolina was commissioned in April of 1941. She displaced 36,600 tons and carried a crew of 2300. She served four years in the Pacific from 1941 to 1945 and took part in every major offensive in the Pacific during WWII. In the Battle of the Eastern Solomon’s Islands in August of 1942, the Battleship’s anti-aircraft barrage helped save the carrier ENTERPRISE, thereby establishing the primary role of the fast battleship as protector of aircraft carriers. One of her Kingfisher pilots performed heroically during the strike on Truk when he rescued ten downed Navy aviators on 30 April 1944. In all, NORTH CAROLINA carried out nine shore bombardments, sank an enemy troopship, destroyed at least 24 enemy aircraft, and assisted in shooting down many more. Her anti-aircraft guns helped to halt or frustrate scores of attacks on aircraft carriers. She steamed over 300,000 miles. Although Japanese radio announcements claimed six times that NORTH CAROLINA had been sunk, she survived many close calls and near misses - such as the Japanese torpedo which slammed into the Battleship’s hull on 15 September 1942. A quick response on the part of the crew allowed the mighty Ship to keep up with the fleet. By war’s end, the Ship lost ten men in action and had 67 wounded.


The tour was self guided and would require about 3 hours to complete. It started on the fantail and wound its way forward through four decks. Unfortunately the cramped quarters did not lend itself to taking many pictures, even with a 35mm wideangle lens. Crawling into the firing station of the 16" gun turret required the agility of a much younger and smaller person than me, although I did eventually make it. Getting out was more labour intensive than getting in and parts had to be negotiated on hands and knees. For those who might one day make the trip and not want to hazard getting stuck on the way in or out...here is what it looks like inside. This small area would house four men during operations. In total it may measure 15ft x 6ft with barely 6ft headroom. One cannot start to comprehend the noise of those 16" guns when you are sitting just feet from the breach. The complete shell, charge and upper and lower projectiles stood a whopping 54" tall by 16" diameter. (Click anywhere on the picture to enlarge.) The one area of extreme interest that was not accessible was the actual engine rooms. Most other areas including the magazines, fire control and bridge were 100% accessible. An amazing feat of engineering, which is just barely 30 years shy of 100 year old technology.

One more day in Myrtle Beach and then we are off to Charleston. It is Biker week in Myrtle, so figure it is best to get out of Dodge before they show up en mass.

Week One.......

....of our four week trip has come to an end and we are relaxing comfortably in the Ocean Drive Hotel in North Myrtle Beach. The view from our room is most enjoyable and we will be here for a minimum of 5 days.

The VIR race was great. Weather was clear and sunny with temperatures ranging from the mid 80's to low 90's. SVRA added something unique to this event...a standing start for formula cars.

Fridays practice was not without its difficulties. Three cars came together when one of the lead cars failed to take off. Very unfortunate, but even in light of this little pimple on the ass of progress, the drivers decided to go ahead with the Sunday standing start. The start was a roaring success and will hopefully be added to the venue for future races. It is just an extension to what vintage racing is all about. Up until 1970, not many road races were started with a rolling start.

VIR provided us with a new Mini Cooper 'S' as a pace car. Can't say I was overly impressed. The interior fit and finish certainly isn't up to BMW standards. Acceleration WAS impressive but overall handling was marginal at best. With the traction control 'OFF' it had a tendency to light up the front tires out of the slower corners and produce a lot of tire chatter in the faster ones. On the last lap of the Friday touring session the roof light blew off and came directly in the rear window. The ensuing explosion was enough to scare the crap out of me and shower the complete interior with mini shards of glass. VIR had to retire the Mini for the weekend and drag out the Cadillac CTS for us......now that is a car! VIR remains one of my favourite events. Great track, low key event...just a lot of fun.

Two weeks and we are at Road Atlanta for the Finale.