drivetofive

Odometer (Legend):  524,268

Day Distance:  1,072 Miles

I’m a thousand miles from nowhere
Time don’t matter to me
‘Cause I’m a thousand miles from nowhere
And there’s no place I want to be

My friend Chris told me this could be my theme song for my trip to North Carolina, and I couldn’t agree more.  Thanks Mr. Dwight Yoakam for your talent.

As long as I’ve got a full tank of gas, good tunes, and the open road, it doesn’t matter where I’m going. And today, I saw over 1,000 miles of America from behind the wheel of my 1994 Acura Legend coupe.  Here’s how my day played out.

For a couple of years now I’ve been cautioned about a leaky power steering pump on the Legend.  It’s the original, so understandably getting a little tired.  It was resealed 11,000 miles ago but still loses fluid.  I started the morning off with a whining power steering pump.  When I checked the fluid level, it was well below MIN so I topped it off and grabbed a couple extra bottles of fluid for good measure.

Nothing like plugging in a destination address and seeing that it’s 14 hours, 10 minutes away.  I knew it was time to get comfortable in the driver seat so I slipped off my shoes and queued up the roadtrip playlist.

Sunrise in New Mexico was worthy of a photo op.  Mr. Sunshine woke up after I’d already been on the road awhile, and he went to bed at least a few hours before I did.  I put in overtime today.

Cheesy pics are the result of staring at the road for too many hours at a time.

First stop was the Amarillo, Texas:  home to Cadillac Ranch.  It’s also home to a steakhouse where if you can finish a 72-ouncer, it’s free.  I didn’t quite have the appetite.  Instead, I went with a yogurt and some oatmeal while the Legend enjoyed the company of this stately looking 1980’s Mercury Grand Marquis.

Shamrock, Texas might as well be called Radiator Springs, because it feels exactly like a trip into the cartoon world of the Pixar movie “Cars.”  I especially enjoyed this old Conoco station which now houses the visitor center.

I wonder what the price of fuel was the last time this thing was in use.

A nice biker couple took my pic to commemorate the visit.

Peek-a-boo.

I’d worked up some munchies by the time I got into Oklahoma, so I stopped just west of Oklahoma City for a bite to eat.  The town of Yukon is exceptionally proud of the fact that Garth Brooks is from there.

In fact, I dined at a restaurant on Garth Brooks Boulevard.

I wasn’t kidding!  Check out the map.

The Legend was a little thirsty, too, so I went ahead filled up that 18-gallon tank once more.

Eastward ho.

Up to this point on this trip, I have not seen any other Acura Legends on the road.  This is not surprising; the car has now been out of production for over 18 years.  Still, I keep hoping and wishing for the chance to give a head-nod or thumbs-up to a fellow driver if & when I see one.

I found my way through Oklahoma and then crossed that state off my to-see list for the day.  Next up:  Arkansas.

I treat a long-distance drive just like I do a long-distance run:  by breaking it up into chunks.  I’ve found that based on hundreds of thousands of miles of experience, I’m most comfortable stretching my legs every 200-250 miles.  When I fuel up the car, I look at my 2014 Rand McNally atlas (thanks grandma!) and see about where I’ll be when I’ve driven that far.  This way, I always have something to look forward to.

I much prefer easy-on, easy-off gas stations rather than ones that make me sit through multiple traffic lights, and this one at exit 57 fit the bill nicely.  Best of all, they had 93 octane.  It ran $4.09 per gallon.  A sign at the entrance to the station said,  “Premium is Ethanol-Free.”  Good to know!

Holy caffeine alert.  24 ounce Mountain Dew cans exist?   I wouldn’t dare.  A bottle of Tampico orange juice and some beef jerky fit the bill, though.

Rollin, rollin, rollin.

Much of Arkansas looks about like this.  Tree-lined interstate with little traffic.  Speed limits are 70 mph (65 mph for trucks) and I kept the cruise control at 73-75 consistently.

Sunrise in New Mexico, sunset in Arkansas.  Just another day in Drive to Five land.

And finally, tonight’s destination in Jackson.  Just a little blip in the radar off I-40 east of Memphis, but it’s a cozy bed after a long day on the road.  Thanks again for coming along for the ride!

This entry was posted on August 22, 2013 at 9:30 pm and is filed under Legend, NALM, Road Trip. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.