Because why not? Space #1 B1-346 always looks nice at my office.
Thursday, October 27 – 2017 Acura MDX
Friday, October 28 – 1994 Acura Legend Coupe
Monday, October 31 – 2013 Acura ILX
Tuesday, November 1 – 1994 Acura Legend Sedan
Wednesday, November 2 – 1992 Acura NSX
Thursday, November 3 – 1992 Acura Integra GS-R
Friday, November 4 – 1994 Acura Vigor GS
Hard to believe it’s been 5 years since the day I drove to Acura’s headquarters in Torrance, California and rolled onto the red carpet with 500,000.1 miles on the odometer in my 1994 Legend coupe. I’m now 48,850 more miles down the highway in that car and don’t plan on retiring it any time soon. Many thanks to those of you who have been along for the ride from the beginning, as well as those who came onboard more recently!
I’m catching a flight this afternoon to Orlando, Florida for this year’s NSXPO event. More to come on that soon.
Posted in Arizona, NSX on October 16, 2016 by tysonhugie
Odometer (NSX): 106,256
Trip Distance: 50 Miles
Formula Red traffic jam!
How about a nice fall cruise to kick off our finally-bearable weather here in the desert? It would’ve been a great day to own a targa-top-equipped NSX for some open-air cruising, but my 1992 model has a fixed roof so I made do with the windows rolled down. It’s been gorgeous around here the last few days.
Our friend Jhae is the man when it comes to managing the NSX ownership contingent in Arizona. On occasions I’ve had people send me photos of NSXs they’ve seen out and about. If it’s a car I can’t identify, I send it to Jhae. Seconds later, he’ll give me the full download: Year, modifications, and ownership history. That’s why we lean on him to be our local event coordinator. He pulled through for us in a big way yesterday when we had 15 cars show up for a meet, cruise, lunch, and photoshoot. It was like a mini-NSXPO event squeezed into a 4-hour timeframe. And everyone had a great time!
The day started out with Kelvin, Frank, Neal, and Curt showing up at my house in two NSXs for a short staging meeting before we all rolled out to Tempe together. My neighbor Joedee rolled by in her Honda and stuck her head out the window: “Hey! Park those down at my garage sale!”
It only took us about 20 minutes to get to the meet location, which was in the parking lot of a baseball stadium on Rio Salado Parkway. Luckily we had the place almost entirely to ourselves. The cars kept rolling in. Pretty soon it was 11:00 a.m. and time for Jhae to round up the troops for our roll-out en masse. There were a couple of stoplights to navigate but pretty soon we were swarming our way northbound on Highway 87 toward Payson, Arizona on a nicely improved two-laner with 65 mph limits. It was fun to weave through traffic seeing NSXs both ahead and in the rearview. Some brave videographers in a Honda Pilot hung out its back window for some rolling video.
We branched south at Bush Highway and went to the Lakeshore Restaurant for lunch. Luckily, Lakeshore was able to accommodate our party of 25+ on the outside patio overlooking Saguaro Lake and the weather was perfect for dining al fresco. The BBQ chicken sandwich was a solid 10 out of 10. Jhae made some announcements and notified us that current NSXCA (NSX Club of America) members would receive $10 off their meals. Sweet! There were also some giveaways like Hot Wheels NSX scale models and posters.
A few of our attendees had to split off at that time, but the rest of us headed to east Mesa for a photoshoot at Falcon Field next to some very cool old aircraft. Many thanks to Jhae for his planning efforts and to all the great folks who came out in support. Looking forward to getting the gang together again soon!
Morning visit from my friend Brett who was driving through from California to Arkansas in his 2007 TL Type-S.
Here you can see the difference between Monte Carlo Blue (left) and Long Beach Blue (right)
Time-travel back with me about a quarter-century to those glorious early 1990s. I was only about 10 but I still remember them fondly. You turn on your FM radio and it’s Ace of Base “The Sign.” Pulp Fiction, Forrest Gump, and Toy Story are big hits at the box office. And if you stroll down to your local Acura dealership, you might see vehicles like this:
The Acura brand, at the time only about 5 years old, was having a heyday. The NSX debuted as a world-class supercar with uncanny reliability. The second-generation Legend was selling like crazy – some 65,000 units in the 1991 model year alone. The Vigor was a brand new model with the touring comfort of its larger Legend sibling but with nimble handling. And the Integra GS-R boasted a 1.7 liter VTEC motor with more horsepower-per-liter than any other motor in the world. Life was good.
Oh, and all those cars in the picture? They’re stick shifts. Did you know that there is no new Acura sold today that has a clutch pedal? That in itself is one more reason why I hang onto the past like this.
Last weekend, I called upon the expert services of the most efficient, hard-working construction crew I’ve ever known: My family. Between my dad and my brother, there is no home or car repair task that can’t be completed (in record time). When I bought my new Phoenix home in late August, the main selling factor was the fact that it had two garages.
For the last 5 years, I’d been renting storage units in different parts of town to accommodate all of my vehicles, so when the opportunity arose to pick up a home that could fit them all, I worked quickly and made it happen. (For reference, back in March at an NSX meet I had been lusting after a local club member’s place which similarly had gargantuan parking possibilities).
There was still just one hurdle: The largest garage was split into two separate 2-car units with a garage door at each end. This was fine for the previous owner, Charlie, who used half the garage for his woodworking & welding, and the other half for his two vehicles. But I had other plans for the space: I wanted to knock out the separating wall and create one gigantic Acura automotive storage mecca. And that I did! Or rather, my dad, brother, and stepmom did.
Here’s a look at the progression taken from the south entrance in just 4 photos.
1 – Prior owner’s stuff:
2 – Space cleared out, wall still there:
3 – Wall removed, finish work underway:
4 – Garage completed, vehicles staged:
The Friday morning after a 12-hour drive from northern Utah, my garage makeover crew set to work on the task ahead. Due to limited time-off at my new job, I had to go into the office. After settling in to check emails, I decided to walk across the street to Starbucks. At 7:32 a.m., my brother sent me 2 photos. He and dad had already torn down the wall! There were dangling wires and a few boards, but I couldn’t believe how much larger the space looked. It made my day.
Friday afternoon I joined the work crew and assisted with masking and taping off so that my dad could spray the paint on (a much more efficient way to tackle a large surface area than using rollers). The garage turned into a cloud of misty white air as dad applied two coats. Smartly we shut the garage doors so that the cars in the backyard didn’t end up with overspray.
We installed 3 matching ceiling fans and hung up two banks of cabinets in the southeast corner for my detailing supplies and tools. The final step was general clean-up and the hanging of a few banners and signs. Dad sprayed the garage out with the hose to get rid of the dust and debris, and then we did a quick wipe-down of each of the 5 cars that would be going into the showroom. Even my 4-year-old nephew Beckam gave us a hand for that chore.
I’d had months to think about how best to position the vehicles within the space, and I wanted to keep things symmetrical. We ended up putting the two sedans at the north end, the two coupes at the south end, and the NSX centered in the middle at a 45-degree angle. I even finally had a use for the aluminum display stand that my other brother, Payton, had built for me earlier this year.
I couldn’t be happier with the results. When the 7 fluorescent light tubes kick on and gleam against our bright white ceiling & wall paint, it’s shocking. Next on the list (but a ways down the road) will be a floor coating, which means I really ought to get some leaks addressed on the cars before I do that. The Vigor is dropping oil, and the Legend coupe leaves a trail of power steering fluid virtually everywhere it goes.
My family members and I finished out the weekend by planting a couple of citrus trees in my backyard. For 10 years I’ve been living in Arizona and my dad has been wanting to harvest oranges and grapefruits, so we are finally making it happen. Below are the rest of the pics!
Edit 10/15/16: Just confirmed for kicks that I can get 6 cars in the main garage pretty comfortably. Sweet.
Taking a look at the plans
Before – south garage (prior owner)
Before – north garage (prior owner)
Before wall removal – north garage
Cars parked in the backyard awaiting their new home
Wall coming down
Dad working on wall removal
Getting ready for paint
Visit from friends Kyle and Matt
Out on the town with my brother Bentley, Lance, and Rob
Cars got rained on while they were ALL outside!
Nephew Beckam gives us a hand with weed removal
Cars parked in the back – with Beckam’s Power Wheels pickup
Taking a break
Getting closer!
Posters ready to go
Family dinner at Switch Restaurant on Central Ave
Final spray down of the floor
Posters getting put up
Vigor wash
Legend sedan wash
Tucked away
Dad and Beckam with the finished product
Artwork is ready to install, like this framed Legend coupe poster:
New NSX interior! I don’t think I’d shown this yet. Fresh leather.
And a bath for the ILX so it doesn’t feel forgotten in its separate garage.
Hey, that odometer below can’t be real can it? Sorry Gabe, I think you’ve tampered with it! Though the number sequence makes me think of a catchy tune I once heard.
Seems one of my cars has been doing some road tripping without me in recent weeks! Whilst I was enjoying myself on my travels to and from Atlanta recently, my friend Kyle took the ILX south of the border on a little weekend trip to Mexico. His destination was called Puerto Peñasco, or, in English: Rocky Point. It’s a small beach town on the shores of the Gulf of California in Mexico that can be reached in about 4 hours drive time from Phoenix. It is, in fact, our closest beach (getting to San Diego’s Pacific shoreline takes about two hours longer).
Thanks to Kyle’s contribution to the ILX’s adventures, the car has now traversed every country in north America this year. You’ll recall that back in May, my friend Jason and I drove our cars to the Arctic Circle north of Fairbanks, Alaska. If you plot a route on Google Maps from the Arctic Circle to Rocky Point, it comes in at just fewer than 4,000 miles one-way. Heck of a road trip!
Kyle took a few photos to share with me, including shot of a fuel-up at “Why” just before crossing over the international border southbound. You can read more about my visit to Why from 2013 at the hyperlink.
Arrival at the beach
Crossing back into the U.S. of A:
And getting a foam bath. Thanks Kyle!
I have a couple weeks’ worth of miscellaneous news to catch up on here, I guess. I had to hit the ground running at work after having been gone for 5 business days on the Atlanta trip. Luckily, my coworkers were patient with me while I got caught up. Last weekend was a nice relaxing time at home. I hit the yard with my new Honda lawnmower on Saturday morning and washed cars that afternoon.
Thanks, Mark, for sending me the November 2016 issue of Automobile Magazine with a feature on the 1992-93 Integra GS-R!
My buddy Mirel bought a new car that I helped him transport.
6-speeders:
I’ve had lots of company at my house, including Jenn & Tiffany:
And Brian:
The cars got a bath in the backyard.
And Jeremy and I took the Legend sedan to brunch.
This past Friday morning, I buzzed up to St. George, Utah in the ILX for a family visit and a marathon event. Yesterday, I took a swing at my tenth full 26.2-mile marathon run. Having run only a few 3-milers this entire year, my training was lacking to say the least. But I committed to this back in April and as I boarded a school bus in the morning at 4:00 a.m. to drive me up State Route 18 to the start line, I thought to myself, “Am I insane?” I think many of the people on the bus had the same thought process.
It became painfully clear at about the midpoint in the race that I was not adequately prepared, but I pressed on, using a jog / walk alternating method to get me through the course. I never came to a complete stop or took any breaks, but just rather kept moving forward at a semi-consistent pace. Luckily, the St. George Marathon is primarily downhill in nature so I was able to let gravity help me along. My finish time was 4 hours, 54 minutes which is on the slow side for my competitive age bracket, but I was just grateful to finish in one piece!
A few more pics from my weekend follow here. First, checking out grandma’s old Quasar video camera. We dug it out of storage. The date of manufacture is June 1985. Anyone remember lugging around one of these?
Visiting with my nephew Beckam:
And my niece Viv. That’s her kitty “Marie” but we call her “Pizza.” You’ll have to ask Viv why.
Race morning! With mom at the start line.
Start line with our friend Jed. My shorts (no, not a skirt!) look highly reflective.
This marathon participant is a “legend” in her own way. Deb Zockoll is the only St. George Marathon runner who has now competed in all 40 runs in the event’s history. She is an inspiration to many!
Closing in on Mile 15 with Snow Canyon State Park in the background.
Looking surprisingly fresh when I ran past Grandma and Aunt Jodi around Mile 24.
Grandma’s sign:
Taking a minute during my run to greet a few of my younger fans, Vivienne and Beckam.
Best motivation ever! This is what I most looked forward to at the finish line.
Final standings:
Quick pose with Tanya.
Thought this was pretty cool – an old Caddy parked at the “Field of Screams” haunted corn maze in St. George.
Sending congrats out to my dad who rolled 200,000 miles on his 2010 Hyundai Sonata this weekend!
He sent the picture to me and my two brothers. He said he’s shooting for 500k.
My friend Jack described my garage as “spearmint gum” I wonder why!
And today, I got to drive home in my 1992 NSX from Utah. It had been since May that I last drove it. The odometer turned 106,000 miles somewhere between Kingman and Wikieup. I was reminded of how much I enjoy that car! Best of all, it has a fresh leather interior thanks to my brother’s workmanship. I’ll post interior pictures of it soon.
I-40 in Kingman, Arizona.
Turnoff at Burro Creek Campground along Highway 93.
That’s it for now! You’re all caught up. Have a great week.
I’m sitting at Gate C25 at the Las Vegas International Airport and I already somehow ate $17 worth (!) of spaghetti and meatballs from the restaurant down the hallway, so why not kill a few minutes on WordPress? I squeezed a little road trip out of this regular work week and it was a fun one.
I’ve been needing to get a few maintenance items addressed on my 1992 Acura NSX for some time now. The Anti-Lock-Braking (ABS) system has been on the fritz, the stereo emits a deafening static noise when you rotate the volume knob, and the small struts that hold up the rear trunk as well as the glass engine hatch have lost their holding power. I can’t complain too much – the car, for the 4.5 years and 24,000 miles I’ve owned it, has required very little in maintenance aside from oil changes. My detailed 100,000 mile rollover post is here.
At 24 years old, some maintenance needs are expected. I reflected on my 400-mile drive last night from Scottsdale, Arizona to St. George, Utah. It’s pretty remarkable I can hop into a car that old – the oldest I own, in fact – and spend the next 6.5 hours driving in complete confidence that it will get me reliably to my destination. And it did. Unlike most cars today, this one isn’t a rolling mega-computer. It doesn’t have GPS. It doesn’t have adaptive cruise control. Heck, it doesn’t even have power steering. But you know what? It’s fun to drive.
Along the way, I enjoyed some of the sights and sounds of northern Arizona: namely, some Route 66 hot spots. Kingman, Arizona is a halfway point on my Phoenix-to-Utah trip. I routinely stop there for fuel (so frequently, in fact, that I have the clerks at the Mobil gas station on a first name basis). But I rarely venture off the beaten path to take a look around at the sights on what used to be the “Mother Road.” Places like this Mr D’s restaurant pay homage to a simpler time, with lots of color and greasy food because fewer people worried about nutrition facts.
Kingman still embraces its Route 66 heritage strongly and cruising along old 66, you’ll see lots of neat architecture that’s probably changed very little in the last 50 or 60 years. An old power station has been converted into a Visitor Center, but sadly it had shut down for the day just prior to my arrival into town. I continued on to Las Vegas, Nevada, stopping just briefly near the shores of Lake Mead for a photo at sunset.
Today, I telecommuted from Utah while paying a few visits to family members. I caught a 5:00 p.m. shuttle bus to Vegas, and I’m about to get on my one-hour quick flight to Phoenix. Speaking of which, they’re about to call my boarding group so I’d better jet – literally. Big week ahead, as I’ll be departing Friday on a nearly 8,000-mile journey to Alaska and back. And I’m taking you with me. So, start packing.
Get your kicks on Route 66
Breakfast with mom
NSX keeping its new friends company: My brother’s 1968 Nova and BMW M3
Three nice looking two-doors in a row. NSX power is far less. But you know which one I’d take on a mountain drive.
Happy hump day. The garden hose came out and the ILX got a much-needed bath on Sunday morning.
Later in the day I took the Legend to a neighborhood in Chandler, Arizona that has a street named Tyson.
It’s that time again for some spy shots! Here are the previous roundups for your viewing pleasure. These are all thanks to you, my loyal Legend hunters, who continue sending them to me on a daily basis.
Tim gets the grand prize of all Legend spotters for finding Ayrton Senna driving a 1991 “Twilight Blue Pearl” LS sedan for just a few seconds during a 51-minute video. Tim, you’re a winner! Look at 27:49 in this YouTube video.
We’ll kick this one off with a non-Legend photo. My good friend Conor in New York spotted this fully A-Spec’d out TL!
It was 39 years ago when Honda made its entrance into selling passenger cars in the United States. The company’s first model, a simple (and teeny) “N600,” was cute and efficient. Little did the world know that it marked the beginning of an automotive power-player that would sell over 123,000 units in the month of March 2016 alone. Honda is big.
One special car – the first – is currently in the hands of “Merciless” Tim Mings, a southern California-based mechanic who is heralded as THE subject matter expert on Honda’s early cars like the N600, Z600, and S600 models which were the precursors to today’s Honda lineup. Some of you may recall the special little Z600 that I test-drove last year from my friend Scott’s collection in Palm Springs.
I’ll be following this restoration project very closely and hope you’ll do the same!
I have an assortment of updates from the last week or so to share today. It should come as no surprise that I’ve been playing with cars as much as time allows, so I’ll let the photos tell the story and keep this week’s blog entry short and sweet.
My friend Armando and his pup Sable visited from California. We took the NSX to breakfast.
Armando is the proud owner of two Subaru SVXs, a Mazda, RX-8 and a Mazda RX-4
My family members from Utah visited and soaked up the sun for a few days.
My friend Jeremy visited from Utah as well for a few days and picked up a ‘new’ BMW X5 diesel here.
I made an attempt at installing some spare “A-Spec” wheels on the ILX but found out they were the incorrect bolt pattern (5 x 120 instead of 5 x 114.3), which means they came off an Acura RL instead of a TL. Shucks, no new wheels for me!
Night drive in the NSX
“Cars & Coffee” in Scottsdale, yesterday. This huge event draws hundreds of high-end cars, every first Saturday of the month.
Quick pic with automotive spy photographer Brenda Briddy who was there
I attended a 60th birthday gathering for my friend Chuck last Wednesday. As I was just getting ready to head out for another commitment (my second of 3 appointments that evening), he made the comment, “One of these days I’m going to put Velcro on your chair so you’re forced to stick around longer than an hour.” Ha – sounds about right!
It was a double-duty mileage weekend out here in the American Southwest. My Legend coupe and my ILX both saw some highway use on a trip out to Southern California for sunshine and relaxation. Since the early 1900s, the desert city of Palm Springs has blossomed and grown as a destination for its hot springs, architecture, and tourism in the surrounding landscape. I’ve visited many times over the last few years and it’s an easy 4-hour drive door-to-door from my place in Scottsdale, Arizona.
Ever the king of multi-tasking, I had to stop twice at gas stations and respond to some work emails. I was in my 1994 Legend LS since my friend, Justin, would be heading out later on in the evening in my 2013 ILX. The drive into the sunset was enjoyable and I made really good time. Even at over 540,000 miles, the Legend is still a great highway cruiser than revs at fewer than 2,500 RPM at 80 miles per hour.
One of the attractions I’d been wanting to see in Palm Springs for a very long time is the “Aerial Tramway,” a 2.5 mile, 10-minute ride that climbs in a cable car from 2,600 feet to 8,500 feet in elevation. It opened in 1963 and climbs in elevation through a rugged canyon to the top of San Jacinto Peak. Justin and I headed to the tramway station on Friday morning and the wait time was about an hour until the next available departure at 12:40 p.m.
The ascent wasn’t without some drama. I have both a moderate fear of heights and a slight degree of motion sickness, so after lift-off when the interior of the 80-passenger car started spinning around, it took me a minute before I could even feel comfortable opening my eyes to look outside. I remember being very grateful that there were a few windows open to let a breeze through so I could get some fresh mountain air.
For the $25/adult price of admission I felt like I got my money’s worth! The view from the Mountain Station at the top was spectacular (and weather quite a bit cooler than where we’d started). There are quite a few amenities including a restaurant and snack bar. We indulged in a $5 tray of nachos and some potato wedges before getting ready to hop on the next available car and make our descent.
I got back from Palm Springs just in time for a car swap at home, then headed to the 2nd annual “Ignition” car show at the Arizona Fairgrounds in central Phoenix. There were probably 50 vehicles in attendance, spanning a wide range of types. The centerpiece was a 1960 Bentley, but at the other end of the spectrum was a $600 Chrysler LeBaron convertible (think “Planes, Trains, & Automobiles” movie car). I represented with the only Acura, displaying my 1992 NSX. Midway through the day, I was asked to say a few words about the car over the loudspeaker and the master of ceremonies commented on the signature on my glove compartment, which belongs to RealTime Racing driver Peter Cunningham.
Another highlight of the weekend was taking delivery of a new car for my mom. At the same birthday party referenced in my opening paragraph, I happened to be seated next to someone named John who I was meeting for the first time. John and I got engaged in “car talk” and I came to find out that he had just listed for sale his 2004 Infiniti G35 online. What blew me away was the odometer reading: 20,192 miles. On a 12-year-old car!
So my interest was piqued and I relayed the information to my mother who happened to be looking for a (larger, car-seat-friendly) replacement for her 2010 Volkswagen Eos convertible. Over the next 24 hours, she struck a deal with John and on Sunday, I showed up to take delivery of the vehicle on her behalf.
It was every bit as immaculate as described. It’s painted a brilliant Garnet Fire Metallic with Willow leather interior. Power comes from a 3.5-liter V6 engine with 260 horsepower and the transmission is a 5-speed automatic. Beyond the standard equipment, the car has the following:
Premium Package (Bose Audio, Glass Sunroof, Dual Zone Temp, and more): $3,200
When John drove the car off the lot with 36 miles on the odometer on March 20, 2004, it right away became his special occasion car. Neighbors would say, “You must have a date,” each time it would leave the garage. (His daily driver was a white Chevy S-10 pickup).
Over the last 12 years, he paid close attention to detail and maintenance, changing the oil and fluids himself. He has kept detailed notes on everything done to the car, and during our transaction he walked me through all the paperwork. Most used cars don’t even come with an original window sticker. This one not only came with that, but also with full books & records, a 4-page handwritten maintenance log, even a printed page from Infiniti.com from when John “built” his car online before taking delivery.
The car has found a good home and now resides in my garage for 2 weeks until mom flies down to get it.
Here are the rest of the pics from this action-packed last few days!
The Legend coupe in Desert Center, California
Morning view in Palm Springs
My friend Scott taking a spin in the ILX
Road ascending “Tram Way” to the Palm Springs Aerial Tramway
Staging area for the tramway with a man-made waterfall
View toward San Jacinto Peak
With Justin at the summit
Headed back down toward civilization
Hanging with other friends that afternoon, Chris & Vince
Out and about on the town later in the evening
Scott’s 1965 Mustang interior
Photos from the Ignition Car Show: Tyson and a Titan
Grassy lawn on the west side of the Coliseum
Old Pontiac Bonneville with only 14,000 original miles
And a few more photos from the day I got the G35 for mom
Posted in Car Show, NSX on March 15, 2016 by tysonhugie
Odometer (Legend): 542,210
Odometer (ILX): 157,162
What defines a Legend? Discuss amongst yourselves.
I’m lucky to be part of an active local chapter of NSX owners and enthusiasts. On Sunday afternoon, member Eric hosted several of us for a backyard BBQ at his home in central Phoenix. When I arrived, his neighbor was outside on the sidewalk already taking pictures of the lineup. Eric grilled up burgers, chicken, and hot dogs for his guests. We also explored his awesome house and garage. While only having 2 bedrooms, the historic 1950s home accommodates 5 or 6 cars, plus has a huge backyard with an RV gate. Eric definitely has his priorities in order!
Keeping Eric’s “Formula Red” 1991 NSX company in the garage is an Olds Cutlass convertible, a Kharmann Ghia, several motorcycles and a vast collection of memorabilia. The ceiling was lined with license plates. And the centerpiece was a vintage two-seater car-racing game called Battle Gear (circa 1998) which featured a red NSX and a white Integra. I raced Mike (beat him) and Westin (lost to him) and had a blast doing it. Enjoy a few photos from our little get-together.
Welcoming us to the home.
Eric’s Great Dane kept an eye on everyone.
A living room with motorcycles in it? Excellent.
Eric, Nevin, Tyson, Alan, Jhae in front of the house, with Westin in the road
Nevin’s NSX-T flanked by the reds
Westin’s 1995 Berlina Black with chrome wheels
Westin’s interior
Alan’s car (white) is actually black. The white you see there is a wrap.
In some other recent events: Last Friday, I had to shuffle the cars around the house so I thought it would be interesting to film the start-up of each. Only the 1993 L started up on the first crank.
Believe it or not, there’s a group of about 600 people on Facebook called “Camrys with Dented Bumpers.” I captured this one on my way out of the neighborhood the other day.
Also, I finally had the chance to (temporarily) install my Barrett-Jackson plate on my Legend GS. Top car is my friend Chris Miller’s in Baltimore, bottom car is mine. Both are 1994 6-speeds.
Speaking of plates, a couple of months ago I was looking on the Arizona DMV site and discovered that this plate was available:
Well, today I discovered that my friend Chris from Tucson ended up grabbing it!
“We’ll leave the light on for you.” So says the famous Motel 6 slogan. And I love Motel 6 – for the most part. Accommodations are predictable, inexpensive, and (usually) liveable. But my friends and I showed up at a hotel last Sunday night that not only didn’t leave a light on for us, it left us out on the street with the front door locked.
The time was about 7:30 p.m. and we’d just pulled up – tired and ready to settle in – from a 3.5-hour drive from the Phoenix area. We were standing at the door to the historic 1902 Hotel San Ramon in teeny Bisbee, Arizona just 9 miles north of the Mexican international border. And there was nobody there to let us in.
I dialed the phone number written on a piece of paper that was taped to the glass window in the door. “Welcome to Verizon Wireless. Your call cannot be completed at this time.” I tried again and got the same message. I looked at my road trip partners, Armando and Chris, with a bit of desperation. I already knew that vacancy was limited all over this teeny town of 5,000 people on a holiday weekend, and the chances of finding a back-up plan were slim. Would we end up driving 50 miles away to Benson to find a place to stay?
As a last ditch effort, I walked next door to the restaurant called Santiago’s. “By chance do you know the keypad code to get into the hotel next door?” I asked the hostess. The girl disappeared behind a dividing wall and then returned with a woman who was already on her cell phone trying to come to our rescue. Luckily, the two were able to get in touch with the hotel proprietor and find out our 4-digit entry code.
Moments later, we were lugging our bags up a flight of stairs to room #6. The hotel, as it turns out, only has 6 rooms in total. Aside from the check-in experience, everything else about San Ramon was positively charming. Our room was unlocked when we found it, with 2 keys on the dresser. Silk rose petals were scattered on the floor, and 2 small Valentine’s Day goody bags were on top with a few chocolates. Eat that, Motel 6!
It was just a little more than 3 years ago that I made a trip to Bisbee in my Legend. This latest experience was even more rich because I made it into an over-nighter as opposed to a rushed day-trip from the Phoenix area. After a delicious dinner at Santiago’s, Armando and I explored the night life for a little bit while Chris decided to hit the sack.
Just steps away from the front door of San Ramon was the Stock Exchange Saloon. Its double doors and neon sign beckoned, so Armando and I went over to check it out. This building, dating back to 1905, once housed a stock brokerage firm called Duey and Overlock. According to the gal behind the counter who was born and raised in Bisbee, this was the only branch of the New York Stock Exchange outside of New York at the time. Today, the venue retains some of the original elements from those days including this board along the back wall under plexiglass. Armando and I cued up a few hits on the jukebox including “Walkin’ on Sunshine” before calling it a night.
On Monday morning, I rolled open the wooden windows of the 2nd floor hotel room and admired the perfect weather outside. It was President’s Day, and we departed the San Ramon and took the ILX to have breakfast at “Bisbee Breakast Club” (BBC) a mile and a half away in historic Lowell. If the streets of Bisbee were a snapshot of the 1880s, then Lowell moved us forward about 80 years to the 1960s. The entire main street was lined with classic cars, varying in condition from scrap heap to show-ready. We stepped inside and feasted on chiles rellenos.
The rest of our morning was filled with sights & sounds of the American Wild West. We stopped just briefly in Naco, Arizona at the Mexican border – but not too close – as none of us had our passports handy and we didn’t want to chance an “accidental” international border crossing. We took a moment back in Bisbee to frame up the re-creation of a photo that I took 3 years ago with my Legend. (Thanks Chris & Armando for being my photographers!). Bisbee’s strong heritage as a copper and gold mining town lives on and I will surely be going back for a tour of the mine soon.
I knew we had a 1:00 p.m. cave tour to get to back in Tucson, so by about 11:00 we said our farewells to B-town and headed out. Out last stop on the trip was to a large underground cave about 20 miles east of Tucson that I last visited 100,000 miles ago in September 2013. Our talkative tour guide stretched a 45-minute walking tour (covering roughly 1/2 mile and almost 400 steps) into about an hour and 15 minutes. I learned a few new things this time around, but I was surely glad to surface for daylight at the conclusion.
Thanks for joining for this weekend’s adventure!
Other pics from this weekend follow.
With Chris at the 3rd annual “Concours in the Hills” car show in Fountain Hills, Arizona
The only Honda in attendance was a nicely-kept 1979 Civic
Wouldn’t be called Fountain Hills without an awesome fountain!
Loved this 1989 Porsche 911!
Hiking Papago Park with Chris
Paying a visit to friends on a Saturday NSX drive
Armando showed up in the SVX, so both 1992 Japanese sportscars became acquainted with one another
San Tan Valley, Arizona – on our way to Tucson, we stopped to visit some Legend friends
Gabe and Josh were working on a timing belt / water pump replacement on Gabe’s 1992 coupe
Valentine’s Day gifts waiting for us at the Hotel San Ramon in Bisbee
Bisbee is extremely hilly and the streets are narrow. It’s no wonder the town wasn’t built in squares.
Looking north toward the Stock Exchange Saloon on Brewery Avenue
Historic gas station in Lowell, just down the road
Bisbee Breakfast Club awaits us!
How about that Chile Relleno?
One of the many vintage cars parked along the main road in Lowell
This patrol car was apparently driven by Barney Fife
Looking out at the huge Queen Creek Mine
Last look at colorful Bisbee
Headstoned at Boothill Graveyard in Tombstone on the way through town
Tyson, Armando, Chris at Boothill Graveyard
Awaiting our tour time at Colossal Cave and enjoying the view
Departure from Colossal Cave
Fueling up halfway between Tucson and Phoenix at Picacho Peak
Make sure you stop by Josh Clymer’s blog, TSX Travels, where he’s now on the Final Fifteen countdown to 500,000 miles on his 2005 Acura TSX.
Also, I highly recommend “Lasting Legend” body wash from Old Spice. For obvious reasons!
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