Day 17 Friday Oct 28 Las Cruces to Scottsdale and home!!!

This last day on the road is on a path we have done before, several times.  A couple of hours from Las Cruces over to Lordsburg NM then a choice.... US route 70, two lanes, scenic, a bit shorter but thirty minutes longer, or I-10 through Tucson up to Phoenix.  Usually lots of traffic, but nice roads and the ability to pass slower cars.

Today, in the Morgan we selected Route 70, through the San Carlos Apache Indian reservation,  and aside from a few slow campers and a truck or two it was a good choice. 

Just a few miles west of Las Cruces is an inspection station set up by the Border Patrol.  A simple affirmative reply to the question "are you a citizen of the United States?" nets a command to proceed.  Show business at its best by government bureaucrats. 

Along the way we passed the 4,000 mile mark on our 17 day adventure.  We started with the mileage counter at 64252.  We ended the trip at 4300 miles, almost exactly. 

 It was a relief when we entered Arizona

 The topography is always amazing in this state.... mountains, hills and sunny blue skies. 

Cotton fields in Pima county.... Pima Cotton, was being harvested. 

When we drove through Globe, AZ the copper mines dominated the landscape.  Golly, they sure moved a lot of dirt looking for copper ore.  Made lots of money for the workers and company too, and helped make America great supplying the changing industrial needs requiring more and more copper during the war years, electrification of American and computer revolution.  

It was about 1:15pm Arizona time when we ended up at our house in Scottsdale. 

Somehow, we feel it was quite an accomplishment to have spent 17 days, elbow to elbow in a tiny car, covering 4300 miles in mostly dry weather, touching 13 states, and staying in 14 different hotels.  We met lots of very nice people, old friends and new, Morgan owners and others too, along the way. 

Someone saw our car in a parking lot one day and remarked that we were living a dream.  And he was spot on.  The car continues to delight and amaze people who are not familiar with the Morgan brand.  The very classic lines and style of the car is unlike any other, and remains attractive to most.  We are delighted to be able to represent the mark, and we hope we represent it in a proper manner by driving the heck out of it. 

Til next time....

-30-

Day 16 Thursday Oct 27, 2016 Kerrville, TX to Las Cruces NM.

Despite our trepidations for the long day ahead we made in to Las Cruces in good order.  It took about 9 1/2 hours to go the 535 miles, 100 percent on I-10 and 98% with an 80 mph speed limit.  Of course, we kept the Roadster under 77 all the way :-)  My thanks to Pat Ritz at Sports and Collector Car in Tempe who installed a cruise control on the car back in 2011.  It sure was handy today.

We were up this morning at 5, with engine start at 6:30.  We got to Las Cruces about 3:00 enjoying a one hour time change bonus in west Texas.  The largest problem today was fighting boredom and sleepy feelings much of the midday.  In addition to gas stops we pulled into rest areas a couple of times to walk around the car and maybe close our eyes for a few minutes.  The constant drone of the car and the wind buffeting the hooding and side curtains makes conversation almost impossible so its up to ourselves to keep our minds alert.  Traffic was light most of the time and even getting through El Paso was fairly simple as most of the construction on I-10 appeared to be completed.

West Texas is scenic, but much the same most of the way.  We started in what they call the hill country but soon were into high bluffs and desert shrubs. 

I-10 Westbound in west Texas, coming out of hill country.

Mesa's and bluffs in West Texas

El Paso is certainly a growing city.  In the 10 years we have been driving through it on our way to Arizona it has sprouted many many (2) hotels, shopping malls, highway bridges and complex intersections.  Traffic here is as busy as Houston. 

Oh, we watched much of the game last night.... sorry to see the Indians lose game two.  So now they are even again and off to Chicago for a new day.  Go Tribe!!!

Day 15, Wed Oct. 26, 2016 The Alamo and on to Kerrville, TX

Today we did a close look at the Alamo, which played a critical role in the Texas Revolution.

In December 1835 Texians and Tejano volunteers battled Mexican troops quartered in the city of San Antonio forcing the Mexican general Martin Perfecto de Cos to surrender.  The victorious volunteers went on to occupy the Alamo, and strengthen its defenses.

In February 1836 the Mexican general Santa Anna nearly caught the volunteers by surprise but the Texians and Tejanos prepared to defend the Alamo... sending out couriers with pleas for help.

Eight days later, with nearly 200 defenders they were still outnumbered ten-to-one.

Believing the Alamo was key to the defense of Texas, Alamo commander William B. Travis believed they were willing to defend the post to the last man.  Included in the garrison were James Bowie (of knife fame) and David Crockett, famed frontiersman and former Tennessee congressman. 

Come the morning of March 6, 1836, the thirteenth day of the siege, cannon and small arms fire beat back several Mexican attacks.  General Santa Anna regrouped... charged and scaled the walls, rushing the compound.  A desperate struggle continued until the defenders were overwhelmed and by sunrise all were slain.  The battle of the Alamo was over.

People worldwide continue to remember the Alamo as a heroic struggle against overwhelming odds -- a place where men made the ultimate sacrifice for freedom.  Thus, the Alamo remains hallowed grounds and the Shrine of Texas Liberty.

Over many years and various owners from the Army's use of it as a supply depot in the middle 1880's, to a merchant store for a few years, then in 1883 the State of Texas purchased the church as a shrine to the Alamo defenders.  The rest of the property was acquired by the state of Texas in 1905.  It is now operated mostly by volunteers, and supervised by the Texas General Land Office.

Open to the public with free admission one can rent an audio device which explains a walking tour, and there are regular guided tours throughout the day.

We found the ground and gardens to be quite nice and well maintained.  This photo of a tree or bush of what Sally called Angel Trumpets caught her eye reminding her of the years she tried to grow them at our home.

To commemorate our visit we violated some parking laws and grabbed a few photos of the Roadster in front of the Alamo church building.

We were impressed with San Antonio... seems to be a thriving downtown thanks to the three million tourists who visit each year.... lots of hotels and restaurants line the River walk, and the Alamo is close by too.  Oil and Gas support the economy and the convention center is said to host some 300 events a year, a statistic that must be envied by other convention center operators.

Completing our tourist visit of San Antonio we departed for Kerrville, TX, a short hop west to a less expensive hotel and a very nice catfish dinner.  Here we will prepare for the last two days of our journey,

Tomorrow is the back-breaker for us.... 535 miles, our longest day in the Morgan, from Kerrville to Las Cruces NM.  This means and early start.  More about that tomorrow night.

Day 14 Tuesday Oct 25 Lafayette, LA to San Antonio, TX and the Alamo

Between the time change and the adrenalin of the travel we were up again at 5 (central time) and twisting the key in the car at 7.  GPS says we could make San Antonio by shortly after 1pm.  We were close to that goal, getting here about 1:30 after taking a couple of gas stops and lunch on the go.  Almost 400 miles.  Interstate ALL the way, but heavy and confusing traffic in Houston and into San Antonio.  The Garmin GPS led the way and brought us directly to the hotel.

Louisiana roads were about as bad as those we experienced in Minnesota some years ago, and it doesn't snow here.  Must be the murky swampland they build the roads on.  Maintaining 75mph in the Roadster was a challenge of mind and body.

After settling in to the Residence Inn in San Antonia Riverwalk area we set off to walk a bit and see what is what.  Just around the corner is the Alamo.  We plan to spend some time there tomorrow.

Then we found the River Walk....a very interesting meandering river section running through the downtown.  The water is about 2 stories below the street level, and buildings are built to accommodate frontage along the river as well as the city streets.

 

 The first order of business was to find a snack as our granola bar lunch was running out.  A BBQ ribs appetizer filled the bill.

The river portion here is tightly controlled for depth (3-4 feet) and pathways are built up like sidewalks between the buildings and river/canal.

Tour boats will take you on a 45 minute ride around the central portion of the city with a driver/narrator explaining the history and significance of the buildings, architecture and plantings.

The wrought iron balconies are reminiscent of those seen in New Orleans.

And the plantings and gardens are well kept and nicely designed.  Good planning here.

Downtown we discovered this sculpture, 68' tall described as a gift from Mexico as a good neighbor gesture to commemorate the world fair held here in, I think 1968.

The tourist trade is significant here... with bus tours, horse tours and boat tours. 

More touristy stuff tomorrow.  But lets watch the game tonight..... Go Tribe!!!!!

Day 13 Monday Oct 24 Crawfordville, FL to Lafayette, LA

My internal body clock woke me up again at 5.  We were packed, breakfasted, and rolling by 7:45.  The time we spent yesterday afternoon cleaning the car paid off when the sun rose over the water south east of us early in the morning.  The windows were clear enough to get a good photo. 

Not long after sunrise our odometer hit a milestone in the life of the Morgan Roadster.  It is a devilish car.

We took a scenic route this morning, along the Gulf coast of the panhandle of Florida.  Between Destin and Ft Walton Beach we saw these amazing sand dunes.  Looks almost like snow, but it is white sand. 

The rest of the day was up on Interstate 10 from Pensacola to Lafayette... driving across Alabama, Mississippi and much of Louisiana.  Traffic became deadlocked in Baton Rouge and we didn't get to our hotel until almost 6pm. A very long day and about 450 miles or so.  We drove a bit further than expected today because the rooms were very expensive in Baton Rouge.... must have been a game or some shindig going on I suppose.  But we are closer to San Antonio this way. 

Thanks to the Drury Inn policy of including a happy hour "kickback" with hot dogs, chicken fingers, salad, pasta and a choice of beverages.  What a nice time saver not having to go out for dinner somewhere. 

Despite being in the little car for 11 hours today (time change gave us an extra hour), it is still fun to drive, though it is starting to show its age after the pounding we are giving it on this trip.  Sustained speeds of 75mph on rough concrete is shaking its bones (and ours too) pretty well.

Day 12 Sunday Oct 23 Lake Mary to Crawfordville, FL

As the GatorMog ends we begin the third leg of our journey.  Leg one was from Ohio to Florida.  Leg two, the Florida segments: MogSouth gathering and Mirror Lake car show, then the GatorMog tour of Florida.  Finally leg three is our journey from Florida to Arizona and our winter accommodations.  The posts these next few days will be much shorter, but continue the record of our trip and the things we see and do. 

With final hugs and goodbyes in Lake Mary, FL, our friends, both old and new, from all over the east departed for home.  We pulled out about 8:30 to head west. 

It was a nice 90 minute run to The Villages to see an old friend we have not seen for, we estimate, some 40 years.  Jon and Becky Winfield.  Jon was a high school and college mate, and fellow broadcaster.  He worked at WJW-TV in Cleveland while I worked in small radio stations in northern Ohio.  It was great to see them both again, in good health and enjoying their retired life in Florida.  We enjoyed lunch and a couple of hours of reminiscing and catching up.  Sadly we needed to return to the highways to keep a schedule.  It certainly won't be 40 years before we see them again.

Gary, Sally, Becky and Jon.

Then it was an almost a five hour run to Crawfordville, FL, up in the big bend area of the Florida panhandle, and just south of Tallahassee.  From here we will head west. 

Our first order of business was to clean up the car a bit, after a thousand miles in Florida since the car show.  Then a pizza delivered to our room and another early night. 

Day 11 Saturday Oct 22 West Palm Beach to Lake Mary

Saturday morning broke cooler, but dry, and the day promised to be a good driving day.  At breakfast Kathy Coryn showed us her unique handmade quilt project that she did with her quilt club... a pink Cadillac.  It was nicely done and generated many compliments from the ladies in our group who saw it. 

 A route today carefully selected to keep us off of interstate highways and away from large cities.  We drove from West Palm Beach Florida to Lake Wales and the famous Bok Tower Garden and Carillon.

This is a popular place to visit despite the $12 per person admission, but we admitted later it was a value because of the many improvements to the gardens since we last visited many, many years ago.  The line up at the gate caused a significant wait.  We finally got close enough to get a good photo of the admission gate.

A nice sentiment from the founder of the gardens --

Walking around the gardens while the Carillon was playing was a nice experience.  The scarecrows were provided by local school children who made them as a class project.

Some of the plants were quite exotic, like this blue/purple decorative grass.

Bok Gardens features a viewing pond where you can watch for alligators,  tortoise, snakes, and other water creatures who might come by. 

We found this 'Beauty Berry' plant to be something we northerners had never seen before.

Berry close

A bit further away.

After the 1pm Carillon live concert we headed north to Lake Mary, only 50 miles away line of sight, but 93 miles by a circuitous route to avoid the traffic of Orlando.  It took almost 3 hours, but the roads were mostly smooth and rural.  Many turns and written instructions by the tour planners... it was almost like a road rally.  Great fun.

Once in the Lake Mary Hampton Inn we prepped for our finale at Liam Fitzpatrick's, a local Irish pub just around the corner from the hotel. 

A bit of Irish, and blarney too.

Mark Braunstein, in a state of great relief the trip he worked so hard to make happen is finally over.

Good food too.

Then time for some acknowledgements and goodbyes.

Liam Fitzpatrick's in Lady Lake, FL

Hugs and goodbyes, some tears and smiles with many new friendships and experiences to take home, we all went our separate ways, some headed home, some headed for the hotel.  The 2016 Gator Mog is now history with hopes of another tour in the years to come.  To that we would like to add our personal thanks for the Gator Mog's kind welcome and leadership.  We really enjoy road-trips like this, and this was a good one.

Thanks all who followed this blog of our adventure.  If interested, please continue to check in for the next few days as Sally and I continue third stage of this trip. We head across the southern United States to Arizona and our winter vacation tomorrow.

Day 10 Friday October 21 Key West to West Palm Beach

Lets start with an update on last nights dinner cruise for the Gator Mog aboard the Fury Commotion on the Ocean catamaran.  Andy Leo shared some photos from the cruise

The band set up, then played for the entire two hours.

And the Mogger's grooved to the music

Happy times

Despite some clouds, the sunset lived up to its reputation

And the clouds even added to the beauty of the evening.

Now, back to today.... The journal of our trip continues with this tale of Friday Oct 21. 

While Key West is noted for it's sunsets, the sunrise this morning was equally spectacular over the Florida Straits, in front of our lodging -- The Best Western Key Ambassador.

 

A bit after sunrise we had the cars loaded and off we went, up the Keys and into the raising sun. 

Due to our early start we were going to be in Key Largo before our lunch stop would open, so we dallied a bit at the Bass Pro Shop known as World Wide Sportsman in Islamorada one of the major stops along Route 1. 

World Wide Sportsman has a wide selection of clothing and fishing/camping gear.  Most notably is a huge area devoted to Columbia Sportswear, which seems to be the official clothing of Morgan tourers.  Almost everyone in our Gator Mog tour arrived in Columbia shirts. This is not an endorsement, merely a statement of fact. 

Of interest to the Hemingway aficionados in our group is this centerpiece of the store...

The 'Pilar'.  A sister boat of the original 'Pilar' owned for many years by Ernest Hemmingway.  It's an interesting story.  The boat on display was built in 1933 in Brooklyn.  Hemingway's 'Pilar' was built the next year by a different boatyard just around the corner.  Seems Hemingway fished on the original boat and liked it so well he commissioned his boat to be build to very similar specifications. Both boats shared the same port in Key West in the 30's.  During the war Hemingway changed his port of call to Havana and used his boat to chase German subs in Cuban waters.

Hemingway left Cuba in 1959 and he let a friend take care of the boat, and later gave the boat to his friend.  The boat is now on display at Finca Viga where she is on display at Hemingway's old homestead on the island. 

The 'Pilar' at the store was less documented but has some history.  In 1948 she co-started with Bogart and Bacall in "Key Largo" using the name 'Santana'.  And in the 50's for the remake of the movie, the boat was named 'The Blue Heron'. 

Left to deteriorate the boat went through several owners and attempts to restore it.  In 1994 Johnny Morris, owner of Bass Pro Shops bought it, took several years to have it restored, and placed it in the center of this huge store in Islamorada.

The fishing chair in 'Pilar"

Then off to lunch at the Pilot House Marina in Key Largo.

Aside from the sun hitting him sideways, the food looked really good... and Andy Leo (with Anne) looked charming.

The official's of the tour, left to right,  Barbara and Kathy the SUV back up crew and Mark and Andrea, the tour creators, coordinators, captains and planners.   A great team for a great tour.


After lunch a considerable hop up state through lesser traveled back roads.  Florida sure is flat and today it was a bit windy. 

We passed many sugar cane fields, and trucks hauling cut sugar cane.  The smoke is from a cane field they were burning after being harvested. 

We got to West Palm Beach in time for a reception at the Chariots of West Palm headquarters. 

Chariots is a Morgan dealership and they also handle high end classic cars.

Owner Hugh Bate welcomed the gathered Gator Mog people and explained the basis of his company.

Surrounded by lovely cars, conversations ensued.

The staff had positioned a Morgan Plus 8 and a Morgan 3 Wheeler in the

main showroom.

Much chatter.

Sam Frazee tries on a very nice Plus 8.