mario laguna
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Day 3
After a copious breakfast at the hotel, the first concern of the day would be to repair the puncture of the day before.
The rain got worse all morning and at some junction, looking for a tire shop, We should have gotten lost heading northwest instead of southwest a circumstance that we would discover hours later.
At a Good Year workshop in Saverna Park, a few kilometers north of Annapolis, they dismounted the tire. As we did not have new cameras, they repaired the puncture by the traditional patch procedure and checked the pressure of the other four, taking about 45 minutes for the operation and billing us an amount of 25 dollars.
The wheels would not cause any further discomfort for the rest of the trip. It should be noted that the state of the roads we traveled was worse in New Jersey, New York and Maryland, with frequent potholes and small holes in the road, than in Virginia, the two Carolinas and Georgia. In Florida the roads were in excellent condition. In the section where we punctured, we were struck by numerous remains of truck tire strips scattered on the shoulders for several kilometers.
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When leaving the workshop with the brand new wheels, Isabella gave us another incentive for the day when the windshield wiper broke. I do not want to blame the broken mechanism or the torrential rain, which made visibility very delicate, for the fact that we suddenly found ourselves in a city by the name of Washington, in Maryland, which had nothing to do with the route. scheduled to the federal capital.
Indeed, we soon realized that we had to head southeast to find the District of Columbia and the seat of political power in the United States.
We arrived in "good" Washington at noon to find the city center and Constitution Avenue deserted due to the Shutdown of the State administration, with the forced closure of all public buildings, museums, national parks and the non-existence of any official activity. All of this made it easier for us to park in places that would otherwise have been difficult to access.
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1- Washington appeared deserted during the Shutdown, government administrative shutdown
2- A Porsche 356 among skyscrapers
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We did not find a soul during our walk between the US Capitol and the Obelisk. Shortly after, we left the capital crossing the Potomac River and heading on Interstate 66 - which we should not confuse with the famous Route 66.
In the Roadbook it was not foreseen to circulate on that - fast lane with a speed limit of 70 miles per hour, instead of the 50 or 55 usual in other roads -, but we had to make up for the time lost in the episodes of repairing the puncture and the mistake of the wrong Washington.
In Intestate 66 we verified a phenomenon that was going to accompany us in the main arteries that cross the country from north to south, and that is that the speed limits are the same for all types of vehicles. In this way, trucks usually travel at the maximum permitted speed, even slightly higher, so they are faster than cars and consistently occupy the left-most lane of the three available in each direction, forming fast convoys very similar to freight trains. Due to the account that they have, the drivers of passenger cars circulate in a disciplined way on the other two available lanes to the right of the road.
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We left 66 in Strasburg and continued along National 11, leaving behind cities like Woodstock and Edinburg that, by name, reminded us of Europe.
We then stopped in Waynesboro to visit a Porsche shop on the show, the owner of which had raced as a youngster. His favorites at the time were always models from the Stuttgart brand, such as the 356, particularly the Speedster, 904 and 911 versions.
Weldon Scrogham was very kind to explain his racing experience and to show us his splendid collection of cars, as well as his restoration workshop, with a large arsenal of spare parts from Porsche origin, especially for the 356 and 911 models.
We end the day at our Stauton hotel with a dinner of beef sourced from the many cattle ranches of rural Virginia.
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Day 4
The next day we would cross the North Carolina border to reach Winston-Salem. The previous afternoon we had the precaution of buying a product with which to impregnate the windshield in case of rain: Rain X, a water and humidity repellent that serves as an aid in the event of a windshield wiper failure.
It was to buy the product and stop raining.
The Isabella shows a regular behavior thanks to its greatest virtue, which is an engine that operates reliably on long journeys, both hot and cold; although at speeds between 80-90 km / h it is very noisy, possibly due to poor soundproofing in the engine compartment.
On the other hand, we register a moderate consumption of oil, nothing abnormal, a few cubic centimeters every 500 kilometers, which is solved by checking the level of the dipstick and adding some lubricant every two fuel refills.
We also observe at service stations that diesel is more expensive than gasoline. On average, the price of the latter is $ 3,269 per gallon -Regular quality-, while the former is served at 3,869.
Since a gallon is 3,7854 liters, at the current exchange rate of $ 1,3501 per euro, its price in euros would be 2,4213. Therefore, a liter of gasoline costs 0,6396 euros in the United States, compared to 1,369 euros in Spain at the time of writing.
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Day 5
On the fifth day of the tour we would reach the westernmost geographic point of our tour, located in Aiken, South Carolina.
Right on the North Carolina border with South Carolina, A pleasant and unexpected surprise awaited us at Lake Wylie.
Hitting a 1949 Ford Custom convertible on the road, the owner signaled for us to follow. He took us to a point on the lake mentioned where there was a concentration of muscle car. Among the muscle cars stood out a few with modifications, including the well-known trimmed hood to make room for the oversized intake and power systems. Our European cars seemed small next to the various TransAms and Chevrolet Pickups, but we had a pleasant time answering questions about our mounts and our route.
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Once we entered South Carolina, we passed what can be considered a monument of the motorized industrial era, made up of a few vehicles from the XNUMXs abandoned by the side of the road. Such groups of obsolete cars are very frequent in all regions and latitudes of the United States.
At Aiken we had time to shop and compare prices with Europeans, cheaper in the United States for equal brands and qualities. It should be noted that the prices are labeled without taxes, so the money to pay at the checkout is always higher than that indicated in the shop windows.
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1- Monument of the industrial society in South Carolina
2- Large number of abandoned cars in South Carolina
