300TD Road Trip "This European Life: an open travelogue" - Page 9 - PeachParts Mercedes-Benz Forum

JB3 · #**121** 05-22-2011, 12:44 AM

You lucked out on 15 not getting stopped, which is a "trailers prohibited" road. Not that it matters, but apparently the odds are favoring you through CT

I feel like Chad is sitting there planning another great september get together

SwampYankee · #**122** 05-22-2011, 06:40 AM

I would have powdered my head had I known there would be a photo session!

JB3 · #**123** 05-22-2011, 09:20 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SwampYankee

I would have powdered my head had I known there would be a photo session!

lol, he caught me with that camera too, fortunately I had a baseball cap to prevent the same thing

Dee8go · #**124** 05-22-2011, 09:52 AM

Your travelogue is great, Miguel. Your departure snuck up on me. When you get to be as old as I am, time seems to go by at an alarming rate. I'd love to see you again, although I don't believe I'll be able to make it to Frederick on Monday night.

I'm trying to get the Dee8gonator fired up today to make sure it will pass the VA state inspection . . .

SwampYankee · #**125** 05-22-2011, 10:11 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dropnosky

lol, he caught me with that camera too, fortunately I had a baseball cap to prevent the same thing

At least it wasn't a total white out!

Although, maybe not for those who had to view it...

Fulcrum525 · #**126** 05-22-2011, 11:14 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dropnosky

You lucked out on 15 not getting stopped, which is a "trailers prohibited" road. Not that it matters, but apparently the odds are favoring you through CT

I feel like Chad is sitting there planning another great september get together

haha that little trailer most likely wouldn't cause him any trouble if he passed ten cops. It's nothing compared to some of the barges and (Literally) boats that people often try to bring down the Merrit.

JB3 · #**127** 05-22-2011, 08:26 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Fulcrum525

haha that little trailer most likely wouldn't cause him any trouble if he passed ten cops. It's nothing compared to some of the barges and (Literally) boats that people often try to bring down the Merrit.

I got stopped pulling an 81 Rabbit on a dolly with an 81 240. Both cars had temp plates on them. Thought the cop would have a heart attack he was so upset.

You're right, they probably would never have noticed or cared about that little trailer, bigger fish to fry with with those lawn service pickups and trailers sneaking a few exits all the time

Delibes · #**128** 05-23-2011, 12:07 AM

Addendum
Immediately after adding my latest entry to my diary, Chad and I started one of the deepest conversations I have had in months. We talked about how the value of work when a person's energy and personality are envued into it. We talked about out relatives, and people who impacted us. We talked about cars, and how the knowledge of such can be applied to so many other aspects of life. We talked about life choices, and illuminating moments in one's path. We talked about today's disposable world, and why people like us remain so loyal to such machines.

Very late that evening, we went to sleep. After all, the trip has to continue, and Chad's family had to go to church!

Sunday, May 22nd.
Day 3: Rolling Lush (listen to today's theme)
A little melody, somewhere at the feet of my bed, opened the day. I woke up to a wonderful breakfast prepared by Chad, as precise as it was fast. The rest of the morning was mostly occupied by arguments between his kids about whether color red is for tomatoes or hot sauce, the Spider-Man videogame for the X-Box and artistic practice. Chad's daughter introduced me to an alien with teddy bear ears who lived in planet Pruton, ate macaroni and cheese all day long, and spoke Spanish. I felt relieved to find someone I could really talk to in my native language!

Departure from North Wales took a little longer than expected, due to my worries about the overly elevated SLS and trying to find an appropriate place to adjust it without being crushed. I tried the only two workshops that were open on a Sunday, but both flinched as soon as I started speaking about hydraulics. I left in high clearance mode, once again.

The drive to Maryland was nothing special. Rolling hills, lush trees and scattered buildings of little significance. Hence, I do not have too many pictures from the trip to Frederick. Unfortunately, I could not meet JGrazier, but made past Baltimore to Maryland, where Ramonajim's Big Yellow House proudly stands.

A warm welcome followed, accompanied by a short tour of their veggie garden and an introduction to their private zoo. We were soon riding in their '72 280SE, windows rolled down, the breeze in our hair, panama hats on and elbows sticking out. I must confess I have always had a certain fixation with the W108/W109 chassis, and consider it the most elegant S-Class Mercedes ever made. We parked a scarce few blocks from one of America's best hiddern secrets: Frederick, Maryland.

Frederick is a little piece of Europe carved out of the continent and magically flown to the Mid-Atlantic USA. It is crowded by beautiful brick architecture and tens of small businesses, without any trace of the corporate world –well, if we exclude Starbucks. Frederick is what any small community should be: close, accepting and beautiful. It is close because we met many people in the street that J and M knew; it is accepting to gays, pets and artists like no other small town I have ever seen (not even Provincetown); and it is beautiful beyond description. The streets of Frederick are crammed with small architectural jewels that are special in each building's own uniqueness; mixed with a 1800's quaint ol' American atmosphere, much like Providence or Gettysburg. Jim and Meredith were commenting that, unlike California, the lifestyle of the people there was grounded on uniqueness for the sake of one's own individuality, rather than the very Californian "Whole Foods style manufactured quirkiness".

Back in the house I had further interactions with the domestic zoo (several cats, two dogs) and M's father, a very amiable, gentle man. Dinner was everything you would ever expect out of an master artist of vegetarian shrewdness. We had a bread-based vegetable popurri and a wonderful salad, which never made me miss beef for a single second, as much of a carnivore as I am. The rest of the evening we talked about life stories of people we knew, and many of the characters who populate Frederick. Today, despite feeling a little tired, was a good day. Just like visiting the kind of friend who you had known forever. Thank you, Jim. Thank you, Meredith. Thank you, PeachParts.

This could really be anywhere. But it is North Wales. Trust me on this one.

A beautiful reservoir next to the highway.

There you go, sixty-eight thousand miles!

Maryland welcomes you!

Newport crosses the Delaware. Without the boat and the wig.

Going doooown the road!

The road leading to the Big Yellow House.

Three different Mercedes, three different eras.

The drive to Frederick could have easily been in the French Blue Coast.

Local, historic, CUTE brick constructions in Frederick.

Secret top chef hides here.

They brew their own beer in situ!

Tired of gorgeous brick architecture? Wait, there is MORE!

The ridiculously adorable rooftops of Frederick.

...and suddenly, we stepped into Ireland.

HOW MUCH MORE GORGEOUS CAN WINDOW BARS GET?!

This is too much, TOO MUCH! This is an excess of beauty in one day!

Laaaaazy cats, taking a break from a rather plentiful dinner.

My two great hosts.

Hatterasguy · #**129** 05-23-2011, 12:15 AM

Awesome! This is the most epic trip ever undertaken on this forum!

SwampYankee · #**130** 05-23-2011, 09:22 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Hatterasguy

Awesome! This is the most epic trip ever undertaken on this forum!

Yup!

Dee8go · #**131** 05-23-2011, 11:27 AM

See you tonight, Miguel. I'm glad you mentioned that you are a carnivore. I don't have any vegetables at my house . . .

SwampYankee · #**132** 05-24-2011, 10:15 AM

Well????? You can't keep us hanging like this, Miguel!

ramonajim · #**133** 05-24-2011, 12:18 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SwampYankee

Well????? You can't keep us hanging like this, Miguel!

Miguel's likely on the road again this morning (heading for Texas, IIRC). Had a wonderful time last night - Darling Wife and I crashed the dinner party at Dee8go's with the lovely Mistress. Much fun was had.

Dinner was followed by an unsuccessful attempt to find a now defunct Korean bakery (Miguel was REALLY looking forward to sharing some manner of amazing yumminess with us - but it wasn't to be).

I'll leave the details to Miguel's much more capable pen..... stay tuned!

Dee8go · #**134** 05-24-2011, 08:39 PM

I can't believe that the place was gone after all that build up Miguel gave it! It was fun having all of you over last night.

This year I intend to resolve my lack of AC one way or another.

Well, now that you know the way here, stop in anytime. I'd love to have the company.

Delibes · #**135** 05-24-2011, 10:48 PM

After all the criticism and all the mocking of all those stereotypical Whole Foods crowd, I sit here, in a Starbucks, with a Vainilla Chai Latte in one hand, and a shiny aluminum MacBook Pro in the other. Owning a W123 seems to seal the deal, as the kid behind the bar gave me a compliment on the wagon and told me he had an '84 sedan. What am I turning into? Will I shop at Trader Joe's for the rest of my life, as soon as I get to California? Will I ever wear flip flops and linen shirts? Will I ever upgrade to a Prius as soon as I get to a certain income? The thought of becoming one of those people terrifies me, but only time will tell.

Day 4: King of the Road (listen here)
There is a point where the stress of routine can make a human being so machine-like that alarm clocks suddenly become unnecessary. As usual, I woke up at 9 o'clock, and after a quick shower, I had breakfast with Meredith's father, who eloquently revived his cop bike gang years before my eyes. The rest of the morning I spent under the rear of the wagon, tweaking the rear suspension valve arm a thousand times, using the power of my intuition and a 10mm wrench, to level the rear of the car to a horizontal angle. The ceremonial nature of the adjustment ritual, with its elements of mystery, made me think about the point to which a machine transcends its predictability to assume human characteristics.

Meredith woke up, and soon we headed for lunch with a couple of her friends, one of which had had a photography show the night before. Back in the house, Michael the photographer resolved to buy my Soviet uniform, an old relic I never had any use for besides occasionally goofing around. At that point, I wrapped everything up and followed Jim's red Miata to Tom's and Siduri's home for dinner, and potentially dessert.

If heaven had an actual pavement, it would be Tom's meaty burgers. Simply perfect, with their touch of pink in the inside. His Murphy bed, still in progress and regretfully not being used that night (sorry, Tom!), is also worth mentioning. I hope to get to that degree of DIY home improvement skill! Same as Jim's and his beautiful yellow palace. Good conversation, focused on relationships and condoms, added spice to the night.

The quest for Bing-Soo ended up in a rather anti-climatic goodbye in the parking lot of a strip mall. However, I resolved that, being the last time I would be in Virginia in a long while, I would stop in the way and check out the outside of the bakery in Centerville. Newport drove calmly into the parking lot, and much to my surprise, I saw people inside. I turned the key off, and rushed to the storefront. Koreans! The shop was open.

The banana Bing-Soo at Shilla Bakery deserves it own paragraph. It is a simply irresistible mix of shaved ice, banana ice cream, banana chunks and condensed milk. Simple, yet powerful enough to bring a man like me to his knees. After ordering mine, I stared at it for a good thirty seconds, and reflected on what it meant to me, and the people I had it with, and the memories we shared together, and how ridiculously big it looked for just one person, sitting in a corner of the bakery, surrounded by flocks of Korean couples. That big bowl made me miss a very special someone in my life. Walking away from that bakery was like walking out of a city one has been expatriated from...

A painful, long drive followed, authored by Garmin Sandiego, who happened to behave vile and treacherous. Sometimes it will assume that the speed limit is 55mph in a 25mph full of deer, curves, darkness and trees, so it will tell you that it is the quickest way and a good alternative to the flat, well paved interstate. Ugh, Garmin. Two hours over the planned arrival time. Thank you, little machine. One of these days you will end up on eBay and be handled by someone with Cheeto fingers for the rest of your life... how about that, dear pocket navigator?

I arrived to Weston, and passed out in my little Scotty. God bless my little aluminum home.

Driver, follow that little red car!

You sign up for a car forum and this is what you get! Amazing friends!

This is how I look like. Tall and lanky.

My prayers have been answered. It is open. IT IS OPEN!

Newport awaits while his owner stuffs his face with Korean dessert.

I really do not know why clouds could not be made of this stuff.

Footnote: Koreans do love fancy decor.

Day 5: I am a loner (listen to today's theme)
Much like a driving hangover, I woke up as if the previous day had been a blurry dream. I had happened to park in a neighborhood that looked safe and friendly at night, and when I woke up I found... a neighborhood that looked safe and friendly! Right on to the gas station, I had found out that the little water leak in my car had drenched my breakfast steam-buns. Oh, well, worse has been lost. A quick refuel, and on to the Asylum.

The West Virginia Hospital for the Insane is a (excuse the redundancy) an insane building in itself. It is humongous and solid, like a massive stone dragon spreading its wings. It is full of strange objects with dark pasts, eerie energies and peeling paint. One of the rooms, a little toilet stall where someone had been stabbed to death by a patient, made me feel nauseous in an indescribably metaphysical way. My mother's clairvoyance genes at work, I thought to myself.

Besides the deserted hallways, there are two other things worth mentioning in this building. First, the collection of art made by some of its patients, heartwarming in some instances, soul-cringing in others. The other one is Sue, the only original staff member left, who told me countless stories when I met her at the gift shop. The personnel at the WV mental hospital are so used with interactions with the in-house spirits, they speak of them as one speaks of one's pet, or a breeze in the window.

Five hours and several gorgeous landscapes later, I met Ben Hogan and his amazing 190D Turbo... what a beauty! We had some great local BBQ pork with coleslaw and parted after some great conversation on our Mercedes, their respective stories, and work.

Right now I write from a Starbucks, shame on me. But tomorrow I will be bathing in a lake, maybe deprived of internet. Until then, good night!

Awake! The smell of the moisture in the air added a nice touch.

Weston, WV, is your little American town until...

...you find this.

Many parts were very well preserved!

A nice place for a romantic date! Just add candles!

One of the numerous haunted hallways.

The building is in a continuous state of restoration and decay.

The main auditorium of the asylum.

Guide in period clothing, walking through the solitary confinement section.

Hallway dedicated to aggressive male patients. Murder, anyone?

Many of the original equipment still survives.

Cook like a madman! Oops, where is my political correctness?