Well, yesterday was quite a trip…we stalled at a red light on a hill and almost backed right into Ted’s country coach directly behind us.  A car enthusiast/good samaritan stopped and towed us over the hill.  He also directed traffic while we maneuvered the bus around.  What a nice guy.  Guess we are “entertaining angels” all the time.  Our Pierce had battery problems and would not start after getting gas in the Cleveland area, but Stacey convinced a very nice man in a Lexus to give us a jump.  Samantha’s friends, Sally and Hank Mayer met us in Chesterland and we proceeded to the Lowenthal’s home where all enjoyed a wonderful cookout and some great chill time.  After a good night’s rest on a full stomach, we woke up to get the Pierce going to head to the Crawford Museum.  Stacey and Ted were making some minor adjustments when they heard a knock in the engine that was not there previously.  Unfortunately, this ends our journey as the car is very rare and it would not be wise to take a chance on causing more serious damage.  So, we packed the old girl back in the trailer and joined the group at the museum.  Special thanks to the curators who had refreshments waiting for us there.  All involved were saddened by the news.  Seems this type of trouble is the theme for the trip so far, as two other cars have had similar experiences.  I’m now sitting by a campsite outside Toledo, grilling salmon and veggies and wishing I was wrapping up a day of driving the Pierce.  Stacey and Carol are both sore from driving yesterday.  We all have a new perspective on how much Alice really accomplished on her trip.  HUGE thanks to Ted Davis for his constant diligence in keeping up with us and the car.  Most men would not have dared to try!! Thanks also to all who posted comments, helped with the blog and kept us in their prayers.  Good luck to Dorothy and the others on the tour…God speed!

Wow, what a thrill to be out on the American road rolling down the highways of New York and being able at moments to look out at Lake Erie.  The people on the road were a lot of fun and it was incredible to get some sense of what it would be like to roll down the road a hundred years ago.  The faces on the people who saw us were fun to observe and the vineyards vast. Samantha’s having a blast on her first car tour.  Here are just a few pics of our perspective from the inside of the car.  

Our first day on road has been fun so far!  The car is running pretty well and we only lost Ted once.  We started off with an overcast sky and a chill in the air, but now the sun is coming out and it’s warming up a bit.  Carol, Stacey and Samantha are stylin’ in our hats and dusters.  Carol is a great driver, Stacey is perfecting her backseat driving skills and Samantha is navigating through some crazy back roads.  Thank goodness for iphones!  We are using them to keep track of our speed and mileage,  not to mention using the GPS and maps so we don’t get lost.  Dorothy, our travel mate, is driving a 1911 Regal and it is hanging in there.  We all feel like Alice is watching over us and guiding our path.  No disasters so far, thank God!

We started the day early, but not quite as early as yesterday.  Turns out we drove almost to Cleveland last night in our search for a place to park.  Mostly, we are just excited to be meeting up with our friends in Buffalo.  It rained all day but Ted drove us right through it, as expected.  Samantha slept right through it, also as expected!  We found a Wal-mart when we arrived in Buffalo and proceeded to back the crown jewel out of the trailer.  The clouds parted and….no, wait a minute, that didn’t happen, but the rain did let up for a bit.  There were many people stopping and asking about the car, but Sam and Stacey are convinced they were really just interested in the chicks under the car!  Alice would be so proud! We even met a gentleman who was working at the Pierce-Arrow plant right here in Buffalo when it closed back in the day.  We think the old girl is happy to be home because she didn’t want to start at first.  Ted overcame that obstacle and then went to work on the more significant task of teaching Carol and Stacey about the double clutch.  Both ladies drove with no incident and all feel ready to finally begin in earnest tomorrow.  Thanks to all who have left comments and well-wishes on the blog.  We really appreciate your thoughts and prayers.  Don’t forget to track our progress and meet up with us if we pass through your neck of the woods.

Talk about sore butts and backs…ok, well it’s not that bad but it has been a long day’s journey.  We started out this morning at 6:30 am and traveled thru Missouri, Illinois, and Indiana working our way well into Ohio.  Our stopping point tonight is on the Northeast side of Columbus.  Tomorrow we will meet up with our traveling companions in Buffalo, NY just 3 days journey beyond the original starting point.  Our main pit crew leader, my father, Ted Davis has driven the entire route.  What a man!   I took a picture of our chariot that is delivering the main rig that will carry us across our great country.  The bus and trailer total 73 ft long, making it hard to find a parking spot for the night.  Good night for now!! Hope you enjoy the pics.

We finally began our journey!  The much anticipated trip of a lifetime was to start today from Poughkeepsie, NY at Vassar College.  We began at our starting point of Oklahoma City, Oklahoma today.  The plan was to begin our route to New York on Saturday morning but we had a few complications with the brakes and clutch.  After long hours and a tremendous effort our home base pit crew won the battle and the car was ready for the journey.  We can’t began to thank them enough for all the hours, struggles, changing of nuts and bolts it took over extremely long days.  So a great thanks goes out to the following:  Ted Davis, Charles Collier,  Randy Thomas, Chris and Connie Floyd, Neil Davis, Eric Wood, and Jason Hammons.   So Ted and Carol headed out of OKC at 10:15 pm beginning the journey to New York and stopped in Tulsa to pick up Samantha and I.  We have stopped for the evening in Joplin, Missouri at the happy hour of 2:30 am.  I don’t think anyone minded as we are all excited to be on our way.  More tomorrow…

P.S.  Special thanks to the Engineering crew at Surface Mount Depot, Scotty, Daniel, Daniel, and Jerry for designing and testing of a battery ignition system. Also, I would be remiss if I did not mention “Woody” our programmable turn signal…picture to follow!

The opportunity to relive the journey that Alice Ramsey undertook 100 years ago was impossible to pass up. This could be the most memorable June ever. Imagine what Alice Ramsey was able to achieve, a road trip across America with just the girls. No amount of words can do justice to exactly what took place.

Through our journey along her path we will probably come across the unexpected and unimaginable. We invite you to follow us as we try to capture in 2009 what Alice experienced in 1909.