2000 miles, then the driveway from hell...

  • Thread starter Thread starter RICK FITZPATRICK
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RICK FITZPATRICK

RICK FITZPATRICK

New member
Hello everybody, well it's been a week since I was in LA. Drove all over in LA, in the heat, friday afternoon traffic, bad phones, shitty directions, and scary motel locations. Ha!
Once I reached LA, I couldn't get a trailer cause thier "policy" on ID is different than in Coos Bay, or Sacramento for that matter. So I ended up loading the tablesaw, bandsaw and jointer in the van. Worked great. I had my dads long bed Dodge van which he rebuilt from the ground up. Everything..engine, running gear, transmission rear end, interior, paint, etc. Like a new van. It was my security blanket on this trip.

Stopped by and visited with a member here on the way out of LA. Drove 50 miles of the damndest old road you've ever seen back to hiway 5. Straight as an arrow, with old telephone poles on each side of the road. 102 degrees, in the desert, and not a soul out there. Kinda unnerving, but no incidents. Then up hiway 5 to Sacramento, where I stayed the night, and got a trailer hitched to my old dodge Ram Charger the next morning. Then up to Grass Valley. 40 miles from Sac. Picked up the planer there. HEAVY MOFO! Had a forklift there to put it in the trailer. Then headed back to Sacramento. It was hotter than a witches you know what. 5 miles out of Auburn, the Ram Charger started cutting out on the hills. Finally came to a halt a mile out.

What the f......? Damn, bad radiator cap. It got hot, and vapor locked. Walked to the closest gas station, got a couple of gallons of water, and a quart of oil. Walked back, poured them in and by that time the engine was cool. I wasn't. Drenched from sweat.
Started right up. Cool. Back to my folks for the night.

Next day I transferred all the tools from my Dads van, to the trailer. Whoa, this is going to be a heavy load. And then over to my wifes fathers, where I had a ton of household and shop stuff too. Loaded that. Holy moly, this thing is getting HEAVY, and my Ram Charger is only a 318. AND, I still had to load all my studio gear which I stored at my folks. Mixer, (2) MSR's, a couple of other tape decks, all the other stuff, and my step daughter who weighs....lets say she is HEAVY too!:D

By the time I got loaded and ready to go, it was 4 in the afternoon and hotter than hell. Facing a trip up the Sacramento Valley, and up and over the mountains was not a pleasant thought. Sure enough. With such a load, the Charger heated up and had to stop every 40 miles to put water in. No leak, just heat overload. But it was dark by the time we started up into the mountains. The first grade gave me a glimpse of what lies ahead. Four major 6% grades, up 7 miles on average. Made it by the skin of my teeth. 1st gear and 5 mph did it. Thank God, the hills weren't longer than they were or I would not have made it to the summits.
Drove all night. Finally at daybreak, we started down hill from Roseburg to the coast of Oregon. I don't know if you have ever been to Coos Bay via hiway 42. You should.
The most beautiful valleys and mountains I've ever seen. Gorgeous. Especially when the sun was coming up, and the fog was working its way in up the rivers from the coast. The road finally comes to the town of Coquille, and the Coquille river and valley, which are about 15 miles from home. Best part of the trip. I called my wife from Coquille, to make sure there was room for the car and trailer on my parking pad in front of the house, as my street climbs up a STEEP hill, and ends abruptly in my driveway. They had it ready. Ok, this is going to be worse than Grants Pass. My driveway is literally a 45 degree angle. :eek:
I drive the last segment of the trip. Almost home. Ah, the street to my house. Make the turn, and get ready to get some momentum to make the grade. 40 mph and we hit the climb. Comeon baby, you can do it. Up Up Up ......oh oh! Wait a minute, tires starting to slip......SHIT:eek: OH NO!! Were sliding backwards.....with a trailer......AND MY NEW SHOP TOOLS AND ALL MY STUDIO GEAR......AHHHHHHHHH!

NO BRAKES!!!! NO STEERING!!! WHAT THE F......? SCREEEEEEEAM...........!!

(*^*^&%$_+)(&^$%@$$*&^)_&*()%^%$&^%#**_&*&^)(*&_&*_(+)(u)(^#^&^^*(








Seemed like and eternity of sliding backwards and then BAM!!!


http://www.clubq3a.com/Stuck.jpg

http://www.clubq3a.com/Stuck2.jpg

http://www.clubq3a.com/Stuck3.jpg

YEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!! We made it!! Home at last.
fitZ

:p
 
Yet an other hair raising adventure!!

Glad to see you made it back in one piece!

It almost seems like every time you get behind the wheel, there will be a tale of life and death that will accompany it!

Out of curiosity, what is the benefit to going there in person to get the stuff over letting a cartage company doing it?

It merely to make sure the goods are as advertised or is there significant savings involved by taking a week off, renting equipment, paying for fuel, food and lodgings over what the cartage company would charge you?

Welcome back, dude!:D
 
Hey Ghost! Thanks man. I did this trip this way because of a LOT of reasons. Mainly to accomplish many different things along the way. Besides, it was FUN!!
I wrote 11 pages of song ideas while driving the long Sacramento valley. Couldn't write on the mountains. But hiway 5 is the main freeway from Tiajauna Mexico to the British Columbia borders. The section through the Sacramento Valley, in California, is like an old ocean bottom. Flat, dry, hot, smoggy yet beatiful in places. The hiway from Sac to LA meanders along desert hills to the west and agriculture to the valley side. Now I know what Jimi Hendrix meant by Purple Haze. :D At dusk, when the sun set over those hills, the smog in the valley was a purple haze. Beautiful.
I visited with(can I say it?)ARP when I was down in LA. Very enjoyable visit. Thanks for the hospitality Dave. I thouroughly enjoyed the "tour" of the Tascam shrine! Holy moly. I now know where all the Tascam ebay finds have gone to. Ha!
Anyway, we made it home, now to set up the tools, and go to work.
And btw, I haven't forgotten about the CD. Just need a little time to make time. Ha!
OK, now, shortly I'll post some things related to an ANALOG control room design. Since my studio is based around 2 MSR's, I want your opinions as to how best to set up. Another day though. :eek: :eek: My studio was in the Dodge when I slipped backwards so it is still in the living room right now. I about freaked But all is well that ends well. Hmmmm..... sounds like a song to me.:D

fitZ:)
 
I figured it was ARP, that you went to see!

Cool! sounds like fun.

I am hoping to make it to the "shrine" one day also. Probably when I retire and have the time for a cross continent trip. I just hope that ARP still has all the goods on display at that point and that they haven't turned to dust and rust.

I have been busy too with other studio projects so, I haven't started yet on our collaboration tune, "E-bay Blues" so, you haven't missed much in your absence.

Glad to see you back and with gear in tow to get that studio up and running!

Cheers! :)
 
Gosh, yes, FITZ, glad to see you made it back!

A trip made longer by one misadventure after another!

Folks, don't make me tell you how FITZ drove 3-hours out of his way to get to my house! ... Of which I could have saved him half that time, if he had called me for the "shortcut" route! Ha!

Ah, yes, it's all good in the end, and it was an absolute pleasure to meet you & have you hang out for a few hours, talking music, recording & stuff. All my pleasure, I'm sure.

I'll e- you with some studio pics to reminisce about, and after you left, you'll probably not believe that I found two more large flight cases with equipment! I missed entirely showing you the 246, and there was another 244 and Fostex Model 80 I could have shown you, up close & personal. [Folks, some of the equipment I showed FITZ was wrapped in protective plastic, & not easy to view]. You know, it's ludicrous, that I even forgot/remembered that I actually have [3] 244's! [Found the third 244 stashed in the case with the 246!] Anyway, I did want to specifically show you the mint 246 I had in that case, so I'll e- you some pictures, soon.

Oh, readers, I was rearranging the recording equipment and cleaning up the studio and fixit room a bit when FITZ arrived. He may not remember, but I met him in the entry way for the first time, while carrying a mint-in-box 246 that I was moving. I am the most hardcore Tascam recording enthusiast and equipment owner for many, many miles, I'm sure. You heard it here, first.

Anyway, I gave FITZ the full tour, showed him all the equipment I had stashed in & around the house, etc. I showed him the "office" [main music room/studio], and the "fixit" room, in the back. I'm sure FITZ got a TASCAM-eyefull, that day! And guitars. FITZ had a lot of guitars to view, just before he hit the road. [I wouldn't let him leave before that!]

Anyway, nice to hear you got back in one piece, FITZ!

DAMN, you did alright, man, even if you reverse-jacknifed the truck & trailer in the DRIVEWAY! Hey, it's only a short walk up to the house from there! CHEERS!

Oh, PS: FITZ, is there any way you could someday swing by Albany, OR, to pick up on a Technics cassette deck that some guy screwed me out of, off Ebay, a few months ago? I don't know quite where Albany is to where you're located, but I have this deadbeat-ripoffs full name and address, in case you want to help me collect,... a cassette deck that I paid in full for, & never recieved.

Anyway, FITZ, hope you had a nice, productive trip, a nice stop here at Davemania Central, and nice rest of the journey. How come everything you do turns into a comical adventure? Haha.

Hey, you made it, man. Mission accomplished. Phone me up before the next roadtrip, man!

You're right about those desert roads, man. Desolate, for sure. Yep, that's the Hwy 138 West, between Lancaster and Gorman. It's beautiful, scenic, desolate country out there, alright. At least my directions got you to the "5"!

;)/DA
 
"sniff,sniff"... Man, you guys make me feel great. Thanks so much.

Dave, the pleasure was all mine. That made my day. And the trip back on 138 was absolutely marvolous. That valley is too good. I LOVE to drive down old 2 lane hiways that I've never seen. I explored all the old roads within a hundred miles of Sacramento. Gives you perspective. And I can't wait to explore some here.

Anyway, thank your wife and family, who are terrific, and cordial. You all made me feel comfortable and relaxed. I enjoyed every moment, and wished I had more time.
Another time maybe.

Well, I've got the radial arm set up. Now for the rest. I start work in the shop monday. :rolleyes: Wished it was in the studio:D Thats down the road though. Got to have a shop to build the studio. We'll talk about the analog aspects of that later.

Thanks again guys.
fitZ:)
 
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