Tag: Galveston

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Jeep Cherokee Summer Adventures

Summer 2012 has gone by fast and now school is starting in my area. That means it’s time for my Jeep to get “back to work” and be the taxi for all three of my kids. Half the summer though she sat parked under trees at my best friends house while I traveled over 8,000 miles, most of it in a friends 99 Jeep Cherokee Classic.

Shortly after school ended for the year the plan was to head down to Santa Fe, Texas (and Galveston to the beach) to take my oldest son to my dad’s house while I was working The Great Race. Originally the plan was to rent a vehicle from Enterprise rent-a-car. However, after adding up the costs of adding me as a driver, plus insurance and a $150 deposit, we couldn’t justify spending over $500 to rent a car for a week. So my friend outright said lets take her Jeep instead. Besides, we had just prepared it to go on The Great Race as soon as we got back from Texas.

Round trip we drove 2,000 miles, 860 miles to get there plus running back and forth from Galveston for our daily dose of the beach (and our hotel was there too) which is approximately 40 miles round trip each time. There were days we did it twice…

Enjoying Sunny Beach in Galveston, Texas, Summer 2012

Plus I don’t take the way Google Maps says I should. There are tolls the way it says I should go and I don’t care for traffic. Besides, my kids always look forward to the Bolivar Ferry Ride each year, which is free. It also gives us a chance for one last restroom break and stretching our legs until we make it to our destination.

On the Bolivar Ferry heading to Galveston, Texas

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Thank goodness we were in the front of the line although it was quite unnerving when they let the front gate down!  My son (seen in pic) always enjoys getting out of the vehicle to go upstairs and view everything around him. During the daylight you can see dolphins swimming around.

 

Our Jeep summer adventures didn’t stop in Texas though.

Less than a week later Janice and I were on our way to Traverse City, Michigan to begin working The Great Race, a vintage car rally that went from Traverse City, MI into Canada and around the Great Lakes that ended in Dearborn, MI. Each day we traveled anywhere from 200-300 miles during the actual rally. We were checkpoint workers so we had the opportunity to sit for nearly two hours watching 80-90 cars go by while we take their times. Some days we were lucky enough to get lunch at their lunch stops. The best part though was that since one of our overnight stops was in Buffalo, New York, Janice and I planned ahead that we would travel to Niagara Falls.

Enjoying Niagara Falls on the Observation Deck after a ride on Maid of the Mist

The Great Race  trip total was two weeks long and 3,600 miles. Add that to the Texas trip and JeepGirl nearly did 6,000 miles in four weeks! That put her total mileage at 280K.

Let’s just say it was definitely time for an oil change and a nice tune up after all the adventuring we did…

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Driving to Texas

A Summer Road Trip

On the first of June we loaded up our Suburban with three adults and three children for a trip to Sante Fe, Texas. The trip was close to 900 miles each way.

Just before the trip, I serviced the Suburban’s AC. It was blowing nice cold air from the front vents but the rear air just blew hot air. I had not been able to get the line at the rear expansion valve off and I had hoped I would work without flushing, but I guess it did not. So the front seat passengers had to freeze to keep the rear cool. The temperature was near 100 most of the trip.

To keep the younger passengers entertained; we had a variety of electronics on board. We had two inverters running to power the video system, laptop computers, phone chargers and even a Wii. I really can’t imagine making the trip in a vehicle smaller than the Suburban. In fact, I was wishing it was bigger at times.

The big truck is very comfortable to drive on the interstate. We took I75 to I24. Then we took I59 across three states form one end to the other. At the end of I59, we took I12 across Louisiana. We met up with I10 and then took the 18 mile bridge across the swamp. We finally dropped off I10 in Texas and then followed the coast to take the Bolivar ferry.

The ferry was a very interesting ride. The DOT operates ferries 24 hours a day across the Galveston bay. These ferries are huge compared to the ones I have ridden hear on the east coast. They hold about 40 cars each. Once loaded on the ferry, we got out and toured the ship and watched the dolphins play in the water as we crossed the bay. It was a nice break in the trip.

While in Galveston, we visited the beach. Beach parking along the sea wall is parallel parking spaces. This was a challenge for me with the Suburban especially since it was loaded so that I could not see out he back window. The first time I parked, I was lucky enough to find a double spot so I could pull in forward and then back into place.

The next day, I had trouble finding a spot big enough for the Suburban. All I found was a single spot by the toilets that made backing in easier. However backing in from the high traffic Seawall Boulevard was still scary. I needed a spotter to get it not the space completely.

The next trip to the beach, I drove on west of the city and found a place where we could park on the sand for free. There were places on the east side but there was a $8 fee and they were extremely crowded. The place on the west beach was very nice and I was able to back the Suburban right up to the beach so we could access our towels and cooler easily.

The big GMC ran well and got about 16 MPG. It developed a hick up at about 65mph on the way down. I am guessing that the trouble is a dead spot in the throttle position sensor. When it started to hick up, al we had to do was speed up or slow down to get it to smooth out. It also had a similar hiccup when idling in the heat in traffic in Galveston. Sometimes it felt as if it was going to die at traffic lights but it would always keep running.

On the way home, the hiccup smoothed out but after refueling, it would bog down when trying to accelerate back up to interstate speed. It was like some sludge got stirred up refueling and it took a while to settle back out. The Suburban has a 42 gallon tank so it was quite a distance between fuel stops.

We saw some crazy things while driving 2000 miles. The two funniest were the bra on mile marker 110 in Mississippi and the pig snout sticking out of the livestock truck somewhere in Alabama.

We were all missing our Jeeps by the time we got home. But the extra space of the Suburban was really nice on the long road trip.