The primary purposes of this road trip were (are? I am still on it) to see my friend Gene Gillenwater in Ohio, to attend the MG national meet in Louisville, KY, and to simply get out and drive and see some countryside. I have done all of those, and I am still on the road!
The first leg of the road trip took me from Charleston, SC, over some of the worst roads I have ever seen, through North Carolina and a bit of Tennessee up into Virginia. Seriously, the roads in my own home state are the worst I have seen and are in dangerously bad shape. We should be ashamed of ourselves.
The second leg of the trip was from Bristol, VA, through Abingdon, VA, because no self-respecting British car fan could pass up going to Abingdon, and then on through Kentucky to Ohio – just outside of Columbus.
Somewhere on the mountain grade outside of Blowing Rock, NC, I scraped a huge hole in my exhaust. It was about an inch wide by two and a half to three inches long. Let me tell you, that as loud. Thankfully Gene is a talented fabricator and welder, so I only had to endure about 6 hours of that sound. Too many, yes, but what are you gonna do?
Preparing to leave home
Near Blowing Rock, NC
Near Boone, NC
She seems lonely out there amidst all those unfamiliar cars. Bristol, VA
4 AM out the window in Bristol, VA
Not a bad view of the edge of the mountains.
The Barter Theatre in Abingdon, VA
Even though I was in a Triumph, I still had to stop in Abingdon!
Somewhere in Virginia. Or Kentucky?
Vintage Austin Healey Racer on its way to Indianapolis most probably.
OK, this I do remember is Kentucky. I think.
A road. I know for certain that this is a road.
In Louisa, KY I stopped for gas and came across a red British phone box. I took it as a sign that I was supposed to be there.
And if you scrape a hole like this in your exhaust header, your little 1500 cc Spitfire will sound like a Harley Davidson that had too much Taco Bell for lunch.
Made it to Ohio, safe and sound. And … helped my friend Gene rescue this poor 78 MG Midget out of a field. It seemed happy to get out of there.
Sunrise over farm fields in Ohio. Really, have to admit it, quite a pretty area.
Michael Carnell is the editor and founder of the Just British Online Motoring Magazine. As a lifelong British car fan, he has owned or driven British cars of all ages from Austins and MGs to Jaguars and Triumphs. He currently owns a 1966 Vanden Plas Princess 1100, a 1977 MGB, and a 2002 Land Rover Discovery.
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