The route I'm taking puts us into Austin, and was wondering, Bobby, where's a good place to eat and to let the kids out to play a little along I-35 or US-290? About how long of a drive is it from I-10 and US-290? I was also wondering who all is around Houston and B/CS. Mayhaps have a meet and greet sometime during this upcoming week.

First... I-35 sucks. Make sure you're nowhere near here during rush hour. Plan not to be around here between 4:00-7:00pm.

Right off of I-35 near the downtown-UT area are the Bob Bulluck History of Texas Museum, and the LBJ Library. Bob Bulluck is on MLK & N Congress. Take the MLK exit off I-35 (going north) and hang a left on MLK. It'll be down on the left hand side.
The LBJ Library can be accessed by heading back to I-35 and turning left. Don't get on I-35, stay on the frontage road. The LBJ Labrary will be on the other side of the highway. You'll see signs directing you.

There are a ton of other things going on in Austin right now. March is Austin's money maker month.
UIL Basketball tournaments going on at the Erwin Center. SXSW will be kicking off real soon (if it hasn't happened already), Star of Texas Rodeo and Fair is going on at the Heritage Center (Decker Lake area).

If you're going to be around on Saturday, HACGP is having a big gettogether down the road from BCS, in Tomball. You're welcome to come; the more people the better.

Bobby, Acxnus, gimme a call at my cell. Check your PMs. Thanks yall.

EDIT: I ask for a call because I dont have the internet at home, so here in a couple of minutes, I wont have any more access to yall until I get home, in a week. Again, I appreciate yall giving me the info.

Here's hoping for some calls. Everyone: take care, keep the rubber side down, I'll see ya in a week.

Check your PM's.

OK, so I was wrong, I do have internet access at my mom-in-law's house. Bobby, you're right: 35 at rush hour SUCKED. Arcxnus, I'm still waiting on a call. I would really like to meet up, but have no clue where yall are gonna meet. I'm thinking about leavin my kids with Gramma (like Gramma'll mind).

What made it worse was it's Friday. Sometimes rush hour on Friday starts at 12:00 noon.

When are you due to head back?

We'll be leaving Friday morning, hopefully about 6 or so.

Okay, shoulda known this was gonna happen: Bobby, how do I go from the NE of Austin to the west side of Austin compltely missing the city? My plans put us into Austin somewhere around 8 am. Otherwise known as morning rush. Have any suggestions? Thanks, man.

I'll have to look at a map and get back with you.
You'll want to stay off of I-35 between Georgetown and San Antonio.
I'll try to get back to you at lunch.

Here's what I suggest. It's a little bit longer, more of a southerly route, but it should get you around Austin quicker than going thru it.

From B/CS take Highway 21 south (or it may be west). Take 21 all the way till you get to I-35. Go south on I-35 to New Braunfels. Go west on Highway 46 to I-10. Highway 46 should give you a real nice hill country drive.

Hope this helps you to steer clear of Austin.

Ya know what? Now what you and my mom-in-law were saying makes perfect sense. From the looks of it, this just might take out an hour from our drive. Out of curiosity, do you have the AGX or GR-2 shocks and struts?

GR-2 replacements.

I could look for a more northern route, but I won't be able to get a good look at a map until I get off work.
I think I can send you west, more north of Austin.

I'll get a look when I get home and let you know.

that's fine, but I think the route you already gave is more than good. Besides, I'm not really in B/CS anyway. I'm closer to Navasota, so that's the route I'm gonna stick to. By 8-10 am, are you gonna be busy? I want to get a feel for the different suspension before I buy. If you will be busy, then I'm just gonna keep a-movin. Bobby, I sure do thank you for all your help and advice.

I generally go to lunch somewhere between 10:50-11:30am.

You can't go wrong with a set of KYB's.

by 1050, I'm hoping to already be somewhere west of FT Stockton. Bummer, hopefully next time. Bummer Arc never called, the mod day woulda been fun.

Damn it ..

Sorry about that Richard, I had some real BS go down the day before, and I forgot all about it.

Not too big of deal. *sniff* I know when I'm not welcome *sniff*. just messin with ya, Arc. Arc, out of curiosity, were there 2 cars there that had a GR-2 set up and an AGX set-up? Up where we were at, the snakes weren't out yet, but the scorpions sure were. Is that normal for this time of year?

Thursday night, I was packing the car and getting things just right for the trip back home, I grabbed the car seat cover (thick thing to keep my dog's claws from tearing up my leather and milk/food/formula from staining the leather) to re-install. As I flung the cover into place, I saw a scorpion crawling on the edge that was on the ground. Mind you, the cover is already fully in the car. The same car my 2.5 yr-old daughter and 4 mo-old son and wife and dog, and, hell, myself, were going to be in for about 1 thousand miles. I threw the cover out not wanting to chance having scorpion eggs in my car. Durn arachnids.

Here we go again! I'll be rollin out most likely on the 19th. and will be out for about 2 weeks. Maybe less. Anyone gonna be available out that way?

Well, I should be around but I don't know how busy things will be. You're leaving a week too late. Mod day is the 17th here in Tomball. :p

Remember, on your way through Austin avoid 4pm-6pm!

I'm defintly gonna avoid Austin at that time. Last time, your city whooped my butt. This time, that southern route you had recommended has got my attention.

Sucks that you'll miss mod day ..

Unless yooou ... Leave early!

.. Not that I'm advocating anything.

lol, nah we got a buddy visiting our house on the 17th before he PCS's to Germany. We already missed a NUMBER of cook-out arrangements, and cant miss this one. That and it'll pretty much be my daughter's last chance to see her "boyfriend" before he leaves the country. Now, if I could put a place-holder clone here and me be there for the mod day, we've got a deal!

Good luck! Have a safe drive.

Oooh, okay. Looks like I'm skipping out on mod day anyway ..

Maybe next weekend? I dunno what there is to do in BCS, it always looks like a whole lot of nothing everytime I drive through on my way to Tomball. Of course, we could always scoot over to Houston for .. whatever, next weekend. I haven't been in Houston proper for a few years; I always wanted to go back, and I'm sure Slick probably knows of a few things to do, other than getting creamed on the highway.

which next weekend? 17 & 18 NOV or 24 & 25 NOV? Again, 17/18, we'll be at home. 24/25...not sure how Thanksgiving is lookin. We have 2 diff set of parents to eat dinner with on the same night/same weekend. We'll see. I would be interested in seeing if HOU has anything compelling whatsoever. Aside from REAL stock car racing on the 10.
And HWY 6.
And HWY 209.
God, dont yall ppl know how to obey speed limits? lol

Sounds like a good idea to get my wife away fromt eh kids for awhile. And get the grandfolks time with the kids. I SHOULD have internet while out there if you wanna PM. Or check your PM for my cell. You too, Slick.

I45 is the Autobahn of Texas!

Geez, will it be Thanksgiving already? Our family is kind of broken, so I doubt I'll really be doing much of anything that weekend anyway. It's all up to other peoples' plans it seems, so that's out of my hands. Just know that I'm the flexible one.

lol. I...I...I am not about to respond to that.

I'll be sure to let yall know what the plans are. Hopefully a day out. Hopefully. I HATE to make PLANS on leave. I got enough scheduling and arranging and planning and coordinating while at work.

Hey, Bobby, you arent planning on goin to HOU those 2 weeks, are ya?

Unfortunately, I am not.

bummer. I miss the highly decorated strip brawler again? not optimal.

Bobby's a wet blanket anyway.

He enjoys going to boring places like rock quarries and stuff.

LMAO...not nice, Arc, LMAO!

LOL...

There are a few places/things around town to see/do. All depends on what you're interested in. Could always go to the Hard Rock.

Cafe that is... No more quarries for me thank you.

Hey, if y'all do anything, and I'm able to get away from work, mind if I tag along? It'd be nice to meet some other GP owners...lol

The more, the merrier, in my opinion.

no worries, Ace. I like to meet new ppl. You are new ppl, right? lol

Well, I'm new, at least. Ppl...eh.

hey, Ace, let me and my wife deliberate some before I respond to your PM. Im interested, but...never can tell. Will respond later.

That's cool. You know where I'll be though, hope you can make it.

Baytown, FTW!

Hey, I know it's not much, but here is a little more info for you.

Sorry about the triple post, but any word yet, Rick?

not yet. Got my wife thinkin about it. I'm thinkin I'll prolly end up leavin her at her mom or dad's place and I roll out with yall. not sure. Im tellin ya, as soon as I know something, yall will.

K. Sorry, but I'd really like to meet some other people with Grand Prixs...all MY friends have slow cars.

Hows about anyone else? Arc, Slick, would y'all be interested in going to the Clash of the Titans World Finals?

Dunno, where, when, and what is it?

When: Saturday 24 November
Where Houston Raceway Park in Baytown
What: Uh...not sure, other than racing. *

Rick said he's interested, but doesn't know for sure yet.

link

*EDIT: While I don't know much about the racing next weekend, let me say this: There was a LOT more 9 sec & 10 sec cars at the drag strip tonight than there was last time I went, and I this this was because they were practicing for next weekend.

Still no word from my wife if she's interested in goin to the drags. Worse comes to worse, I'll go by my self and meet yall somewhere.

And we will be leavin in the morning and hopefully gettin there by late evening/early nighttime. Really lookin forward to meetin yall during this next 2 weeks. Call yall perhaps on Tuesday.

Have a safe trip, Rick.

Looking forward to having something to do other than waiting on Assassin's Creed to get here.

It's cool, Rick. I'll keep an eye out for the plans regardless, and y'all do something on a day other than Saturday, I'll just have to hope I can do it and work won't get in the way. >.<

I MAY be putting my car in the shop this week to fix the front end. *crosses fingers* I'll only do it, though, if I can get it back by Saturday. What's the point in going to meet some other GP owners if you don't bring one yourself? lol

Just drive safe, Rick.

*EDIT* btw, Arc, when you get that game, you'll have to let me know how it is. When I get a PS3, that's one of the games near the top of my list. Looks awesome.

Here's to a safe drive!


Looks like I'll be in Austin for Thanksgiving, but I'll be back by Saturday. Getting a friend to help me install a new circuit in the garage for the welder on Saturday. Just let me know when and where and I should be up for it.

Will do, Ace. I've been looking forward to it since X05. .. Long time! XD It should be here today, USPS says it's in my town right now, might have been delivered by now; they don't update very often.

Heeeey, Slick got a welder? Can it possibly be used to fix my exhaust? That header wrap must be moving around 'cause my swaybar is starting to bang on it again. .. Pleaseplease?

Heh, give me a little bit to gather the remaining pieces and learn a little, then I'd be happy to. :p

Either that or I can learn on your car.
That reminds me, I need to do some exhaust work on another car as well. I wonder who's that was... :rolleyes:


I'm getting a little impatient waiting for my copy of Assassin's Creed. Me wanna play!!!

You too, huh? I just wish I could GET a PS3 right now...

My daughter's Wii came in today.

How much shopping do you have left now, Bobby?

Ace, Assassin's Creed is .. well, next gen continues to improve in leaps and bounds. The first real city that you get to, Damascus, just .. holy crap. You come at it over a hill, for 'oh sh-' factor, probably, and it's just this huge freaking city laid out before you leaving you wondering just how the heck all that rendered without you knowing it and without slowing the framerate. And you really can go anywhere that you can get a foothold.

It's somewhat complicated to learn to control, but you get the hang of it .. mostly. XD; .. I've already accidentally killed a bystander and fallen off of really tall stuff a few times, and I've only completed the first mission. Took me seven hours! Lots of area to cover and lots of stuff to do. It's awesome.

Arcx,

You ain't helping...

Of course I'm stuck at work right now so it really doesn't matter at the moment. =\

Wow, I really can't wait until I get that game...

Hey, if/when we get together Saturday, after about 3 pm or so would be great, if possible...they kinda need my help at work before that. I can get someone else to work if need be, but then that'll leave the evening shift short-handed, so I'm going in on my day off to make sure it runs smoothly. Just like I'm going in on my other day off on Wednesday...lol

I'll probably be there until about 2 or so. So, 3 or later would give me an hour or more to get wherever.

What's the word? Anything this weekend or are we going to postpone?

I'm still in Austin, but will probably be headed back kinda early Saturday.

I'm still interested. I'm either going to the drag races after I get out of work (which should be about 2 pm), or, if it rains, my friend suggested going to the Autorama at the George R Brown convention center.

Are y'all interested in coming, and if so, any preference as to which one to go to?

*EDIT* They are definitely forecasting rain tomorrow, so the autorama may be the better choice. *shrugs*

Guess nothing's happening today. The Autorama's at the George R Brown, if you're interested in going this weekend, Slick.

Well, I didn't actually get home last night until shortly after 5 and really didn't feel like doing anything.

Sorry...

I would have needed more of a warning anyhow.

Remember, I live 3+ hours away.

Yea, that's why I didn't really ask, Arc...I still would like to get together with you guys (and gal), but I figured nothing would happen if it wasn't set up by the night before.

How long are you going to be here, Rick?

after Arc said something about Assassins Creed, I went to Yahoo games and checked it out. Like Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind on crack. I want. NOW.

I really wanna apologize to the three of you that I just couldnt get away until the last day, and that I tried to get stuff going until the night prior. I really do feel bad about that. I also thought both sets pf in-laws would have internet. Turns out my father-in-law got rid of it when their PC went down. Here I was gettin everythin hyped up, then I fall through. Sorry.

Cool thing, though, was that I got to let my daughter to run around the wide open spaces of a cattle farm. too bad the weather was too unpredictable to get the boss lady to pull a horse around to let my daughter ride a lil bit. Any one watch Dirty Jobs on TV? They had a piece on the Circle-X Ranch in Bryan, TX. We were less than 45 minutes from there. Granted, they prolly shot that episode at least a month ago, but still.

Bad thing: my son had caught Croup while we were out there. Croup is essentially an upper-respiratory viral infection that has the potential of causing long-term damage. That was on Thxgvng Day. By Monday, he was pretty much back. He had a slight rumble in his throat last night after we got back, but I think the dryness out here is what he needed.

Hmm...Never heard of Croup. Glad you got to experience that part of the USA. Stinks when there is so much GP.net hype and it doesn't go as your mind is thinking.

ya know, I never heard of Croup either. I thought the doctor was kiddin when she said "Your son has been diagnosed with a touch of The Croup." Sounds like a rash or a bad B Movie. Oh well. He has a follow-up with Army docs this next week.

This is actually my 3rd or 4th trip to that "country" (look it up, Texans seem to be proud that they had forfeited their sovereignty to the USA), and the 3rd or 4th time that I really enjoyed myself. I've already been to Washington on the Brazos, and this time I got to tour Fanthrop Inn in what is now Anderson. B/CS is a nice lil village. Cant seem to understand how Navasota and Brenham can call themselves cities with a straight face. All those Farm-Market roads are hellaciously fun. Especially in the Hill Country.

Last time around, I was hopin to meet Bobby and Arc. This time, Arc, Slick, and Ace. Next time, I'm not gonna make any plans. Maybe THEN I'll be able to finally meet up with them. Or maybe just leave Arc out of it. She seems to be bad luck... :p

The curse of the Red car is in this setup!

Don't worry about it, Rick, maybe next time.

Hey, maybe I should go to New Mexico...I still want to take a small road trip in my car.

I HAVE heard of croup before, but I didn't know it was a viral infection...

you are welcome here if it is just one or two ppl. If you can get here before mid-Jan, that is

Yea, not gonna happen. It'd be cool, but I can't get the time off work, nor do I have the money.