Monday, Oli spends the morning at our ghost theater putting out the little fires. I do laundry and errands, and dinner with the Zillas, who inspect our shiny new engine. Tuesday we pack, prepare the dogs goodies for a stay in NC and dinner with friend Jill! Wednesday we wait for the post office to open to claim a package and we are on the road. One DeLorean loaded with all our travel stuff and one Honda loaded with two dogs and their travel stuff. It was a great trip, we arrive in NC and have lunch with Mummy, Deaddy, Chris and Annette. When we return to the house it’s let’s make a theater time. We assemble rigging and hang curtains and blacks in Doc’s Magic Theater. What a lovely space!
Wednesday, August 25, 2010
August 25, 2010Saturday, the engine is completed and we take it for a test drive around the city. Using the opportunity we visit Amy Ellison and family (an old friend of Oliver's) and he gives the kids a ride around the block. They make a generous donation into Mr. Compassion and we head back to DMC Midwest for some diagnostics. The new engine is overheating! A new radiator is installed and we depart from Dave’s garage after the quick change! -Thanks to Dave for working late on a Saturday and fixing the problem!
Stopped somewhere in southern Indiana for a snooze.Up early Sunday to make it home to our puppies.Home by 8:20pm, time change we lost an hour.Ordered Pizza from Papa John's and had some fun with the nice delivery guy.Most importantly, we hugged our puppies!Now for speed packing and readying the car for a 2 month tour!Have already made lists, now to use them.
Here is sample of the fun we had with the people of Chicago. Everyone wants something. All these people said "I want to sit in the time machine." And we replied, "We want to cure Parkinson's." And in the end, everybody gets to their destination! (Music is 'Dragons' by Caravan Palace.)
Monday, We drive to Dave Swingle's garage, drop of the DeLorean and head for Chicago. Brunch at Ann Sather’s, cinnamon rolls, super yummy!! We enjoy a drive around the city via Joe's (Terry's brother) car, and a movie. Dinner at Greek Islands with fellow DeLorean owners, Bob, Gail and Ryan Brandys. Back to the burbs for some much needed rest! Tuesday, we sleep in, no morning appointments. Down time is an important part of time traveling! We get some business done and then a trip to the garage to check in. The new engine has been shipped, so with the old engine removed, we take advantage of the opportunity to scrub the engine bay for the first time in 28 years since it was assembled in Ireland.
Today, Oli and I are on our own. -But wait!
Zack, a show volunteer that helped us Saturday has returned!Thank you!It’s a great day.We meet the General that Darth Vader strangles in Star Wars IV, and a guy from Star Gate. (booth photos on Olympus)
The day has a nice easy pace.The show closes at 5 and we are packing the car when Claudia Wells escorts some new friends over to the car.The have a radio/internet show and one of them is Walter Payton’s son.I squeal with excitement!Sunday ends with me getting a big bear hug from my favorite Bear’s son.Don’t know how it can get any better than that!Our drive back to Joe’s house is uneventful; the car makes the trip fine. Dinner plans?None, so we stop and get Culvers butter burgers frozen yogurt to go.We are so happy to have had the opportunity to meet so many wonderful people, visit with good friends and raise funds and awareness for Team Fox and the Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research at the Chicago Comic Con!
Friday we start at 12 so with some prep and polish we decide to eat some of the pizza and we are glad of it, because the day flies by.Lot’s of donations are made and everyone pitches in.A visit quick from JC, Linda and Mary.Mary brings goodies!It’s so good to see good friends.JC and Linda make a donation and we take pictures!Off they go to enjoy the show with instructions to take note of the really cool things for us to see!More donations and more pictures.The day flies by!It’s 8 pm and the show floor closes.Exhausted we head to the room to collapse!
Thursday, Meet my Nephew Grant and his friend Jacob for breakfast, and start to plan our strategy for the upcoming few days.We head for the convention center, do some finale set up and have lunch at Giordano’s Pizza.We order 2, one for now and one for tomorrow! Stuffed Pizza is the best! Oli and I are on our own for Thursday, the show has a preview night, 5-9.It’s great! A very nice crowd, a great way to start our Chicago fund raising effort.
Thursday 8.12.10We picked up the Penske truck and car trailer.
Friday 8.13.10 we take to the open road.First stop North Carolina for a visit with the family.Chris and Annette, Mummy and Deaddy.Dinner and then back on the road.
Destination, Chicago Comic Con!But first we drop the car off at DMC Midwest for a visit with the DeLorean Doctor, Dave Swingle, Saturday afternoon.My brother Joe and his wife Judy pick us up at the truck drop off and we have a great Italian dinner in the pretty town of Crystal Lake, IL.
Sunday we make a trip to the Apple Store for some assistance with our phone and have dinner with my Brother Eddy and his daughter, Stephanie.Did you know that Webber Grill has a restaurant?They do and it was good!
The company made it even better!
Monday we spend a good amount of time at the DMC garage.Oli and I test drive the car to make it heat up, but the weather is so nice that it’s not until we return to the shop that she overheats.Engine trouble, now what do we do?
We discuss the options for engine replacement and repair and with 200,000 miles on the old engine, the logical choice is replacement.We decide on a stage 2 engine, for better performance and for the plain fact that it comes with a new stainless steel exhaust system and water pump.We’ll be replacing the a/c compressor and a/c hoses along with the hoses for the engine.A lot of work to get to, but now we wait for Houston to rebuild, modify, powder coat and ship the new engine.At least we know that the car can run short distances and we decide to leave her at the garage until Wednesday when we have to load into the Rosemont Convention Center.
With these decisions made we can now enjoy some time in Chicago!
Tuesday we drive into the city for a foodie tour.First stop: olive oil and balsamic vinegar tasting.Interesting.We 'drink' small cups of different flavors.
Now the spice store, green peppercorn for me!Now for lunch at the Polish deli, perogi, sandwich and a fudge brownie!!!!Now a stroll through Old Town past Second City, then to the Jewish Deli for a marble rye, a stop at a tea shop and a walk through the zoo. The weather is perfect.We finish up at Oz Park to see the Tin Man, Lion and Scarecrow statues, very nice indeed.
So. I changed out my thermostat after the Cincinatti trip, but before the Oklahoma trip. It was purchased at NAPA, and was set for a slightly higher temp than what a DeLorean engine should have. So, my preventative measure compounded the problem. New thermostat installed today! I enjoy working on the engine more and more as I get more familiar with it. I like to try to sound impressive by telling Terry that I had to remove the 'air intake manifold' to access the waterpump and themostat. :) Tested the new part, and I noticed the fans were not coming on. Fortunately, I also ordered an otterstat, which tells the fans when to turn on, if the car is sitting, stopped in traffic. Swapping that out, it seemed to work like a charm! I've heard that overheating an engine can easily 'toast' the otterstat, so that is an important thing to remember to change out. Fans come on now before the needle even hits the first mark on the dial! New thermostat with new seal, repaired or replaced a few hoses, tightened hose clamps, new otterstat, new coolant tank lid, and fresh antifreeze. -Also bled the radiator of any air bubbles, as required on DeLoreans. *Gotta burp the baby.* Next time leap, we'll be visiting our friend and official DeLorean service center owner Dave Swingle to have old hoses replaced with fancy silicone ones! No more blowing out rotten hoses. Also replacing our A/C hoses which will work much more efficiently too and I'm looking forward to that.
Saturday comes quick; the show floor opens at 10. We are there and ready. Grant and Jacob depart at 12, what a fantastic help they were! Debbie and Gary stop by and help for a portion. We have a couple of show volunteers helping as well, thanks to a great guy named Spat! But the greatest gift was Barbara; Mary’s sister spent the whole day with us and helped us have the best day ever in our fundraising history! A photo op with John Schneider (Smallville and the The Dukes of Hazzard.) Exhausted but buzzing with excitement we have dinner with Barb and some catching up.
Wednesday Joe and Judy drop us at the garage and we ready for the drive to the convention center. We make it there safe and sound. Locate our hotel and load the car in. Easy load in, once we find the right door. (Guard One: 'Go to guard Two.' Guard Two: 'Go back to Guard One.') ! We have a 20 x 20 booth so we set the tables, get some pipe and drape and hang our banners. Polish the car and depart for a date with Billy Elliot. What a fantastic show! The subject matter is dark; coal miners strike, fighting in the streets, Margaret Thatcher puppet show and a 13-year-old boy named Billy that can dance! Awesome scenery, amazing use of stage and very talented performers. Oh yes and music by Elton John! After the show my gal Mary drives us back to the hotel, with a stop and steak and shake for a sandwich and some visit time. Had a wonderful time, Thanks Mary☺
My wife Terry and I are traveling to the year 2015 and beyond in our DeLorean Time Machine through all 50 states to raise awareness and funding for Parkinson's Research. Our website is:
http://www.ToTheFuture.org
It was a great trip, we arrive in NC and have lunch with Mummy, Deaddy, Chris and Annette. When we return to the house it’s let’s make a theater time.
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