Trip days: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8-9 | 10-12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20
Ron left early this morning to go pick up his room mates friend Tara from the Boston airport. Tara was flying out for a few days to hang out with Jenna (Ron's room mate). We all went and got lunch and then went our seperate ways. Ron had to work that evening (he's a bartender at the local TGI Friday's) and Jenna and Tara were off to do their own thing, so I had lined up dinner with the Turner Motorsports guys just up I-495 in Amesbury. Turner Motorsports is a BMW tuner company that is also an H&R Special Springs distributor. I originally met the TMS crew at the SEMA automotive show in Las Vegas a few years ago, and I had the chance to party with them in Germany during the Essen Motorshow a year and a half ago. They're all great fun, and BMW car geeks to boot! Yippee! Unfortunately most of the TMS guys were up racing the TMS race cars in the Speed World Challenge Touring Car series in Mosport, Toronto this weekend but it was still good seeing Doug and Drew, two TMS sales guys. We drove up to a mexican restaurant across the border in New Hampshire and had a bunch of margaritas and some good food. After a number of hours in the bar when the drinks started to wear off we headed back down to the TMS shop to get my motorcycle. Doug was kind enough to let me drive his Mini Cooper S back and it was great fun. Every time I hop into the new Mini it makes me want one really bad. Previously I'd only driven the non-supercharged car so Doug's S was a new experience. It has everything the regular one has, with the addition of a supercharger, a six speed gear box, and all the bells and whistles Doug added to the package. The S is making a good amount of power and is a great car to drive. It very well may be my next expensive mechanical purchase, they really are tops. We then headed over to Doug's house somewhere near Amesbury to play his pinball machines. Doug is a real pinball junkie and currently has 2 pinball machines in his house and an original Ms. Pacman arcade game. He regularly has his machines on rotation with new ones showing up pretty regularly. Currently he has an older early '90s Williams "Funhouse" machine which is great fun and has a great feel, and a brand spanking new Sterns "Simpsons" pinball machine which is really really cool. Featuring virtually every Simpsons character on the outside of the machine, and countless numbers of cool game gimmicks including an alien invasion, an itchy and scratchy themed multiplier mode, and lots of great one liners from the Simpsons cast the machine is great fun and I really want one. After a couple hours of solid pinball play I clambered back aboard my bike and rode down to TGI Fridays to get meet up with Ron. I just missed last call and Ron was busily cleaning up so I got the apartment keys from him and went back to his place to crash for the night.
Total Mileage for Day: 53 |
©2003 John Meloy <jam@nas.com>