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  • Pre-National G8 Meet: Day 5

    Posted on September 8th, 2011 tcorzett No comments

    Today was my final day on the road before the National G8 Meet in Bettendorf, IA. Like yesterday, I stuck to I-80 and tried to make good time.


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    I left the hotel after a quick breakfast and headed East on I-80. Driving across Iowa I noticed that, like Nebraska, there is lots of corn. However, different from Nebraska, Iowa has far more hills/valleys… and the farms tend to follow the flow of the land. Driving on the interstate was a bit more interesting because of this increased variation. While it would have been great to drive some twisty roads, I just wanted to get to the meet.

    One thing that I wasn’t able to take care of before leaving California was purchasing an “America the Beautiful” annual National Parks pass. I plan on driving through a few National Parks on my journey, so figured the annual pass would be much easier (and cheaper) than individual daily passes. When planning my trip to GONE I noticed that passes were being sold at the Herbert Hoover National Historic Site, which is right off of I-80 in Iowa. Today I pulled-in to see if I could get one, but just like in California, they were all out of them… D’oh!

    As I approached Bettendorf I became quite excited that the first part of my journey was coming to an end. I was all ready to let everyone know that I had arrived when I saw a road sign that I recognized from a TV show (Modern Marvals… yes, I’m a nerd!)… and I just had to stop.

    The Iowa 80 truck stop is definitely a busy place… and holds claim to the World’s Largest Truckstop! Being so close to the end of my day’s driving I didn’t really feel that I needed a rest, but I did walk around a little.

    I completed the last of my drive and checked-into my hotel early in the afternoon. It felt good to get situated. After a short break I headed-out towards the Isle of Capri (the home of the National G8 Meet), but not without first stopping by a car wash! I didn’t have time for a complete wash, but I needed to get the big stuff off the car (there was actually gravel stuck to the inside of my wheels from the driving I did in Wyoming/Colorado the other day). Some Adam’s All Purpose Cleaner and a spray from the wash nozzle make quick work of the dead bugs and big chunks of dirt.

    After the wash I made a trip to the local Shell station for my the G8’s first ever tank of 93 Octane fuel!

    Full of gas I made the short drive to the Isle of Capri and pulled into the parking lot to be greeted by several other G8 owners. I was also greeted by another Check Engine Light (P0507 – IAC Valve duty cycle higher than expected)… but, like before, it doesn’t seem to be anything too alarming. It has been really great to have access to my mechanic in California who can answer the questions about things like this when they pop-up!

    I checked-in into the National G8 Meet and got my name tag, T-shirt, gift bag, etc. The next few hours were spent in the parking lot to checking out all of the other cars. It was great putting faces to the screen names that I talk with all the time online. I was surprised how many people were tracking my drive from California… and I’ve unofficially been known as “the corn guy” (for my photo yesterday from in the corn field).

    After a little while everyone got together for a drive to dinner at The Machine Shed.

    Spending time with a whole bunch of other G8 Owner is really a great time. The dynamics of the community is quite an interesting one. There is a wide range of ages, experiences, etc. There are several owners that are my age, several that are a little younger, and quite a few that are a bit older. During dinner I spent my time sitting with some of the older folks… and surprisingly had lots of things to talk about (even outside of our cars).

    My journey to this point has been a long one (2140 miles), but I’ve enjoyed almost every minute of it. I can hardly wait until tomorrow when the National G8 Meet officially starts!