Fiat Travels

[Coolbreeze]

Thursday evening before last Memorial Day Weekend (5/24/12), my son Brent in Chicago asked if my ’80 Fiat Spider 2000 and I were up for a road trip. “Sure,” I said. “When and where?”

He responded, “Antietam.”

“That’s in Maryland,” I said.

“I know.”

Well, that night I checked the tires, oil, coolant, etc. and changed a burnt out taillight bulb. The next day, I met up with Brent and headed out on the highway – just a couple of guys in a 32 year old sports car with the top down having an adventure.

The only mechanical problem happened in the hills of West Virginia when the seven year old battery gave out. A friendly local in a monster 4X4 pickup truck offered to push start the car with his truck, but I opted for hand-pushing instead. The car fired right up and kept running until I shut it off in an AutoZone parking lot. [Why, you wonder, did we not just pull out the jumper cables and jump-start the car? Well – oops – the cables were still on a shelf in the garage!] The parts store happily sold us a new battery and jumper cables, and we were on our way again.

One of the great things about travelling in an open vehicle (sports car or motorcycle) is that you notice more of the world that otherwise would be just passed by. We checked out interesting sites to and from Antietam Battlefield, including a scenic hilly hayfield in West Virginia. We even took in a Cubs/Pirates baseball game in Pittsburgh on the way home.

There is no better way to travel through the mountains with a passenger than in a sports car. For pure driving pleasure, I prefer a motorcycle; however, the sports car handles almost as well, plus you can interact with your passenger better. The little Fiat handled the Appalachian Mountains wonderfully. It also handled our luggage and souvenirs better than motorcycles would have.

We had a great trip -- and the Fiat proved itself to be a fun, reliable sports-touring car. It was especially great being able to do it with an adult offspring who still wants to spend time with his dad!

Post script:
Whilst prepping the Fiat for winter storage, I noticed the front tires had worn out the inner tread all the way through to the steel belts. The car will be aligned and get new front tires this winter. When I emptied and inventoried the trunk, there was no jack handle. Boy, it is good the tires did not need to be changed on our trip!

[deftone]

Great story! I love hearing people enjoying their spiders on road trips!

[4uall]

[mdrburchette]

You were in a beautiful part of the US too! I'm hoping to one day take the trip from the East all the way to Oregon for the Mirafiori Oregon trip in my 72.

[baltobernie]

Antietam holds a unique place in American history. 2012 was the 150 year anniversary of the battle, and I'm sure you had plenty of activities to choose from during your visit. Our club frequents this monument http://www.fiatspider.com/f08/viewtopic ... 16&t=13689.

The club BOD meets next week to schedule 2013. Any Spider.com members are welcome to check the schedule and perhaps include one of our activities in a vacation itinerary to the capital area. We can usually come up with a spare Fiat, given enough notice.

[Coolbreeze]

Great story! I love hearing people enjoying their spiders on road trips!

Hopefully, others will share their road adventures with us.
Here is another:

~10 years ago, I conceived a road rally based on Abraham Lincoln's ride of the old 8th Judicial Circuit that comprised 14 counties in Central Illinois. We met with local historians at each stop who would regale us with a piece of Lincoln lore. We followed the original route as closely as we could on modern roads.

Although I led these tours primarily as motorcycle events, other vehicle types were invited to (and did) participate. This was a great open air / open road experience that combined a fun road event with a touch of historical / cultural richness.

Here is where the Fiat part comes in:
To research the correct route, we needed to study maps, historical references, and spend a lot of time on the Circuit. The Fiat Spider was a great platform for discovery. We had the open air experience, plus the co-pilot/navigator could easily hold the maps and notebook and record details. It was wonderful observing many of the things Lincoln would have seen whilst traveling essentially in Lincoln's footsteps. The Fiat made it even more fun.

Soo, any other interesting trips, tours, etc. out there?