Event 12 information

Post by **disneyd** » Tue Dec 06, 2005 9:10 am

Scuffcakes wrote:Somehow this whole thread needs to be bound up in a book or something. Ian, thanks for sharing with us.

Here ya go:

Current PDF of this thread (its about 10 Meg)

dfsmith · Post by **dfsmith** » Tue Dec 06, 2005 10:54 am

EliseAutoXr wrote:I too very much enjoyed your thread, thank you very much for keeping us updated... Next one of us should have our car shipped to NZ and take a tour there ...

Maybe this time it should be a Solar Yellow North American Elise travelling across New Zealand. I volunteer to co-drive!

You do have it broken in by now, don't you, Bradley?

Scuffcakes · Post by **Scuffcakes** » Tue Dec 06, 2005 10:58 pm

disneyd wrote:
Scuffcakes wrote:Somehow this whole thread needs to be bound up in a book or something. Ian, thanks for sharing with us.
Here ya go:

Current PDF of this thread (its about 10 Meg)

Many thanks Dave. As webmaster, you spoil us pretty good. No wonder we get impatient with other club's websites.

Ian Wilson · Post by **Ian Wilson** » Wed Dec 07, 2005 3:56 am

disneyd wrote:
Scuffcakes wrote:Somehow this whole thread needs to be bound up in a book or something. Ian, thanks for sharing with us.
Here ya go:

Current PDF of this thread (its about 10 Meg)

I kind of wish that had been the end Dave. Looks like there's one more update to add...

Sorry about this, just when I thought it was over.

Epilogue.

It ain’t over till it’s over…

Another glorious day dawned in L.A as I rolled over to find myself face to face with Alan’s rabbit that thinks it’s a dog staring at me. The plan was to do the tour of the Warner Brothers studio, then drop the car off at the shippers as late as possible since my flight out was late in the evening. Part A went according to plan, the tour was brilliant the realism they can achieve with wood and fiberglass is remarkable.

Although Friends finished filming last year, the set has been preserved.

We took the long way back to Alan’s place and I grabbed the ultimate Hollywood shot (could do with a bit of photoshopping but I haven’t got a clue). I guess this pretty much sums up Alan’s life the only thing missing is his rabbit

With time running a little short, I grabbed my gear and made a run for the car. Only to discover someone had got there before me….

Can you believe it! I’ve be hit twice in three days. Eight years of ownership without a mark and I’ve been hit twice in three days in L.A. It makes you wonder if L.A driving licenses come as a free gift in cereal packets. Alan was beside himself, since he had assured me the previous night that nothing ever happened on the street. I enjoyed seeing the look on his face when I broke the news to him

Alan should be realizing around about now that he didn’t get away completely Scot-free, although I’m not sure how much use I’m going to get with Alan’s parking pass in Auckland…

The shippers were great and the formalities were completed within 15 mins. What was interesting was what appeared to be a junkyard outside. Rotting carcasses of cars littered the place. In amongst it all was the entire front end of a Ferrari from the steering wheel forward. Alan had visions of turning it into the ultimate gaming console and shot off to see if he could buy it. It transpired that what we had thought of as a pile of junk was actually all destined to be shipped somewhere in the world. It was hard to imagine why anyone would bother with the expense of shipping most of it.

Alan kindly dropped me off at the airport and I got lucky by scoring a seat on the emergency aisle, so the 12 hour flight was bearable especially since I’d been hoarding a couple of sleeping pills specially for the occasion.

Staying at my Dad’s place tonight, Internet access has been interesting. He’s got a 300mhz PC which belongs in a museum. Since he’s forgotten the password for his ISP and only has a floppy drive (I don’t) the only way I’ve figured out of transferring this report to the internet is to load the file onto my digital camera and then hook the camera up to his computer. Thought I’d mention it in case anyone else ends up in a similar spot. Speaking of hot tips here’s another. The first night at Alan’s had been a bit nippy, rather than waking Alan up I came up with the idea of using my laptop as a hot water bottle.

I also want to thank everyone who has emailed, U2Ued or posted I really appreciated it particularly when things were not going my way. Special thanks to Patrick and Alan for putting up with me in L.A – Patrick in particular was seemingly on call 24 hours a day for my frequent calls for help.

I’m hoping this really is the end now, but with the car still in L.A I guess anything could happen…

MichaelXi · Post by **MichaelXi** » Wed Dec 07, 2005 9:55 pm

Keep us Posted, and let us know when you are Safely Home.
It was Wonderful Meeting you and Driving the Elise, even if it was only in a carpark.
The Focaljet.com community is Worldwide, and I have MANY friends across the country, many of whom I've yet to meet.
I haven't yet figured out who you crossed paths with.
Any clues?
A name or description of the guy or his car?
I'll post on FJ and see if I get an answer, but the Forum is SO Big that it may or may not go unnoticed depending on other traffic.
Yes, I proudly posted my RHD Experience the night that I drove your car, and many were Jealous.
Thanks again, and I'm glad you stopped in and that you got to drive the Dragon.
You're Welcome back in East TN anytime for Beer, Conversation, Smokes, and Driving.

Steve-o · Post by **Steve-o** » Wed Dec 07, 2005 10:20 pm

Yeah, come one back! I owe you 2 beers and a cigar. And I ALWAYS repay my debts. I'll fly to NZ to pay you back if I have to. I'm that f***in' crazy!

vwbud · Post by **vwbud** » Thu Dec 08, 2005 10:17 am

Ian... If you are ever in the New York City area, I'm not too far from there...you are always welcome!

Thanks for the entertaining account of your adventure. I keep saying to myself, "Someday..."

mrsoul55 · Post by **mrsoul55** » Thu Dec 08, 2005 10:31 am

[quote="Ian Wilson
Can you believe it! I’ve be hit twice in three days. Eight years of ownership without a mark and I’ve been hit twice in three days in L.A. [/quote]

I think it's because they'll give a license to anyone in the U.S. You don't have to actually know how to control your vehicle.

I found out recently that here in GA kids don't even go out on the road when taking their driver's test. Apparently some pylons are set up in a parking lot outside of the dmv and they drive around there with no other traffic or anything. That's just crazy. And then these kids are getting into their cars and listening to music and blabbing on their cellphones instead of paying any attention to what's going on around them.

steverife · Post by **steverife** » Thu Dec 08, 2005 10:41 am

mrsoul55 wrote:Apparently some pylons are set up in a parking lot.......and they drive around there with no other traffic or anything. That's just crazy.

I thought that was supposed to make you a better driver. WHY HAVE I BEEN WASTING ALL MY MONEY?!?!?!

dfsmith · Post by **dfsmith** » Thu Dec 08, 2005 12:12 pm

mrsoul55 wrote:
Ian Wilson wrote: Can you believe it! I’ve be hit twice in three days. Eight years of ownership without a mark and I’ve been hit twice in three days in L.A.
I think it's because they'll give a license to anyone in the U.S. You don't have to actually know how to control your vehicle.

I found out recently that here in GA kids don't even go out on the road when taking their driver's test. Apparently some pylons are set up in a parking lot outside of the dmv and they drive around there with no other traffic or anything. That's just crazy. And then these kids are getting into their cars and listening to music and blabbing on their cellphones instead of paying any attention to what's going on around them.

I didn't even get pylons. I literally just had to drive around the block on a quiet residental street, then back into a parking space. The next thing I knew, I had a license.

Post by **disneyd** » Thu Dec 08, 2005 12:40 pm

dfsmith wrote:I didn't even get pylons. I literally just had to drive around the block on a quiet residental street, then back into a parking space. The next thing I knew, I had a license.

Same here... except the female officer giving me the test kept trying to get me to sell my Jeep to her

steverife · Post by **steverife** » Thu Dec 08, 2005 1:12 pm

When I got back from driving around the block, there was only one empty space. I had to back my dad's full size 70's pickup with no power steering against the grain into an angled space in a very tight lot. After backing up and pulling forward at least a dozen times, the lady said "Forget about it." and signed me off.

vwbud · Post by **vwbud** » Thu Dec 08, 2005 1:56 pm

i drove around the dmv building, parallel parked in a spot, and whammo! I got a license.
years later, i had to take a driving test in johnson city (long story)...i never even saw a stop sign...pulled out, went 3 right turns, and back in the spot. the entire mileage for both tests combined was less than a half mile.
My parents did make me drive 1,000 miles with them in the car before I was allowed to take the car on my own though, so that helped my skills a bit. That and dad and i would go driving inthe snow together...

Steve-o · Post by **Steve-o** » Thu Dec 08, 2005 4:02 pm

I know a young lady that pulled out of the old DMV between Clinton and Oak Ridge (it's at an intersection) and ran the red light 10 feet from the lot. They made her pull back in on the other side of the lot and failed her!

Mustangracer · Post by **Mustangracer** » Thu Dec 08, 2005 4:41 pm

I know about that DMV (I got my license there!) I'm sincerely suprised ne1 failed there since it's 4 right hand turns and maybe 2 stop signs.