Extreme Parking Challenge II

Kids, don't try this at home, do it outside! Another win for the 160" Honda at Prospect Park, Brooklyn. Yes, I did get out with no scrapes.

Escape From The Big Apple

The intended purpose of having a car in NYC is for excursions to other lands where the subway can’t go. Traveling with dog, excursions of any kind via public transportation is off limits.

With a hot day forecasted for the NYC area and the neighbor’s back yard under jackhammer construction, it was time to escape NYC. It was also the perfect day to introduce Hugo, the six month hold, 55 pound “puppy” to the ocean.

First off, flight check, Brooklyn style: four tires and wheels-check, both side mirrors-check, main part of stereo-check, engine-check, let’s go! Two hour’s drive with moderate traffic from NYC, will get you to Island Beach in NJ. Being the middle of the week and a few days before most schools get out for summer break, the timing could not have been more perfect. Except for the Holland tunnel, all was well concerning traffic and the Honda got to stretch its legs again with some cruise control action in the 80mph range.

Jersey folk are courageous. No one brushed the break pedal passing slow moving highway patrol cars. Must know someone. 80mph is a nice cruise speed in the old Civic. I’m just one gear away from enacting the VTEC to pass traffic, keep my distance from other traffic or just to keep up with the SUV sleds. Apparently I used that one gear a lot managing a fuel burn rate of 27mpg, one of my worse recordings to date.

Yes, I know, that’s still really good for a mix of 90mph bursts and first gear commuting, but is isn’t my 30mpg I’ve been getting lately with all city driving and not near the 40mpg I’ve managed in cross country drives. That VTEC cam sounds so good though, and anything goes between 90 and 115mph in 4th gear. Maybe a little more consumption isn’t all that bad.

In typical city fashion, we were hopelessly unprepared for a beach outing. The local store along the way saw a basket filled with an umbrella (dog gets hot you know), suntan lotion, food, drinks, and whatever else I thought Mrs. Cleaver might pack for a day at the beach, including the wet wipes. Plastic store bags can hold lots of ice for the day and I saved $20 bucks going with the ghetto cooler. The saving will go into the VTEC kiddy of fun.

Island Beach State Park in Jersey is a narrow 10 miles of protected sea shore with the Atlantic on one side and the bay on the other side. Besides seclusion for the most part, surf fishing and beach driving for 4x4s is part of the action as well as major wildlife viewing. Suddenly I wanted the Honda to turn into the Go-Go-Gadget SUV so I could get to the tidal pool area way the hell down past the last of the road.

Truth be known, I came to the beach for the beach, not tear through it. The Honda’s clam shell hatch is a wonder to have, providing a nice seat to change attire and shoes. The tow hook in the back is very handy for tying up the four legged terror and the Honda is just heavy enough not to be dragged by Hugo when he goes after the next seagull.

Once the burn on the skin set in we passed on the turnpike and headed up shore through the various beach towns and had a nice time of it. Ashbury Park was a nice place to stop for ice cream on the boardwalk and along with the cool breeze from the ocean, our skin was feeling much better. Good thing that, as the A/C decided to dump the remaining Freon in the parking lot and it was windows down the rest of the way home.
The disdain I have for the A/C in the Honda runs deep and between my dad and me, the hundreds of dollars spent on the “conditioner” is the single most expensive maintenance item on the car. The fact that I don’t use it much makes the situation worse, both from a maintenance issue and emotional issue. Grrr, but I wasn’t going to let the A/C issue ruin and otherwise great escape from the Big Apple. By the way, the dog body surfs!

Morning Zen

I’ve been backing up early morning domestic trips to my long haul International trips. I’m up anyway with jetlag and my theory is if I travel six to seven hours one way, traveling three hours the other way ought to even things out somewhat. Wrong. .

Sunday morning around 6am is the only time to drive in NYC. Most road construction workers heard the quitting whistle around 5am, the drunks are safely at home parked on someone else’s lawn and Grandma is just finishing up her coffee before heading out to see the grandkids. It is time to stretch the legs of the Honda, having been confined to third gear or lower for over a month.

With the sunroof open, windows down and a oddly cool early summer morning my moment of Zen arrived as I roared to ninety-five, just when the VTEC cam switches over and sings. The LIE may be newly paved, but that means nothing to people paving roads during the midnight hours.

Astonishingly, there was no jitter in the steering, no pulling and no vibration of note from what has to be some seriously misaligned alignment down below. After three months of NYC roads I was expecting a tug of war and massaged hands from the steering wheel. None of that was apparent and the Honda certainly isn’t known for lack of feel.

This moment of Zen is courtesy of the NYPD without radar guns and all those off the road at 6am. I’d also like to thank the NY State road crew for a reasonable one mile stretch of the LIE between Queens Boulevard and the VWE. Yes, one mile of Zen but I’ll take what I can get.

How convenient for me, I get my car back just in time for some of the highest fuel prices ever. Cents away from record fuel prices, I further count my blessings for such a car purchase some 13 years ago. Having just paid for the third fuel up, I scored 31 mpg. All city driving, rarely if ever in 5th gear and I’m not sure if I ever got out of second gear on my last 15 mile commute to JFK. No, I’m quite sure I didn’t.

I’m working that plus 30 mpg figure though. I shift quick, stay out of the VTEC cam switch at 4,800 rpm’s and coast as much as possible to stop lights, slowing traffic and the down side’s of bridges. I’ve considered switching the car off at long lights but that might be too stressful for such an old starter motor going on 13 years.

I do feel as though I’m the only one with regard to fuel prices and how much fuel I use. Perhaps I’m poorer than everyone else (likely) and the many SUV drivers don’t mind flooring the gas to the next red light knowing they truly have the cash to burn. I know such driving in those vehicles offers the owner with 15 mpg or less once they hit the pumps. The Yukon filling up next to me last week tilted the pump at $100 and was still going. OUCH!

On a recent outing in a 2005 Range Rover to Long Island and back, the gas attack ended up being 13 mpg. I was driving lightly with Ms. Daisy in the passenger seat, hung-over from a previous night’s romp and that’s the best I could do. I can’t imagine what the fuel economy would have been if I drove the BMW V-8 equipped Rover proper. OUCH!

There are times when I feel like jamming the VTEC to scream mode and I do miss those days, but I need to save some cash. Hugo the dog is eating more and more and non-poisoned dog food costs more these days. I’ve told Hugo the car he joyfully slobbers in is more efficient than he is, but he just looks at me with puppy eyes saying, “Easy on the right foot, I’m hungry.”

Take That SUV!

Two hockey sticks, three pairs of roller hockey skates, seven bags of mulch, two large bags of potting soil, sprinkler, large fern, potted tomato and eggplants and an outdoor rug complete the bounty collected while running errands around Brooklyn. Almost as impressive as the large gas grille and 6’ picnic table on the last run, but on that one, I couldn't’t get the trunk closed.

Regardless, so many people fail to see the usefulness of a hatchback and even at the pint size of the Honda. A heavy load may look crazy, but the job is completed the same as a gas guzzling and road hogging SUV. Years ago I broke one of the seat latches allowing one side of the split folding back seats to lower. I’ve never been able to fix it but I’ve done fairly well with just one side adjusted. I saw a back seat for sale on eBay but there must be a better way.

The big load test will be accommodating Hugo the dog. He’ll reach maturity in six months and I’ll be loading 100 pounds of slobbering dog. Although fairly content with the back seat at this time, with fixed windows and tight rear entry for four big legs, the front passenger is starting to look worried in the world of pack order.