Post by fauxmaha on Aug 12, 2019 11:14:10 GMT -5
Took a break from the surrealism that is my day to day these last few weeks and did something I've been wanting to do for years.
In 1979, my dad bought a Cadillac Coupe DeVille. Colonial Yellow, matching leather interior, landau roof, 425 V8, and all the goodies.
It was the coolest car in the world to this 16 year old. Dad let me drive it now and then. Not often. Just special occasions.
I went off to college and it must have been a lease because the next thing I know, the Caddy was gone, replaced by an absolutely awful Oldsmobile 98 with the disastrously bad diesel engine. What a POS!
Over the years, I've often thought about getting dad's car back. The obvious compromise was getting one just like it, even if its not the identical car.
Never put a whole lot of effort into that. Mostly just a back-burner thought that lingered over the decades.
All this mom stuff has had the effect of knocking some of the scale off of my brain, so I got to it. A bit of digging around, and the next thing I know Angie and I are on a flight to Saginaw, Michigan.
Enterprise car rental guy was super-cool. We struck up a conversation, I told him the story, which apparently caused him to classify me as a "car guy" (he told his own story about driving a Pontiac back from Pennsylvania a few months ago), which inspired him to swap out the Jetta we had reserved for this bad boy. No extra charge.
(That thing was a hot rod. My only problem is that now Angie wants one.)
Spent the night at the EconoLodge in Auburn, MI. Don't make the same mistake. Compared to the EconoLodge in Auburn, MI, The Modern Motel in Vinton was the height of luxury. No kidding. Do not stay at the EconoLodge in Auburn, MI.
The next morning we drove the hot rod north the 40 miles or so to where the Caddy was located. Lots of story there. Originally bought in Chicago, but then the owner moved to California, where the car spent most of its early life. Some time in the late 1990's, Michigan guy (who was personal friends with California guy) bought it and moved it back to the midwest. But they never really used it. I found a receipt for an oil change in 1996 showing 46k miles. As it sits, it has 54k. So it's spent the last few decades in a garage, under a cover, and only taken out by Michigan guy for the occasional pleasure cruise.
Sadly, Michigan guy died in January. His widow cries whenever she looks at the car, so his son wanted it gone, and now. Priced it to sell. I was lucky that I got a tip from one of my new friends at the Cadillac and LaSalle Club when he placed the ad. I was able to call him within a 10 minutes of the ad going live. We exchanged stories. My situation with mom seemed to work in my favor, as he was highly sympathetic. I told him I was a buyer, bought the plane tickets, sent him a screen shot of the confirmation code, and that was that. He said that was good enough for a deposit.
So anyway, there I am a few days later in northern Michigan handing a wad of hundred dollar bills to the guy. We drove back down to Saginaw, dropped off the hot rod, then decided we should head over and put a toe into Lake Huron.
From there, we made our way across the state to the west. Great drive. We made lots of stops. The car gets attention, for sure. Ran into a couple from Bad Axe (there is no better city name anywhere) at a rest stop that was out for a ride on their 1999 Harley Road King. He was as interested in the car as I was his bike. Good folks.
Eventually arrived in Ludington. Never been there before. Charming town. Had dinner, went down to the beach and hung out, walked out the breakwater to the lighthouse.
Eventually it was time to load the car on to the SS Badger for the trip across Lake Michigan. More cool stuff. They have these young guys working as porters to drive the cars on and off the boat. There was quite a bit of negotiation between them regarding which one got to drive the Cadillac. Once that was settled, she was driven aboard and we went up on deck.
You wont find a prettier sunset than when you are heading west across Lake Michigan. It was a picture-postcard perfect evening.
Four hours later, we landed in Manitowoc. Decided to put up for the night at the Holiday Inn. Can't say enough nice things about the Holiday Inn in Mantowoc! Compared to the EconoLodge in Auburn, Michigan (have I mentioned that the EconoLodge in Auburn Michigan is a total dump?), the Holiday Inn was fabulous.
Not a whole lot of story left from there. The Caddy drove beautifully the whole way. She will cruise comfortably at 75 all day long. Smooth and easy. Do plan on buying some gas, though. I got about 17 MPG for the trip.
This morning I took it up to the hospice to tell mom the story. She seemed really happy, although she is pretty well out of it anymore. I keep a guitar up there, so I played her a few Willie Nelson songs, and she dozed off.
So now it's back to what passes for a grind. The Caddy is sitting outside our office. Already had a few neighbors come by and ask about it.
Anyway, that's what's going on.
In 1979, my dad bought a Cadillac Coupe DeVille. Colonial Yellow, matching leather interior, landau roof, 425 V8, and all the goodies.
It was the coolest car in the world to this 16 year old. Dad let me drive it now and then. Not often. Just special occasions.
I went off to college and it must have been a lease because the next thing I know, the Caddy was gone, replaced by an absolutely awful Oldsmobile 98 with the disastrously bad diesel engine. What a POS!
Over the years, I've often thought about getting dad's car back. The obvious compromise was getting one just like it, even if its not the identical car.
Never put a whole lot of effort into that. Mostly just a back-burner thought that lingered over the decades.
All this mom stuff has had the effect of knocking some of the scale off of my brain, so I got to it. A bit of digging around, and the next thing I know Angie and I are on a flight to Saginaw, Michigan.
Enterprise car rental guy was super-cool. We struck up a conversation, I told him the story, which apparently caused him to classify me as a "car guy" (he told his own story about driving a Pontiac back from Pennsylvania a few months ago), which inspired him to swap out the Jetta we had reserved for this bad boy. No extra charge.
(That thing was a hot rod. My only problem is that now Angie wants one.)
Spent the night at the EconoLodge in Auburn, MI. Don't make the same mistake. Compared to the EconoLodge in Auburn, MI, The Modern Motel in Vinton was the height of luxury. No kidding. Do not stay at the EconoLodge in Auburn, MI.
The next morning we drove the hot rod north the 40 miles or so to where the Caddy was located. Lots of story there. Originally bought in Chicago, but then the owner moved to California, where the car spent most of its early life. Some time in the late 1990's, Michigan guy (who was personal friends with California guy) bought it and moved it back to the midwest. But they never really used it. I found a receipt for an oil change in 1996 showing 46k miles. As it sits, it has 54k. So it's spent the last few decades in a garage, under a cover, and only taken out by Michigan guy for the occasional pleasure cruise.
Sadly, Michigan guy died in January. His widow cries whenever she looks at the car, so his son wanted it gone, and now. Priced it to sell. I was lucky that I got a tip from one of my new friends at the Cadillac and LaSalle Club when he placed the ad. I was able to call him within a 10 minutes of the ad going live. We exchanged stories. My situation with mom seemed to work in my favor, as he was highly sympathetic. I told him I was a buyer, bought the plane tickets, sent him a screen shot of the confirmation code, and that was that. He said that was good enough for a deposit.
So anyway, there I am a few days later in northern Michigan handing a wad of hundred dollar bills to the guy. We drove back down to Saginaw, dropped off the hot rod, then decided we should head over and put a toe into Lake Huron.
From there, we made our way across the state to the west. Great drive. We made lots of stops. The car gets attention, for sure. Ran into a couple from Bad Axe (there is no better city name anywhere) at a rest stop that was out for a ride on their 1999 Harley Road King. He was as interested in the car as I was his bike. Good folks.
Eventually arrived in Ludington. Never been there before. Charming town. Had dinner, went down to the beach and hung out, walked out the breakwater to the lighthouse.
Eventually it was time to load the car on to the SS Badger for the trip across Lake Michigan. More cool stuff. They have these young guys working as porters to drive the cars on and off the boat. There was quite a bit of negotiation between them regarding which one got to drive the Cadillac. Once that was settled, she was driven aboard and we went up on deck.
You wont find a prettier sunset than when you are heading west across Lake Michigan. It was a picture-postcard perfect evening.
Four hours later, we landed in Manitowoc. Decided to put up for the night at the Holiday Inn. Can't say enough nice things about the Holiday Inn in Mantowoc! Compared to the EconoLodge in Auburn, Michigan (have I mentioned that the EconoLodge in Auburn Michigan is a total dump?), the Holiday Inn was fabulous.
Not a whole lot of story left from there. The Caddy drove beautifully the whole way. She will cruise comfortably at 75 all day long. Smooth and easy. Do plan on buying some gas, though. I got about 17 MPG for the trip.
This morning I took it up to the hospice to tell mom the story. She seemed really happy, although she is pretty well out of it anymore. I keep a guitar up there, so I played her a few Willie Nelson songs, and she dozed off.
So now it's back to what passes for a grind. The Caddy is sitting outside our office. Already had a few neighbors come by and ask about it.
Anyway, that's what's going on.