The Great Darby Road Trip - Day 2

Mike Darby, well-known British car restorer and SABCC'er is on the road his newly-restored 1959 MGA roadster with daughter Stella, undertaking the dream trip of a lifetime. The Darby duo will be traveling from their Alabama Gulf Coast home to Southern California, then up the Pacific Coast to Oregon and then back to the Heart of Dixie. 

Stella has kindly agreed to send along a daily report of their progress as well as observations of the people and places that make up our nation. 

Bright skies chased off early showers, so we bravely set off with the top down this morning, fuelled by tasty home-cooked omelettes and muffins (and, er, yes - petrol).

We favoured highways over interstate as we headed northwest out of Arkansas. Fresh temperatures and green hills made for an enjoyable ride.  During our coffee break, just outside rural Morrilton, every customer walking in asked, “How are y’all doin’?”  The MGA loved the pace, with temperature and pressure gauges showing ideal figures.

 
Lunch included malted milkshakes at an old-fashioned soda fountain in Russellville. Then, having covered just 75 miles in 3 hours, we took to I-40 to pick up the pace. Keeping up at 70 mph is no problem, but the wind noise makes conversation - or playing 'The Alphabet Game' - more of a challenge.  After a few hours at speed, Mike implored Stella to lighten her right foot and give the machine a fighting chance of getting us back home again. 

Oklahoma's sparse population caused a few nervous moments at the point when it seemed wise to fill up, but thankfully a gas station appeared before the critical moment.  Finding a hotel in Tulsa was easy – with a parking space right outside the door.  We enjoyed a fresh, tasty Mexican meal with a friend of Stella's, as well as an evening stroll around downtown Tulsa. 

The MG is spending its first night outdoors since the start of the trip, looking smart under cover of the tonneau.  Glorious weather all day has us optimistic about getting into a dry car tomorrow morning.