Long road trips with both TDIs

Left Central Texas on Friday, the 17th. Got to central Maine yesterday (21st). Got to meet members JetaLife, and will meet turbobrick240 later today. I found I got substantially better fuel economy once I got to Pennsylvania, even with all the inclines and declines. Overall, I'm getting 39mpg for the trip and mostly using tiptronic/manual mode.

When I get back to Texas, I leave to go to Michigan in the Golf with trailer, picking up a CJAA block and tranny along the way. Never thought I'd literally be driving around the entire country in under a month!

I also spotted this car carrier on US-281 carrying TDIs that some forum members sold back to VW; this was on a trip on the 10th up to alphaseinor to get a new VNT17 put on the Jetta Wagon. We also spotted this VW bus at a sub restaurant, with Argentina plates no less!









This is my TDI as parked at the B&B in Washington, ME.

The photos aren't visible to me.

Nice photos!

where2 said:

The photos aren't visible to me.

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They're hosted on photobucket. Perhaps you have an adblocker that's blocking them?

VeeDubTDI said:

Nice photos!

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Thanks. Maine was fun. Now I wish I took a photo with my JSW next to turbobrick240's Golf.

In fact, on each trip, I've met at least 2 TDIclub members.
So for the last two trips, turbobrick240, JetaLife, romad, and dirtbike.

I didn't get the JSW next to turbobrick240's Golf, but I got my Golf next to his, on his farm in Maine. Loving my time here except for the mosquitoes, black flies, and having to check for ticks 3 times a day.

I drove my 03 Jetta from Houston to Connecticut in April to visit family. 3,700 round trip (by myself).

When are you heading home?

aja8888 said:

I drove my 03 Jetta from Houston to Connecticut in April to visit family. 3,700 round trip (by myself).

When are you heading home?

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That's a long trip. Hopefully you didn't do it the way I did it coming up - the Golf and rest stops became my hotel; left on a Thursday and got up on a Sunday morning at 1:30a. Only did that as I was transporting 2 Maremma Sheepdogs in my trailer to a farm in Northeastern Maine (who let me stay the night in their guest house, before I head back today). My last stop before I get ready to leave the state is to pick up my trailer from turbobrick240's farm.

pkhoury said:

That's a long trip. Hopefully you didn't do it the way I did it coming up - the Golf and rest stops became my hotel; left on a Thursday and got up on a Sunday morning at 1:30a. Only did that as I was transporting 2 Maremma Sheepdogs in my trailer to a farm in Northeastern Maine (who let me stay the night in their guest house, before I head back today). My last stop before I get ready to leave the state is to pick up my trailer from turbobrick240's farm.

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No, I had a couple of planned stops to see old friends along the way and have a few hundred thousand hotel points for free nights that I earned when working and travelling. So I didn't have to sleep in the car at rest stops!! Have a safe trip back to Texas!

pkhoury said:

I didn't get the JSW next to turbobrick240's Golf, but I got my Golf next to his, on his farm in Maine. Loving my time here except for the mosquitoes, black flies, and having to check for ticks 3 times a day.

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Ticks immigrated over here from Maine a couple decades ago. When I was younger, we had never heard of such a thing. They've been slowly marching across the province since they arrived, making it a few miles further east every year.

They don't seem to be an issue right where I live, but I know only 30-50 miles down the shore, they're a problem. We haven't found any on our dogs yet, but we know people that pick them off all the time.

When I was a kid growing up here in southeast Kentucky, there was only one species of Tick -- the common "dog" tick.

Fast forward about 50 years, we now have several species of ticks, from those that are extremely small to the infamous tick with the star on it's back that carries Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever.

I attribute the spread of these ticks to "re-stocking" White Tail Deer back in the early 1960s, Wild Turkey in the 80s, Raccoon by the various clubs, and the invasion of the Coyote beginning in the late 80s.

I've had to take two rounds of antibiotics in the past three months due tick bites that left horribly large red swollen spots on my leg. Over the past 10 years there have been documented cases of Lyme Disease and Rocky Mt Spotted fever. My cousin spent 10 days in the hospital due to both aliments about 5 years ago.