So this will part 2 of Friday Night In the Sky.
So Friday night after work I caught an airplane flight from Cleveland to Atlanta and then went from Atlanta to Greenville-Spartanberg Airport in South Carolina.
I was buying a 2004 Chevy Suburban LT that well um it's good, but I feel the seller defiantly miss represented it. It's all there, don't get me wrong, but the seller defiantly miss represented it's condition. The guy who I bought my Astrovan from that guy was awesome that van was ready to go just like he said it would be. The guy who I bought this Chevy from um yes it runs and runs fine very well as a matter no issues on that and the body is in pretty good shape I think the car has done some time up north where I live, but it could could be a lot a lot worse so those were two pluses that's why I went south I wanted something where the body wasn't trashed and this one is good a lot better then my silver Suburban as far as the way the body goes, however this guy has little kids and they pretty much trashed the back interior of the car. Plus they broke a bunch of other things on the car stupid stuff that should have never ever been broken that makes me angry, but I've been through this all before and when I'm all done it'll be nice. Lets see on my Silver Suburban which will be for sale in the next month I had to replace the tires, fix the rear AC Control, Fix the AC Actuator fix a control arm replace the windshield and fixed the captains chair that folds down, oh I also changed out all the lights and fixed a broken fog lamp. So that was quite a bit to get that one up to snuff.
This new one needs stuff too, but different stuff, the HVAC system in the new one works very well. However I need to fix the folding part of the 60/40 split bench because that's broke and I need to have an O2 censor fixed and oil change-coolant flush, change the lights, some of this stuff is easy have some of the power seat controls fixed because these clowns broke the power seat controls, the seats work fine, but they broke the plastic nobs that control the seats, who does that?
At any rate though it's in the shop now getting the O2 censor fixed, getting the windshield washer fluid hose fixed and a couple other odds and ends. Then a trip to the body shop for some work over all the body is in pretty good shape though and that's the point of the body shop trip fix the little that's wrong so the body stays up that was the reason I am selling the other one, the body started to rust out away from me, however the other one the interior is a 10 and the mechanical condition of it is a 10.
This new one mechanically it's pretty good strong runner good ride all that's good I would say really it's a 10 mechanically. Body wise 9.5 which is better then the 7.5 on the other one now Interior the new one is a 7 however I think I can clean it up and bring it to maybe an 8.5 I haven't gotten the chance to really get moving on that yet, but I know it can be done, going to give it a chance.
Anyhow for the most part I had a fun 24 hour trip to South Carolina. I drove by some place called the Smoke Shake I guess it's a bbq joint. I saw Sysco delivering there on Saturday morning so that could have been 2 wheel driver even though he's from NC, but he may have been on a far away route to Greenville.
Very nice down south it's clean and they don't have pot holes or bad roads like we have up here, the roads are very clean in South Carolina and there's no rust on anything and you don't see re-bar sticking out through the concrete. Was able to move pretty good all the way home left SC around 1pm and got to Cleveland about 12:30amish.
I drove from Greenville,SC to north of Charleston, WV where I stopped to get my first tank of gas. Then I went from Charleston to Ripley, WV where I stopped and got my first meal of the entire weekend at McDonald's and boy was it good.
I'll say this though even though the new car I bought needs some work, the trip alone was still worth it, once in a while you need a non work related adventure and as disappointed as I am with concourse B's food options at the Atlanta Air Port it was still fun getting to go there and flying on the plane and watching all the people and getting to say "Yeah Friday night I was in Atlanta at the air port and blah blah blah so on and so fourth."
Getting to see all the different people even though I know the answer there just people like you and I, I still like to wonder who they are and where there from and where there going. It's a huge mess and mash up of humanity and I love it, it can be a lot of fun for a while once in a while. I mean I walked the big concourse 4 times saw the people stared at the people in "the smoking room" like they were a zoo exhibit, okay maybe not that bad, but I did look to see who was in the smoking room.
There's all kinds of folks I even think about the air line crew. Where they live and where there based out of and how many flights they have to do that day.
You know like the air plane flight attendants it's mid night and there just going to work and how long is there work day? Is it your on the Atlanta to Greenville flight and you clock in work for three hours and then boom your done. I mean that could happen Atlanta to Greenville is only a 25 minute flight, but Greenville I would consider to be in trucking terms a "end of line terminal" meaning Greenville isn't a hub it's just flights leave and go there, but there's probably not to many connector flights there unlike Atlanta or Detroit. When I got to Greenville, it looked like our plane was probably the last plane in for the night and they didn't really seem to have a whole lot of action going on otherwise. You know and I wonder well now the flight crew are they done working for the day or does a van come and drive them back to Atlanta and have them go on another trip or do they wait till morning. Being a flight attendant I think would be kind of a rough schedule it's like trucking I think it really is. Goofy hours goofy places I'm sure there's times when it's fun, sure there's times when it's awful and gives you a splitting headache and I'm sure there's times when it's also pretty boring. Plus I don't know for sure, but I think the pay is kind of ehhh.
Anyhow flew on Delta and got to ride in one of there many MD-88 air craft manufactured sometime between the 70s and late 1990s. Delta isn't known for having the newest fleet of planes, but really with planes and railroad locomotives, but more planes age doesn't mean anything those planes are all retrofitted and upgraded over the years and the maintenance records and maintenance on them is so strict they keep them around for a long time. It's like train locomotives they can be built into other locomotives or upgraded and rebuilt into other things. It's not like our semi trucks or cars which get the crap beat out of them and rust out and whatever.
Anyhow it's interesting when you fly and travel you see different people you know I watched two guys at the airport here in Cleveland the one guy looked like he was flying home and he got to the security gate and his friend looked at him and gave him a hug and said "I'll see you buddy."
Anyhow the drive was alright it was warm and sunny down south and blizzard like snow up north go figure right. Driving through West Virginia boy did they have some wind and boy does the West Virginia "Turnpike" make money all those cars all day long 24 hours a day $2.00 a piece I said to the one toll both woman I said "You guys must be making a ton of money tonight."
Anyhow got through West Virginia and I was listening to many different radio stations and I was listening to the Saturday Night Retro Country count down and I pictured in my mind an old West Virginia man sitting in a chair with a little table and lamp and old radio on that table he's drinking beer from a can listening to his radio on Saturday night listening to the country music songs of yesteryear and remembering those times "back in the day" I though of all this as I past the little towns in West Virginia that you can see from the Interstate.
Anyhow that's probably enough it was a fun Saturday out in America worth the trip just for that alone.
