ECV-Keys 2016

[vincent9993]

The day started with the chase of seat. Thursday night when Todd (our Australian friend) tried to fit in the red dune buggy seat (it is racing Recaro seats), he didn’t see himself driving many hours behind the wheel with his hip protruding seat. We must say that our friend has an athletic body that could very well compete at the Olympic shot put, he would have the perfect physique. So this morning, a garage who was selling Recaro seats at 5 minutes from where we live was opening at 9am. Todd and Vincent went to see if they could find a seat XL. The guy was really not cooperative, he even called Todd fat. He wanted 600$ for one seat. Vincent asked him if we can rent a seat for 2 weeks for 300$, he said no. After 4 visits in other garages, no luck. It was now 10am and we were supposed to leave at 10:30am. Vincent and Todd went to Wal-Mart to buy cushions. Todd put the two cushions on the seat and allow his hip to by-pass the form of the seat and be more comfortable. The sun was wonderful when we left (at 11am) and it was warm. We met Lucie and André near the border. The people who will be on the trip with us didn’t know that Todd and his friend Coleen will be with us. When we arrived at the boarders, the agent at the Nexus line could not more a grumpy face. She asked us where we’re from and where we’re going. We were ready to leave when she saw the Go Pro video camera. She asked us if it was recording. Vincent say yes and that he was not able to reach out the button to close it. He asked her if she wants him to erase the card and she said yes and added, please don’t do this again. When that little stop was completed, everything went well until the second fuel stop. Todd was no longer able to drive because he was really not comfortable in the seat (even with the cushions). He went in the Kick Out and Vincent went in the red buggy. Coleen stayed with Vincent and I stayed with Todd. At the last fuel stop, I went with Vincent and Coleen with Todd. 10 minutes before we arrive at the hotel, I made a live video on Facebook and it is at that time that people realized that Todd was with us. Many people were waiting for us few minutes near our hotel for a get-together, we got delicious pasta, pizzas, salads, cakes, beers etc…people put a lot of effort to welcome us and we are really grateful. Lucie and André whom we didn’t know well are really a nice couple. Tomorrow we are leaving at 6:30am with the Boston-Mabin family, the Hannawacker family, Jessica and Rick Ditolvo. We can’t wait. We will need to negotiate with Todd to see if we can go back to the Kick Out…to be continued!
Distance: 434 miles (698km)
Province/States: Québec – New York – New Jersey
Max temperature : 37C / 99C
Beers: Sorry, few were tasted but we didn’t take the kind.

Vincent et/and France

[vincent9993]

Tonight we will not see any picture and the recap will be short and sweet. Why? Because we are tired, it is late and we have a long day tomorrow. Today was a wonderful day, a hot day, lot of traffic and a long day. We had a chance to have Marse and Mark Hammond waiting for us at one of the entrance of the highway and drove for a while with us. Thanks for taking the time to come and say hello to us. We are now a full group, Jon Boyton joined us on the road. At the hotel, Jayne and Joe Spittler was there and finally, Pam, James, Jack, Scott Bussard and friend were there. Tomorrow we are leaving at 6am for a longue day. Talk to you soon.

États / States: NJ, DE, MD, VA, NC

Vincent et/and France

[hillmotorsports]

Not sure if there is an easy solution but the tracker has you stuck on the New Jersey Turnpike!

[vincent9993]

Really long day yesterday (we arrived at the hotel at midnight after dinner on the road). Everything went well, our Florida friends (Brian, Michael, Tony, DJ and relatives) came to welcome us. It was still an extremely hot day, we went on the beach in Daytona, a policeman stopped us when we got off the beach and drove us for a while (don’t worry, it was a friend of Paul), so it was a wonderful longue day. We should have time tonight to do a real recap with pictures. We are leaving in 30 minutes for the ultimate destination…Key West. Have a nice day!

P.S. Have a nice safe trip Louise and Alain!

Vincent et/and France

[hillmotorsports]

I'm confused about your route.....

You were on the beach at Daytona yesterday yet the tracker has you on the opposite coast at Tampa this morning.
Made a wrong turn?

[hillmotorsports]

Nice to see that the tracker has finally come back to life....
Presently showing the group in Key Largo.
I wonder if Humphrey Bogart is showing them the local highlights?

It does show them northbound, presumably on the way home again since their itinerary had them arriving home by the 31.

[hillmotorsports]

Tracker shows a stop last night at Disney....
I can understand not having time to post a report last night!

[vincent9993]

Here's our recap from day before last... Hard to keep up.

Today people (and us) enjoyed having a relax day. Stephanie, Paul, Bud, Vincent and I went really early to the southern point of the North America to take a few pictures. At this location, we are only 90 miles (145km) from Cuba. After that, we went to “mile 0”. Within a month, we visited “mile 0” of the Alaska Highway and the “mile 0” of route 1 of the Atlantic side. After, breakfast at the hotel, more relax time for me when Vincent went to buy a clamp for the engine. After, we drove the buggy downtown. We met Sue, Bud and the Boston-Mabin. Lunch at Sloppy Joe’s and back to the hotel so Vincent could change the clamp while I was doing article for the Max Mania magazine. Quick splash in the pool (because the day was EXTREMELY hot) and hop, destination the ocean for a night on a catamaran with food and music to see the sunset. Paul wants me to dance…guess who’s song was able to get me on the dance floor? Oh yes, Bryan Adams with Summer of ’69. It was such a nice evening for my last one in the forties because even if tomorrow I will turn 49, I will start my 50th year. We will leave at 6:30am tomorrow for Cape Canaveral and Walt Disney. Pictures of days 4 and 5 to follow, thanks for your patience. Have a nice evening.

Vincent et/and France


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[vincent9993]

So sorry, I am not disciplined because we are having too much fun and not enough sleep. Yesterday morning, my dad gave me a gift…a thunderstorm with lightning, thunder, wind and more. We were supposed to leave at 6:30am but we postponed a little. After 2.5 hours I would say, the sun came back with us. Route went well, stopped at Cape Canaveral but we didn’t see the rocket that is supposed to launch today. The Pop Century at Walt Disney is still so welcoming. Dinner in Spring Disney (my food was so delicious). Thanks to everybody who celebrated my anniversary with me. Today Vincent and I are going to Epcot. Pictures will follow one day. Have a nice day.

[vincent9993]

This morning it was hard to get out of the bed….I really need more sleep. We joined the rest of the group for breakfast around 8:20am. The software to buy the park tickets was not working. We extended the breakfast a little bit. Jon Boyton decided to join us at Epcot, the other people were going to Magic Kingdom. Just before leaving the hotel, the system came back and we were able to buy our tickets and FastPass +. When we arrived at Epcot, we went right away to Soarin…we were happy because the movie was not the same. It went really well today, not too many people, waiting times of 10 minutes max, dinner at the German pavilion. The waitress (Kiki) was really friendly. Back to the hotel around 9pm. We decided to not stay for the fireworks, knowing that the day will be long tomorrow. Departure at 6:30am for Anderson in South Carolina. Again the pictures will follow later…I want to have a good sleep. Talk to you soon.

[vincent9993]

This morning we left WDW around 6:30am. A long day was waiting ahead of us and our friend Chris Lewis was waiting for us for a get together at his house with Joseph Wheeler and Jeffery Holt. Jayne and Joe didn’t travel with us because they were going straight to their house in Illinois, we met them on the road. It was another hot day today. I need to admit that I slept all morning. Vincent seems to have a cold (or allergies). He drove the buggy all day. In the afternoon, the sky was really dark. We stopped to put the top, send Todd in the Durango and asked Stephanie to drive the Kick Out. 30 minutes later, the sky was no longer dark and us with our top, we were cooking like chickens so did a quick stop to remove the top. The radar was indicating that we would be good for the remaining of the day but 30 minutes later, the sky was again really dark. We did another quick stop to put back the top, send Todd into the Durango and have Stephanie drive the Kick Out. We didn’t get as much as rain as the radar indicated. We arrived at the hotel around 6:40pm and we were supposed to leave at 7:40pm to go at Chris house. Everybody were on time. When we arrived at Chris house, Joe, Jeffery and Chris were waiting for us to park the buggy to be able to take a picture that will be posted in the Mania. There was food for an army….everything were delicious. A big THANK YOU to Chris (and Joe and Jeffery for their help), you know how to welcome your friends. Tomorrow we will say goodbye to other friends….Sue and Bud, the Hannawaker and the Bussard. For Jon, we don’t know yet because he went for dinner in a friend’s house. Talk to you tomorrow.

[vincent9993]

Yesterday morning we left Anderson sadden because it was the end for Sue and Bud. Joe, Jeffery and Chris joined us at the hotel and rode for a while with us. First stop, the Hannawacker left us. Larry Sr and Jr cought a cold and didn’t fill well. They decided to go straight home by the shortest route. Second stop, Chris was returning home. Was kind enough to join us for a stretch of the road. The weather was colder but at least it was not raining. The scenery when we were driving through the mountains was really nice. At lunch, the Bussard, Joe and Jeffery left us…another sad moment. In the afternoon, the weather was warmer but more and more we were driving to Hagerstown, the sky got more and more scary. We didn’t have a choice to stop to send Todd in the Durango, put the top on both dune buggies and ask Stephanie to drive the Kick Out. I need to tell you that we had a really big thunderstorm…the visibility was not great and a lot of water on the road. A really nice rainbow appeared and stayed with us for a while. On the I-81, a major accident in front of us which forced the closure of the three lanes. We stopped first to remove the top on both dune buggy and find another route. On the alternative road, lots of cars but was not so bad. On the route that we were supposed to take to go back on the I-81, another major accident. We drove longer on the alternative road before going back on the I-81. We arrived at the hotel just before 9pm and decided to go across the street at the Steakhouse. We will leave in less than an hour for the last stretch of the trip. Have a nice day.
Vincent et/and France.



Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[hillmotorsports]

Tracker shows them home.
Looking forward to seeing the pictures!

[vincent9993]

We left Hagerstown around 7 :15am yesterday morning under a cloudy sky but not scary. We said a last goodbye to our friend Jon Boyton. At the first stop, we said goodbye to the Boston-Mabin family. Only 4 buggies left (Jessica and Rick, Lucie and André, Coleen and Todd, Vincent and I). About 20 miles later, Jessica and Rick left us as well. The day was coldest. The sun was trying to say hello to us but with difficulties. We got few rain drops but nothing to put the top. When we stopped for lunch, it was raining so we put the top, but just after we finished lunch, the rain had stopped so we removed the top. The more we were approaching Canada, the clouds were going away. Crossing the boarder went well. The Custom Agent asked us if we were bringing back pets…oh yes, where to you want us to put it…We took the ferry at Cumberland to go to Quebec, first time for Coleen, she enjoyed. On the ferry we said goodbye to Lucie and André. The two dune buggies arrived at St-André Avellin just after 7pm. I am really proud of my husband who prepared both buggies and that we didn’t have any trouble…you are really good Vincent…and I love you. For dinner, we stopped at Montebello with Coleen and Todd. We ate on the patio and the mosquitos did too…they really appreciated our fresh skin. Back to the apartment around 11pm. We were all really tired. A last recap will be sent with pictures tonight. Vincent drove Coleen and Tood to the airport this morning…they are spending the week in New York. Have a nice day and talk to you tonight for the last recap with stats and pictures.

Vincent et/and France

[vincent9993]

For those that are interested, here are our pictures we never had time to sort or post during the trip.

Day 2









































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Day 10