Steve and Tara's Power Tour Adventures: Day 4: June 14- Austin, TX to Grand Prairie, TX (Dallas) (228.9 miles)

We didn't leave Austin quite as early this morning as we did from Baytown yesterday. I enjoyed the extra hour of sleep (until 6:45), but it also meant we caught some of Austin's rush hour traffic. We left with the usual crew, Tim and Lori, Tim and Timmy, Scott, Fred and Kym as well as Ken and his 9 year old nephew Bryson in a 1968 or 1969 LSX powered GTO convertible. As we were sitting in traffic, Bryson heard Tara and I had a ton of beef jerky for snacks and wanted some. Since we were practically sitting still, I pulled up along side the convertible and tossed the bag out the window and into the convertible. Ken managed to catch it, but I zipped it across faster than I planned. I was worried about throwing it short since I was throwing left handed, out a window and from a slow moving car. I also didn't know whether I was going to have to deal with any wind, so I chucked the sucker. I almost overthrew them.

After we got out of traffic, today's route was a more traditional one. The route took us along a road that had lots of small hills. Not as much fun as twisty turny roads, but still fun. Along the way, we were greeted with the usual Power Tour scenery of cornfields and small towns. As we drove through Taylor, TX there was a welcoming committee running cold bottled water out to cars that got caught at the traffic light. We tried to gas up at a Shell station in Taylor, but everyone else had the same idea and it was a cluster. Plus, the pumps were super slow, so we abandoned that effort and drove a few more miles to a virtually empty Exxon.

Thanks for visiting Taylor, here's a water.

We obeyed one of Lori's prime rules of Power Tour: No chain restaurants and ate at Lucy's café in Moody, Texas. It was a tiny family owned restaurant that served breakfast, Mexican and American dishes. Tara and I split a Quesadilla and "Texas Toothpicks" which are fried jalapeno strips. The food was all fresh made and really tasty. For some reason, my dad always ends up getting his food last and today was no exception, but my mom, Fred and Kym also got super slow service. So, while we were waiting for them to finish, we stood along the road and watched the Power Tour cars pass by. One of the crazier built ones was a take on a rat rod semi truck. It was massive. To top it off, the thing had a train horn.

This thing is ridiculous. And really cool!

The afternoon drive was uneventful. We arrived at the venue, Trader's Village (a giant flea market area that is closed during the week. There were more cars at this venue than any other. There was also no shade. We ignored the flaggers trying to park us in the middle of nowhere and meandered so we were parked in a lot directly behind the sponsors. It was also right next to a covered pavilion which provided an ideal place for my mom to get out of the heat. We had a decent breeze this afternoon, so it wasn't as stiflingly hot as yesterday, but it was still a hot one. I got clocked in, bought my T-shirt for the day and picked up the magnets. Jacob and I made a quick pass through the show cars and stopped to talk with the guys from Gibson Exhaust who ran with us last year.

It's like Christmas in front of the Holley/MSD display.

The yellow supercharger is a nice touch.

All yellow works too.

As we were getting ready to leave, we watched as a Ford Fairmont's axle fell out of the car. Somehow, someone saw it starting and stopped them before the wheel came completely out of the wheelwell. They were working on fixing it as we left.

Something's wrong here.

"It's no big deal, just the axle."

After the venue, Tara, Jacob and I had tickets for a barbecue dinner at Painless Wiring and a tour of the facility. It was interesting to see how they build the wiring harnesses and the amount of time that goes into R & D. However, wiring isn't the most exciting thing to see manufactured. The parking lot was packed with more show cars and the weather was a little cooler. Several others of our group went to the Gas Monkey Bar & Grill. To my surprise, they said they got in without much of a wait. I assumed it would be completely slammed.

Back at the hotel, we met up with Scott Shanks, our long time Long Haul friend, with his modern Hemi powered 1970 Challenger convertible. I love that car. Jake's wife Brenda also flew into Dallas today to join us for the rest of the run. We all sat in the hotel lobby and got caught up.

Tomorrow we head for Oklahoma City. It's going to be another hot one.

Here are some more Day 4 pictures: