Subj: The Tony and Larry Show, Part 1
Date: 6/5/2001

Hello story people, this is one of the multipart stories I've been trying to catch up on. Hopefully I will complete the NSXPO2000 story before NSXPO2001 arrives.

This story is a joint written venture between Tony DeJoie and myself. I think you'll like the format. The planning of our quest started long ago ...

{imagine music and wavy images as we travel back in time...}

TD: I was searching the web for NSX related material back in February '01 and stumbled upon a 97 NSX for sale in Washington. I looked at the ad and thought to myself that the NSX for sale was just like mine except it was a 6 spd. (Larry shut up, I can write my own words!!!) Now I wasn't in the market for another NSX, but was compelled to give a call anyway. Well, Gordon, the owner, made me an offer I couldn't refuse before I even had any interest in buying it. Within no time I found myself in Olympia, Washington as a side trip while in CA for a company trip. I looked at the car and it was Miled clean (actually cleaner) and handed him a check for the full amount. Oh yes! Larry (AKA, The Weasel) tried to get me to pay for him to come out to WA and look at the car with me or as he said "for me". My better judgment and wallet full of moths told me to say NO! I left WA with the assurance from Gordon that he would keep my car out of harm's way until I returned.

After returning from CA I discuss with Larry potential plans to get the car back to NJ. Between car carrier prices; high cell phone bills during long monotonous drives; I decided a supersaver fare for Larry was cheapest, plus I figured I could make him walk if he became a pain :-) Needless to say, this means that I decided to drag Larry along with me to WA to drive the NSX back to the East Coast...
Oh yes, did you notice I said I bought a car in Olympia? Well, Larry calls me up and with a laugh in his voice asks, "Hey did you hear the earthquake was at the center of your car!?" Little did Larry know that I had no worries, well none at the time he called, since Gordon had called me earlier to tell me that after he got up off the floor, while watching the walls in his house violently shake, he immediately checked to find that his garage was intact and my car had made it through the earthquake unharmed. Larry, of course, was trying to tell me that we would need a crane to pull my car out of some large sink hole where Gordon's house had once stood. Unlike his driving on the track, this time Larry was a little slow in his attempt to convince me that I had purchased a NSX with a newly acquired salvage title.

LG: Being the cheapest fare was out of Philadelphia (because rich boy wouldn't pay the extra $100 to fly out of nearby Harrisburg) I searched for transportation to Philly. I asked a friend if she would mind driving us to the airport. After she graciously agreed, I told her which airport......which resulted in, "THE LOOK". As I hung my head and looked up at her, she said "oooookay". With that problem solved, it was time to continue planning the trip. The first detail that needed to be discussed was taste in music. I could imagine taking a pit stop behind a cactus and hearing the sound of the VTEC fading into the distance as I stood there holding my only friend. With these life saving details worked out, the rest of the planning was systematic.

Friday March 2:
Tony arrived the night before departure and we trial fitted everything we thought we would need/want into my NSX. Because we decided not to check any luggage to ensure everything would arrive with us, I called the airline to see what carryon restrictions existed. Through previous episodes, I suspected the torque wrench would be considered a weapon (and it was) so I decided not to take it. However, after looking at the things we were packing, I just grimaced and shook my head. Here in the carryon cooler was: 1) two radar detectors, 2) a handheld GPS, 3) a sharp pointy object called a tire repair kit, 4) 12v multi-outlet receptacle, 5) 110 vac converter (although it may seem, we are not going on a camping trip) 6) service manual and other paraphernalia. Tony had his laptop, which also stored power supply cords and a multitool with a 4" blade. (TD: And Larry was concerned about the torque wrench being a weapon :-))

Saturday March 3:
Usually when I travel there are things that go wrong, but today was different. Tony and I both woke up on time, our transportation arrived on time, and there were no delays getting to the airport (already a break from my norm). Our next quest was to get our essentials through the X-ray machine. I took a deep breath, let out a big sigh, put the cooler on the conveyor belt and waited for the alarms to sound. I knew that at any moment I would be eating carpet with a foot on my head. Having successfully negotiated the walk-thru detector, I closed my eyes and waited for the chaos to commence. To my astonishment, no alarms sounded, nobody asked to open the cooler, so I grabbed it and beat feet around the corner before they changed their mind. Tony was on his own (remember, Tony has the knife in his laptop case).

TD: I made it through unscathed and proceeded to find Larry cowering in the far corner with sweat dripping from his forehead. We proceeded to the gate to get seat assignments on what turned out to be a very full flight. Larry handed the pretty woman behind the counter his frequent flyer card and made the comment that he had enough miles for a first class upgrade if I was put in cargo. (Thoughts already coming to mind on where to leave him as I drive back ALONE) As she was unwilling to do that, he requested an open seat between the aisle and window unless it could be filled with a woman as pretty as her. (I can't take him anywhere without embarrassing me) She smiled and handed us our boarding passes. As we sat down and looked at our boarding passes, it appeared we would be seated right behind the bulkhead with someone sitting between us. I went back to ask (No Larry, I didn't whine!) about the seating arrangements. She looked at me with an ever so sweet smile and said she upgraded us to first class. I told Larry and he shook his head saying, "things are going too smooth, something big is going to happen, the plane is gonna crash!" As we sit in our first class seats Larry starts making comments about all those second class citizens sitting behind us in coach while hoping they pull the curtain so we don't need to look at their second class faces. Then he suddenly asks, "Tony, ever see a cockpit?" I replied "I can see it from here!" He proceeded to drag me up front and ask if we can go in the cockpit. Surprisingly to me, the captain graciously invited us in. The copilot was an ex-military person who struck up a conversation with Larry, while the captain pointed out the various switches and displays. Larry asked the captain for the latitude/longitude coordinates for Seattle that we would use to initialize his GPS. As I look around I see that the flight attendants have finished their pre-takeoff brief and the only holdup to departure is Larry's gabbing in the cockpit. Finally Larry shuts up and we take our seats, at which time the aircraft immediately takes off. Soon after we get our first of many offers of free alcoholic beverages. I get a soda and Larry is compelled to take advantage of all the free alcohol. While sipping his wine, he asks me "I wonder what all the poor people are doing behind us?" I reminded him "you are the poor people", and he replied "Oh yeah, you're right, I forgot". After wines (for Larry), movies and song ... we arrive in Seattle.

LG: Normally as you travel west, you're always bucking a headwind. But this time we have a tail wind and arrive 30 min. early. I ask Tony if there is a way to contact Gordon to let him know of our early arrival, but he said he was already on his way so it wouldn't make a difference. We decide to walk outside and, lo and behold, Gordon arrives 30 min. early. While we pile all our stuff in his Lexus SUV, Gordon comments that there is no way we will fit all that stuff in the NSX. I smile and say it's already been tested. As we drive back to Gordon's house, Tony, without asking, starts fiddling with the navigation system in Gordon's SUV. I smiled and said, "Ah Tony, most people ask before they play with somebody else's things". Gordon replied it was OK, which was a good thing, because Tony wasn't stopping.

We pulled into Gordon's driveway at 3 pm, placed all our stuff in the NSX, gassed up, and headed for our overnight stop in Redding, CA. Our plan is to swap drivers after each refueling; I'll let Tony drive first (TD: It is my car ... Larry!).

TD: The first leg was uneventful with sunshine, blue skies and rainbows in the distance. After I refuel it was Larry's turn to drive. I wanted to keep track of mileage so we started a log of fuel and mileage. Larry made the comment that he could get better mileage than me. (Larry states the "gauntlet has been thrown"). I needed to make a pit stop, so I pulled into a rest area. Upon returning to the car I am dragging from the long day and Larry offers to drive. We get into the car and Larry tries to start the car and it's dead (Figures, I leave it to Larry to break my car!) He looks at me grins, turns the key again and nothing happens and he starts laughing. I remember that Gordon had installed a quick disconnect for the battery, so we open the hood and tighten the knob which restores power to the car. Off we go... My first tank used 14.6 gallons which yielded 25.68 mpg. (Needless to say, Larry drove wildly wasting my gas) (LG: Bullshit!)

LG: Soon after leaving the gas station I can see dark clouds ahead. It's late now and Tony is dozing off. As we come to a pass through the mountains between Oregon and California, the rise in elevation puts us into a cloud and a blizzard. The slowing of the car wakes Tony. I can see confusion and concern on his face; for he went to sleep with blue skies, and woke up with 4 foot visibility and snow on the trees. Although he said nothing, I answered the question that was on his face, "I think we better keep going, 'cause if we stop, we'll never get out of here." (TD: My thoughts were more like: "Oh shit, its snowing and will Larry slide into something", especially knowing how animals, vegetables and minerals seem to always hit his car.) With great finesse and skill, learned from driving in Maine, I successfully keep the car on the road and in a forward pointing direction. Weather conditions prevented us from making good time, so we didn't arrive into Redding, CA until 1 am. Tony graciously put us up in a Motel 6.


Stay tuned for Sunday and Monday...

Larry G. and Tony D.

Packing the car in Gordon's garage