2004 Volvo XC70

2004 Volvo XC70

I had always been a little intrigued by the Volvo Cross Country wagons. Although they were certainly designed more for the snowy northern tundra of Scandinavia than for Texas, it's still a functional all-wheel-drive wagon that has advantages anywhere.

When I bought this car it was only about a year old and was like new with about 24K on the odometer. It had been a Hertz rental car and I bought it from them (not something I would usually recommend). White's a good color for the XC in my opinion because it contrasts well with the black plastic lower body cladding that they all come with. This one had a very handsome interior in tan leather. It was mildly optioned and drove perfect.

Not many people make a 5-cylinder motor. In this case it's turbocharged and runs pretty strong. Good luck getting your local mechanic to work on it though. If you have a problem with your Volvo it's probably going to the Volvo dealership.

The stitching between the leather panels is crossed. I thought this was really cool and I think other manufacturers should employ this technique. 

The headlight wipers are an example of cold weather design. The black body cladding is either a love it or hate it thing. It's very functional though, especially if you happen to be riding on salted winter roads.

Much like the body molding, the XC is a love it or hate it car. I like them and enjoyed this one even though I didn't really need it. I understand why people in the right climate would swear by these things though. It's a car built for a specific purpose and market and it's very good at what it does.

Sometimes I add some discussion like "so should you buy one today?"  Well, in this case probably not. Volvos have gotten much better, but these early 2000's cars can be a nightmare. They suffer from all sorts of odd electrical issues that can drive you crazy. That said, an XC like this one could be purchased for a few thousand dollars today, and it's hard to go wrong with any car for that price. I would just question reliability. 

Craven Cottage

Craven Cottage

I'm a Manchester United fan and I noticed that they're playing Burton Albion tomorrow in something called the Carabao Cup (whatever that is). Branelle and I saw Burton Albion play Fulham last fall so I thought I'd share a few pics and notes from our trip to Craven Cottage.

"Through the park Bitterman. You know how I love the park."

Nel and I were going to be in London for about a week and I was determined to see a soccer game while we were there. I'd never been to an English game and it was going to happen! I checked every team in London, and there are a lot. Chelsea - Arsenal - Tottenham - West Ham - Crystal Palace....the list is long. Amazingly, none of the Premier League clubs had home games the entire week we were there. Our only options were Fulham and QPR, who were both in the 2nd level of English football at the time. I got us tickets to the Fulham match primarily because their website was better and they released single game tickets earlier than QPR. They actually mailed us the tickets before we left the States. 

Getting to Craven Cottage is fairly simple, if not convenient. Don't even bother thinking about driving - London has to be one of the least efficient car cities you'll ever find and there is virtually no parking anywhere near the stadium. We took the tube to Putney Bridge Station (along with everyone else in London) and from there it's a lengthy, but pleasant, 10 minute stroll through Bishops Park along the Thames.

The stadium doesn't look like a stadium at all, at least not by American standards. It kind of just looks like an old building in the middle of a neighborhood - which is exactly what it is. Craven Cottage has been in use by the Fulham Football Club since 1896! Think about that. The site itself has been used for various sports since 1780. It seats 25,700 fans in simple stands.

We went early and planned to find somewhere to eat near the stadium before the game but there isn't anything near the stadium at all, unless you want to knock on someone's door. It borders the Thames to one side and Bishops Park on another and then nothing but houses and apartments...everywhere.

That little building in the right corner is the actual Craven Cottage. The best words I can use to describe the place are quaint and charming. It's not a luxurious stadium - all of the new high school football stadiums in Texas make this place look like a dump. That said, it's a great environment to watch a game. You feel involved, and the fans are great. You get a sense of history.

I got us Seats 1-2 in Row 1 of our section. I knew this wouldn't be the best place to actually watch the game but I thought it would be interesting. We were literally closer to the field than the players on the bench. We were basically on the bench. I told Nel (sporting her new Fulham shirt) that she might end up in goal in the second half.

Being at field level really isn't a good place to take in a soccer game and I would certainly move up the stands next time. Nel pointed out that you do get a really good view of the players backsides though. She probably enjoyed that a little more than I did.

This was Fulhams coach - Slavisa Jokanovic.  He was hilarious to me. He stood like this most of the game and every time something would go wrong he would just sort of have the look on his face like "how did my life end up like this?" It was great.

The game was a rather lackluster 1-1 draw. Burton Albion's fans seemed rather happy about this after the game. We had a great time and worked our way back to our hotel on the tube. I think we were only about 5 or so miles away but it took us easily over an hour (tell me again how public transportation is so great). 

A few notes from our experience:

• English soccer is awesome - even the lower levels. If you find yourself in England, and even if you aren't a soccer fan, go to a game. It's a cultural experience as English as anything else you'll do.
• Craven Cottage is a really neat place to watch a game. Don't go expecting what you get from sporting events in America. It's not even close, but in many ways it's better. The stadium is old and sparse and not even particularly pretty, but it has something that the multi-billion dollar stadiums in the US could never replicate. 
• People go to the games to actually watch the games. Nel and I go to baseball and football games from time to time - we went to the Texans game last weekend. I swear half the people there get up 15 times to go get food or beer or whatever. It's so annoying! The vendors walk up and down the isles all game long screaming and getting you to pass beer down. In England they don't allow beer in the stands. They probably have that rule to keep people from getting in fights, but it's brilliant! At halftime everyone runs to the concourse and chugs beer and then they come back and actually watch the game. I would vote for that here in a heartbeat.

It's Bristol Baby!

It's Bristol Baby!

My wife and I hit the night race at Bristol this year (2017). I've been wanting to go to this one for years. I had tickets and was planning on it about a decade ago but ended up stuck in some god-forsaken country on the other side of the world in late August that year and it took this long to finally get back.

I've been to Bristol I don't know how many times - my mother is from right over the border in Virginia - but I've never been to the track itself. It's called "the last great colosseum", and it's a fitting descriptive. If you're a NASCAR veteran then none of this will be interesting to you, but if you're not a regular attendee....well, this was our experience. 

 
The first thing to know is that the place seats about 200,000 people....in a town with a population of around 25,000. If you think you're going to find a hotel in town on race weekend, forget it. We stayed in Asheville, NC which is only about 90 minutes away and a beautiful drive partially because it's close, and also because I just love Asheville. I thought it would be awful getting into the track but we went early in the day and there was virtually no traffic all the way to our parking lot.

There is all sorts of stuff going on all day leading up to the race. It's like tailgating, but with vendors. There's live music, lots of activities, and just odd things to see. They have trams that will run you around the property to get from one thing to the next. It's hilly, so plan to hike. One thing to mention - we purchased a parking pass for the lot right next to the stadium. If you plan to just show up and park, it's free most places but you'll be taking a bus to the track itself. If you're a fan of the TV show "Street Outlaws" you'll recognize the 'Farmbird' above. The entire cast was at the race filming for an upcoming episode.

We had track passes for all the pre-race activities. We haven't been to many NASCAR races, but I always do this to get the full experience. 

Still a loyal Kasey Kahne fan (#5). Kasey qualified 3rd but had to go to the rear due to a tire change. It was a long night for the #5.

It's hard to really capture the banking in pictures. It's as much as 30 degrees in the turns, which is why this half mile track is so much fun to watch races at. Let's just say it's a contact sport.

Branelle decided she was going to be a Chase Elliot fan (#24). She also wore this rather amusing shirt that garnered approval from strangers all day long.

We were on the track for a concert from a guy from Texas named Cody Jinks who I'd never heard of but put on a good show. We were also there for driver intros. Some of them dressed up - hilarious! Michael Buffer announced each driver and of course delivered his famous "Let's Get Ready To Rumble!!!!!!!!" to get everything going.

One thing about going to a NASCAR event in the south - you won't have to worry about some ignorant fool kneeling for the national anthem.

We just kind of hung around on the infield until they ran everyone off right before the race. At one point we were just leaning on the inside wall and Nel goes "We're the only one's left on the wall".  I said "Holy crap - we're the Knight's Watch". 

Eventually they do kick everyone off and we just filtered out the backstretch exit into the stands.

Our seats were in the Earnhardt Terrace. I picked them because the very nice lady in customer service told me they were the biggest and most comfortable there. The layout means you can see the whole track from any seat in the house just about. 

If you're going to a NASCAR race, especially at a short track, you HAVE to have ear protection. I'm not kidding about this. It's shockingly loud - like carrier flight deck loud! Just rent the headphones at the track that allow you to tune into the driver loops. You actually get to listen to any drivers you want during the race, which is always amusing.

The race was awesome - and long. I enjoyed it but I think I enjoy NASCAR a little better from my couch. Getting out of the track was certainly more challenging than getting in. It took forever to return our headphones and then even longer to drive off the property. Parking close is great before the race, but it means you're the last out basically.

If you get a chance to go to the Bristol race, especially the night one, do it. I'm not sure I want to go back, but I'm glad we went.

1991 Toyota Land Cruiser

1991 Toyota Land Cruiser

When I go an extended period of time without posting I have to sort of kick-start myself to get going again. As always, I do that with a 'Random Vehicle Blog'. Tonight's post will be super quick - I only took like three pictures of this truck, and there isn't that much to say about it anyway.

This Land Cruiser had well north of 200K miles on it when I bought it, but it was actually in great condition. The interior was nearly immaculate and it was surprisingly pleasant to drive. It made a great little extra utility vehicle to have around because it cost almost nothing. It was a bit underpowered, but that's about the only issue I had with it and it only became an issue if I needed to tow something. 

When I got rid of this one I remember the guy who bought it was from Canada and he flew in and drove it home. I only remember that because I had to sign a bunch of export paperwork, you know,  because it's Canada and they make everything you want to do difficult and expensive. 

The reliable and durable Toyota 4cyl.

These have become a little pricier now, even with crazy-high miles like mine. You can still get them, and should if you want a does everything well SUV that's reliable and getting kind of retro-cool. Just avoid rust and you'll be fine.