April 22, 2018
It has been a long time, but I am determined to blog this next rally event. First, I want to welcome all the new followers of this blog. I’m not sure how this happens but it seems that Outlook.com has somehow spread the word. For those of you who have recently joined, let me know if your interests are the car rallies and travel adventures or novels and writing. We are still doing both but next on the agenda is the Trans-American Challenge which begins May 27 in Charleston, SC.
So, as a pre-start, Stewball, our famous 1967 VW Beetle which was featured in the Endurance Rally’s brochure, is currently visiting Bob Hicks of Hicks VW Services in 
Durham, NC where he is undergoing a needed checkup. This will include work on the clutch, new seat padding (my request) a new headlight, engine service and oil change and any other things Bob sees as he goes over the car. Bob knows well now what we need to be “rally ready”. Once back we will put on new rally plates and car numbers. This time we will be number 16.
We rented a house on Sullivan’s Island for the week before the rally and will be joined 
by European rally friends. It will be a relaxing way for our friends to get over their jet lag and enjoy South Carolina’s sand beaches and maybe an excursion out to Fort Sumter where the first shots of the Civil War occurred. (It seems to me “civil” and “war” is an oxymoron. Maybe the southern name, “The war of Northern Aggression” is better, except I am a Yankee.)
From Charleston we head to Charlotte and on to Highlands, a really lovely NC mountain town we suggested. After the reconnaissance trip, Fred Gallagher concurred and changed the overnight stop from Asheville where we will now stop for lunch. Other highlights include Nashville, New Orleans, Galveston, Santa Fe, Aspen, until we end in Seattle, Washington on June 17. The entire route can be viewed at 
http://www.endurorally.com.
The rally will begin with 34 vintage cars from a 1927 Bentley to a 1979 Mercedes. We know from past experience, that not all will finish, so we will end with a few modern rental cars picked up somewhere along the way. More on that as we go.
This is not Stewball’s first time across the US, in fact he has made this trip 6 times which included Alaska and Canada. Never the same route, but also not new for us and not as exciting as the rallies in Africa and South America but it includes many friends and that always makes it special and we are looking forward to it.
See you on the road. 
