Blue Highways

..."I was alone,I took a ride,I didn't know what I would find there..."

Those lyrics must have been bouncing around in my subconcious in the days after I bought my 350.As soon as I got fresh tags on it,I started scheming ways of getting a long,paid vacation.I squeezed 23 days out of the Boss,jumped in my new Z and left Florida for the most distant places I could imagine.

I drove West,to Mountains.
The journey took me through 15 states,piled up 8,500 miles on a fresh odometer,found me in serious snow and gambling situations and gave me a fulfilled Fantasy--that I would someday own the best car I could afford,have all the money and time I needed,and I'd SEE the USA.

Most of the route out there and back was invented along the way,and was purposely done in an off-freeway mode.I drove the backroads,the forgotten ones,the ones that go from here to there without even a number to their name.They always got me to where I wanted to go,and,damn,if some interesting things didn't always happen along the way.
On the roadmaps,they're the Blue Highways.

The Z was brand new to everyone when I got mine.It was April of "03,and the 350 was just starting to come available.I had bought something that nobody had,and driving through little out-of-the-way places,the Hootervilles that always find out about stuff late,the Z was a sensation.I'd pull into the Kansas Whataburger,and people would come out of the restaurant to look at it and ask questions.Hell,they did that in the big towns too,and at practically every gas stop.

Z was new to me as well.It was a machine just now on the road,an unknown.I've had other Z cars--4 of them,going all the way back to the early '70s models.They were all bought used.I have always liked the car,ever since it was firat introduced as the Datsun 240Z.
350 was my first new one.My New,new car.

I miss that newness.Since those first few thousand quick transcontinental miles--the car's one month Break-in period,my Z andI have been up and down the Atlantic Coast,all around the Gulf Coast and into the mountains of North Carolina.It's been parked,alone and vulnerable,on Manhattan's Z-free streets,been disfigured by hurricanes and survived a tornado.Together,me and the Z have traversed 25 states,not counting Florida,which is always good for a road trip.

Two and a half years with it,I've seen and solved all the quirky little problems the car has had.Fortythousand miles on it,and it's still The most important thing I take with me when I travel.

I've posted some of my adventures with the car on other Z-related sites,and I'll probably post a few here from time to time.I like the car,and I like to write about it.
I don't plan on changing the car.I'm not into mods,and I like it just the way God and Nissan intended it to be.
I have no plans to race,aside from the occasional Stoplight Gran Prix.The car,to me anyway,is a passport to the Blue Road,a class way to run around the Country on roads that are less traveled,seeking the adventure you never expected,and doing it in one best true sportscars the world offers.

I'm a new member here,From Florida.

Joeys_z

iTrader: (-1)

It is a lot of fun isn't it.....good first post, much better than the "just got my Z and dad's making the payments!"

cessna

Welcome Blue Highways!

Those are the best road trips one can make.... No fixed destination, a new car and a wallet with coin for gas.......
The ppl you get to meet on these trips make for great stories, and most of all new expiriences....
Some like the freeway, but taking a back road with a compass or looking at where the sun is at to give you an idea of ""I'm I going in the approx right direction" is truly a blast that not many have expirienced....
Cheers

ivanito

welcome to the Z familia

if your comin down to orlando hit us up

davidv

iTrader: (2)

That was beautiful man [wiping a tear from my eye].

se-r / gti-r

iTrader: (9)

hey check out the www.350zclubofflorida.com we are having our DEC. event this Saturday at the drag races. You should come join us and race ur Z with the rest of us