Drive From Asheville, NC --> Baltimore, MD

THE DRIVE FROM ASHEVILLE, NC TO BALTIMORE

NEED JUMP START, THEN SMOOTH SAILING.

The next morning, I was up around 3:30am due to cat allergies, can't get back to sleep, and I'm facing a 12 hour drive. But its too exciting a day to be tired!

We attempt to leave around 9am, but the van won't start. (We'll find out why, here.) I try a few times. I call Emily, she thinks perhaps it needs a jump because she has had to jump it a few times because it was sitting in the cold. Or, she thinks maybe the battery cells need more distilled water -- something they had meant to check, but hadn't. Natasha didn't have jumper cables, so she drives me to a store & I buy jump-starter, which I like to have. (Previous one lost in stolen car.) On the drive back to Natasha's, we come from the other side of Beaucatcher Mountain, and she points to a Haunted Bridge, which is near her house.

Last year, I visited Asheville in October with Feivel. We woke up around dawn Saturday morning, and went to "hunt the sunrise". We drove, ending up on Beaucatcher Mountain, and we ended up on the Haunted Bridge Natasha had just pointed out. I just googled Beaucatcher Mountain to make a hyperlink, and part of the common paranormal activity of Helen's Bridge is car trouble near the bridge, or after visiting. Hmm...

The jumper wouldn't start the van, Emily called, I updated her, she said she would come jump me, and I also still owed her like $1,500.

We lit the hookah (strawberry shisha) & walked to a bridge (not the haunted one) and blew hookah smoke-filled-bubbles, which drift off forever in irridescent smokiness until they go *smokePOOF*.

Emily arrives, van is jumped, she drives us in Patience to the nearest ATM (so I wouldn't stall & kill the battery again. She was happy to give Patience one last drive), her Matthrew drives her car, I get & give her money. She says if I am ever going to sell Patience, to call her. This day, she also gave me osha root tincture she made herself for my wheezing, which was spurred by Natasha's cats, because I didn't have an inhaler. Add 1-2 drops to water, or take directly. It opens the bronchioles. I've appreciated it.

I was hoping I could get to the highway without stalling - even though the car had now been running for about half an hour, I didn't want to stall & not be able to start the car again. Pulling out of the gas station, I immediately stalled. Kylara & I immediately looked at each other. I turned the key..car starts! :) We are on our way. Patience had been filled the day before, by Emily, with B20, which is 20% biodiesel, 80% diesel (plain old diesel.)

I didn't write down how much diesel I figured we used, but I figured it cost $60 in diesel, diesel being about $3.20ish?

Including many stops, some rather leisurely, it was a 12 hour drive, which is what we were figuring, considering she is slow. The fastest she ever hit was 70mph, when having speed going into a downhill & rolling in neutral gear. She may have gone as slow as 35mph a FEW times, on a steep incline, which I didn't have proper speed going into. (I had previously only driven stick on a highway very briefly, in a tiny car.) I'm getting the hang of it & it shouldn't be normal for her to slow down to 35mph in the future. I'd say average speed of 55mph.