| |
 |
|
On Our Way!
States: California, Arizona
 January 22, 1999
by Wayne & Karen Brown |
10:36 AM Pacific Standard Time): Irvine, California (home)
(Magellan GPS Location: 37º North latitude, 119º West Longitude)
We are finally on our way! We were busy all day, yesterday. We did an assembly in the morning at Hidden Springs Elementary School in Moreno Valley, CA. After leaving that school we had lunch and drove to Long Beach to pickup the Nikon N90s camera and lenses that NIKON USA was loaning to us. We went home and I dropped off Karen to prepare for us to leave for the expedition. I drove down near San Diego to pickup the Sony Mavica digital camera and underwater housing that SEA & SEA UNDERWATER PHOTOGRAPHY was loaning to us. Then I made it just in time to AQUA LUNG / U.S. DIVERS CO. to pickup the diving equipment they were giving us. One the way back home I went by a photo lab to pickup a photo CD-ROM that had our photos on it. I finally got home about 6:30 PM. Now it was time to pack!
Karen packed our clothes, while I had to take out some of our minivan seats, install our new rooftop kayak racks, and organize, prepare and pack everything else. After helping me put the kayaks on top of the minivan, Karen went to bed at 10 PM. I continued organizing and packing. I stayed up all night long! Karen got up at 7:15 AM. We took care of some business and got in the minivan to leave. I turned the key and it just made a funny noise and wouldn't start! The battery was dead! I had been working in the van with the lights on so long that I didn't know I had run down the battery, until I tried to start the car. Fortunately, just as Karen went into the house to call Auto Club, our neighbor came home in his van. He had some battery jumper cables, so when he connected his battery to mine we got started. It was 10:36 AM and we were on our way! Karen drove so I could catch-up on the sleep I lost. (I was starting to feel like some kind of zombie because I hadn't slept.)
12:00 Noon (PST): Mission Bay, California
Our first stop was Mission Bay, San Diego. I wanted to collect a sea water sample so I could measure the salt in it (salinity). (We will compare the salt in the Pacific Ocean with the water in Florida where the manatees live.)
12:30 Noon (PST): Lunch stop - San Diego, California
Karen had clam chowder and a chicken sandwich. I went to Pix-Up Stix for some spicy Chinese food (Kung Pau Chicken). This was also our first stop for gas. We left home without a full tank of gas, so here we filled up.
We are heading east on Interstate Highway 8. We will be on Highway 8 until we get to Interstate Highway 10.
4:38 PM (Mountain Standard Time): Gas & Food stop - Yuma, Arizona
(Magellan GPS Location: 37º North latitude, 119º West Longitude)
Karen is still driving. I was snoozing and I missed crossing the border from California into Arizona. One strange thing that happened when we crossed the border...We had to set our watches ahead one hour. We you set your clocks back last fall, people in Arizona don't do that. It seems like 3:38 PM to us, but it is 4:38 PM in Arizona!
Math Question:
Our tank holds 20 gallons of gas. When our gas tanked is filled, how many miles can we drive, before we run out of gas
Our minivan normally gets about 23 miles per gallon of gas. Look at our average mpg. Why do you think our mpg is less? (Clue: Look at the picture of our minivan. What are on the roof? Why would they affect our gas mileage?) |
5:31 PM (Mountain Standard Time): Restroom stop - Arizona (at a road side rest stop)
(Magellan GPS Location: 32º 56 minutes 67 seconds North latitude, 112º 44 min. 00 sec. West longitude)
7:10 PM (Mountain Standard Time): Restroom stop - Gila Bend, Arizona
(Magellan GPS Location: 32º 56 minutes 67 seconds North latitude, 112º 44 min. 00 sec. West longitude)
9:00 PM (Mountain Standard Time): Dinner stop - Tuscon, Arizona
(Magellan GPS Location: 32º 21 min. 61 sec. North latitude, 111º 05. 51. West longitude)
We stop at our favorite on-the-road restaurant, Cracker Barrel. This is a cool place. It is not like any other restaurant you have ever been to. It is supposed to be like an old country store. Half of the restaurant is an old country store. The store is pretty neat. A lot of the store is stuff like you would find on the shelves at your grandmother's house, but there is a kid's section with fun books, games, and toys.
Karen has a roast beef pot roast dinner, with mashed potatoes, carrots and corn. I have broccoli cheese soap, hickory smoked barbecue pork, cole slaw, and fried apples (The fried apples may sound strange, but it is like hot apple pie with the having to eat the pie crust.).
We are the only people in the parking lot with two big kayaks on top of our car. We are also the only people in the restaurant who are working on a computer as we're waiting for dinner.
HOUSTON, WE HAVE A PROBLEM! Back on the road I'm working on the computer as Karen is driving and the computer crashes! (That means, it stops working.) It won't let me do anything. It won't even let me shut it off. I pull out the battery (This is like slapping the computer on the head.) to get the computer to turn off. When I put the battery in and it turn it back on I only get some dumb picture of a disk with a question mark on it! I turn the computer on and off and I still get the same thing every time. Oh Well, there is nothing else I can think of to do right now, so I think it''s time for a nap.
10:04 PM (Mountain Standard Time): Gas stop - Benson, Arizona
|
Math Question:
What has been our average speed, in miles per hour?
Record all this data we are giving you. You can use it for graphing. You can compare some of the data to the
data we will be sending you from Florida.
|
|
|
Wayne and Karen leave home with with their Cobra Tourer kayaks on top of their van.
TODAY'S DATA:
START - California
Location: Irvine, CA
Air Temp.: 55ºF
Weather: Clear skies, a few clouds
Car miles traveled: 0 miles
STOP 1 - California
Location: Mission Bay, CA
Air Temp: 59ºF
Weather: Clear skies, a few clouds
Car miles traveled: 85.6 miles
STOP 2 - California
Location: San Diego, CA
Air Temp.: 59ºF
Weather: Clear skies, a few clouds
Cost of lunch: $9.53
Car miles traveled: 95 miles
Gas Price (gal. of gas regular unleaded): $1.259 / gal.
Gallons of Gas purchased: 12.832 gal.
Karen at the wheel cruising through Arizona.
On the road in Arizona. The red and yellow straps hold down the front of the kayaks on the roof. Look at the rough and treeless hills. What types of plants would you expect to find in this dry, hot area?
(We are not driving on the wrong side of the road. This is a highway with two lanes on each side.) I
STOP 3 - Arizona
Location: Yuma, AZ
Air Temp: 68ºF
Weather: Clear skies, no clouds
Car miles traveled: 260.5 miles
Average miles per gallon (since last gas fill-up): 19.2 miles per gallon
Gas Price: $1.059 / gal.
Gas purchased: 8.54 gal.
STOP 4 - Arizona
Location: an AZ rest stop
Air Temp: 68ºF
Weather: Clear skies, no clouds
Car miles traveled: 315.1 miles
Average mpg: 19.1 mpg
STOP 5 - Arizona
Time: 7:10 PM (Mountain Standard Time)
Location: Gila Bend, AZ
Air Temp: 55ºF
Weather: Clear skies, no clouds
Car miles traveled: 374.3 miles
Average mpg: 18.7 mpg
STOP 6 - Arizona
Time: 9:00 PM (MST)
Location: Tucson, AZ
Air Temp: 46ºF
Weather: Clear skies, no clouds
Car miles traveled: 485.2 miles
Average mpg: 18.3 mpg
Cost of dinner: 19.95
STOP 7 - Arizona
Location: Benson, AZ
Air Temp: 29ºF
Weather: Clear skies, no clouds
Average mpg: 18.7 mpg
Gas Price: $1.099 / gal.
Gas purchased: 16.015 gal.
|
|
