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| August 17, 2008. Day 67 - Houston, AK - Anchorage, AK |
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| After grabbing some coffees from a nearby store, we left the campsite around
11am. Twenty minutes later, Marcelo pulled over to take a photo beside
"The Batmobile" (see below). While Carrie was taking photos,
Marcelo inside the solar car, the rest of the crew were happy because this
also happened to be the stop for a ginormous fireworks store. Loud exploding
things were purchased. With the battery low and the sky overcast, we pulled over at a restaurant to charge. We are there for about two hours and spend the time eating and watching the Olympics. With so many countries we can cheer for, (Go Brazil! Canada! Germany! Netherlands! USA) we get a medal almost every round. We head out around 14:00 to Alaska Raceway Park where our host for the night, the president of Anchorage's Electric Vehicle Association, is racing his electric powered Pinto. But before long, the red and blues are flashing and we are pulled over. "There was a 911 call reporting a UFO on the highway . . . . " REALLY!!!! the police officers told us with a straight face, it didn't take long for the officers the officers were smiling too. Our little green men (Marcelo) is not an alien. Well, at least he won't admit to it. The alien investigation didn't take long and we were allow to get the space ship back on the road. The officers helped us with directions to the racetrack. The unscheduled stop gave us the opportunity to met some great, enthusiastic supporters. The timing for reaching the racetrack was perfect. It had just been raining so all the racers and fans were by the sidelines waiting until the pavement was dry - which just so happened to be when we arrived. The lady at the gates was incredibly welcoming to us and asked if we could go talk to the announcer while Marcelo took a drive on the strip in front of the crowd. Michael "modestly" volunteered himself and Morgan joined him up in the tower to talk about the solar car and Marcelo's need for sponsorship (that's right the tour does not have a sponsor). After Marcelo's spin on the quarter mile, we got ourselves some earplugs and enjoyed the spectacle of all sorts of souped up cars. One in particular, "The Alaskan Grizzly" had an astounding 6000 horses under the hood. Hank, Mike's partner with the electric pinto project, treated us all to dinner. He expressed the desire to treat us even further to Alaskan King Crab - we couldn't possibly refuse such a kind offer and said we would definitely be available :) We left the racetrack when the day was done and followed Mike and Lucian to Mike's home. We got pulled over again, We were going 45mph on the 55mph zone. The officer asked us about our speed and in minutes we were good to proceed. They received calls about us driving too slow. Gees, 45mph on the 55mph on the 4 lane highway lane. Is that slow? Even the officer looked embarrassed for stopping us but they had to investigate the call. Back on the road, we reached the Willmon's home in no time. Paula warmly welcomed us and set out some cold beers and food for us. Hank and Shelaine were there too with wine and snacks.The car was set up to catch a few last rays of sun. We relaxed a bit, got to know the Willmon's pets. Shelaine kindly offered her shower for some of us to use and so Mo and Carrie went over there and ended up staying the night. The rest of the crew showered, ate and went to bed after enjoying a few beers. Thank you Mike & Paula Willlmon's & Hank & Shelaine! |
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