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| July 08, 2008. Day 27 - Edmonton, AB - More interviews, time to say good bye, rain and hail |
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| Today we followed up on leads, gave a few interviews, goodbyes, got lots
of rain and survived our first hail storm. So, we are ready for Inuvik. Marissa and Evan went home after 4 weeks volunteering on the project. Due to the late start of the tour and major delays encountered at the beginning of the tour, they had to return home to attend to other commitments and finish a 10 minutes documentary about the XOF1 solar car project for Current TV. Until just a few weeks ago they had never seem a solar car. They answered to an online posting looking for volunteers to join the XOF1 solar car project on a world distance record tour across North America aiming to reach Inuvik, the greatest challenge a solar car could ever take due to the low angle sun of the poles and 750km gravel road. Marissa Engel who lives in Los Angeles, CA and Evan Engel who at the time was living in Ithaca, NY jumped on the opportunity, made their way to Toronto where they met with Marcelo and right away got hands on working on the car and a quick express intro to the project, just over one week later they were on the road talking all kinds of challenges, driving and navigating the support vehicle, learning all the radio communication jargon..."block right"...block left"..."clear right"..."clear left"..."affirmative"...etc...there were long days, short nights, lots of driving, camping, talking to the media, prospective sponsors and giving interviews, etc... It was a great adventure not knowing how far they would be the next day or where they would sleep or shower next. The low budget tour sound like a great adventure and that's what the brother and sister team were looking for. They took on the challenge and made the best out of everything. There was never a dull moment. Indeed, a wonderful and unique memorable experience. Travelling across two beautiful countries through its back roads, driving across small and large cities meeting all kinds of interesting people. Los tres amigos will have much to share from the time they spent together for years to come and the special moments they spent together. As you can imagine they have lots of stories and a few good inside jokes. Ask Marissa about "learning how to use a ratchet", Evan about "spark" and Marcelo about "small detail".... Late morning the solar car was taken to Ceilli's Irish Pub and restaurant, the meeting point for all the media who came to see the project today. The solar car was driven on the streets of Edmonton with Ryan (City TV reporter) inside the support vehicle, getting a first hand look on the ins and outs of driving the solar car, later Ryan followed the solar car from another vehicle, capturing on video the reaction of people watching the solar car pass by. At mid afternoon there was an interview with Dean (Global News) followed by another interview live on City TV at 6 O'clock. Tippy Agogo and Marcelo took the solar car for a drive across town, stopping at a few locations taking the opportunity to share the project and look for potential volunteers. One of the stops was at a Da Capo Cafe, for an espresso and ice-cream. We don't know that many people who drink espresso and have ice-cream. Oh well, on the other hand, we don't know that many people who drive solar cars either...yet. The nice sunny weather quickly turned into a thunder storm with torrential rain and lots of hail creating a hazardous risk for the delicate solar cells. Some quick thinking saved the day, the car was parked under a tree and covered with its custom made cover. Both Tippy and Marcelo got drenched in the process. The solar car was taken back to Ted's home (our host), cleaned and inspected. Luckily there were no noticeable damage from all that hail. Special thanks to Ryan, Paul and all the City TV staff; Dean from Global TV, Ceilli's Irish Pub and Restaurant staff and naturally, special thanks to Tippy Agogo. Tippy could easily become the mayor or ambassador of Edmonton. Everybody knows him, just spend 5 minutes with him anywhere in Edmonton and someone will come to say hi to Tippy. So, if you ever come to Edmonton you got to meet Tippy. The best way to describe him is "a great guy". You can see Tippy and Marcelo tomorrow morning live on BT (City TV) |
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