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PostPosted: Wed Oct 28, 2015 1:11 pm 
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Joined: Mon Jul 21, 2008 9:27 pm
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Location: Pachaug, Ct
'Preciate the updates Frank, keep 'em coming!

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PostPosted: Thu Oct 29, 2015 6:10 pm 
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Location: CT
Thursday night, 1900; Jason just wrote an hour ago that when he tried to take pictures out the window of his Z at 70mph, his $900 smartphone flew off into the slipstream. :shock: It's a few hours earlier there than it is here, so he still had daylight left. He reversed and searched for his spankin-new phone like it was flight MH370, and it's destroyed. He stopped into a phone shop in San Antonio and filed a claim against the insurance policy he wisely took out when he bought the new phone. Someone in the local San Antonio area allowed him to use their mailing address to receive his free replacement phone tmrw (overnight express shipment). So by tmrw he should be back in Comm with the Z world, but he is very concerned about whether or not he will be able to retrieve 37 days of photographs! :roll:

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PostPosted: Fri Oct 30, 2015 8:49 am 
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Jason and Bernie are leaving Texas this morning and entering Arizona. Jason sounds completely deflated about losing his expensive iPhone out the window ystrdy, even tho his insurance will replace it. He had 38 days of photographs on that phone, as well as all his GPS route information ("breadcrumbs") showing every street they had driven on, plus over an hour of vocal interviews with Rick Morgan about all his Z experiences. :? All Jason's favorite music was recorded on that phone, as well as his contact directory for people he has met during this trip and folk at home.
An exhaustive search for the phone in tall grass yielded only a lens cover and the outside case. The important internal parts were not recovered. An application named "find my iPhone" failed to locate it either, suggesting the phone is in bits and no longer functional.
While he still seems intent on completing the whole trip along the intended route, Jason no longer sounds as if he's as enthusiastic about this adventure as he once was. He is sounding reluctant about having to drive through California for many reasons. He sounds discouraged, sounds like he's looking forward to the end of the trip and is sort of in a hurry to get there. Pilots call this "Get-Home-itis" and it can take a lot of fun out of any journey.
Jason works in the film industry for a living. He works with cameras and lighting to create optimum cinema shots for movie cameras under all conditions. He bought the iPhone for its excellent lens ability and high capacity memory; it's like carrying a video camera around with one hand. It was the means by which he wanted to document this entire trip and he had very important information stored in his. He was holding it out the car window, filming a car ahead of him on the highway, when he lost his grip on it and the windstream snatched it out of his hand.
He says he intends to complete the circuit as originally planned, but he sounds very discouraged about having lost all of his trip data. :(

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PostPosted: Tue Nov 03, 2015 9:49 am 
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OK, after a two-day disappearing act, Jason has received his replacement phone and is back in touch with the world. He has driven thru southern California (always searching for nice Datsuns to add to his collection), camped near Sequoia National Park, driven thru San Francisco, and photographed the Golden Gate bridge just at sunset with the Z in the foreground. Now he's up into Northern California and expects to do Oregon and Washington states this week. He is describing some awesome backroads thru the mountains and deep forests. He and Bernie saw a hawk take a jackrabbit and land near them. I watched the same display from the Z in southern Idaho in 1976 and never forgot the experience. Like a football falling from 3,000ft, a hawk opened his wings just a few yards above the earth, extended his huge "landing gear" talons and snatched a rabbit from a field. With a few slow, powerful flaps he flew up a hundred feet and dropped the rabbit to its death, then spiraled down onto it for his meal.
I envy Jason this trip for many reasons.
I'm sure we all do.

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PostPosted: Thu Nov 05, 2015 8:51 pm 
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I just got an email from Jason, adviZing me he has taken time out of his road trip to join the CTZCC !!! :D
He has submitted his application and will become our newest member as soon as it gets approved. :thumbs_up:

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PostPosted: Fri Nov 06, 2015 10:38 am 
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We've heard from Jason and Bernie early this morning. They are deep in the Pacific North West, hugging the Pacific Coast Highway and enjoying every beach they come to. Bernie has free run of every beach because there are no other people up there this time of year. The sunsets are amaZing.
Jason has a cousin there and her family put him up for a night and fed him at their family restaurant ("MO's", if you're ever up that way), and he finds motel rooms for $49/night up there.
He's within a day's hard travel of home, but I seriously doubt he will streak for the finish line at this point. He's back to having fun and enjoying each and every road with the Z, and stopping at every interesting attraction Bernie points out.

Jason submitted his CTZCC membership application ystrdy, so he will become our newest Z brother as soon as that posts thru the system. Keep following his exploits and zee his amaZing pictures on FB:

https://www.facebook.com/Doin-it-in-a-D ... 736801054/

Frank T

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PostPosted: Sun Nov 08, 2015 9:16 am 
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Location: Orange, CT
Jason made the Hemmings blog today
http://blog.hemmings.com/index.php/2015 ... refer=news

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PostPosted: Sun Nov 08, 2015 10:37 am 
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:lol: :thumbs_up:

What great pictures! Glad he got to spend a day in familiar territory. 8)

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PostPosted: Sun Nov 08, 2015 11:11 am 
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Nothing from Art Singer yet, huh? :(

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PostPosted: Mon Nov 09, 2015 10:26 am 
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Jason reports this morning that he's into Idaho. That places him within a single-day mad-dash from home. If he timed it right he could make it a total of 50 days on the road, giving him license to claim "Around the States in 50 Days". :D

He bought two "new" 240Zs in Washington State. No word yet on how he'll get those back to SLC. One of the cars has those twin Ansa exhaust extensions which Paul tried to commit suicide with a few years ago (he walked past them and they reached out and sliced his shin to the bone. Took a bunch of stitches to put him back together).

Jason will now drive up to Montana very near the Canadian border to reclaim a small symbolic icon which he placed when he turned East and began this journey 49 days ago. He'll consider his trip officially "over" at that point. Then he heads South into SLC for the final hours of his epic drive. Hopefully our CTZCC member Mike Rosann can manage to meet Jason and Bernie as they return to SLC. It would be very cool if Mike could meet them with a local news reporter, who could do a local article on Jason's whole trip. 8) :thumbs_up:

It's almost over. He's almost done it. Around the States in 50 days.

Frank

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PostPosted: Mon Nov 09, 2015 4:46 pm 
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TA-DAHHHH!!!!

Jason and Bernie have recovered their small US flag from high atop the Montana tree, which they planted on the day they began this 12,000 mile journey 50 days ago! Their circumnavigation of the USA is officially over! They've done it! :D

They now turn South and drive about 10 more hours back into SLC Utah, where we hope they will hook up with our member Mike Rosann, just to say howdy and end their trip with a CTZCC handshake.

I've notified the Salt Lake City Tribune of Jason's imminent arrival, in case they want to do a good Human Interest article on him and Bernie.

WELL DONE, Jason! Good driving!
WELL DONE, Bernie! Good navigating!

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PostPosted: Wed Nov 11, 2015 2:16 am 
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IT'S OVER!!! :D Jason and Bernie have parked in their own driveway and are safely reunited with their primary family. They have spent the past 50 days with their Z family, and it has given them (and hundreds of Z fanatics around the USA) a lifetime memory.

Here's his final FaceBook post:

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Day 50 (con't and day 51) Odo 95,643
Total miles: 13,317
Total states: 33
Total hotel/motel night: 9
Total breakdowns: 1 (fixed on the spot with spare part.. does that count as a breakdown?)
Total thumbs ups/waves: more than i've had in my entire life.
Zero middle fingers.
As we headed east from Seattle, it began to rain.. and it didn't let up. By Coeur D Alene it was getting pretty nasty.. dark and scary. I didn't want to stop, but I knew it was the right call. We slept in a cleared area just off the freeway. No problem. I quite like the sound of rain on the Z while sleeping in it. Kind of like a cabin with a tin roof.. but Zcoon, is a car cocoon.. not quite the same. Up early and on the road. More rain turning to snow over the passes. One pass just west of Wallace Idaho was getting dicey for the Z. Luckily we descended back into rain..
Back to St Regis, Idaho for breakfast.. this is where I had breakfast the morning of day 2 on our way to Glacier. The local weather forecast was rain turning to snow by the mid afternoon. I needed to rally up, get my starting marker, and get back down as quick as possible. Mission accomplished. Needless to say, we were in rain all day. By the time we made it back to I90 it was dumping buckets on us. This car is not confidence inspiring in the rain.. It feels scary and my speeds reflected that. As we neared the Idaho border again, we encountered total white out conditions.. fog,blowing snow=ice=scary. We were at just under 7k in elevation and I felt we needed to descend before calling it. I parked it when we reached 5500'. Finished the last night as we started our first night.. in Zcoon. Great nights sleep. Breakfast across the street and it was time to finish this up.
Success prevailed when we pulled into Murray Headquarters at 1:50 pm today. I am happy to be home.. I am happy to have a home.. Bernie and I are tired... The car is wide awake. The last 2-3 days were some pretty tense driving conditions and having wiper trouble in the midst of all that didn't help.
We have accomplished my version of circumnavigating the United States.. This is a giant accomplishment for me.. and it is my ultimate tribute to an engineering masterpiece Nissan created in 1970, the Fairlady Z or 240Z.. I have done countless lengthy trips in these cars in the past.. but this trip was 4 times anything I had done... and in one go. With only an ancient U-joint failing and a wiper switch giving out, I'd say that is more than respectable for any 45 year old car. With the turn of the key and the motor coming to life, I looked forward to driving this car every single minute of every day.. The car is sitting out there ready to do an encore hot lap around the country.. I am truly hooked for life.
This grand journey seems to have brought out the very best in everyone that I came into contact with.. So much positive energy, kindness, compliments, help, and generous offerings.. I really have been blessed by everyone that crossed my path. There are so many people to thank.. At the top of that list.. my Dad.. this dream began by watching him drive these cars cross country as a kid. As I began to get serious about the trip, his positive reinforcement kept me moving forward. My best friend... my trip navigator, my companion, my shrink.. my dog. Bernie, the greatest dog to ever walk the earth.. My good friend Bill Breedlove, helped me nearly everyday for 2-3 weeks leading up to my departure. There was a lot of car prep and discussion about the trip.. He has always been the ace in my pocket on every trip I do.. nothing different on this one. Carl Beck of Florida has been with me from the beginning and has done so much for me throughout my travels.. So happy to have become friends with this living legend among the Z car community. He introduced me to Frank of the Connecticut Z car club.. This guy is the real deal.. "Private Frank" is an American all star... and the nicest, most thoughtful man I was fortunate enough to have met on this journey.. What this man did to support me on this trip is beyond what most can comprehend.. I appreciate every single email Frank.. Thank you.
A very special thanks to Rick in CT, the owner of the first Z sold to US public.. Thanks for letting me drive the car!!! wow! To Jim in Tampa for dedicating a day showing me Z-Mecca.. likely the most impressive collection of 240z's in existence, AWESOME!! David in Maryland for hanging out with me for the afternoon binge talking Datsun and feeding me one of 2 home cooked meals of my trip. Janet in VA for accommodating me and taking Bernie and I into DC. Jason in Maine for coordinating a shop for me to spill oil in.. My dear friend Rachel in Michigan for accommodating me for a night. My server, Hope in CT for the meal, the CT Z car club, the gentlemen in Texas who invited me for lunch and Anthony for helping try to find my phone for 3 hours on the side of the freeway.. My cousin, Celeste for always welcoming me and feeding me when I travel the Oregon Coast. Bruce in VA for nearly bringing me to tears with his generosity.. and so many others that crossed my path and made contributions, suggestions, advice, laughs.. there are so many.. you all know who you are.. know that I know and that it is heartfelt and won't be forgotten.
To all those who have followed us everyday... like ROGER, my Mom and many others.. Thank you for all the compliments, comments and support. And to those that asked questions, and did not receive answers.. I apologize. Know that I did intend to.. It was difficult to stay up with emails, comments, questions, etc.. I struggled to keep up with my daily posts..I would be happy now that I am home to answer any questions about any part of the trip.. or anything else.
MANY HAVE ASKED.. Whats next? ALASKA, SUMMER 2016!!! Rest assured.. we will "DO IT IN A DATSUN".
Last but not least.. A GIGANTIC THANK YOU TO MY 1970 NISSAN FAIRLADY Z FOR PROVIDING ME WITH THE GREATEST ROAD TRIP AND MEMORIES OF MY LIFE.. DADDY LOVES YOU.. GET SOME REST NOW.. YOU DESERVE IT.
This post concludes my, "Just Winget", "Doin it in a Datsun" 2015 North America Circumnavigation Tour..
Thank you and God bless.
Jason

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

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PostPosted: Fri Apr 08, 2016 10:09 am 
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Joined: Sat Feb 01, 2014 9:21 am
Posts: 973
Location: Somers CT
From facebook today: Article in Roadkill Magazine. :P


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PostPosted: Fri Apr 08, 2016 10:47 am 
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I'm so proud we played even a little role in this adventure! It was an honor to meet Jason and Bernie and to live this trip vicariously thru them.

Jason brought home a couple more 240Zs from this trip and has just returned from filming a movie in Bora Bora to help finance the restoration (or at least the engine rebuilds) for those new acquisitions. He still plans to drive his Fairlady Z to Alaska and back this summer. Nationally-famous bear-scaring dog Bernie will not accompany him on that trip, and I predict Jason will not find travel quite the same without him.

Jason says he's even more hooked on Datsuns now than he was before his circumnavigation of the country.

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PostPosted: Fri Apr 08, 2016 3:18 pm 
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I wish I hadn't been away when you met up with him it would have been great. :thumbs_up:

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75' - 280Z - HLS30203249 - #304 Gold Metallic (stockish)
96' - 300zx TT - JN1CZ24d3TX960293 - Black on Black (enhanced)


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