Hello again…

…it’s been awhile! Before leaving the area, we just had to check to see if the Pacific Ocean was still there. We left Paso Robles and took Highway 46 to Cambria. The first time I had driven on that road, it was a narrow two-lane that wound through the coastal hills and was the kind of road you wanted to use to test your new sports car. I had just bought a 1960 Austin Healey Sprite, and before it was six months old I tore through the mountains toward the coast on 46. There was a lot of downhill driving, and before too long the engine stalled! I was mystified. It wouldn’t restart, even though I had plenty of fuel. I lifted the hood (bonnet, in this case) and saw that both carburetors were covered with frost! They had iced up from the moist air and the lack of heat from the engine. Small airplanes have the same problem, so when you’re not using power you pull the knob labeled “Carb Heat,” a knob that was absent from the Sprite’s dash. That was my first taste of the ghastly engineering that was a hallmark of British cars.

Anyway, back to the road, Highway 46 has been upgraded and it’s like sailing on a calm sea through gentle swells. No longer fun for a sports car, but just perfect for a diesel pickup.