A small stream runs through my brother's property.

At one point, the tree in the photos above and below must have fallen over.

But not only did it not die, it kept growing although looking somewhat drunk in the process.

We kept walking, chatting, and just catching up while enjoying the nice weather.

The setting sun meant my Prime Sirloin Buffet dinner was close at hand. But after that, my visit was over.

I said my goodbyes and headed back to the hotel with the roof down under the full moon.

My visit ended the way it began, with a long road trip, only this time southbound into warmer weather. Mother Nature treated me to a beautiful sunrise in the Appalachian Mountains on Sunday morning

So was trusting my Beautiful Disaster for this trip a good decision ? Yes it was ! The car behaved itself like a proper Jaguar the whole time and ate up the miles like it was designed to do.

I added a total of 1,545 miles to the car's odometer, (from Athens to Altoona and back with sightseeing in between). Precisely NONE of those miles were accrued while riding on a rollback.

The 64 gallons of fuel I used to make this journey translates into just over 24 mpg overall, which I consider to be excellent. Using $2.35 per gallon for an average cost of premium unleaded, I spent about $150 for transportation, which is cheaper than the cost of an airline ticket and rental car.

This was a great trip ! I got to catch up with a bunch of people I haven't seen in a while. I got to revive some good memories of my hometown. And I got to do it with the roof down. As far as I'm concerned, there is no better way to spend a long weekend. I kept thinking to myself on the way home that I need to do this more often.

The good news is that this experiment would seem to suggest that I've finally ironed all of the bugs out of this car, which makes doing this more often more feasible. This is good to know because the upcoming Thanksgiving Holiday would offer me a chance to take a journey that makes this one look like a short trip across town.