Odyssey in Distress

A few minutes ago, the CHECK ENGINE light of doom came on again. This time, there were two codes, one of them a repeat of the one that showed up after the first tire incident, the second one as a result of the first.

Just now, the MAINT REQ'D light came on as well, signifying the need for a desperate oil change.

Perhaps the F1-style driving from Route 1 was enough to shake loose the yet-to-be-changed, makeshift O2 sensor repair.

The Odyssey just keeps soldiering on...

-Mark

Pitstop in Cottage Grove, Oregon

Entering OREGON - Leaving CALIFORNIA

Pitstop in Mount Shasta, California

Pitstop in Dunnigan, California

August 14 - 15 Update

Okay. An update, finally. I've been struggling to get on the laptop and upload all the pics I've taken over the past few days, so I'm relieved that there's finally something going on now.

August 14, 2008

On Thursday, the first thing we did was, as I posted previously about, visit Griffith Park. Unfortunately, the observatory portion of the whole park opened at noon and we were there at 8, so we didn't actually get to go in. We did, however, get to walk around and take a few pictures. My camera's lens couldn't go far enough to capture the HOLLYWOOD sign up close, but dad's did. We tried to make as many good photos as we could out of the Los Angeles view from above, but there was so much.. well, so much smog that you couldn't really see very far.

Afterwards, we decided to go out and see what was so great about Hollywood Boulevard. And to be honest, there wasn't anything great about that street, aside from the Hollywood Walk of Fame of course. After that boring cruise, I found it a brilliant idea to stop by the Ashley Paige store (as seen on TLC's new show, Bikini or Bust) in an attempt to get on TV. Unfortunately, when we pulled up, there was not one stupid TLC truck or cameraman haha. I don't think the store was open either, since nobody was in it when we looked in the windows, but I right when we started to pull away from the curb, someone came out of the back room. Hmm :P

After that, we went to the Philippine restaurant called Goldilocks where we met some California family. Then, we went to the Mercedes-Benz Classic Center in Irvine, but sadly, they had just closed their museum section just 10 minutes before, and all that was left on display were a few showroom models from the 1930s and 70s. After a quick look at the Queen Mary docked at port, we went off to visit more family at their place.

August 15, 2008

First thing in the morning came mass at a local LA church, but I don't remember the exact "sub-region" of LA that was in. Mom and Joanne went for a quick tour of the fabric district while dad, Joy and I stayed in the Odyssey. I then fell asleep for two hours and awoke to the sight of the Pacific Ocean. I couldn't believe it - not only was I now officially across the country, but our little old Odyssey had made it too, and for all the miles it has and the pending doom of its transmission, it was a proud and noble feeling. We continued to drive up the Pacific Coast Highway (California State Route 1) until we stopped at the Hearst Castle where mom and the girls took a look around the visitor center since the castle tours were already closed.

After another hour or two, we found ourselves in the upper mountainous region of State Route 1. It was around 7 PM PST here when we entered the mountains and began the endless strip of Route 1 road that snaked, quite literally, directly along the coast of California. At first, with the sun setting and the temperature outside rather nice, everything seemed pretty cool. But as it got darker, the turns got tighter, narrower, and faster. Dad, behind the wheel, was having fun piloting the Odyssey around corners it wasn't really built to handle at speed, but eventually he got serious. The night grew pitch black soon, the two cars ahead of us had pulled over to let us unassuming New Jerseyans have our way. And have our way we did.

It was so seriously dark that the low beams on the Odyssey were only good enough for just a short distance ahead of us, and the high beams, although they were able to illuminate some road reflectors a bit farther out, didn't do much better in terms of visibility. The road was narrow and ridiculously close to the edge of the cliffs that plunged straight down into the Pacific. Most people that don't really know cars all that well won't have a clue about what I'm going to say, but bear with me.

The Odyssey, as sentimental and lovable as it is to all of us, is a minivan. It was designed to carry people around and weighs in excess of 5000 lbs. with us in it, and it was by no means designed to be a sports car that can handle corners at speed. Somehow, though, the Odyssey pretty much did. I had heard both mom and dad praise the Odyssey's handling as one of the things they definitely liked better over the Sienna, and as it turns out, they were right.

The Honda's unbelievably capable suspension and steering, paired with dad's ridiculous driving skill, proved to be a match made in heaven. Route 1 in this particular region consisted of seriously tight and narrow cliff-diving turns to wide, banked sweeping turns that you could sprint down at 60 MPH while, at the same time, taking note of the fact that at any moment, you could skid out and down into the Pacific.

Combined with the darkness outside and virtually no visibility, this was a terrifying and nightmarish scene. But miraculously, after about 100 miles of this horrifyingly twisty highway stretch (for mom and my sisters, at least), the Odyssey came out unscathed but having undergone a good workout. You could see the concentration in dad's eyes as he flung the 5000+ lb. box around the tight corners at 50 MPH, while the Odyssey, like some little kid that does ANYTHING you want him to do, simply went on and on. You could seriously feel the G-forces in each and every turn as you were thrown from side to side.

The Odyssey is simply one unbelievably reliable and lovable thing..

Ah, that was nice. An endless rant about car stuff you probably don't even understand.

It's.. 2:02 AM PST as of the typing of this sentence, and I've been working on this post since 1:30. We got to this hotel here in Gilroy at about 10:30 PM PST, but only until now has my struggling to establish a wifi connection paid off.

The one thing I remember about today was when we were walking into the hotel. Dad pulled open the glass door then, right before going through, turned around and took a good, long look at the Odyssey, sitting in its cramped parking spot like the little kid it is, having no idea what just happened, but not fussing and complaining. I think I may have even seen a tear or two forming in those sentimental eyes of his haha.

It's just a great car. And as weird as it my sound to some of you, I love it. I absolutely love it.

---Click here for a few pictures from August 14
---Click here for a few pictures from August 15
---Click here for the entire 2008 "Around America" Road Trip album

-Mark
Next destination: Seattle, Washington

Stopping for the Night - Gilroy, California

Pitstop in Santa Rosa, California

Food Restock in Goleta, California

Pitstop in Los Angeles, California

Sorry!

I apologize for not updating the blog at all yesterday. It wwa certainly the most confusing and hectic day of our vacation so far, leaving bo time for me to use the laptop let alone whip out the BlackBerry and make a post.

We were all over LA yesterday, checking out anything we could find interesting. We hit Hollywood Boulevard, Sunset Boulevard, Griffith Park, the Mercedes-Benz Classic Center, cruised the Pacific coast, and more. Plus, we had to visit family after all of that, and we got to our hotel around midnight PST.

I was too tired at the hotel to post, and too tied up during the day as well.

Right now, we are seeing some last minute places before we continue on out of LA once and for all and make a dash towards San Fransisco. Don't yet know if we will actually be in San Fran by tonight, but if not, tomorrow for sure.

I'm doing my best to keep up with the blog but time seems to be against me.

-Mark

Stopping for the Night - Glendale (Los Angeles), California

Pitstop in Los Angeles, California

Griffith Observatory

Just got to the observatory. For those of you that didn't know, Griffith is where all those famous pictures of the mountainside HOLLYWOOD letters are taken.
Griffith overlooks a majority of LA.

Pictures will come later tonight when we stop at a hotel, I just hope there'll be some functional wifi.

-Mark

Griffith Observatory to Hollywood

Today, we'll be heading out from thw Comfort Inn here in Los Angeles to Griffith Observatory, also in LA. Afterwards, we will be departing for Hollywood.

Stay tuned for more updates. We will be leaving the hotel soon right after breakfast.

-Mark

Stopping for the Night - Los Angeles, California

Yes, we are oficially across the country! We've made it this far and still, the Odyssey has not let us down.

Unfortunately, I've got no pictures for you all from the past day, since the wifi here at the Comfort Inn is down. I will try to update you tomorrow, when, hopefully, I can snag an internet connection.

Speaking of tomorrow, we will be here late into the night touring the various regions of LA, including, if we have time, Hollywood.

Keep up the reading. Updates whenever possible. Also, please, PLEASE remember that we are changing time zones as we venture into different parts of the States. Post times you see below each blog post are in Eastern Standard Time, NOT the time it might actually be depending on where I am when I post.

P.S. - We have finally tracked down and purchased the O2 sensor from a Honda dealership we passed on the way here. Don't yet know when it is dad plans to replace the damaged one.

-Mark

Pitstop in Blythe, California

Entering CALIFORNIA - Leaving ARIZONA

We are officially across the country!

Food Restock in Tucson, Arizona

Pitstop in Tucson, Arizona

Entering ARIZONA - Leaving NEW MEXICO

Stopping for the Night - Las Cruces, New Mexico

Today, we made it from San Antonio to White Sands, New Mexico, to see the White Sands National Park. Prior to that, we had passed through El Paso, Texas, which is located directly along the Texas-Mexican border.

After entering the giant Texas valleys that lead eventually to the valley that is White Sands, the signal on the alternate device I use for mobile blog posts, an AT&T BlackBerry 8100 Pearl, had been lost. EDGE connection was gone and internet and MMS capabilities were disabled. I would have posted via the BlackBerry that we had reached White Sands but that was obviously delayed because signal never returned until hours after we had already left.

We are now in Las Cruces, one of the bigger cities in this part of New Mexico, way down I10 from White Sands. Earlier, we had stopped at two Honda dealerships, but neither of them had the part necessary in repairing the Odyssey properly - the O2 sensor.

As for White Sands National Park, it was a great place to stop. As the name states, the sand dunes were like any other dunes, only the sand was (obviously) white. We had a guided tour of the dunes and their history with one of the park's officers, but due to increasingly-fast winds and lightning in the distance, a sign of an intense storm coming, the tour ended earlier than expected.

Other than that, it was a great photo opportunity. Dad and I snapped away while the rest of the family stood by the park officer listening attentively.

Tommorrow, our destination will be Los Angeles, California. We got some advice from a waiter at a Pizza Hut we ate at earlier and were told it's going to be about 11 hours of driving, but that's nothing new (or hard, for that matter) to us. The only thing mom, dad, and Joy should be worried about is the intense ticketing going on in some of the parts of Arizona we will be passing through haha.

---Click here for a few pictures from White Sands, New Mexico
---Click here for the full 2008 "Around America" Road Trip album

-Mark

Pitstop in Alamogordo, New Mexico

Entering NEW MEXICO - Leaving TEXAS

Pitstop in Kent, Texas

Pitstop in Kerrville, Texas

Odyssey Update

Good morning all.

Just a quick update on the Odyssey's condition.

After inspecting the engine, dad found out the reason for the CHECK ENGINE code last night. Apparently, the second tire accident was so hard that it damaged the catalytic converter pretty badly. It almost tore the thing apart.

We just finished breakfast here at the Best Western and are about to go top off the Odyssey's tank.

-Mark

Stopping for the Night - Kerrville, Texas

Updates to come soon, if I can get access to a computer.

-Mark

Nighty Night, San Antonio

It's been a great day here in San An. I personally got used to the heat after a while, and walking all around the beautiful city was actually not as tiring as I anticipated it to be.

We are now heading down I 10 westbound out of the city and will be driving towards El Paso, Texas. No word yet on where we will be stopping.

Today was great. When we got there, we toured The Alamo, and immediately got on a boat and cruised around the Rivercenter Mall on a guided tour. Afterwards, we went to Tower of the Americas, a 750-foot tall tower with an observation deck and restaurant all the way up in the sky.
And after that, we went to Subway for a quick bite to eat before hitting the road again.

I would upload pictures from the day but it's extremely difficult and tedious since you can't mass-upload and everything has to be uploaded separately.

As I was typing this, the Odyssey's CHECK ENGINE light illuminated again. The diagnostics tool shows the code P0420 - "Catalyst Efficiency Below Threshold". We are continuing our course and will examine the problem when we get to the hotel.

-Mark

Welcome to San Antonio

After a few hours in the surprisingly strong Texas crosswinds, a Walmart shopping spree for some road trip food, and more "what the.. they're from New Jersey?!" stares than.we can count, we're here.

More on San Antonio later tonight.

-Mark

Pitstop in Columbus, Texas

Food Restock in Columbus, Texas

Entering TEXAS - Leaving LOUISIANA

On to San Antonio

We have just left the Sona Inn and are on our way to San Antonio, Texas, about 6 or 7 hours away. As of now, we are heading westbound on I 10.

Please keep in mind that we are obviously not on the easy coast anymore (EST) so post times you see are not accurate to how we see them.

-Mark

Stopping for the Night - Breaux Bridge, Louisiana

Well we're stopping for the night at this somewhat abandoned hotel. No tires this time, and the Odyssey is doing well.

More updates later when we get to the room (hopefully).

-Mark

Pitstop in Breaux Bridge, Louisiana

Goodbye, Louisiana

Our day, although a bit short, has come to an end. Our next destination will be San Antonio, Texas.

...let's just hope we don't have another run-in with a tire again.

-Mark

Welcome to New Orleans

We've finally made it to our first destination, the city of New Orleans.

More updates to come later in the day.

-Mark

ENTERING LOUISIANA - LEAVING MISSISSIPPI

Just 40 miles to go!

Pitstop in Pachuta, Mississippi

ENTERING MISSISSIPPI - LEAVING ALABAMA (finally)

EMERGENCY STOP 2

Here we go again...

At about 11:35 AM CST, history decided to repeat itself.

Yup. That's right. We were going 80 MPH in the left lane when all of a sudden an immobile truck tire appeared out of the darkness. Dad did not have enough time to neither brake nor swerve, and the Odyssey took the blow directly.

That seem familiar? This time, tha poor, poor Odyssey took no mechanical or electrical damage, and dad's makeshift O2 sensor repair has held up even though the impact was on that side.

But the car did, however, sustain physical damage. The entire portion of plastic shielding in front of the front-right tire has been sliced into pieces. Dad's been able to push most of it back into place to keep it from dragging, though.

This time, we were lucky. Hopefully we won't have to go through this a third time.

On the Road Again

About two hours ago, we left the hotel then went to Sunday mass. After a quick stop at the auto parts store (because the Honda dealer that so happens to be DOWN THE STREET is closed), dad's been able to pick up a few parts needed to repair the Odyssey for real. We've just hit the road and will iron out the six hours to New Orleans.

Problem Solved?

For now, at least. Dad managed to reconnect the mangled O2 sensor wire and the CHECK ENGINE light turned off. After a few more OBDII scans, there were no more codes, and all was well. All in all, it took about 45 minutes in the creepy, dark parking lot of this Econo Lodge to find a remedy for this problem. It's only temporary, though. The connector needs to be replaced as soon as possible, or it might just come apart later on.

As of now, the only other damaged caused by the tire is the front bumper. Apparently, the tire struck the very lip of the bumper first. This bent it downwards on the mounts a little bit and ripped each nose mask hook out of its hole. The bumper now sits noticeably lower than before the impact but it's not too big of a deal right now.

Keep reading for later updates.

-Mark