Friday Night at the Country Roads Car Club’s Cruise-In

With only a handful of Cruise-Ins remaining for the 2011 season, we decided to take Peg’s new Fiat 500C out for a drive. The temperatures were perfect because of the overcast skies. Rain was threatening the entire day and this kept the turn-out a little low. Still, a good variety of vehicles were present and we were able to chat with friends. Peg’s Fiat drew a small crowd as not many people have seen the new car up close. I kind of felt like a car salesman answering all the questions about her car.

We enjoy this cruise-in which is located in the Home Depot Shopping Center in Ranson, WV.

Fiat 500C Joins the Fleet

Peg received delivery on her brand new 2012 Fiat 500C that she purchased from Safford Fiat of Tysons Corner. She had it built exactly the way she wanted it from the factory in Toluca, Mexico and it only took about 7 weeks. Her sales “specialist”, Sarah Schroeder, was fantastic and we would recommend her if you are interested in buying a Fiat. The dealership as a whole was okay except for a delay in mailing us our check for trade-in and the half-assed cleaning prep they did (scratched the side glass).

Even though the motor is pretty small compared to most of what is in Bubba’s Garage, the little Fiat moves around fairly decent.

Engine - Inline four-cylinder, liquid-cooled
Displacement - 83.48 cu. in. (1368 cu. cm)
Compression Ratio - 10.8:1
Power (SAE net) - 101 bhp (75 kW) @ 6,500 rpm (73.8 bhp/L)
Torque (SAE net) - 98 lb.-ft. (133 N•m) @ 4,000 rpm
Max. Engine Speed - 6,900 rpm (electronically limited)

This is definitely the tiniest motorized vehicle in our garage.

Wheelbase - 90.6 (2300)
Overall Length - 139.6 (3546.7)
Overall Width - 64.1 (1627.0)
Overall Height - 59.8 (1519.6)
Ground Clearance - 4.1 (104.0)
Curb Weight, lb. (kg) - 2,430 (1104.5)—6-ATX
Fuel Tank Capacity, gal. (L) - 10.5 (39.7)

I Scream, You Scream, for the Turkey Hill Experience

Since everyone at Bubba’s Garage drinks Turkey Hill Iced Tea and occasionally eats Turkey Hill Ice Cream, when we saw the large sign advertising the Turkey Hill Experience just off of Route 30 in Columbia, PA, Peg and I had to stop. The Experience is housed in the old Ashley & Bailey Silk Mill that sat empty for more than 25 years before Turkey Hill transformed the building into a neat interactive educational exhibit. You can learn about (and sample) various teas and drinks, design your own ice cream, star in a commercial, freeze in the freezer, and enjoy several other areas. Don’t forget to climb aboard the Divco and toot its horn. Oh, and you can also milk a fake cow. We enjoyed our stay but the experience is pretty pricey for what it is; $11.50 for adults and $9.50 for kids. If you go in hungry and chow down on some samples I guess the price wouldn’t be too bad. You can always just skip the exhibits and head straight for the creamery on the first floor.

Rockin’ out at the Gem Miner’s Jubilee

If you like rocks as much as Peg does, you should put the Gem Miner’s Jubilee on your calendar every year. Last weekend we made the trip up to the Lebanon Expo & Fairgrounds in Lebanon, PA to add to Peg’s ever growing collection of rocks. The Mid-Atlantic Gem and Mineral Association does a great job of organizing these events. You can find anything from Jewelry quality cut gems to raw slabs ready for finishing at the show.