Phantom

I'm loving my new place here in Washington. Seven car garage with two bays that are insulated and heated. Right off the back porch is a one acre pond stocked with Rainbow Trout that range up to 24" in length. Am having trouble with muskrats but that has turned out kinda cool too as my wife and I have been hunting them. I have a 100 year old double barrel 28 gauge shotgun and it is perfect for the job. Chris has two confirmed kills and a probable so far and I have three confirmed. We had the Geek Squad at the house setting up the wireless network when I spotted a couple "sporting" in the pond. 5 minutes later they were both history. Man they are dumb. Not much of a challenge now that we've figured out their habits but it sure is fun.

Four months ago I was the copporate project engineering manager for a company in Texas. Took a job as technical manager in a facility in Washington and then 7 weeks later they went through a reorganization and downsizing and now I'm the site manager, tech manager and environmental, safety & health supervisor. To say the least things have been just a wee bit tense for the last month.

Fired up the 280 yesterday for the first time since December 9th. That was the day after I closed on the new house and the day I moved him into his new garage. Wether since then has been much wetter and colder than normal for around here - along with 5-6" of snow that came just before Christmas and then stayed on my driveway for two weeks. I actually had to put the convertible in reverse one day, get out of the car, and then rock it until it jumped out of a small ice rut and started rolling toward the garage. That was interesting. Anyway - I was down to the Suburban with the studs for about a week as neither Z could maneuver the driveway which is over an 1/8 mile long and covered in snow that had converted to nearly 5" of ice. Parts of it stuck up far enough it was just kissing hte front spoiler on the convertible when I was finally able to get it out. Then we had a wind storm and I was clearing branches off the driveway just to be able to get out. My driveway also has about 35 or so huge trees lining it from the main road to the house. Nice inthe summer but not so fun right after a big wind. The last couple days it's been nice and I got the red Z out and enjoyed a couple short trips to work and back. Got several good comments from coworkers about the car but I really want to get it out on the street more and enjoy it. Today I'm back in at work - we're having a mintenance catch-up day and I need to keep an eye on the troops. Then I need to head back home and figure out what to do about the otters that are eating the fish in my pond. Anyway - I'm finally set up in the new place in Yakima and hooked in with the local sports cart club. Later.

I just towed my 77 280Z from Dallas, TX to Yakima, WA behind my suburban on a U-haul car trailer. My 280 is a fatty and weighs in at exactly 3,000 lbs. When it was original it weighed 2,800 lbs even. Both weights were verified on certified truck scales. As long as your not going up/down any steep mountain grades like I-70 through Colorado you should be fine.

Pete, Sounds like indoors is the place to be today. It's supposed to be in the low 40's here tomorrow with lots of sunshine. We're done with snow for a while. Our total precipitation for Novemeber was 1.12", higher than average, and November is one of the four 'wet' months. Total annual rainfall here is about equal to a two hour Texas frog choker. Smart move with the club thing. Someone obviously can learn by observation.

Yeah - some Texas guys gave me a hard time about the cold weather here in Washington and look what they got! Gotta be careful 'bout what you say:nono:

Mighty Maxxx - Canuck weather is exactly why I'm really not complaining about what we're seeing here right now. It is actually unseasonably cold and it's nothing like what you guys endure. I am so looking forward to March when I can hit the passes in the Z.

Big Phil - Thanks for the good words. Actually I'm glad to be out of Arlington as that 80 degree temp at the end of November is just an indicator of what it will be in July. The weather up here right now is unseasonably cold as the average lows in November is in the mid-20's with highs in the 40's. 40 degrees here with the sun out - which it is about 300 days/year -is very comfortable with a light jacket. Pete - I'll send you some photos of the place via your email. I think I kept yours when I was cleaning out my address book. You going to run for office for the Cowtown club? Sounds like Mike isn't getting a very good turn-out for the elections for next year. Then again, if the treasurer isn't changing it wouldn't be worth what you'd have to put up with. Well, they're predicting 1-2" of snow followed possibly by 1/4" of freezing rain tonight. Ain't it grand? I have a feeling I'll be driving the Suburban with the studded tires tomorrow. Y'all down Tejas way hang in there. A few more months and you'll be wishing you were up here!

Thanks for the idea Pete. I'd probably get to work just as fast but the roads are covered with sand now rather than snow. John Scott - It's forcast to be 3 here tonight with a high of 20 tomorrow. The heat wave is due this weekend when it's supposed to sneak a couple degrees above freezing during the day. I did an internet weather study of this area before coming up here and the average low in November is supposed to be a lot warmer than what we're currently experiencing. Interestingly enough the West side of the Cascades is really getting hammered with heavy snowfall and the cold temperatures. Really severe weather for this time of year. I actually have a full set of studded snow tires on the Suburban already and I've only been here two weeks. Hot tub? Oh yeah, did I mention my new place has a great hot tub on the back porch overlooking our private pond? Three steps outside the bedroom door and I'm in it! Too bad you guys down in Tejas are so far away. There are absolutely fantastic driving roads up here and they are fully Z worthy 8 months a year. I do love this area.

Woke up yesterday morning to 4" of snow. First time in a long time to encounter the white stuff. I saw several feet of it up on Snoqualmie Pass over the holiday and evidently some of it followed me back to Yakima. This morning I got additional experiences with a frozen door lock and a parking lot so slick I could hardly get the 300ZX to move. Left the wife the Suburban with studded snow tires all the way around since my drive to work is a full 0.3 miles parking spot to parking spot. I can commute to work all week about a gallon of gas!!

Davy, Actually my wife wanted the place worse than I did. She absolutely fell in love with the house which is completely loaded with very high end features but it is also on a spring fed pond that is a pacific salmon spawing ground each year. The place is remarkably beautiful and only 10 minutes from my work, 50 minutes from the White Pass Ski Resort, about 35 minutes from Whislin' Jacks Resort, and within an hour of 44 different vineyards. Then again, I got word from my realtor today that there may be a problem with water in the crawl space. I'll find out one way or another tomorrow when I make the rounds with the home inspector. I have also been amazed at the number of Z's I've seen around here in the week I've been here. Even saw a black S30 today that had a supercharger intake sticking up through the hood.

Yes, there is Renegade Raceway just a few miles out of town. I grew up in Boise so I'm good with the NW. My wife, Chris, who has never lived up here loves it so much so far that she feels like she's in wonderland.

Finally arrived in Yakima, WA after 5 days on the road ducking snow storms in the Suburban with the Z n tow. Over two thousand miles over the Rockies and through some truly nasty weather in some of the most beautiful country. I'm holed up in an Apartment for now about three blocks from my new job but my wife and I have done a house hunting blitz the past four days and have an accepted contract on a home on the north side of town. It is on 4 acres of land next to a golf course complete with it's own spring fed pond that Pacific salmon spawn in each year after coming up the Columbia River. The house is about 2600 square feet with a detached three car garage. The garage has a barn attached to it that has another two car garage and then two single stalls and a shop. Above it all is a finished apartment complete with shower, etc. Not sure yet what I'm going to do with seven bays but I'll definitely work on it:-D We don't close on it until December 8th so I'll have to wait until after that to get some photos to post. It also turns out that my realtor is a founding member of the Yakima Sports Car Club and he's already getting me hooked up locally. It's all good.

Crap! I'm headed north out of Texas on 11/10. I hope another one doesn't come through. I'll be going up I-25 and then over to Idaho in the Suburban with the 280Z on a trailer behind. Weather like this could mess up my travel plans pretty severely.

Well - I'm going where there are actually four seasons, where it drops into the 60's at night even in the summer, where the humidity is really low without much rain so every day is a Z day AND - no safety or emmissions inspections! And for you Texas guys I've been told to expect my electric bill to average about $95/month on a 3,000 sq ft all electric home. Not to mention lower property taxes and lower homeowners and car insurance rates.

Well, I can't put them down too much. They did have enough sense to select my car as car of the month - twice!

David, Good thing I got practice towing my 280 up to your place. They want almost $1700 to transport my Z32 vert so Chris and I are going to rent a trailer for $310 and tow it the 2,000 miles to Yakima. At least I'll have a second form of transportation if I have any trouble with the Suburban!

Sorry - he's in the UK and that's too far to go "visit" if it's a scam.

www.zclub.net John is almost right. His LS1 kit components are going into a car in the UK but it's a US California spec 1977 280Z. Absolutely fabulous conversion. No expense is being spared on this one.

Thanks Spot. Been in the DFW area over 23 years now so it means leaving family and all the friends we've made over the years. This is especially hard on Chris as her whole life pretty much is the family. With all the things I have going I know how tough it is on me so she's got to be feeling it 10-fold over what I'm experiencing. Not sure I'll be able to make the club meeting Thursday night to say farewell with all the things I have to do. If not please let everyone know I've disappeared for a reason.

Additional good news. We got an offer for our house from the very first couple that saw it for the full asking price. That is one more concern relieved. So far this whole evolution is going smoothly. Interesting side note. The date they put down for desired occupancy of our house was the day Chris and I had finally decided was the day we'd be packed up and able to leave. We hadn't discussed it with anyone yet. Also had a mover out at the house to do a walk-thru for the pack up & move. He told my wife that a home our size averages about 18,000 lbs. of "stuff". Turns out we have about 26,000 lbs of 'stuff'. He also is a Z enthusiast and went ga-ga over the 280. He immediately told Chris that he was going to ensure that it had extra insurance and got 'special handling'.

I was about 60 miles south of Charlotte a few months ago. It was nearly 100°F and the humidity had to be at least 80%. Got even worse later int he afternoon because it started to sprinkle a bit which then brought the humidity to 100% and the temperature only dropped a couple degrees. Jon, Made my decision and I'm moving your direction. I'll be just over the hill in Yakima. Low humidity and cools down at night even when it gets hot in the summer. Housing runs about $160/sqft for really nice homes. I've seen some pretty decent looking places with 2-10 acres of land and about 2,500 sq ft in the main house in the low 300's.

MiKelly, Nope - didn't happen. I'm seeing the same short-sighted reactive activiteis going on that I've seen before. On the bright side everything is nothing but positive for the future. Would have liked to make this move years ago but the timing/economy just wasn't right.

What was funny was that he said it over and over again. I wasn't sure whether to laugh or cry. Talk about stupid - actually thinking he could spew that crap and think someone would beleive him. Oops - forgot - there are other car dryers that probably would.

Took my car to the car wash at lunch yesterday to get a couple weeks of grime off it. After the was part I'm talking to the kid drying it off and mention that it has an LS1 in it. He then asks me if it has the C20 rear end and then goes off on a tangent talking about V12's & C something rear ends. Am I missing something here or was he from another planet far far away?