Double-D America

Driving That Will Blow Your Mind

Dave rss@double-d-america.com — 2007-03-27T05:14:40-08:00

[Music: FC Kahuna - "Hayling"]

I finally compiled the DDA Webcam video. It's a time lapse of the 15,193 road images captured once a minute by the windshield webcam. You will see almost every mile of the 16,748 miles we added to the car's odometer. Each frame represents one minute, so don't look away for a second or you'll miss an entire half hour of the drive.

Check out the map to get a better idea of what you're really seeing.

Update: Hey, look! We made it onto Gadling! Just ignore the fact that I wrote the piece.

Tags: [driving], [webcam]

Some Driving Statistics

Dave rss@double-d-america.com — 2006-10-14T17:44:01-08:00

Distances were calculated as the crow flies. For some reason, we're missing a *bunch* of coordinates from the KY to WV drive.

Milage by Driver Calculated using GPS coordinates:

Dave: 6028 miles (5429 coords)
Dom: 9255 miles (6543 coords)
Null: 27 miles (177 coords)
Total: 15310 miles (12149 coords)

Actual Total Milage: 16748 miles
Error (Pct. error): 1438 miles (8.586%)

Valid GPS coordinates acquired: 14716
Distinct valid GPS coordinates acquired: 12331

Average Distance between GPS captures: 1.242 miles
Greatest Distance between GPS captures: 176.882 miles
Shortest Distance between GPS captures: 0.000083177 miles

The DDA Google Earth map is also updated to highlight driving paths by driver.

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And the Winner Is...

Dave rss@double-d-america.com — 2006-08-22T13:35:08-08:00

Remember the Mileage Contest? Well, the prize goes to...

Tawnya

She had the closest guess to our final mileage of 16,748 miles. Congratulations, Tawnya. You will receive this amazing souvenir prize: An official Minnie Pearl hand fan from the Grand Ole Opry!

Thanks again to everyone who entered the contest.
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The Boys are Back in Town

Dave rss@double-d-america.com — 2006-08-16T15:37:52-08:00

It's over! Dom and I arrived today around 1700 Eastern time. We'll put up some lessons learned as soon as we finish unpacking (and as soon as I shave off this absurd moustache.)

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Taylor Swift says "Hi"

Dom rss@double-d-america.com — 2006-08-14T06:57:21-08:00

Hey Uncle Sam
Put your name at the top of his list
And the Statue of Liberty
Started shakin' her fist
And the eagle will fly
Man, it's gonna be hell
When you hear Mother Freedom
Start ringin' her bell
And it feels like the whole wide world is raining down on you
Brought to you Courtesy of the Red White and Blue
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Day Forty-Two: I'm a Nashville Star

Dave rss@double-d-america.com — 2006-08-13T20:22:35-08:00

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Day Thirty-Eight: Another Day, Another Dealer

Dave rss@double-d-america.com — 2006-08-09T14:44:47-08:00

I dropped the DDA car off at a Nissan dealer in El Paso, Texas. She will have to stay there overnight while she undergoes a minor repair. In the meantime, Dom and I are visiting Dom's dad who's here on a business trip. More album updates soon.

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Good things come to those who wait

Dom rss@double-d-america.com — 2006-08-06T00:19:33-08:00

One thing I know
No matter where I go
I keep my heart and soul in the boondocks
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Day Thirty-Five: Go East, Young Man

Dave rss@double-d-america.com — 2006-08-05T23:57:04-08:00

In which we turn the car toward the rising sun...

I'm posting from a hotel in Grand Junction, Colorado. We were here not too long ago which means we've offically doubled back on our route. We're on our way home!

We've spent the past few nights camping in Glacier National Park (Northern Montana), Yellowstone National Park (Southern Montana and Northern Wyoming), and Bridger-Teton National Forest (Northern Wyoming). Go ahead and check the album if you don't believe me.

Viewing such natural beauty in each park evoked powerful feelings, but what really stuck out in my mind each time: "Who knew there were so many hot National Park rangers?" Yeah, really. In fact, they just joined the erotic ranks of my fantasy women: Catholic schoolgirls, French maids, and librarians. (Yeah, librarians -- It's the glasses, frumpy clothes, and innate knowledge of the Dewey decimal system.)

Really, though, check out the album. Dom's camera took a big Flickr dump.
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The Mileage Contest

Dave rss@double-d-america.com — 2006-08-05T23:28:53-08:00

How far do you think our trip will take us? Leave a comment on this post with your guess as to how many miles you think the trip will take. If you have the closest mileage guess without going over, you'll win a souvenir that we picked up during our trip.

Please only one guess per person, so think carefully.

The contest ends by the end of the third week of August. We'll announce the winner some time during the fourth week of August.

Good luck, and we'll see you at the end of the road!

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Day Twenty-Eight: Go Beavers!

Dave rss@double-d-america.com — 2006-07-30T15:15:40-08:00

Short stories and an announcement!

We spent two days with my aunt and her family in San Francisco. I had a great time, but when I awoke on the day we had to leave, I got that twinge of homesickness. I felt as though I'd made it back home already since I was with family. I sucked it up, though, and we pushed on.

We camped in Smith River National Recreation Area the next night, and while trying to read in the tent alone, I was terrorized by a drunk camper. I thought it was Dom, so I just asked "Are you done yet?" after the mystery person scuffled around the site throwing rocks at trees and dumping dirt on the tent's cover. Thankfully, I didn't get a response, and the inebriated terrorist slipped away into the night. I wonder how I would've reacted had I realized it wasn't Dom. I probably would've curled into a ball waiting for the perpetrator to enter the tent so I could papercut him with the pages of my book.

Now, I'm sitting outside a Starbucks in Portland, Oregon. I'm taking a break from the Oregon Brewers Festival where Dom is a volunteer "tapster." I'd love to get all jacked up there, but I have to drive us to Seattle tonight. :-(

I really like the city of Portland, Oregon. Dom and I walked around a hippy-dippy area, and I became pretty enamored with it. So, Portland joins my list of favorite cities: Vail, Colorado and Wisconsin Dells, Wisconsin. At the moment, Wisconsin is in the lead for Dave's Favorite State.

And here's the Announcement: We decided we're going to have a mileage contest. I'm going to add a page to the site so people can leave guesses as to what our final trip mileage will be. The closest guess without going over will win a (currently unknown) *nice prize* that we'll pick up from somewhere on the road. More on this contest later.
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Day Twenty-Five: Pardon the Interruption

Dave rss@double-d-america.com — 2006-07-27T01:19:57-08:00

I updated the album, and that will have to suffice until we can put up some recapping-type blog content. Tomorrow... maybe? I'd do it now, but it's just so late.

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Day Nineteen: Man, I Feel Like a Woman

Dave rss@double-d-america.com — 2006-07-22T00:36:50-08:00

She put her warm hands on my bare back and asked, "The Navy doesn't give you massages?"

I thought, "All at once or one at a time?"

Only fifteen minutes prior, I had entered the spa attached to our hotel. I gave the receptionist my name, and she handed me a towel, a robe, a pair of slippers, and a key to a locker.

I popped into the men's locker room, and I realized I missed the lessons in proper spa protocol. I wondered:

"Am I supposed to get completely naked under this robe?"
"Why didn't I see anyone else wearing a robe?"
"Why is that old, naked man smiling at me?"

I left the boxers on under the robe *just in case* and carried the towel in my hand. I caught a glimpse of myself in a mirror as I walked into the waiting area. The combination of my white robe, bare chest, and ratty moustache made me feel as though I were stepping into a 70's porno instead.

I met my masseuse, Harmony, and she took me into a candle-lit room with a large cloth-covered table in the center. An overhead speaker quietly played tunes from a relaxation tape.

As Harmony explained the nature of the massage, she kept switching her gaze from my eyes to the spa towel in my hand. She slowly cultivated a "wtf nub?" look as she spoke. I can only imagine she was aghast because I was not wearing the towel as a loincloth, and therefore I was completely nude under the robe. A rookie mistake!

Over the next hour, Harmony used her hands and lotions to ease my muscle tensions and mental preoccupations. The experience envigorated me with new energy.

I thanked Harmony with a handshake and a tip, and I returned to the anteroom where I relaxed drinking cucumber-flavored water and smelling of Eastern oils.
Tags: [Sedona], [Arizona], [massage]

Day Eighteen: Viewer Mail Time!

Dave rss@double-d-america.com — 2006-07-20T22:43:42-08:00

I'm reclining on a plush duvet cover in a palatial suite in the Hilton Sedona Resort and Spa. I just booked a Swedish massage for tomorrow, and now I think I'm going to throw pennies to the street people below my balcony.

But, first, I will answer some questions...

Q. Are you OK? Is the car dead?
A. The Nissan dealer repaired the Team DD car. Apparently, you need to put gas in a car to make it run. Yeah, sounds made me up to me, too. But, seriously, we're fine. The car's fine, too. Thanks for asking.

Q. What's with the moustache?
A. Just doing it for fun. I refuse to shave it until the trip is over. I think it looks ridiculous and it ruins the pictures, but I did make a promise to myself.

Q. Why isn't your trip more exciting?
A. Are you kidding me? Are you sure you're not confusing us with another interactive realtime roadtrip website? The trip is plenty exciting. We just forget to mention some of the skylarkings that come with *extreme traveling.* For instance, here's something I never mentioned in the blog before:

I met Hilary Duff at the 4th of July celebration in Boston. OK, it wasn't so much "met" as it was "had my picture taken in front of." And it wasn't "Hilary Duff" as much as it was "some girl staring at a man lying spread eagle." Hm. Maybe you're right.

If you'll excuse me, I have some commoners to tease.
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History is Written on the Sands of Zion

Dom rss@double-d-america.com — 2006-07-20T19:13:40-08:00

~we live to ride,
we ride to live~
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