Lenore is "home", so to speak...

[acdntlpoet]

We went up to Burbank this morning to pick up Lenore from Doug Scott. After making sure all the paper work was in order, we drove her out of the Holiday Inn parking structure where she has been stored since December, and filled her up with gas for the ride home.

Jean and I drove Lenore, while John followed behind in our benz. I can't express my appreciation enough for having a friend I knew I could count on, following behind me just in case.


Well, John being John, and having access to our digital camera, he decided it would be fun to drive circles around us and take pictures as we drove our new family member home...







More pictures of Lenore can be found on our website here: http://www.waywardcelt.com/postnuke-phoenix-0.7.2.3/html/coppermine/thumbnails.php?album=27

The drive home was surprisingly uneventful and damn near luxurious. The bench seat feels like a couch, and the suspension feels like you are floating on the clouds. Truly what a tank of a luxury vehicle should feel like :) She handled the trip back to John's without issue, where we were able to formally introduce her to John's wife Mary (who had to work today, otherwise she would have come along for the ride). Now all we need to do is convince John and Mary that they need to buy the 6 door limo to complete the set. Talk about some serious party vehicles! Can you imagine road-tripping with a hearse and a limo? Damn that would be fun!

When we left J&M's, we headed back home though the canyons to see how she does with hills and curves etc. Other than not making it over 50mph on a steeeeeep grade (Imperial/Cannon for those who know Anaheim Hills)
she did wonderfully.

Of course I said we were taking her home today, which is a bit misleading. Rather, we took possession of her and dropped her off at my local mechanic's shop for a good used car inspection and HOPEFULLY some front end work to replace the front bumper/header area with the extra parts as seen in some of the other pics on our website. We are REALLY hoping to have her in working order enough to take her out to Estrella with us. That will be a seriously fun caravan!

So right now, she is sitting at my mechanic's waiting for a looksee and maybe some work. I did get a raised eyebrow from him (my mechanic) but he quickly accepted it and got down to business. At the same time, 3 freshman aged boys skated by and stopped to admire Lenore. They made my day, oddly enough, as they thought she was the coolest car they'd seen in a while. To think, I could have had a car just like Lenore when I was just a bit older than they are. But nooooooooo Mom though it was a "Stupid Idea^tm".

HA!I'll show mom now! I think I'll tell my parents that Jean and I got an old '84 Cadillac to restore as a project vehicle.... which is entirely true, but imagine the shock when we roll up to the house in Lenore! I can't wait :)



Now it's off to the Orange Hill restaurant for a birthday dinner in honour of my sis-in-law and dad-in-law. Should be fun, and the food should be fabulous.

Comments

[glowlita.livejournal.com]

all you need to do now is paint her avacado green :)

[hearsegirl.livejournal.com]

Definitely. More green hearses would be a great thing.

I love your comment about driving while sitting on a big comfy couch. My '66 is just like that. I'm so glad that your car is home. :)

[acdntlpoet.livejournal.com]

Green would indeed be cool, but I think we are going to keep her black with some deep cherry highlights to set it off in the sun.

[glowlita.livejournal.com]

ooh that sounds fun
like goth girl hair in the form of a goth car
nevermind me and the green...i'm just still mourning the loss of 6 feet under :)

[vmperella.livejournal.com]

Who's that HAWT lookin' couple sitting in the front seat.

Lenore is a perfect name and I totally have no hard feelings. If I end up getting one (someday) I was thinking of calling her Annabel Lee.

[acdntlpoet.livejournal.com]

LOL! we thought about Annabel as well, but found Lenore to be a bit easier to say :)

[little-poppet.livejournal.com]

Are you going to personalize the plates with something new or use the ones from the jeep (Jean's personalized ones)? Nifty.

[acdntlpoet.livejournal.com]

Oh, we have plans for a fun personal plate.... I'll divuldge the sequence of characters once we have reserved them :) I think you'll enjoy our idea very much!

[pyrotech-c3h8.livejournal.com]

Hey man thanks for the add man!

Nice pictures of Lenore by the way. If you are interested, you should join Hearse Drivers and post em there too! http://community.livejournal.com/hearse_drivers/profile

[acdntlpoet.livejournal.com]

Hey! Thanks for the nudge towards the Hearse Drivers community... seems my wife already found it and is a member! I'm headed over there right now :)

As you can see, as well as not see, she does need some work, but I think we got a great deal on her and will have a blast getting her restored and looking shiny and new!

By the by, I love what you have done with your hearses... some amazing creativity there! Plus, I get to commiserate with you a bit as I work in a sort of call center as well as I do tech support for a large software company. I truly feel your pain as your posts describe!

[pyrotech-c3h8.livejournal.com]

Good old call centers, can't beat them for...well, not sure, but still...

You are in California right? Are you going to the PCS meet there in 2007?

[acdntlpoet.livejournal.com]

We expect to be there, yes. Still have a ton to do before then though :)

Lenore! Lenore!

[thejamez.livejournal.com]

Hearse! Hearse! Hearse!

There are things one can say to congratulate. But then there are things, I mean, what can one say any better than to say...

Hearse! Hearse! Hearse!

Today, you're my hero.

Enjoy it.

Re: Lenore! Lenore!

[acdntlpoet.livejournal.com]

Ah, I but hold only a dim light to your recent accomplishments. I merely had to part with cash, while you had to put cleverly though out words to paper.

You, my friend, are my hero. Perhaps we can call it a mutual admiration of sorts to satiate both of us. Like your "Wotz", my Lenore has been in the makings for some 15 years now... and both have seemingly come to fruition within the past 2 months.

Hearse hearse hearse indeed. What mor ecan truly be said? :)

Good to see you back and posting. I've missed your lunatic ramblings and non-sequitors. ;) (Oh, and I should hopefully have stories of scotch for you some time after Feb. 22nd... Our first annual East Coast Whiskey Tasting is taking place in Arizona on Feb. 16th. Should be a blast, and is prving to be larger that all previous tastings we have thrown!)

[(Anonymous)]

Big honkin' congratulations!

[acdntlpoet.livejournal.com]

Well THANKS! But who is this? I want to know who I am thanking :)

Re: Lenore! Lenore!

[thejamez.livejournal.com]

Yes, I saw that you're planning another big tasting. Color me envious. Especially now that I'm on antibiotics this week and can barely touch a drop of anything for fear of dulling the effects. Whatever's taken up hostage in my nose needs to be taken out.

Yes, mutual admiration indeed. Lenore's pretty good looking, despite whatever damage to the front end. That's going to be a fun project. Decorating the inside should be even more fun. Do you have any specfic plans? Like, is their a coffin in the future?

Wait....I'm having a weird memory. What was the cartoon with the guy who drove a hearse?

Mein gott.

Teen Wolf.

Re: Lenore! Lenore!

[acdntlpoet.livejournal.com]

Ugh, antibiotics are the devil. I was on them for 10 days in the middle of January, though I don't remember abstaining during that period. In fact, I do believe I hosted a work party for the 3DC a day after I started antibiotics, which of course meant I was drinking a goodly amount of alcohol.

As yet we don't have any specific plans other than restoring the outside body work and paint, then looking to the interior to see what needs to be replaced and what we may be able to restore. Right now we're not sure if some of the water staining will come out or not. We'll know more about our plans for the inside once we try and clean the upholstery ourselves... Stay tuned :)

There was teen wolf driving the hearse, but I also remember another cartoon character who drove a coffin... but I am at a loss as well...

Re: Lenore! Lenore!

[siobhan-genie.livejournal.com]

I googled it - it was "Wacky Races", and the car was the Creepy Coupe, driven by the Gruesome Twosome :) I used to LOVE that cartoon! My favorites were Dastardly, Muttley and Penelope Pitstop.

Re: Lenore! Lenore!

[siobhan-genie.livejournal.com]

And here's a link to a site with the illustrations: http://www.hotink.com/wacky/index1.html

Re: Lenore! Lenore!

[lijss.livejournal.com]

We always make fun of Mom because she has a Muttley laugh. It's awesome. And as if I didn't love the idea of the hearse enough, seeing the two of you in it made me giggle with joy. I can't believe how excited I am, and it's not even mine!

Re: Lenore! Lenore!

[acdntlpoet.livejournal.com]

I can garauntee you weren't giggling nearly as much as we were as we drove her home. I'm not sure if people were staring because it was a hearse, or because of the two crazy people in the front seat laughing their asses off....

My Kingdom for a Hearse!

[browncolleen.livejournal.com]

The coolest car ever!! Can I be the first to ride in the back?

Re: My Kingdom for a Hearse!

[acdntlpoet.livejournal.com]

No one will be "riding" in the back. Just not safe and I don't need THAT ticket on my record. You can, however lay in the back when it is parked and enjoy the ambience.

Re: My Kingdom for a Hearse!

[browncolleen.livejournal.com]

Pretty please? I promise I'll lay really, really still the whole time. Besides, who ever heard of anyone getting a ticket for riding in the back of a hearse without a seatbelt. People do it every day ya know!