Route 13 south of Wilmington wasn't the expected freeway. It is an ordinary highway that is well developed in parts while in others it is just farms. About 12 miles out, there looms the JCT 299 sign, just as predicted from the Goshua map, but there is not a 'real' rest area here, however there is a sign for one 29 miles further down the road.

It didn't look like a rest area, there is a gas station on the left, a Restaurant and some other stuff on the right.

Bill	Jeff
This must be the place, it does not look like a freeway rest-area though. I figure worst case I'm 45 minutes ahead of Jeff, so I'll give 'em a shout and let him know what it looks like. I ring up Jeff on his car phone.	I'm zipping down the New Jersey Turnpike at 65mph, sans hood (top), so when the jam-bone (car phone) politely chirps it doesn't get noticed above the rush of the wind, tyre noise and FINSUP's racing mechanicals.
No answer, I pull the rental car around so I've got a good view of the tarmac ribbon - a good quarter mile is viewable through the open field. I open a Coke and crank up the tunes, and watch for FINSUP's blue breakfast to appear in the distance.	Just before crossing the Deleware Memorial Bridge, I look down at the jam-bone (cel phone), and see CALL flashing on the display. Must be Bill...I'll have to page him when I get to the rest stop to see what's wrong.
I spy FINSUP coming down the road, flash the headlamps, jump out of the car, honk the horn and wave to Jeff. FINSUP signals to pull in to the lot. Cool this is working out great!	Pedal down, FINSUP moves further South, and not finding any indication of a rest stop (save the one 30 miles further down the road), I see this grovcery/deli place and decide to pull over to contact Bill.
Hmmm. Why did Jeff decided to park way across the lot?	I parked in the lot, near the road, and began to dig through the 'flight bag' for the Pilot (electronic phone book). So focused on this task am I that Bill scared the wits out of me when
I wander across the lot, stick my head into the cab and say to Jeff, who is oblivious to my presence, "What's up?"	"Oh, you're here...I was just going to page you."
"Didn't you see me jumping up and down and waving?"	"No."

Having successfully joined forces, in spite of our prior planning, we continued south on 13. Jeff let Bill lead, because "You've got some kinda map, and all I have is the Garmin GPS with no destination programmed into it." After about 10 miles we were passed by a white Dodge Caravan and a white Range Rover. Both vehicles were loaded up to the gills--like the dead-battery-bloke's Series motor we hooked up with in NJ on the way to ROAV last fall, and the drivers and passengers of each were waved to Jeff.

WHEN CLUBS COLLIDE

We trailed the pair for a few miles, when they pulled off and waved FINSUP over. We pulled over and introduced ourselves to Tom Bache and Mike Hollick of R.O.V.E.R.S. They asked if were were hungry and would we like to join them for dinner? More importantly, Mike asked if we liked BBQ and Jeff immediately answered "You betcha" for both of us. Mike lead us to this barbie place Where Pigs Fly (617 E. Lookerman St.) in Dover for a great dinner. [Atmosphere, prices and food are all top notch--worth stopping! - Jeff] Here we met the remaining Bache's, Hollick's and Elyse, a friend of Alicia along for the weekend. Over dinner Jeff learned that Elyse, would be camping for the first time--and she was completely psyched! At this point Jeff cemented the image of a rugged Series-drivin' man in her mind by telling her "It's still a bit chilly for me...Bill and I are staying at the Holiday Inn." To his credit though, he didn't raise the hood on FINSUP after dinner, even though with the sun had set and the temperature had become 'breath visible.'

We continued our convoy down 13 and 113, stopping farther on to gawk at the Hale-Bopp comet and say good-bye before splitting off for our respective camps. Jeff pressed a small fleece bag into the hands of a confused Mike Hollick. "Your new camper doesn't know it yet, but sometime around 1am she's going to be glad I loaned her this." The bag contained a headlamp--of the sort for humans--which any camper knows is great for finding your way from your tent and back in the middle of the night. Jeff's thinking being that as Elyse was new to sleeping al fresco, there was a pretty good chance that she hadn't packed even a Mini-Maglite. Besides, he wouldn't be needing it while roughing it in Ocean City. Besides, as he had 4 Maglites scattered throughout various camera bags, pieces of luggage and the Rover itself-- so illumination was not going to be a problem. Nobody knew at this point how important this exchange would prove to be...

WELCOME TO THE HOTEL OCEAN CITY

Jeff recalls arriving at the hotel:

Bill and I were wondering about what type of weekend we had in store before we even checked into the Holiday Inn. There was a bail bondsman located right next door-across from the OC courthouse and lock-up. There was a liquor store--open 'til 2 AM--located next to the hoosegow. Standing in front of the hotel club entrance were two long-legged girls in short, slinky cocktail dresses. Hmmmm...interesting, especially after a long day on the road. Once we got closer I realized that the shapely adorables would only be of interest as Zippytow Calander models--each being good for 20 years across the street. Apparently it was Prom Night in Ocean City. We'd have to settle for plan B...whatever that was.

While checking in, Bill inquired about the big convention mentioned on the numerous hotel marquees we'd passed in town. "Oh, it's for support groups for people with chemical dependencies." We almost burst out laughing. "I guess we're in the right place," Jeff quipped as minutes later we wheeled a heavily laden luggage cart through the lobby. Bags of portable computers, cameras, video equipment and clothes were all piled high on Jeff's gigantic marine cooler--which was itself stuffed full of beer, rum and mixers.

The room, conveniently located to both the elevators and the Coke machine (but we never did find an ice machine), was extremely warm. Jeff opened the patio door, then flipped the cooling switch...nothing happened. Wandering back to the patio he noticed a sticker on the door he asked, "Hey Bill do you think this is for real or are they just trying to trick us into leaving the door closed?"

Notice to our guests: In order to operate the thermostat, the sliding glass door must be completely closed.		NOT !

Jeff's question was answered when he noticed the magnetic switch mounted on the top of the door frame. Bill hit the fan switch on the thermostat and closed the door. Air began to circulate from the vent. Jeff verifies that opening the door causes the blower to stop. The two Series-experienced Rover owners (equivalent of a M.S. in Electrical Engineering) quickly surmised that it would be trivial to bypass the switch. Moments later, after the application of Bill's trusty Swiss Army®; knife, the door no longer interferes with the thermostat and the room is cooling rapidly. "We didn't even need the duct tape!" , Jeff mixed Dark-N-Stormys, the boys unpacked, then spent some time hacking animated gifs with Bill's PowerBook for the Land Rover website, and Jeff showing off his new palm-pad, with the tele on and the sound of surf breaking in the background. Jeff tried to stay up to catch Liv Tyler on Letterman, but his road weariness and two 4oz rum drinks conspired against him, causing him to miss Letterman, Liv, and the 11pm news too!

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Bill Caloccia, Jeff Berg
Ocean City, Maryland
April 1997

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