2016 Moss Motoring Challenge
Sneak Peek 2a - Valve Train Issues: We have really fallen off the pace in this year's Motoring Challenge because the normally reliable Miata has had some valve train issues. (6/23/16)
Destination - Epic Sunrise: The other day when we had a few minutes to kill on the way to work, we took a slightly different way to work and discovered that the sun rose in line with this road. Came back the next day with the camera. (7/7/16)
Cool Vehicles - Old Chevy: Donna spotted this and got me to circle the block. I'm guessing very late 40' to very early 50's and it looks Cheverolet-ish. (5/25/16)
Cool Vehicles - Saturn Sky: We are driving a Japanese vehicle and this car was made in an other country called the United States of America in a state called Delaware in a city called Wilmington. (4/23/16)
Cool Vehicles - Mazda MX-5: We are in the USA and this car was made in an other country called Japan in the Prefecture of Hiroshima in a city called Hiroshima. We can have it both ways, right? (4/23/16)
Destination - Deer Crossing: We have passed by this sign many times on a way to a friends house, Today we decided to stop and take the picture. (3/19/16)
Destination - Tattoo Parlor: There must be a huge correlation to getting a tattoo and cigarette smoking because the sidewalk in front was littered with butts and as I stood there posing it smelled just like an ashtray. (3/12/16)
Destination - Psychic/Fortune Teller: This was our first stop of the day and, darn it, too early to get my palm read. (3/12/16)
Destination - Presidential Landmark: The house in which Thomas Woodrow Wilson, the 28th President of the U.S, lived from ages 4 until 16 while his father was the minister at the First Presbyterian Church of Augusta, GA. (3/12/16)
Destination - Marquee: This is our second Marquee photo, this one is in downtown Augusta, GA and replaces the smaller on from Columbia, SC. I wonder how this looks at night...? (3/12/16)
Destination - Historic Site 1900s: There is a historical marker in front of the Aiken, SC Chamber of Commerce building touting the discovery of the neutrino at the Savannah River Plant 25 miles south of that point. We felt that was cheating, so we drove down to inside the plant on the one publicly accessible road to get closer to the actual spot. (3/12/16)
Destination - Famous Statue: We may or may not make a trip to the northeast later this year, where we may or may not try and get a photo of the actual Statue of Liberty, so this may or may not be our actual entry for the Destination. (3/12/16)
City - North Augusta, SC: Due north of Augusta, GA is, amazingly enough, a city named North Augusta, but because you cross the Savannah River to get there, it is in a whole 'nother state, South Carolina. (3/12/16)
City - Augusta, GA: We thought we might use our hometown of Aiken, SC this year, but then remembered we used it in 2014, so we opted for the 116th largest city in the U.S. and a close neighbor. (3/12/16)
Destination - Slow Children: We were sort of worried about finding this one, not much need for this particular sign anymore. Kids don't play outdoors unsupervised these days, just organized sports that they've been chauffeured to by a parent. (3/6/16)
Moving (or Parked) Targets - Helicopter: We had an idea for our helicopter photo, but really wanted one other than the Huey on a pole in Barnwell. Today as we drove by the Hospital for a doctor's appointment, when BOOM! There it is. (2/29/16)
Destination - Sign with Bullet Hole(s): I'm really disappointed in my fellow rural South Carolinians as it was a lot harder than I thought to find a sign with some bullet holes in it. This one looks like it took a shotgun round at close range. (2/28/16)
Destination - Cemetery: Barreling along a back road on our way home from a small trip to get breakfast and some bagels for later when we passed an open field with a walled cemetery smack in the middle of it. (2/28/16)
Sneak Peek 1b - Mini Tec: Today's Masters Miata Club destination was a visit to Mini Tec in Royston, GA. A dozen years ago a couple of crazy guys decided it would be fun to drop a Honda V-6 into an original Mini. Now that same brilliant idea is be applied to 1st & 2nd gen Miatas. (2/20/16)
Sneak Peek 1a - Georgia's Stonehenge: Whenever we take the Miata Club through north Georgia, we always stop just north of Elberton to visit the Georgia Guidestones (2/20/16)
Signs Of Mother Nature - Forks Trailhead: If you are a mountain biker in the Aiken-Augusta area this is the closest spot for some really good single track riding, but because of that, it is usually very crowded on weekends. (2/20/16)
Moving (or Parked) Targets - Ice Cream Truck: Like our Lighthouse Destination photo, we hope we can get a nicer one than this roadside snap and grab, but we have found that usually once the pressure of having to find something is off, we usually luck into something wonderful. (2/20/16)
Destination - Someplace Old: With all the other required Historic type destinations we really weren't sure what to do for Someplace Old, but when we passsed this local favorite fried fish restaurant we knew we found it. (2/20/16)
State - South Carolina: We actually were looking for just this thing for the state of Georgia last year and of the three we found none were situated in a way to capture the sign and the tower in one picture. This year South Carolina cooperated. (1/30/16)
Signs of Mother Nature - Edisto Nature Trail: (On our way down to Charleston we zipped by this sign and I promptly made a u-turn. We didn't have time to explore this trail and said we'll have to come back. But odds are we probably won't ever make the 100 mile on-way to get here just for a 1-1/2 long nature trail. (1/30/16)
Moving or Parked Targets - Military Vehicle: I had another old Army tank in another town in mind for this point, but this one just presented itself to us. (1/30/16)
Destination - Lighthouse: On this Saturday's road trip, this was the first opportunity for a point that we passed. We will hopefully find a nice real tall structure erected along the coastline as an aid to navigation for sailors. But if we don't this loosely meets the requirements. (1/30/16)
Destination - Historic Site 1700s: About 5 miles further north on SC-61 from Magnolia Plantation is Middleton Place another rice plantation. This dates from the middle 1700s. (1/30/16)
Destination - Historic Site 1600s: Charleston, SC was founded in the 1600s so we were hopefully that we might find something on our trip there. The primary purpose was the capture a raised draw bridge over the Wappoo Creek there, but it never went up while we were near it. On the way home we drove back on SC-61 which has part of it designated as a National Scenic Byway, but found no signage what so ever. It was not a total loss as we did find the entrance to Magnolia Plantation which dates to 1676. (1/30/16)
Destination - Bell Tower: According to Wikipedia: A bell tower is a tower that contains one or more bells, or that is designed to hold bells, even if it has none. These bells are not "contained", so I wonder. We may have to get something else. (1/30/16)
City - Round O, SC: This town is pretty much nothing but an intersection without even a flashing light and a couple of abandoned looking buildings, but it has its own Post Office. (1/30/16)
Moving (or Parked) Targets - Ambulance: On our way to West Columbia, SC to get a somewhat picturesque Comic Book Store we spotted this parking area full of Ambulances. This is our first picture for the 2016 Challenge. Gotta start somewhere… (1/16/16)
Destination - Taxidermist: We knew this one was going to be easy, living where we do in South Carolina. Turns out it would have been easy if this was a motoring challenge put on by 4-Wheeler Magazine, most of them are down dirt roads, way down dirt roads. Fortunately we did find this one right along US-378. (1/16/16)
Destination - Marquee: Aiken has no remaining Marquees so we widened our search and found there was one remaining in Columbia. Once again, the real life is not nearly as impressive as the photos on the internet show. (1/16/16)
Destination - Historic Site 1800s: This place was going to be a sneak peek photo last year because it is the bookend to the place that I used for the 2015 Destination of Historic Place, the Burt-Stark house in Abbeville, SC that purports to be where the Civil War ended. This one is where it began. The 1st Baptist Church in Columbia, SC hosted the South Carolina Secession Convention in December 1860. (1/16/16)
Destination - Flea Market: There is a stretch of US-1 in Lexington, SC that should be avoided on a Saturday morning because there are two very large flea markets within a ½ mile of each other. Mistakenly I ended up on it this morning, so when the three cars right in front of me turned into this one, I followed. Figured it was a sign [pun intended.] (1/16/16)
Destination - Comic Book Store: An image search for Comic Book Stores in South Carolina turned up this one in West Columbia about 50 miles away. Road Trip! Of course the picture on the internet made the place look much cooler as they took the shot at night with the lights on and used some HDR filters, but this one is better overall because I'm in it. (1/16/16)
Destination - Barber Shop with Pole:After leaving the Comic Book Store the plan was to drive on home, but after making a left and then a right to get headed that way, we stumbled on this. It was a narrow street and people were parked both on one side of the road and the business lots on the other side were full too, so we were cruising slowly. Towards the end of the street someone backed out in front of us. I peeked into the now empty space and… (1/16/16)