The Good Car Guy had a birthday almost two weeks ago. Hold the congratulations and the birthday wishes. Oh… I guess you can sing to me if you really want to.
Better than the song was the gift from TGCGirl. An absolute surprise tour through Canada’s capital city, America’s capital city, and plenty of driving through Virginia, Maryland, and Pennsylvania. Twelve days in total, with nights spent in Chantilly (very near D.C. but in Virginia), Gettysburg – home to THAT battlefield – Pittsburgh, and another back near Chantilly in Sterling, VA.
Top right, the northern part of Shenandoah
National Park. Below, underneath the
Pittsburgh sun. 
In the upcoming days, GCBC and its affiliates at Good Value Bad Value and Good Talk Bad Talk will offer up articles directly related to this trip. Transportation was provided by Air Canada, through Air Miles Rewards, as well as Ottawa’s bus service, Washington’s Metro train/subway, a Chrysler PT Cruiser and an older Volvo S70.
Our PT Cruiser gave us fuel economy of 30 US mpg. Impressive.
Parking at the Vienna/Fairfax station cost only $3.75 a day. The PT Cruiser traversed the Appalachians around the Shenandoah Valley without difficulty. The OC Transpo in Ottawa, Ontario was the best bus service I have ever had the privilege of enjoying, even if it was for just a day. The roads from Gettysburg that led to the Penn Turnpike offered up magnificent views and crazy corners.
While in the States I never once saw a license plate from outside of the USofA, and can therefore say that Americans’ complaining about fuel prices is not reflected in their driving habits. You’ll understand what I mean in a few days.
GVBV will be discussing $ inside the airports, the contrasting prices of tourism-related activities, and the weight of food in Pittsburgh. GTBT is raring to attack airport security, profiling around the White House, and the knowledge that individual American’s have when it comes to the rest of the world.
GCBC, however, will stick to the automotive universe. There are a lot of amazing drives to be found in North America. The leading road through the Shenandoah National Park must now rank near the top of your must-drive list. Read more tomorrow.
