Post by Marc on Jul 8, 2005 8:44:22 GMT -6
A drive from California to Connecticut in a golf cart???!!!
Can you believe this???!!!
Man uses unusual method to travel from California to Connecticut
By ANTHONY SPINELLI
Connecticut Post
July 7, 2005, 11:41 AM EDT
SHELTON, Conn. -- Traveling around the world in 80 days was once the dream of Phileas Fogg. George Bombardier, however, has made traveling cross-country in a golf cart a reality.
Bombardier, a 64-year-old retired roofer from Rialto, Calif., pulled into Shelton recently on his gasoline-powered cart after a 10-day trip from the West Coast to visit his daughter, Diane Wilson.
"This is my fourth trip," said Bombardier, who gets about 50 miles per gallon and zips along at a relatively fast 45 mph.
He travels primarily along back roads and avoids the interstates with their unwritten 80 mph speed limits.
"I did it in 1998 and 2000 and 2003," Bombardier said of his earlier continental treks.
Despite his unusual choice of transportation, Bombardier is not a golfer.
"I just like to drive my golf cart," he said. "I have other transportation, but every now and then I feel like doing something crazy, so I do it."
Riding a golf cart can be scary during rainstorms and especially tornadoes.
"If it rains, you get wet. I woke up in Kansas to a full-blown tornado," Bombardier said.
While in the area, he is also visiting his other daughters, Patricia Morales and Allison Gurge, both of Bridgeport, and his son, James Bombardier of Fairfield.
"I guess you could say I'm impressed he comes all this way to see us," Wilson said.
During his journey, Bombardier prefers to eat in locally owned places instead of the ubiquitous fast-food joints.
He has even made friends with plenty of state troopers who initially think his unusual mode of travel must be breaking some kind of law.
But, he said, the cart is a registered motor vehicle and legal for street use.
"Troopers stop me out of curiosity. They want to check me out. I tell them, `Can't you see the marker plate?' " Bombardier said.
He owns three of the carts and plans to sell the one he drove on this trip, a miniature replica of a 1957 Chevrolet Bel Air.
He'll take a train back to California after side trips to Vermont and Florida. Bombardier prefers driving slow to going fast.
"I get a real taste of America," he said. "You know what's going on out there; you see a lot. There's no hurry. I do it for fun, that's all."
He has no choice but to take his time.
"I can't believe he made it in 10 days. Golf carts are slow," said Tony Marranzino, bartender at the Highlands Golf Club in Shelton.
He must have at least had a windshield," said Marranzino, guessing correctly.
Bombardier's least-favorite state is Kansas, because he feels as though he's in the middle of nowhere and faces the danger posed by twisters that often touch down there.
But he can't decide on his favorite state.
"They're all nice," he said.
His beloved California, though, holds the aces. He's a Connecticut native who went west 10 years ago.
"You can count on the sunshine," he said.
This was his last trip PGA-style. A golf cart is not built for comfort after all.
"I'm not going to do it again, it takes a toll on you," he said. "I have heavy-duty springs because some of those roads are so bad."
www.newsday.com/news/local/wire/connecticut/ny-bc-ct--fea-golfcartjourn0707jul07,0,2629612.story?page=1&coll=ny-region-apconnecticut
Can you believe this???!!!
Man uses unusual method to travel from California to Connecticut
By ANTHONY SPINELLI
Connecticut Post
July 7, 2005, 11:41 AM EDT
SHELTON, Conn. -- Traveling around the world in 80 days was once the dream of Phileas Fogg. George Bombardier, however, has made traveling cross-country in a golf cart a reality.
Bombardier, a 64-year-old retired roofer from Rialto, Calif., pulled into Shelton recently on his gasoline-powered cart after a 10-day trip from the West Coast to visit his daughter, Diane Wilson.
"This is my fourth trip," said Bombardier, who gets about 50 miles per gallon and zips along at a relatively fast 45 mph.
He travels primarily along back roads and avoids the interstates with their unwritten 80 mph speed limits.
"I did it in 1998 and 2000 and 2003," Bombardier said of his earlier continental treks.
Despite his unusual choice of transportation, Bombardier is not a golfer.
"I just like to drive my golf cart," he said. "I have other transportation, but every now and then I feel like doing something crazy, so I do it."
Riding a golf cart can be scary during rainstorms and especially tornadoes.
"If it rains, you get wet. I woke up in Kansas to a full-blown tornado," Bombardier said.
While in the area, he is also visiting his other daughters, Patricia Morales and Allison Gurge, both of Bridgeport, and his son, James Bombardier of Fairfield.
"I guess you could say I'm impressed he comes all this way to see us," Wilson said.
During his journey, Bombardier prefers to eat in locally owned places instead of the ubiquitous fast-food joints.
He has even made friends with plenty of state troopers who initially think his unusual mode of travel must be breaking some kind of law.
But, he said, the cart is a registered motor vehicle and legal for street use.
"Troopers stop me out of curiosity. They want to check me out. I tell them, `Can't you see the marker plate?' " Bombardier said.
He owns three of the carts and plans to sell the one he drove on this trip, a miniature replica of a 1957 Chevrolet Bel Air.
He'll take a train back to California after side trips to Vermont and Florida. Bombardier prefers driving slow to going fast.
"I get a real taste of America," he said. "You know what's going on out there; you see a lot. There's no hurry. I do it for fun, that's all."
He has no choice but to take his time.
"I can't believe he made it in 10 days. Golf carts are slow," said Tony Marranzino, bartender at the Highlands Golf Club in Shelton.
He must have at least had a windshield," said Marranzino, guessing correctly.
Bombardier's least-favorite state is Kansas, because he feels as though he's in the middle of nowhere and faces the danger posed by twisters that often touch down there.
But he can't decide on his favorite state.
"They're all nice," he said.
His beloved California, though, holds the aces. He's a Connecticut native who went west 10 years ago.
"You can count on the sunshine," he said.
This was his last trip PGA-style. A golf cart is not built for comfort after all.
"I'm not going to do it again, it takes a toll on you," he said. "I have heavy-duty springs because some of those roads are so bad."
www.newsday.com/news/local/wire/connecticut/ny-bc-ct--fea-golfcartjourn0707jul07,0,2629612.story?page=1&coll=ny-region-apconnecticut
