One more day of work

WALL-E rode home from work with Hal and I yesterday. I now have only one more day of work left in Kentucky. Sad about leaving the people I work with behind...but am incredibly excited about the new job, the shorter commute....and most importantly being so close to my dear Heather :-) 

Hal is in the shop right now for his timing belt change...I am driving a loner 2011 Honda CR-V EX. Its very nice....

The Last Week in Kentucky

This is my and HAL's last week in Kentucky - and with just a few days remaining, we are closing in on the 210,000 mile mark. Am actually heading in tonight to drop HAL off for his second 105,000 mile service, a service that includes changing the timing belt and water pump. With the likelihood of less driving in Michigan than we've done in Kentucky, this is probably HAL's last 105,000 mile service under my ownership. But you never know.

Anyways - I should hit the 210,000 mark this coming weekend... here's how close we are

The Road to 210,000

HAL and I continue to turn the odometer at a quick pace. We hit the 208,000 point yesterday and 208,208 on the way to work today.

HAL and I returned to Kentucky from Michigan...and that's the last time I will say that as a resident of the Commonwealth of Kentucky. Wow! Only 8 more days of work and two weeks of residency in Kentucky left. We'll get to 210,000 before leaving the state... and if not, we'll get there on our journey to Kansas City on our way out.

Under the Rainbow

Caught this shot of HAL under a rainbow at work just as a storm was passing through. Haven't taken a photo of HAL in a while... so here goes.

Only 9 more days of work in Kentucky... and 18 days before we depart for our permanent adventure in Michigan.

207,000 with 19 days remaining...

Just a quick update on some mileage figures as HAL and I wind down our time in the Commonwealth of Kentucky. Only 19 more days living here...then some time in Kansas City with great friends and a Peter Gabriel concert, before we head up north to Michigan for good :) Hit 207,000 miles this morning just after departing for work...only 19 days to hit 210,000 before leaving KY.

Miles per gallon in our last five tanks of gas look like this

31.74, 30.53, 31.32, 29.92, 30.93

This helps to bring the 2011 mpg average up +.08 from the 205,000 mile mark to 29.45.

Overall miles per gallon since 2003 now stands at 27.32, which is +.02 mpg better than at 205,000.

205,000 and 700 fill-ups

HAL and I crossed the 205,000 mile mark just south of Dayton, Ohio yesterday while we were returning from a quick visit with Heather in the Dayton area. We hope to hit 210,000 sometime before we leave Kentucky for good on June 13th. Yes...HAL and I are leaving Kentucky for good! I accepted a job in Grand Rapids, Michigan and will be moving there. With only 2 hours between myself and Heather - and what should likely be a much much much much much much much shorter commute to work every day, HALs uptick in mileage should drop off dramatically after June 21st. Until then... we'll just keep chugging along.

Oh yeah...and my trip to the gas station yesterday was my 700th fill-up of HAL since I bought him. Yeah... that's a lot of $$$$$$

HAL by the numbers:

The total miles per gallon for the life of HAL: 27.30 +.07 since 200,000

So far in 2011 - Am averaging $3.59/gallon :-( and 29.37 miles per gallon which is +0.60 over 2010 total mpg:-).

Some Mileage Stats for HAL...

Third 100,000 miles (04/03/11-present) - 41 days at 121.95 miles/day
Second 100,000 miles (2/18/09-4/03/11) - 774 days at 129.19 miles/day
First 100,000 miles (4/26/03-2/18/09) - 2128 days or about 47 miles/day
First 30,500 miles (4/26/03-11/5/05) - 927 days or 32.9 miles/day

Mileage by the #s
20,000 miles 01/01/2011 to 05/14/2011
50,000 miles 12/31/2009 to 12/31/2010

Last 5,000 miles (200k-205k) in 41 days at 121.95 miles/day

Last 25,000 miles in 189 days at 132.27 miles/day
Last 70,000 miles in 501 days at 139.72 miles/day

The 250,000 Mile estimator
at 50 miles/day = 900 days (November 2013)
at 125 miles/day = 360 days (May 2012)
at 150 miles/day = 300 days (early March 2012)

And Again...

Well, I guess seeing all ten numbers on the display at once really is not that much of a challenge. Guess I need to find something else to try and take photos of.

On a more exciting note... I'm moving to Grand Rapids in June!!!! So, HAL should be relieved of his 150+ mile per day work trip, making 250,000 a very interesting challenge. 2014 anyone? :-)

Should hit 205,000 this week and possibly 210,000 before leaving Kentucky. After that... 215,000 and beyond is anyone's guess.

Maybe Its Not That Hard...

...I know... title is a That's What She Said. So yeah...I got the Big Ten twice in one mile. Yes... I know... TWSS. So really, here's how that needs to be stated so people don't TWSS on my sentences.

It must not be that difficult to capture all ten digits on the odometer and trip counter. I managed to take pictures of all ten digits occurring twice within one mile this morning. I also missed an opportunity yesterday when my camera would not focus.

Anyways - though I've seen 4 times already with all ten digits, I never thought I would see or even capture the event twice within one mile. So here they are... enjoy.

The Big Ten...

I happened to look down on my way to a meeting today to see I had a shot at getting all ten digits on the odometer and trip counter. 

Fortunately for me...i had only two-tenths of a mile to drive after getting off the freeway to capture the digit moment I've been looking for.  The big ten.... Using the B trip counter that I don't ever remember resetting in the 8 years I've had Hal.   Now to see if I can catch it again. Total mileage now stand at 203200.

HAL Turns 8

So yeah.... I missed Hals 8th birthday....  On April 26, 2003, I got rid of Black Magic...aka... POS... and made the best car purchase ever!!!!

Cannot believe its been 8 years....  202500 miles.... Amazing. 

202020

Continuing the slow climb to 205,000....

Slow week....and one number short

Its been a slow week or two for Hal as I've been spending most of my time in a work vehicle. 1700 miles worth of work vehicle road time since April 10th...

Anyways...here's a shot from my way to work this morning....got nine different numbers between the mileage and trip indicator.  Still shooting for all ten digits.  

Two oh One, One oh Two

As I'm pretty sure you guessed by now... I'm probably not going to stop with the dorky odometer photos. Someday, I might actually take a picture of HAL so you can see that he still looks pretty much identical to all those other photos I've taken of him. The second picture above is the last known photo of HAL not covered in snow. It was taken while I was staffing the World Equestrian Games in Lexington in September 2010. Not really an exciting photo..but one that made HAL proud to be at such a big event...getting a special parking permit to hang with law enforcement cruisers all day.

So...I hit 201,102 this morning on the way to work. So yeah...I'm cruising along at about 150 miles per day. Am trying to keep my eye on the odometer to see if I can catch it showing all ten of the digits 0 through 9 (6 mileage, 4 trip tick). That should be fun and interesting....

Anyhoo...no weird stats today honestly...HAL's 8th Birthday is coming up in a could of weeks. I'm thinking about taking him to the car wash :)

HAL CROSSES 200,000 MILES!!!!!!!

At 829PM EDT on Sunday April 3rd, while about 10 miles from home toward the end of my return to Kentucky from Michigan, HAL and I crossed over the 200,000 mile mark! Thanks to Heather for writing down the time we crossed the big 200k...as I was on the phone with her at the time.

So yes... I was on the phone (bluetooth) and driving 70 mph when I snapped the 200,000 odometer picture. :-) I was also driving for pretty much every other picture in the image above. Wouldn't seem right to be taking pictures of HAL's odometer...without actually being on the road turning over miles :)

All that driving...and HAL and I have only managed to visit 17 states on the road :-)

So...200,000 Miles for HAL was 7296 gallons of gas that cost $20,046.63 to purchase since April of 2003. Wow... that's a lot of $$$ and yes, 683 trips to the gas station. And yes... I write every trip to the gas station down...and yes, I always fill the tank completely. OCD much? :-)

The total miles per gallon for the life of HAL: 27.23

So far in 2011 - Am averaging $3.46/gallon :-( and 29.17 miles per gallon :-).

Some Mileage Stats for HAL...

Second 100,000 miles (2/18/09-4/03/11) - 774 days at 129.19 miles/day
First 100,000 miles (4/23/03-2/18/09) - 2128 days or about 47 miles/day
First 30,500 miles (4/23/03-11/5/05) - 927 days or 32.9 miles/day

Mileage by the #s
15,000 miles 01/01/2011 to 04/03/2011
50,000 miles 12/31/2009 to 12/31/2010

Last 5,000 miles (195k-200k) in 27 days at 185.18 miles/day

Last 20,000 miles in 148 days at 135.13 miles/day
Last 65,000 miles in 460 days at 141.30 miles/day

The 250,000 Mile estimator
at 125 miles/day = 400 days (May 2012)
at 150 miles/day = 333 days (early March 2012)

Only hours away....

HAL is mere hours away from passing the 200,000 mile mark. Should happen within the next couple of days...depending on how much driving we do on my weekend off. Looking forward to seeing that odometer turn over...and seeing us on our way to 225,000 and 250,000.

A Little Closer Each DAy

Well...two posts in two days. Yesterday's post was a test of the android app for blogging... so yeah, that test was pretty successful. If I had 3G coverage where I'm at now, I'd be blogging from my phone again.

Anyhoo...198,500 today on the way to work as you can see above. I should hit 199,000 probably on the way home from work on Tuesday or on the way to work Wednesday.

Some HAL Stats to tide us stat geeks over until the 200,000 update...

2011 Trips to the gas station for full tanks of gas: 48
# of Trips to the gas station April 2003 - December 2004: 56
Miles Per Gallon 2011 so far: 29.10 (+0.33 mpg over 2010)

Here's a little scatter plot of HAL's MPG over the years.

Closing in...

HAL and I have been a bit busy lately....since crossing 195,000, Hal and I have taken one trip to Michigan and a couple hundred extra miles for work....but we've been averaging over 32+ mpg for most of the last month.

I've taken to snapping quick pics of rhe odometer....so I attached two of them for fun.

200,000 should come within the next two weeks...or so.   Stay tuned :-)

195,000 Miles: Up next the Big 200

HAL has finally made it to the final 5,000 miles before 200,000. Well, almost. HAL will cross the 195,000 mile mark just after midnight tonight. The race to 200,000 is almost complete. And then, the count for 250,000 will begin :)

So far in 2011 - Am averaging $3.31/gallon and 28.87 miles per gallon.

The total miles per gallon for the life of HAL: 27.16 (+.02 mpg from 193,000)

Some Stats for 195,000 Miles reach on March 7th, 2011

Mileage by the #s
10,000 miles 01/01/2011 to 03/07/2011
50,000 miles 12/31/2009 to 12/31/2010

Last 5,000 miles (190k-195k) in 32 days at 156.25 miles/day

Last 15,000 miles in 121 days at 123.97 miles/day
Last 60,000 miles in 433 days at 138.56 miles/day

Since 100,000 miles on 02/18/2009 - 740 days at 128.38 miles/day
First 100,000 miles (04/23/2003-02/18/2009) took 2130 days or about 47 miles/day
First 30,500 miles (04/23/2003-11/05/2005) took 927 days or 32.9 miles/day

The 200,000 Mile estimator
at 125 miles/day = April 16, 2011
at 150 miles/day = April 9, 2011

the 250,000 Mile estimator
at 125 miles/day = 440 days (June 2012)
at 150 miles/day = 367 days (March 2012)

193,500 and some interesting numbers

HAL crossed over 193,500 today - and yes, here I am posting again.

One of the few things in life I'm OCD about is writing down every time I get gas. I write down the date, miles driven, number of gallons put in and cost of this gas. So, since I totally fill up HAL every time I go to the gas station, I am able to get a good read on how my gas mileage is doing.

In almost 8 years since I started doing this, I have only missed one gas tank... and that was in 2008 and was somewhere in the 200 mile on the tank range. Otherwise, I have written down every trip to the gas station since I took possession of HAL in late April, 2003. Every one of these is written down in the same tiny little notebook I keep in the center console of HAL.

Any guesses on total amount of $$$$ spent to fuel HAL for 193,000 miles? Answer some other day...

Some Miles per Gallon numbers...the number improves every year - but each year I do more and more highway miles :) Total miles per year according to gas stats...coming some other post. For now enjoy...

Total Overall Average Miles per Gallon since 4/2003: 27.14 mpg

MPG By Year

2003: 22.21
2004: 23.27
2005: 25.43
2006: 25.59
2007: 26.61
2008: 28.06
2009: 28.62
2010: 28.77
2011 through 2/20: 28.90

One-Nine, One-Nine, One-Nine

A quick update today - Hal crossed the 191919 mark on Valentine's Day and has already crossed over the 192000 mark on his way to 200000. Yeah...I was driving 70mph which is the actual speed limit on the Bert T. Combs Mountain Parkway in central KY (huh-huh). I had also taken a moving snapshot of 191817, but it didn't turn out so well.

I know, I'm a dork...

Hope everyone is well. HAL has recovered from his bout with a broken shoe.

191,000 and New Tires

Greetings once again - from HAL's world. Today was quite an adventure for HAL. A few miles into my trip to work and BAM! HAL's right front tire blew. It lifted the car up a touch when it blew and then HAL took a hard right toward the ditch.

Fortunately, I was quick to react and I was able to stop HAL before we drove off the interstate. I was after all, only going about 74 mph at the time the tire blew.

Sounds like I ran over something...since HAL's right rear tire was also cut. Thanks to AAA and Crowe's Towing out of Winchester, Kentucky for getting me safely to the car dealer where I snapped this photo of HAL in a place where he does not like to be.

So...with two tires down, I decided to go ahead and replace the whole set. So - TripleTred set #1 went 105,000, TripleTred set #2 just under 60k.

Anyhoo...HAL hit 190,000 miles on Thursday, February 3rd on my way to see Heather for the weekend. We'll hit 191,000 on the way home from work today. Wow... I really rack up the miles sometimes.

Mileage by the #s
6,000 miles 01/01/2011 to 02/08/2011
50,000 miles 12/31/2009 to 12/31/2010

Last 5,000 miles (185k-190k) in 36 days at 138.89 miles/day

Last 10,000 miles in 89 days at 112.36 miles/day
Last 55,000 miles in 401 days at 137.16 miles/day

Since 100,000 miles on 02/18/2009 - 708 days at 127.11 miles/day
First 100,000 miles (04/23/2003-02/18/2009) took 2130 days or about 47 miles/day
First 30,500 miles (04/23/2003-11/05/2005) took 927 days or 32.9 miles/day

The 200,000 Mile estimator
at 125 miles/day = April 21, 2011
at 150 miles/day = April 9, 2011