hmmm...

Due to Matt's phone being turned off, communication is not possible and I have no idea when we'll be continuing our roadtrip in Minnesota.

If any of his relatives read this and know any family cell phone numbers that I don't have, please e-mail them to devinloveslife@gmail.com

Divine Intervention

Photo 1. Sign on the barn at the farm.
Photo 2. At the farm. From left to right: Devin, Donald, Scott, Matt, Katie, Bill.
Photo 3. Matt on the road. Indiana I think? Maybe Illinois.
Photo 4. The fuel concern is all over the country.
Photo 5. At the farm. Old house now used as a chicken coop.
Photo 6. At the farm. Barn falling apart. Basement = creepy. Zombies possible.
Photo 7. At the farm. More stuff.
Photo 8. Filtering fuel in an alley outside a brewery in Ann Arbor. Our suits make us feel like ghost busters. No, make that Grease Busters!
Photo 9. Devin.
Photo 10. Kansas. Devin's cousin, Sierra, helps Matt filter fuel.

Michigan proved to be a goldmine in terms of oil for us. Our first day fuel hunting was spent in Ann Arbor and our hopes were high since a lot of places told us that we could collect deep fryer oil the following afternoon. We woke up at 4:30am the next morning to be at a diner by five since that’s when they told us to collect. It was surreal being up so early after going to bed past midnight. The sun wasn’t up yet, the birds had just started to sing and someone was practicing with what looked like nunchucks (sp?) in front of the restaurant. However, we were disappointed when we found out that there was water in their oil and consequently weren’t able to use it. A few friends joined us for some early morning hash browns and we gathered ourselves to go back to bed.

It was at that moment that divine intervention appeared in the form of a short, balding man who started talking to Matt about the veggie car. His name was Scott and he’s in the process of starting a co-op in Ann Arbor for alternative fuel on what used to be an old hippy farm. And what came next? The promise of what turned out to be 70 gallons of vegetable oil which when roughly calculated would be about $300-350 worth of regular gas.

After taking a nap, some friends joined us as we followed Scott and his partner Donald to the farm. When we first arrived, my initial reaction was that we were in a horror movie and about to be axed off. I mean, we were in the middle of nowhere and the farm itself was pretty disheveled looking. The reason for the disorderly appearance was just because Scott and Donald are cleaning up the area for the co-op and from what we heard of their ideas, everything sounded amazing. They’ll need a lot of volunteers, planning and work but I really hope it works out.

They said that the land was previously a commune which was later abandoned. There used to be a school bus on the grounds but Scott and Donald drove it on biodiesel to Katrina to help with the relief efforts after the hurricane occurred. Kudos to these amazing men! Meeting them and accepting their vegetable oil was an extraordinary help. (side note: we just want to point out that we appreciate not only those that donate oil but the people that have helped Matt worked on the car itself. You know who you are.)

During our stay in Ann Arbor we were also interviewed by NPR which was exciting. It should air in about a week in a half or so and when we get the link, you’ll be able to listen to it online.

Matt is now driving through the upper peninsula of Michigan on his way to a family reunion in Minnesota while I visit with Michigan folks. Thus, there won’t be any posts for about two weeks.

miles, miles and more

Left Kansas on Friday. Pittsburg has been one my (Devin) favorite stops so far, mostly because of the wonderful reception that we had. After the article in the paper was published, people recognized us around town on our quest for more oil. Everyone helped in whatever way they could, whether it was by giving us their old peanut oil from their turkey fryer or by donating paper towels to clean up messy spills. Although we tried to be humble, it was pretty cool when some folks even asked for our autographs because they were convinced that some day we would be famous.

We spent the night at an abandoned construction site, a detail that our parents probably wouldn't be happy with. Earlier that day we passed over the Mississippi River in St. Louis and saw how high the water level was. If you haven't heard, a lot of towns are flooded north of that area and a lot of people are without homes, so keep them in your thoughts.

Beautiful scenery was observed in Illinois and Indiana, not to mention Michigan where we are now. Passed through some scary storms where we couldn't see more than twenty-five feet in front of us. Matt was driving while Devin was gasping and twitching and pushing her imaginary break on the passenger side. We'll be staying a few days in the mitten state to explore and harvest oil, as well as catch up with old friends since Devin grew up in Detroit.

More later.

Greased Lightening

Does your Grandmom have connections? Mine does.

Matt and I arrived in Pittsburg, KS yesterday and were interviewed by a reporter from the city newspaper after my grandmom called them. We made the front page and had an article written about us! The link is at the bottom of this post if you want to check out the article.

From College Station to here, we had a lot of trouble finding vegetable oil. Just about every place we went to had a contract with a company that takes the oil when they're done with it. Frustrating? Yes. But we enjoyed the people we met and the scenery as we drove through many small towns. Everything is so green and leafy and lush from all of the rain that they've been getting in these parts. Beautiful!

http://www.morningsun.net/living_people/x379970923/GREASED-LIGHTNING

Matt is "Here in Texas"

This is my first time on our blog that the most dutiful and venerable Devin has been creating and updating. Thanks Devi.

Here in Texas where the sun is a bright steamy graefruit
old dusty cowboys stroll into german delicatessens in Fredricksburg
and eat peaches that taste like they came out of Eden
'cuz they did.
Here in Texas where the apossom and spotted cow roam
You'll never seen so much road kill in your entire life.
Here in Texas where the farms are a plenty and the trees deep green
yellow signs remind you to "Drive firendly" because
that's how Texans drive.
Here in Texas where the best place to be at noon is in the shade
I wear my black cowboy hat and wonder why everybody else ain't.
I "get my grub on" with Blue Bell ice cream and know that it's the best beause
it's made in Texas.
Here in Texas where doors are held open for the ladies young and old
the folk are kind and say
"howdy" and "sir" and "ma'am" and "ya'll"
but you probably already knew that.
Here in Texas "don't mess with texas"
but you probably knew that too.
Here in Texas the Lone Star state
where the land gives a bounty of fruit and trees
A grand ol' house, a manor of sorts, stands proudly made of brick and white pillars
in the shade of an acorn tree that's older even than the house,
and through the branches and rounded leaves
as I knew it would be there
flew a Texas flag
small against house
not one tear in the seams

Thanks all of the Aggies in Aggieland

Note

At the end of this summer, we'll be editing all of the film from the trip that Devin has been shooting. If you'd like to be interviewed for the documentary or have something interesting to contribute, let us know.

More from College Station

Today was harvest day for veggie oil so we drove around town stopping at various places, looking for a restaraunt to fill up at. It was getting a little discouraging because we were getting turned down so much, that and the heat just can really mess with your head. The car doesn't have air conditioner and with an average temperature of 100, it gets sweaty.

Reasons why we can't get vegatable oil
- Some places use lard
- Oil tank is in the ground so you can't pump it out
- Oil tank is locked up
- Oil is GROSS and smelly and dirty and
even after filtering it, it won't be good for the car.
- Restaraunts have a contract with companies that
recycle the vegetable oil or that turn it into biodiesal, so we can't have it.
- If too much meat is fried in the oil, it usually isn't very good.

The good thing though was that we met SO many people today that were really interested in the process and the road trip itself - that really lifted us. We met one interested fellow that's in a Texas band and gave us one of his cd's, so check out his website link at the bottom of this post because we liked his music. That's one of the great parts of this trip so far. The car is just an excuse to meet some really amazing people.

Also, we finally scored oil at Panda Express so we'll be on the road again tonight or tomorrow.

Next stop: KANSAS.


www.richotoole.com

TX

Well, we made it to the Lone Star state. We mainly drove through New Mexico during the night and so weren't able to see too much. From what we did see, it looked similar to southern Arizona and West Texas. Coming from the mountains of Flagstaff, we've been roughing through the wilting heat. We had filtering problems with the veggie oil system and sort of broke down in El Paso, thus were detained an entire day. In the neighborhood where Matt worked on the car, three different households came out to see if we needed help or ice water. We've run into a lot of kind and interesting people that have questions about the car and how it runs.

After getting to Bryan, TX yesterday afternoon, we hung out with Devin's sister, Drew, and brother-in-law, Todd. Today was sight seeing and the George Bush museum. Matt says he'll update about that later. I don't even know if you're representing me well in this blog, quotes Matt. I'll let him talk about all the car trouble we've had since we left on Wednesday.

Matt is now singing with a vibrating back massager on his throat, lending his voice a "warbling" quality. I think he's singing kumbiyah now(sp?). Oh wait, he has moved on to alien sounds. Or is that Golem? I really can't tell.

huzzah!

We're leaving today or tomorrow!  

Car repairs have been completed.

This is what we won't be driving.

First stop is....TEXAS.

We'll be seeing you soon.