Saturday August 23rd 2008 Safe Return to Rhode Island

After two weeks and more than 7,000 miles of driving on B99.9 Biodiesel we arrived back in Rhode Island at Roger Williams Park and Zoo at 3:40 PM on Saturday, August 23rd 2008. We were met with a warm welcome from family, friends, and the media and even though the two weeks on the road were amazing, it felt good to be home. Wrapped up with the start of the school year, this blog is in need of updates, and the start of a new year is a good time to start catching up. Photos of the return trip will be uploaded, as the photos now in the blog left off at Big Sur in California.
Our 1997 GMC K3500 six passenger pickup ran great on the B99.9 Biodiesel over the entire 7,000+ mile journey. On the entire trip we only replaced a headlight, and when we returned home we replaced the alternator which got a little twitchy in Utah but held up to complete the trip.
After leaving Big Sur we crossed San Francisco's Golden Gate Bridge, travelled the coast of California to Point Arena, and spent a couple of days at a family friend's beautiful A frame house in some beautiful canyon country.
As much as we where enjoying the magnificent beauty, we realized it was time to head for home. Along the way we met some friendly bikers who showed us around for an afternoon of Speedweek at the legendary Bonneville Salt Flats and then drove straight to Kansas City to meet the folks at Con Edison Solutions Overland Park Office. The Con Ed folks at Overland Park met us with the best of Midwestern hospitality and an outstanding barbecue dinner. The next morning it was time to drive straight through to home. By sharing the driving between the four of us and sleeping in shifts we were able to make steady time while ensuring everyone was safely rested. Driving through the night we made great time and were right on schedule until..... we drove through New York City on Saturday around noon. Finally making it through the bumper to bumper NYC traffic we began making good time again and were just about on schedule until..... we ran into a few sections of highway traffic (possibly beach traffic) along route 95 in Connecticut. Once in our home state of Rhode Island it was smooth driving with no delays, and considering we had driven straight from Kansas, only slightly later than our 3:00 PM estimated arrival time. A camera crew from a local TV station met us along the highway to get some footage as we drove the home stretch and we pulled into Roger Williams Park and Zoo to meet our families, friends, and media folks ready to get news on our two week journey for local television stations and newspapers.
Our Coast to Coast Biodiesel Pickup Project was everything we hoped it would be and more. This trip enabled us to demonstrate that Biodiesel is an easy to use, dependable, and viable alternative fuel and we were able to meet great people and see some of the amazing geography the United States has to offer.
We want to extend a huge thanks to all our sponsors for making this trip possible and believing in the students of Ponaganset High School and the cause of Alternative Energy.
Thanks!