San Francisco * A Successful Finish ! !
Posted on Jul 14th, 2009 at 12:36 pm by Richard
Thursday, July 9, 2009 about 12:00 noon Emily and Christie drove the Maxwell across the Golden Gate Bridge in glowing sunshine to finish the trip. It was a beautiful day, the car continued to run perfectly (since Kimball, NE) and everyone on the team pulled together to successfully push for the finish. With Ed Archers 1906 Locomobile following and many of the Bay Area HCCA folks along the 1909 Maxwell drove into Crissy Field below the Golden Gate and completed her journey with a BBQ hosted by Eric and Muriel Lundquist. After some happy and tearful words were said, a bottle of champagne was opened and cheers of joy were sounded, the engine was turned off and the journey was complete, after Tim playfully threw his champagne in Rich’s face…
Alice’s trip had challenges and celebrations, and so did Emily’s. Our mechanical trouble seemed to work itself out by the time we reached Kimball, NE where the challenge then became finding the physical and emotional stamina to keep on driv ing every day. With rain, hail, bugs, rocks and wind in their face, Emily and Christie charged on and kept the tour on schedule. With the support of Tim & Barb, Sally, Margaret & Kaisa and Cecily plus the film crew of Bengt, Ted and JD, the Ramsey Family (Alice Ramsey Bruns, Peter, Isabel and Andrew Ramsey) and many, many others who joined us for parts of the drive, the challenge was met.
We sincerely want to thank so many people for coming along, following along, cheering us along, feeding and fueling us and contributing to this effort in many other ways. This was not a solo effort, but was only possible because so many joined in and supported the drive in their own unique ways. Thank you, thank you. The success needs to be shared by all of you.
After finishing in San Fran. on Thursday, Tim & Barb & I loaded the Maxwell into the trailer and drove back to Sacramento. With everything loaded in my truck and trailer by 9 PM we crashed asleep. By 5 AM Fri. morning I was on the road and drove non stop to Emily’s house in West Seattle arriving by 9:30 PM. Another crash in bed and we hit the road Sat. AM for home. By noon on Sat. we were home, with the car unloaded in the garage. For now, I really don’t want to be behind the wheel of any vehicle for a while.
Thankfully, everyone is safe, well and through to the other end of this, once in a lifetime experience. Time will tell how it has changed our lives, surely it has in many ways. Rich Anderson
P.S. Stay tuned for two last entries from Emily and Christie!
Congrats for a great job done and a statement for what we can do as women together.
The Deborah Circle at Oak Harbor Lutheran Church have been ‘following you”
Blessings
Carol Wall on July 14th, 2009 at 1:02 pm #
You’ve made it to California, and you’ve made history. Congratulations!!
Paul Schubert on July 14th, 2009 at 5:33 pm #
Congradulations, Right now you are releaved, but soon you will be missing the adventure. And you will never forget the great accomblishment that “ALL” of you have done. Relax & enjoy. We hope to run into you guys somewhere down the road. It was great following your adventure.
Steve & Marianne
Steve & Marianne on July 14th, 2009 at 5:34 pm #
Congratulations to ALL of you! So glad you made it home safe and sound. We look forward to all the tales to be told. Hope you are able to relax and recuperate for a few days. Talk to you soon! Love to all, Sherri
Sherri Berry on July 14th, 2009 at 6:30 pm #
Congratulations!!! I was fortunate to see you and your magnificant auto in South Bend at our annual national conference. Wish I could have followed you every inch of the way. You have brought attention to the historical significance of the early automobile pioneers and early roads such as the Lincoln Hihgway. Hope to see you all again soon. Now, I await my copy of the DVD.
Bob Dieterich, President
Lincoln Highway Association
Bob Dieterich on July 14th, 2009 at 6:48 pm #
Congratulations to all of you! We knew you could make it. Wish we could have been there at the finish to salute you and celebrate too. I am still amazed at Emily’s stamina, the new mother of a beautiful four month old daughter, keeping up with her business by phone, and driving a 1909 Maxwell across the country all at the same time! She is a woman empowering women. The same goes for Christie with those fabulous, fast, crank starts. Again thank you for welcoming us as a part of the team, may all you travels be safe and just as rewarding. I look forward to the DVD. Sincerely, Jenny Washburn
Jenny Washburn on July 15th, 2009 at 7:43 am #
Rich, Tim, and the gang, glad to have participated with your group for the 360 miles across Iowa. We too thought of it as a once in a lifetime opportunity. We were humbled in knowing our trip with you represented only slightly more than 10% of your trip in total. Amazing. We were relieved with each update to learn your trip west improved nearly everyday (except for that one part of Utah). Next time we meet I may have oil rings & paint but Emily & Spyker boys proved we should leave our windshield at home next time. :)
Team Hudson (the Knight boys) on July 15th, 2009 at 1:07 pm #
Congratulations!! So glad you made it safe and sound and on time…what a marvelous feat…and little Kaisa…what a trooper she must have been! Dick and I send all of you our best…anxious to hear all the stories.
Zarida Young on July 15th, 2009 at 5:34 pm #
What and awesome adventure. Congratulations to everyone. I hope we get to see you all and the car again at some of the shows across the country. The girls spirit and drive mirrored what Alice did a 100 years ago. Amazing women doing amazing things with the help and support of more amazing people. We’re looking forward to more on the blog here so we keep up with what is happening on your side of the world. I noticed in your blog that more of the Ramsey family took part. You mentioned an Alice Ramsey Bruns. That peeked my curiousity since my grandfather was a Bruns as well. Now I’m wondering if you’ve introduced another relative to me…..thanks Rich. Hope your entire family enjoys the rest of the summer of your life. Big hugs to the entire team….Dawn and Joe from IL.
Dawn Somers on July 16th, 2009 at 5:47 am #
What an extraordinary journey you’ve had! You all showed the same never-give-up spirit that Alice Ramsey had a century ago. Congratulations to Rich and Tim (who surely never want to hear the word “babbitt” again); and to your families and all the rest of your support crew for surviving an incredibly stressful month. Most of all, congratulations to Christie, for managing to read directions while battling wind, rain and bugs; to Emily, for surviving all those weeks living with a temperamental old car (I have them myself-I know what it’s like!); and finally to Babbs herself, for pulling through and finishing up in such grand fashion. You’re all champs!
Sarah Carr on July 16th, 2009 at 9:31 am #
CONGRATULATIONS! Gene and I just returned from a wonderful trip to San Francisco and the Napa and Sonoma Valley wine country to actually celebrate my 50th birthday. The celebration began with you back on June 22nd when Ginny and I rode with you for the day from Omaha to Central City and I have been celebrating every since. So sorry that our dates did not match to be there to see the grand finale of your drive across the country but what a sight it must have been as you crossed the Golden Gate Bridge into Crissy Fields and what an emotional end to a glorious piece of history in the making.
Congratulations to all who were involved in this fun adventure and thank you so much for allowing us to be a small part of it. It was a fabulous and memorable day and we have enjoyed following your progress across the States.
Best wishes to you all! Susan Jacques
susan jacques on July 16th, 2009 at 3:07 pm #
Glad to hear that you made it to the finish. Wish we could have drove along further. We just returned home today from a VMCCA tour in the Colorado Springs area. Yesterday we drove up Pikes Peak, out third time to drive up.
Kermit & Ruby Wilke
Kermit Wilke on July 18th, 2009 at 8:41 pm #