Checkered Blog by Checkered Flag is the automotive play place in Hampton Roads Virginia

SALTWATER COWBOYS WILL BE BACK IN THE SADDLE

The Saltwater Cowboys’ moment in the sun is just about eight weeks away!

We’re talking about the annual Assateague-to-Chincoteague Pony Swim and Auction, to be held this year on Wednesday, July 25, on Virginia’s Eastern Shore.

Memorialized in the children’s book, “Misty of Chincoteague,” the roundup on the Assateague national seashore preserve the day before sets the stage for the three-minute swim, the pony penning and auction.

The event is a Virginia tradition carried out by Chincoteague volunteer firefighters as a fundraiser for their department. The firefighters ride herd over the ponies on horses of their own and have earned the nickname “saltwater cowboys.”

It has all the small-town pageantry and charm that visitors (and they come from far and wide) long for in out-of-the-way towns and villages.

If this sounds like your kind of summer festival, make hotel and dining reservations now. For more information, visit the www.assateagueisland.com web site or call the Fire Department’s non-emergency number, 757-336-3138.

A Few Things To Think About Before Leaving On A Long Trip

Did you know that Hampton Roads is home to over 100,000 active duty military members?  Many of these service men and women spend loooooong stretches away from home.  (Note:  Check out the great pictures from The Virginian Pilot of the Eisenhower strike group’s recent homecoming).  We at Checkered Blog thank these folks for their service and would like to offer some helpful tips to them and their families regarding the best way to take care of their vehicles during an absence.  These tips apply to anyone who travels for long periods of time.

Whether you are leaving your vehicle with a friend or relative or storing it, remember to update your auto insurance policy. 

If someone else will be taking care of your vehicle while you are gone, ensure that they run it from time to time.  Let the engine warm up.  Periodically check the tire pressure as changes in outside temperature can affect PSI.  If a significant amount of time passes between drives, have the oil changed to prevent detrimental build-up.

Make sure that the primary driver remaining at home has an emergency roadside assistance plan.  Know who to call if you are stuck on the road somewhere.  Keep important contact information in the glove box.  Ensure that you have the means to contact someone (i.e. cell phone, calling card, coins for a pay phone).

Keep a roadside assistance kit in your vehicle containing a flashlight and batteries, bottled water, first aid kit, road atlas, jumper cables and flares.

Honk If You Love Checkered Flag!

A Memorial Day Weekend that covered many, many miles (most of which were back and forth from the airport after cancelled flights), got me thinking of the one thing that people use to differentiate their vehicles from other like vehicles on the road.  Bumper Stickers!  After I started looking, I noticed just how many weird, wacky, offensive, confusing, and downright funny bumper stickers exist.  Where did this strange invention originate?

A highly unscientific perusal of the World Wide Web gave me some answers.  The earliest bumper stickers were generally flag-like emblems, actually not adhesive, but wrapped around the bumpers of vehicles with wire. As automobiles became more popular, advertisers and political campaigns quickly caught on and began trying to use bumper stickers to get their messages out to a wider audience.

Wikipedia and the understandably popular website www.bumberstickerz.com, credit a Kansas City printer, Forest P. Gill, for inventing the adhesive version so ubiquitous today.

Tip:  If you need to remove a bumper sticker, use penetrating oil (a low viscosity blend that shouldn’t ruin the finish) or a heat gun.  Peel slowly and use a gentle detergent and micro-fiber cloth to get any residual adhesive off.

Tell us:  What is the funniest bumper sticker you have ever seen?

Carolina Barbecue Fest: Another Delicious Destination

If you like barbecue – Ah ha! We’ve got your attention already – then downtown Winston-Salem, N.C., is where you’ll want to be June 14 through 16, for the annual Shiner Bock Twin City RibFest, which will have you, your friends and the whole city of Winston-Salemsmelling of good Carolina BBQ.  Barbecue aficionados have been known to go to great lengths to satisfy their cravings; this event is about 4 ½ hours from Hampton Roads, west on Route 58, south on I-85 south, and then west on I-40. 

Besides spring landscapes in all their glory, the ride provides an unusual shopping stopover – at Replacements Ltd., between Burlington and Greensboro. The warehouse-like store has thousands upon thousands of dishes, silverware, glassware and other items in patterns that match exactly the butter knife you  accidentally gnarled in the kitchen sink disposal, the plate Grandma gave you and you dropped last New Year’s Eve, and others.

But getting back to the Festival, it’s a three-day event that not only will fill your belly, but your ears, with a variety of good, lively music, and your eyes, with fire dancers, bicycle races, magicians and others.  And you can work off the calories on the rock-climbing wall!

The corner of North Second and Cherry streets is ground zero for the festivities.  There is a $5 per person admission fee for those over age 12.  For more information, visit www.twincityribfest.com or call 336-707-9188.

Older cars - tell us your buying stories

Of course, Checkered Flag wants to sell everyone a new or used car, but we realize there are some vehicles we may not be able to source as well as you.  I am speaking about cars that are over 10 years old or are very rare.  Maybe this could also include high mileage cars that a bank will only finance under special circumstances.  We would like to hear how you found yours.

On a side note, Checkered Flag can source any vehicle.  We can also help with financing almost any car as well.  Even if you find a car you want to buy, that isn't in Checkered Flag's inventory, we can still help.

Yes, this avenue will take a little work on yours and our ends.  No, not every Checkered Flag representative will know how to accomplish things in this way, so please use our Contact Us form, and mention Alex Snyder's name in it - he can point you in the right direction.  You can also call Alex at 757 490-1111 ext. 7123 if you're more comfortable going that route.

Props to the Hyundai Sonata

I purchased a 97 Toyota Landcruiser from a private owner in Elkins, West Virginia last weekend (a long search and a different story for another time), and had to use a one-way rental car to get there.  Only a handful of the rental car companies offer one-way rentals, so I ended up using Hertz.  Upon arriving at Hertz, my choices were a Mazda 6, a Ford Taurus, or a Hyundai Sonata.  As a Checkered Flag employee my choice was easy - I picked the Sonata. 

The drive from my house, in Virginia Beach, to Elkins, WV is 346 miles.  I had never been to West Virginia before, so I made the mistake of assuming I'd be on straight roads with some decent mountain passes (maybe something along the lines of Skyline Drive or the Blue Ridge Parkway).....roads I could do a little over the speed limit on to cut down on my travel time that were relatively straight.  What I got was about 150 miles of twisty mountain fun!

I've been driving a 2007 Porsche Cayman S since August of 2006, and have had a few other "fun" cars before.  I have to say that I was quite impressed with how well the Sonata handled those mountain roads.  I was also surprised by how comfortable I was through the entire 5+ hour drive.   Of course, I was wishing I had the Porsche, but I was not upset to be in the Sonata.

Adventure by Alex Snyder

Indian Fields Tavern-A Delicious Destination

The race may go to the swiftest, but the crabcakes Harrison go to those who take the slow road.

And ask anyone who’s ever dined at Indian Fields Tavern, a former plantation along Route 5 in Charles City County, the curvy, two-lane that skirts the north side of the James River between Williamsburg and Richmond, and they will tell you:

The crabcakes Harrison – two lump crab cakes on a slice of Smithfield ham on top of a Sally Lunn crouton with Hollandaise sauce -- are worth the trip, worth the annoyance of creeping behind the slow driver in the no-passing zone, worth the price.  No less than the magazines Bon Appetit, Wine Spectator and Gourmet say so – which means we could stop this article right here and know we had given you good scoop!

But we won’t.

For its intimate, simple-but-elegant atmosphere, its location literally off the beaten path, the quality of the food and meticulous service, Indian Fields Tavern is one of the highest-rated restaurants in Virginia. Other famed dishes include Steak Lyons den and pan-roasted rockfish.  Many dishes are seasonal-only here, and “fresh” is a way of life in the kitchen. 

If you go, make a reservation by calling 804-829-5004.  Entrée prices average $15. The place is wheelchair-accessible and is open Sunday through Thursday 11 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. and 5 to 9 p.m., except Friday and Saturday, when it’s open until 10. Sunday brunch is 11 a.m. until 3:30 p.m.  In January and February, Indian Fields is not open on Mondays.

Memorial Day Weekend Kicks Off Summer Driving Season

Memorial Day weekend is considered the official kick-off of the summer travel season.  According to AAA, 38.3 million Americans will travel more than 50 miles from home this weekend.  Approximately 32.1 million will take a motor vehicle.  If you are headed to the Outer Banks, it will only seem as though half of them are traveling on the same road as you.  To assist you in your summer travels, the Checkered Blog team will be dispensing Summer Travel Tips garnered from the experts at Checkered Flag Motor Car Company.  If you have any questions or a topic you would like to see covered, please ask…we’re here for you!

Summer Travel Tip #1-Change your motor oil every 3 months or 3000 miles or as recommended in your owner’s manual. 

This tip is #1 for a reason.  The overall health of your vehicle depends largely on engine oil.  The job of engine oil is to act as a filler, lubricant and cleaner.  Oil coats the ridges and valleys on the metal surfaces in your engine preventing buildup and ensuring minimum oxidation.  It also keeps the moving parts from grinding together and generating excess heat that can wreak havoc on your engine.  Oil also suspends the dirt and grime that gets in your engine and helps move these contaminants along to the various filters.  All of these functions prevent sludge from building up.  At best, sludge makes your engine less efficient; at worst, it can completely ruin your engine.  Also, be sure to use at least the minimum recommended grade motor oil made for your vehicle.  If you are unsure what type of motor oil to use or when to change your oil, call one of our experts at 490-111. 

Have a great Memorial Day weekend and drive safe!

LOAD UP THE BIKE RACK FOR A DOWN AND DIRTY ADVENTURE

Newport News Park, in the northern reaches of the city, offers exciting, unpaved bike trails that put you close to nature – and close to your washing machine and dry cleaner if you tackle them after the rain.  There is ample on-site parking. 

One of the largest municipal parks in the U.S., the 8,000-acre woodland off I-64 has a 5.3-mile path for cycling and jogging.  But: Keep your eyes open for the opening that leads to the Colonial National Historical Park’s Yorktown battlefield trail, which takes you around lagoons, up and down hills and through some of the most wondrous scenery in Hampton Roads.  If you’re really ambitious, you can ride through Yorktown and head down the Colonial Parkway to Williamsburg – and back, a ride of about 35 miles all together. 

The Parkway is paved, of course, but Newport News Park’s trails are bumpy, have ruts and all the good stuff that cyclists with fat-tire bikes relish. After a good rain, the ground can be very soft. Hard-core off-road bicyclists will not wince at what Newport News Park presents under those conditions, but it’s not for the skinny-tire, neighborhood slow-poke, either.

MAINTENANCE, MAINTENANCE, MAINTENANCE-WAYS TO IMPROVE GAS MILEAGE: PART II

People keep telling me that I shouldn’t whine about gas prices as our neighbors across the Atlantic are paying $5, $6 and $7 a liter.  For the record, I accept and acknowledge that things could be worse, i.e. more expensive, but that has not prevented me from seeking out still more ways to save at the pump.  Back, by popular demand, er…ok, well at least by some demand, is Part II of gas mileage tips from the U.S. Fuel Economy website…

• Keep your engine in tip-top shape.  This means adhering to your maintenance schedule and ensuring all annual inspections are performed.  Problems such as a faulty O2 sensor can decrease your gas mileage by 40%! 
• Change your air filters regularly.  Air filters help to keep dirt and grime out of your engine which allows it to work more efficiently, thereby not using as much gas.
• Regularly check your tire pressure.  Not only are properly inflated tires safer, they last longer and ensure better gas mileage.  For every 1 psi drop in pressure, gas mileage can decrease by .4%!
• As you know, there are a growing number of fuel efficient vehicles on the road, but you probably didn’t know that of the 17 most fuel efficient vehicles now sold in the U.S., 12 of the models are sold at Checkered Flag!