day 47
green bay, wisconsin

"I'd better pay attention so we don't accidentally get sucked into bumblef**k." -a.
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Mel's History:
Make: Jeep
Model: Cherokee Sport
Colour: Red
Year: 1992
Adopted by us: 2000
KMage: 250000 km!

Mel's Mystery: Has Mel ever been fully submerged in water? This is a mystery that will forever baffle us and Harmer's Auto.

Best Use of Melons
A Mel Moment:
Mel played with the monkeys at Six Flags this summer! (or rather, the monkeys played with Mel!)
Top Ten Ways the World Would be Different, If All Cars were Named Mel
10. Chevy Chase would be known as Mel Chase
9. Buick would be stating that Nothing Rides like a Mel
8. Nobody would trust a Used Mel Salesman
7. Billy Ocean would be singing Get Outta My Dreams, Get into Mel
6. You would be chilled to the bone by Stephen King's bestseller, "Mel"
5. Mel Farr Ford would now be called Mel Farr Mel
4. The Beach Boys would have fun, fun, fun til Daddy takes Mel Away
3. Contestants would jump and scream when they hear Rod Roddy say "A Brand New Mel!"
2. The mechanic would tell you there's something wrong with your melbuerator

...and the number one way the world would be different if all cars were named Mel...

1. Monster Mel Madness!

Mel and Green Bay Shirts in the Giftshop!

Mel. There's Only One.
Oct 12 - Mel just turned 250,000! Now that's what we call a milestone.

It's not every day you find a car as dependable as Mel, so we thought we'd dedicate this day to the car that made this trip possible. Let's start by telling you a bit about him.

First of all, Mel's a he. We know cars are traditionally female, but our Mel is a hunky male car, like Mel Gibson. Or Mel Torme. Probably more like Mel Torme, once you take his age into account. 250,000 is like, oh, about 250 human years. Most cars don't even come with that hundreds-of-thousands digit anymore.

How Mel Got His Name:
Mel hates this story, but we love to tease him with it. It all came about one Canada Day when we decided to buy a watermelon to celebrate.

This also happened to be the week we were leaving New York. Well, junk was piled upon junk in the back of our jeep and after about 10 days, the jeep started to smell. It was only after we were ready to leave Ottawa that we discovered that the watermelon we'd purchased had burst and been absorbed by the back seat. It was right there and then that we named our jeep: Mel. Short for Smelly and Melon.
Mel's been through his share of adventures. He's been to the East and West coasts of Canada, to Mexico twice, and an uncountable number of times between Thunder Bay and Southern Ontario. He's been a Canadian citizen, an American citizen, and back to Canadian. He's seen every nook and cranny of New Jersey, and has even (gasp) driven in Manhattan.

He's been left by himself on the streets of Jersey City for a week without getting a ticket or being towed. He's survived puking up green goo on the Garden State Parkway to Atlantic City and having his left decorative strip ripped off while he was right outside his home in Union City. He's even survived a pack of enraged baboons.

But most of all, Mel has survived us. We're the ones that have packed him with 200 lbs of camping gear and push him to drive nearly 400 km a day on somewhat questionable back-highways. Our current garbage can is the front passenger seat: emptied at every fill-up. But there are minimal signs that we care: extra oil every time we remember and the best air fresheners money can buy. Watermelon flavour, of course.

And today, Mel, it's premium gas for you. We couldn't do it without ya, and we wouldn't want to.
Birthday Boy Video!

Watch the moment Mel turned 250,000!


it's mel's world...

A Star from the Start

Mountain Climbing

Horsin' Around

King o' the Hill
check out our visit to Titletown in the archive...

Current Location
(get out your push pins)

Green Bay, WI

Next Stop: Darwin, MN

see the full map...

Today's Weather:
A Constant
Car Wash!


Daily Stats
Distance:523.9km
Gas:$23.50
Quality:Premium!
Oil:Changed!
Windshield:Sparkling!
Mats:Washed!

Sleeping Quarters
Rib Mountain State Park

Man, do you ever get hosed for being out-of-state here. Nevertheless, it's a beautiful campground amidst autumn foliage at its peak.

Cost: $16.00

Bkfast: 
Country Girl's Food
Gould City
K's Order:Ham & Cheese Omelette
Home Fries
Coffee
A's Order:Toast, Coffee
Cost:$8.56
Lunch: 
In Mel!
Green Bay
Both:Tortilla with Ham and Cheese
Dinner: 
Campground
Rib Mountain
Shared:Lipton's Chicken Noodle Dinner
Beans Outta tha Can

Your Email Address:

© 2001. Kevin Beimers and Aimee Lingman. Just along for the ride.