The MX-5 Miata of the Month from

January 2004

Ken Signorello and Green Destiny

ken@signorello.net
Green Destiny
Capitol Project

Congratulations to Ken on the selection of Green Destiny as the January Miata of the Month!

The Capitol Project

December 7th 2001 was the day I got hitched to my Miata. Winter in the northeast that year was very mild. This let me and my, then nameless, Miata get out quite a bit considering I had no snow tires. Even so, I was starting to itch for longer drives on more “ interesting” roads.

On a rainy night in February 2002 I was driving back to Vermont from the Big Apple hoping to make it before the rain turning to snow. I was really enjoying the ride, still pretty new to me. What a machine, more like a body extension. Think and it happens.

I was tooling along Interstate 87 wondering how to come up with more reasons to get out and enjoy my 2001 Special Edition. It turns out to be a comfortable long distance driver so more would be better. Just putting on a few thousand miles a year, babying it as so many do, was not going to cut it. I was hooked and needed more, lots more. On snowy days when I couldn’t take it out - I could swear it was calling me from the garage.

I’ve known folks with interesting life goals like climbing the high point in each state, or driving the entire interstate system. Even though I was getting good road time driving for work, I needed a goal. Just then I passed a sign for Albany, the New York State capital. I had my digital camera with me and thought, "Wouldn’t it be fun to visit each state capital and get a picture of my wheels in front of each state house?". Better yet, I could also be in each picture. I had a tripod - I could do this starting right now. Hawaii might present a problem, but I’d worry about that when it was the last state.

So it began. To date Green Destiny and I have visited 33 state capitols, the most recent being Topeka, Kansas. Although the capitols themselves are interesting photographic subjects, it’s the road trips themselves that have become the exciting part. It’s a blast exploring interstate alternates and visiting increasingly exotic locations on the way to the next capitol. The most recent and longest road trip was to the Mazda National event in Las Vegas.

Next summer . . . Juneau, Alaska.

All 33 Capitol Project pictures are posted at http://www.forolog.net/Capitalproject/

The Road Trips

Green Destiny and I have had five significant (>1000 miles) road trips to date. We’ve managed to rack up over 50,000 miles in just 22 months.

Chicago – This was just a basic work trip and first reasonably long road trip. I picked up the mid west capitols of Ohio, Michigan, Illinois, Indiana and Pennsylvania.

Clearwater,Florida – This was a late February trip to a Laser sailboat regatta. I had just gotten a hitch for my now named Green Destiny and was towing my laser. I timed it perfectly to coincide with the snow storm of 2003 that dumped lots of snow on Mid Atlantic states. I was prepared with snow tires and managed to pick up most eastern seaboard state capitols. Plus enjoy a ride through Georgia in what I guess is their spring. I managed to check out a bit of Sky Line Drive and scope things out for a future trip to Deals Gap.

Big Bend National Park, Texas – This was a trip that had stops in Cincinnati, and Saint Louis with lots of sight seeing opportunities plus the spring flowers in Big Bend National Park, the ultimate destination. It was great to escape the last gasps of winter in Vermont, but I left the snow tires on just in case.

Deals Gap – This was the trip I took to get my Deuce Roll bar installed and check out the infamous Tail of the Dragon. I took Sky Line Drive and the Blue Ridge Parkway and had just a great trip. Wonderful roads, great scenery, plus I bagged a couple more capitols.

Las Vegas, Nevada – The trip to the Mazda National meet took Green Destiny and I through some of the most amazing scenic areas of the country we’ve seen so far. We had a great time exploring Colorado, Utah, Arizona, and New Mexico. We barely saw much of Utah or Nevada so we’ll have to get back there. I was able to rack up eight more capitols for the Capitol Project. This trip got me really psyched for next year’s excursion to Alaska. All Green Destiny road trips pictures are posted at http://www.fotolog.net/greendestiny/

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