Well we got here yesterday afternoon safe and sound and then joined the folks at the Stoop for a little while (girls were pretty pooped and at this age - 3 and 9 months - they kind of dictate our schedule). Sue was kind enough to let us store the cargo platform in the room until I find a fab shop to fix it up later in the week. I'll post pics after they fix it.

The one-way trip was 1855 miles or 30 hours of drive time spread across 4 days. The VX drank 3 quarts of oil and more fuel than I expected (fuel economy really dropped when I got to all the 75 MPH zones in Kansas) but otherwise was smooth sailing. I'm told that I officially win the "Mileage Award" despite the fact that we have some folks from Canada here this year - so if any of you guys back east are thinking about making the trek some day, it is definitely possible and worth the effort.