news update links
June 08, 2009

Pittsburgh, PA - New Concord, OH

By Laura Peruzzi;
Its a blueberry muffin morning in Pittsburgh as the crew shares breakfast with Zolton and his family.  His two young boys get ready for school as we get the solar car out of their garage and into the sun.  I imagine them trying to convince their friends at school that a super cool futuristic solar car was in their garage last night and soaking up sun in their driveway this morning. Doesn’t matter if the other kids believe them or not because after Zolton learns we specialize in school presentations, he is on the phone with the school setting up a presentation so we can swing by on our way out and make his sons look like the coolest kids in pittsburgh! 
After the laundry is done we pack up and follow Zolton to Imagine Environmental Charter School; the kids are waiting in the grass under the trees all wearing blue and white uniforms.  As they see the solar car approaching the rush over so excited. Teachers hold them back as Marcelo pulls in and I come in with the blocks and lift the canopy.  The kids lining the sidewalk nearest to me say “Wow you’re strong!” as they watch me lift the top and Marcelo emerge from the car. One 7 year old girl asks me if she can drive the solar car and I say sure, as long as you have your driver’s license.  A moment later she brings me her teacher’s license hoping that will et her in the driver’s seat.
1,2,3-solar car! Vrooom away we go onto Ohio, but not soon after we are driving in circles, the GPS taking us for a loop. Marcelo stops at the top of a hill in the middle of traffic to figure out a better route.  I step out of the van to stretch and happen upon a gentleman picking cherries from a tree in his yard. I say hello and we chat, then he hands me a fresh bunch of cherries right off the tree, leaves and all, says they aren’t as sweet as they should be yet. They are tart but fresh and delicious- his tree is 10 years old and he hands me more before a cop pulls up to ask if that spaceship is mine...proper registration? yes officer, “Just pull it off the road, rush hour is coming soon.”
We find our way and I am amazed at how many huge bridges are in this area; four or five in Pittsburgh and then another three in West Virginia...but we don’t cross the first one in WV before getting pulled over by the local police, then the state troopers pull up too. They were the most excited cops I think we’ve encountered thus far. The local policeman’s wife is a science teacher and he wanted us to do a presentation at her school if we came back through this way.  Marcelo ran across the four lanes of traffic in the rain to get a picture of the officers posing by the car before they let us on our way- smiles and waves.



Xof1 parked in Zoltan's garage for the night.

Zoltan and his family.

Josh - working hard or hardly working?

Demonstration at Imagine Environmental Charter School.
Ready? - 1..2..3.. solar car!!
Marcelo getting ready to take off.
The children loved the car.
Q&A time.
Marcelo showing the inside of the solar car.
Leaving Pittsburgh. It was a beautiful city.
Pitsburg is a hilly place
We got a little lost.
but stopped right next to a cherry tree to figure out where to go.
Laura got a few bunches of cherries out of it.
Robot was happy.
On the road to Ohio.

Strawberry festival in nearby town.
Tractor crossing...
Robot was double happy and showed us his happy dance, very similar to
Laura's happy dance.
Getting pulled over in PA. The cops really liked the car and wanted to have
it come to one of their wives' science class.
Nice wishbone bridge which was on the border of Pennsylvania and Ohio.
Sharp curve.
Josh was driving. Everybody watch out!
Beautiful scenery.
X-large arrows were around the curves because they were
so sharp.
Steep incline!
XOF1 hugging curves

Sunset in New Concord, Ohio.
Mark helped us fix the rear bearing.
More fixing. Mark apparently used to work for GM. Boy did we
luck out in parking at the driveway.
This rear trailor wheel lost it's bearing cover.
Sasha, the vicious house dog.
Some locals from New Concord, coming by to check out xof1.
Working in Mark's shop.