I took a mini road trip this weekend - from Austin to Corpus Christi - but avoiding the interstates. I intentionally took the small town and US highway route. I wanted to take pictures of the historic courthouses along the way - they're usually the grandest structures in the county - and try to incorporate the car into the scenes, whenever possible. I have a couple of pictures posted on the photo section.

Some of the towns I never heard before - and I've lived in TX for 13 years now. Luling, Gonzales, Shiner (like Shiner Bock), Hallettsville, Karnes City, Panna Maria etc ......

Two things that bugged me though ...
1. Nav systems
I take it that there is a setting on the nav to make it 'behave' in a certain way - meaning avoid major highways etc? I planned to drive from Halletsville to Goliad via Cuero, but the system took me through Victoria instead. I was wondering when I was going to arrive @ Cuero - all of a sudden ... bam, already in Goliad!

I did not get the nav systems handbook - the prev owner did not have it anymore. Maybe I'll just print a copy of the Jag website.

I noted that Matt also did a very nice upgrade on the nav and audio system. I am thinking of doing that now after this trip - but does anybody know if I can just upgrade the head unit and the GPS, but keep all the speakers. For the kind of music that I listen to (hair metal - Whitesnake, Van Halen, Mr Big types), the stock speakers work really well.

2. The dreaded air bag light
I've read the different 'sagas' abt it through the forum. On mine - it seems to have something to do with the temperature or something. When I started the car, and drive the car for 90 min to 2 hr - the light stays off usually. After that time span, then it starts blinking several times then on solid.

If I stop, turn off the car - say stopping by a restaurant, shop etc - then I come back, the light will stay on.

If I leave the car overnight, the next day when I started it, the light will stay off - but then after 90 min to 2 hr, it will repeat the air bag light behavior like the day before.

I plan to take the car in for an oil change and some minor transmission work around Labor day, I'll have Classic Jag in South Austin check that out.

BTW - I change the front pads with Hawk HPS ferro-carbon, and the rotors with plain Eurospare rotors - work great so far.

 

Ah - Nostalgia! I grew up in a small town in Fort Bend County - Richmond - probably a bit east of your route. BUT - it is the county seat, and my mom and dad were County Judge and County Auditor ( at different times) - AND the court house was not only the grandest structure - but the most safe structure - 3 stories of solid granite with a copper roof! I remember going there to wait out hurricanes - it was more like a town party. Everyone brought food and booze - we had the Sherrif, the Justice of the Peace, all the County officials, and all their families... (they were the ones with the keys to the building.)

Those were the days - and the building is still there, still in use, and in very much in the same condition as in was in the 1940s...

 

Dale - Fort Bend county is on my list for my next mini road trip. I use this site for planning purpose: http://www.texascourthousetrail.com/menu.htm

The next counties on my list would be Colorado, Fort Bend, Dewitt, Lavaca (again), Victoria and Wharton.

 

We should probably take this off-line (before we are asked to!~), but directly across the street (to the west) was the Bassett house - owned by Buelah Bassett, whose son, Bob (Robert) was the longest serving Justice of the Peace (I think) in Texas history. I was born there - my mom and dad rented the third floor until they built out near the river on Front Street! The Bassett house served as the Court House Annex for years until they decided to build the current structure.

At that time, it was dismantled - brick and board by bricK and board - and moved about 20 miles down toward Thompsons - re-assembled and still today is a single family residence - worth the trip and a pic. (You can see it from the Thompsons highway.

Across the street from the Bassett home to the south is the old Moore home, now Ft. Bend County museum - but I'll bet you didn't know that it served as the Capitol of Texas for a brief time during the period when Texas was an independent nation... There is a LOT of history in Richmond!

Fort Bend was named after a fort in the bend in the Brazos river where Austin's 300 first explored and had a settlement. Happy travels - watch the rednecks! Dale

 

And I found a pic of the Bassett house - truly unique in Court Houses - here it is - D

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[IMG]file:///Users/daledutton/Desktop/-1.jpg[/IMG]

 

skipped over the notsalgia yap

There is a setting in the NAV to set the default to 'quickest via distance' or 'via time'. Definitely grab the handbook from the internet, if for nothing else than to have on your computer.

Swapping the head unit and adding an aftermarket nav is easier now than it was when I did it 2 years ago.

Reverend Sam and another member also just removed the JAG screen and put a touchscreen unit in its place. You have to remove the pretty exterior of the new unit and find a power source for it, but they seem to really like that. I didn't like the idea of putting something to fill in the gap from the jag nav buttons/controls though.

Air bag, yah...frustrating, isn't it? Did you see my thread about my 2-2 blinking error code? What is yours flashing?

 

Matt - it's the 2-2, even though to me - it looks more like 4 blinks, then another 4 blinks then solid light.

It's just annoying - it does not impact the actual driving experience - just gnawing on me that there's something incorrect abt the car somewhere. There was a stretch from Hallettsville to Goliad where the airbag light is on - and there is a stretch after that btw Goliad and Corpus where the light is off ......

I took the pictures while I was driving .... at night .... with my cell phone .... maybe I should not have done that .....

Now I know why people call it electrical gremlin .....

 

I assume you saw my airbag light thread. Unfortunately, that's all I personally can contribute. I don't know if I actually fixed it or not, time will tell on my end.

 

Yes - saw the thread abt aftermarket nav. The nav system itself isn't bad - the interface might be a little clunky by today's standard, but it works for me - for the most part.

I am also considering just changing the head unit. Do you know if I can do that and not messing with the amp and everything else?

 

Come to think of it - I might just go find a hard drive-equipped head unit, and ditch the CD changer altogether ....