Side a side trip up to Arkansas!!  Kill a couple or three days.  See the
Clinton Library in Little Rock, visit the Hot Springs thermal baths and the
horse track they call Oaklawn may be running by the end of January if you
like to play the ponies, Stop and pay $3 for the right to dig for diamonds
in North America's ONLY public diamond mine which is actually a state park
in Murphresboro,  then head to the Nothern part of the state and see the
National Forest Service's Blanchard Springs Caverns just a little north of
Mountain View.  This is a living cave and very tastefully lit.  You could
always juke over to Memphis and do the Elvis tour at Graceland.  If you
like hiking, there's the Ozark Highlands trail West of Fayetteville and the
hike along Richland Creek is a keeper also(up Hwy 7 north of Russellville
and then East a bit).  Get a USFS map if you venture too far off the main
highways.  If you are into rivers, you could go to Cossatot State Park half
way between Mena and Dequeen just off Hwy 71 and see one of the most unique
rock formations in the entire midwest.  "Cossatot Falls" whether it has
water in it or not is truly gorgeous, and not too difficult to find.  More
information is available by contacting the Arkansas Parks and
Tourism.  They can give you the full tour.

There's a good VW mechanic  in North Little Rock that runs a shop called
Bob Myer's Foregin Car Repair.

Well, now that I've spent a week of your tirp,   I'll quit.

Max