Nice report and nice car. I look forward to meeting you in Oct. at the Great Valley House. *NM* |  |  |
Expect the best, and accept no substitute. |
Products for your Boxster, Cayman and Carrera. |
 | |
KevinR-MedinaOhio - Saturday, 23 June, 2012, at 9:22:33 am |
For those who couldn't attend, this is Bev's and my account of our first BRBS. We bought our Boxster S in March and were looking for a Boxster event to baptize the car; I doubt that we could have picked a better one. It had been my hope to get the full experience by arriving Wednesday, but work for both of us prevented that from happening, so Thursday became our launch day.
Cleaning and packing the car took till Midnight Wednesday night, so I got only 4 and a half-hours of sleep before waking at 5am. We left NE Ohio Thursday morning at 630am and rode down I77 (it is 10-minutes from our house) on rails, with the Cruise Control set at the speed limit +6 in Ohio and +10 in the other states. Cruise Control worked well, never varying our speed on hills more than -2mph to +1mph. We only saw one Trooper in Ohio and WV, two in Va, and none in NC. We also saw no bad driving or accidents, but no Porsches, either. Although the weather was decent but cool, we kept the top up until reaching Spruce Pine so Bev could nap and watch movies on the iPad. This was our first long drive in a convertible with the top up so I paid attention to the noise levels inside the car; I have no complaints about it being noisy.
We reached Beckley WV at 1030 and stopped there for gas and food (a 1/2 hour stopover). We reached the Little Switzerland Inn at 315pm, which was an 8-hour, 15-minute trip, not including the stopover. The car performed flawlessly and the ride was reasonably smooth, even with 19" wheels.
Finding the Inn was pure luck, as neither of my GPSs (a Garmin 755T and Porsche PCM) knew the Inn's location or where Little Switzerland existed. The Garmin found Spruce Pine and from there I was able to locate 226A and the Inn. Next time I will print out a route from Google Maps.
Interestingly enough, I saw no Porsches along the way until I was about 2-miles out, when a red Boxster fell in behind me. The parking lot was mostly full when we arrived, but we found a spot and registered.
The Little Switzerland Inn is an interesting place. It is more than just a single inn. Instead, it is a complex of buildings set in the trees on top of a mountain, and its true size is difficult to gauge. We didn't do any local exploring but I saw a map of the venue, which showed at least ten buildings scattered around the property. Several buildings were for shops, a laundry, and maintenance, while the rest were guest quarters. Several of them looked out across a valley to the next mountain. On a clear day it was a breathtaking view.
Our second floor room in the main building overlooked the parking lot and had a small balcony. The room was well-furnished and comfortable, and we relaxed before dinner.
At 4pm, we met everyone out back and watched three of the first 981s in the country drive up, which were part of a promotional tour for PCNA. Their appearance was a big surprise and everyone 'oohed' and 'awed' them. Even Pedro was there, standing in the background but not saying much.
Dinner that night was excellent as were all other meals at the Inn. Our single day of bad weather was scheduled for Friday, so Friday and Saturday's events were switched with each other. We enjoyed a few Venoms (a local drink) after dinner and hit the rack early to prepare for our first event the next day.
FRIDAY
Friday began with heavy fog that got even heavier as the morning progressed. It was so thick the annual Show & Shine was cancelled due to no one being able to see the cars.
After an excellent brunch at 10am, groups left on their wine or distillery tours and the spirited driving along the Diamondback (NC226A) to and from each destination. We went with Guenter's group that attended the South Creek Winery tour. Bev and I aren't dry wine drinkers, which was what the winery sold, but the tour was still interesting. Although the fog was still bad on the mountain, as we descended to the valley floor, it dissipated and we were eventually enjoying the sun.
Evening brought a great seafood buffet. We were seated at the Team Moratta table, which was the name of our group for the next day's Fun Rally.
We made a point of sitting with different people at each meal so we could meet as many fellow Boxsterers as possible. In addition to the long-time attendees, we met several who were also new to the event. Kevin the Slow came up to introduce himself, and we walked out to my car to show him my "Special Alarm System".
Saturday
After breakfast on our own, I enjoyed hearing Geunter giving an early history lecture about Porsche during a Tech Session.
After that, our Team convoy left to gather all the group photos needed to win the Rally. For the next 6-hours we traveled the area, stopping at certain locations for group photos and some light shopping. Our pack lunch was eaten in Yancy County's Burnsville town square, while I arranged for photo help at the local county jail and fire department. The jail let all twenty-three of us cram ourselves into their "drunk tank", and the on-duty corrections officer posed for pictures with us. At the fire department, the firemen brought out one of their trucks, then erected one of their "bathtubs" so we could satisfy our water photo requirement. In appreciation of the fire department's cooperation, we passed the hat and they received a sizable donation. Volunteer fire department's like Burnsville's tend to be poorly financed, so the donation was welcome and will be put to good use purchasing badly needed equipment.
When we returned we had some time to ourselves before the banquet, so Bev and I shopped at the Inn's stores. I also took the time to wash the Blue Box at the Inn's wash rack. Three days of driving and some rain had made it filthy.
Our evening banquet was held outside behind the Inn overlooking the valley. It was cool (cold for Floridians) and windy, so after dinner the door prizes were handed out inside the lobby. After the meeting broke-up, most people either went into the bar, or stayed in the lobby to watch a slide show of the pictures taken that week. We retired to our room fairly early, and heard a group of cars heading out for a night run. When we got up next morning before the sun came up, we saw that the parking lot was already missing at least nine cars. I am guessing those cars we heard must not have come back.
Sunday and a Small Departure From Reality
We got up fairly early and after breakfast, packed and loaded the car for our return trip. Checkout was effortless and we both enjoyed the event so much, we have a room reserved for next year's Summit. Bev and I plan to come down Tuesday with the convoy heading south from Canada so we can take advantage of the pre-BRBS events.
We could have gone back with Geunter's convoy when they left at 830am, but we instead decided to do some sightseeing on the way home. Instead of taking 19E back to I81, we went the other direction on 226A to I40 to I77 with the intention of stopping in Mayberry, aka Mt. Airy. For those not familiar with this town, it is the birthplace of Andy Griffith, and the town has tried to capitalize on it. We drove back with the top down as the weather was gorgeous.
Unfortunately, I wasn't watching the gas gauge and ran out of gas at the edge of town. A call to AAA brought out a wrecker from Emmit's Towing Service, with Goober at the wheel.
(Goober is shy and didn't want to be in the picture)
He hauled us to Wally's gas station, where we bought something called "Hi-Test".
Now with a full tank, we drove around town, first stopping at the Sheriff's Office.
(someone was cleaning the car when we arrived)
The building was open, but Sheriff Taylor wasn't around, and Otis had apparently gone home leaving the front door open, so we went inside. Here's Bev posing for a pic. I hope Otis doesn't mind her being inside his cell.
We also found the Darling homestead and stopped to say, "Howdy". Since it was Sunday morning, they were probably at church as the house was empty.
Our next stop was downtown for some shopping. We passed Floy's Barber Shop (forgot to get a picture), which was closed. It was early yet, so only one store was open. There we learned that Thelma Lou still lived in-town. After lunch at Barney's Diner, we drove by Andy Griffith's original home, which is tiny and available for rent by the day. After that we headed out of town and home.
On the way north along I77 we passed a large convoy of southbound Porsches, but I have not been able to find out where they were going/coming from. I flashed my headlights and waved as they passed, and several with their tops down returned the wave.
We got home just before dark, once again without seeing any bad driving or accidents along the way. Our 4-day trip totaled 1242-miles of driving with an average MPG of 25. We both had a great time and look forward to next year's BRBS.
Here is a link for all the photos we took:
BRBS12 Pics
Driving a new-to-me '09S in Aqua Blue Metallic. It does .5 past light speed. I made the Kessel run in less than 12-parsecs.
Motto: If you have your top up, that storm outside had better have a name!
Motto 2: Having the top up on a convertible is an oxymoron. Don't be a (oxy)moron.
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 06/23/2012 09:24AM by KevinR-MedinaOhio. (view changes)
Cleaning and packing the car took till Midnight Wednesday night, so I got only 4 and a half-hours of sleep before waking at 5am. We left NE Ohio Thursday morning at 630am and rode down I77 (it is 10-minutes from our house) on rails, with the Cruise Control set at the speed limit +6 in Ohio and +10 in the other states. Cruise Control worked well, never varying our speed on hills more than -2mph to +1mph. We only saw one Trooper in Ohio and WV, two in Va, and none in NC. We also saw no bad driving or accidents, but no Porsches, either. Although the weather was decent but cool, we kept the top up until reaching Spruce Pine so Bev could nap and watch movies on the iPad. This was our first long drive in a convertible with the top up so I paid attention to the noise levels inside the car; I have no complaints about it being noisy.
We reached Beckley WV at 1030 and stopped there for gas and food (a 1/2 hour stopover). We reached the Little Switzerland Inn at 315pm, which was an 8-hour, 15-minute trip, not including the stopover. The car performed flawlessly and the ride was reasonably smooth, even with 19" wheels.
Finding the Inn was pure luck, as neither of my GPSs (a Garmin 755T and Porsche PCM) knew the Inn's location or where Little Switzerland existed. The Garmin found Spruce Pine and from there I was able to locate 226A and the Inn. Next time I will print out a route from Google Maps.
Interestingly enough, I saw no Porsches along the way until I was about 2-miles out, when a red Boxster fell in behind me. The parking lot was mostly full when we arrived, but we found a spot and registered.
The Little Switzerland Inn is an interesting place. It is more than just a single inn. Instead, it is a complex of buildings set in the trees on top of a mountain, and its true size is difficult to gauge. We didn't do any local exploring but I saw a map of the venue, which showed at least ten buildings scattered around the property. Several buildings were for shops, a laundry, and maintenance, while the rest were guest quarters. Several of them looked out across a valley to the next mountain. On a clear day it was a breathtaking view.
Our second floor room in the main building overlooked the parking lot and had a small balcony. The room was well-furnished and comfortable, and we relaxed before dinner.
At 4pm, we met everyone out back and watched three of the first 981s in the country drive up, which were part of a promotional tour for PCNA. Their appearance was a big surprise and everyone 'oohed' and 'awed' them. Even Pedro was there, standing in the background but not saying much.
Dinner that night was excellent as were all other meals at the Inn. Our single day of bad weather was scheduled for Friday, so Friday and Saturday's events were switched with each other. We enjoyed a few Venoms (a local drink) after dinner and hit the rack early to prepare for our first event the next day.
FRIDAY
Friday began with heavy fog that got even heavier as the morning progressed. It was so thick the annual Show & Shine was cancelled due to no one being able to see the cars.
After an excellent brunch at 10am, groups left on their wine or distillery tours and the spirited driving along the Diamondback (NC226A) to and from each destination. We went with Guenter's group that attended the South Creek Winery tour. Bev and I aren't dry wine drinkers, which was what the winery sold, but the tour was still interesting. Although the fog was still bad on the mountain, as we descended to the valley floor, it dissipated and we were eventually enjoying the sun.
Evening brought a great seafood buffet. We were seated at the Team Moratta table, which was the name of our group for the next day's Fun Rally.
We made a point of sitting with different people at each meal so we could meet as many fellow Boxsterers as possible. In addition to the long-time attendees, we met several who were also new to the event. Kevin the Slow came up to introduce himself, and we walked out to my car to show him my "Special Alarm System".
Saturday
After breakfast on our own, I enjoyed hearing Geunter giving an early history lecture about Porsche during a Tech Session.
After that, our Team convoy left to gather all the group photos needed to win the Rally. For the next 6-hours we traveled the area, stopping at certain locations for group photos and some light shopping. Our pack lunch was eaten in Yancy County's Burnsville town square, while I arranged for photo help at the local county jail and fire department. The jail let all twenty-three of us cram ourselves into their "drunk tank", and the on-duty corrections officer posed for pictures with us. At the fire department, the firemen brought out one of their trucks, then erected one of their "bathtubs" so we could satisfy our water photo requirement. In appreciation of the fire department's cooperation, we passed the hat and they received a sizable donation. Volunteer fire department's like Burnsville's tend to be poorly financed, so the donation was welcome and will be put to good use purchasing badly needed equipment.
When we returned we had some time to ourselves before the banquet, so Bev and I shopped at the Inn's stores. I also took the time to wash the Blue Box at the Inn's wash rack. Three days of driving and some rain had made it filthy.
Our evening banquet was held outside behind the Inn overlooking the valley. It was cool (cold for Floridians) and windy, so after dinner the door prizes were handed out inside the lobby. After the meeting broke-up, most people either went into the bar, or stayed in the lobby to watch a slide show of the pictures taken that week. We retired to our room fairly early, and heard a group of cars heading out for a night run. When we got up next morning before the sun came up, we saw that the parking lot was already missing at least nine cars. I am guessing those cars we heard must not have come back.
Sunday and a Small Departure From Reality
We got up fairly early and after breakfast, packed and loaded the car for our return trip. Checkout was effortless and we both enjoyed the event so much, we have a room reserved for next year's Summit. Bev and I plan to come down Tuesday with the convoy heading south from Canada so we can take advantage of the pre-BRBS events.
We could have gone back with Geunter's convoy when they left at 830am, but we instead decided to do some sightseeing on the way home. Instead of taking 19E back to I81, we went the other direction on 226A to I40 to I77 with the intention of stopping in Mayberry, aka Mt. Airy. For those not familiar with this town, it is the birthplace of Andy Griffith, and the town has tried to capitalize on it. We drove back with the top down as the weather was gorgeous.
Unfortunately, I wasn't watching the gas gauge and ran out of gas at the edge of town. A call to AAA brought out a wrecker from Emmit's Towing Service, with Goober at the wheel.
(Goober is shy and didn't want to be in the picture)
He hauled us to Wally's gas station, where we bought something called "Hi-Test".
Now with a full tank, we drove around town, first stopping at the Sheriff's Office.
(someone was cleaning the car when we arrived)
The building was open, but Sheriff Taylor wasn't around, and Otis had apparently gone home leaving the front door open, so we went inside. Here's Bev posing for a pic. I hope Otis doesn't mind her being inside his cell.
We also found the Darling homestead and stopped to say, "Howdy". Since it was Sunday morning, they were probably at church as the house was empty.
Our next stop was downtown for some shopping. We passed Floy's Barber Shop (forgot to get a picture), which was closed. It was early yet, so only one store was open. There we learned that Thelma Lou still lived in-town. After lunch at Barney's Diner, we drove by Andy Griffith's original home, which is tiny and available for rent by the day. After that we headed out of town and home.
On the way north along I77 we passed a large convoy of southbound Porsches, but I have not been able to find out where they were going/coming from. I flashed my headlights and waved as they passed, and several with their tops down returned the wave.
We got home just before dark, once again without seeing any bad driving or accidents along the way. Our 4-day trip totaled 1242-miles of driving with an average MPG of 25. We both had a great time and look forward to next year's BRBS.
Here is a link for all the photos we took:
BRBS12 Pics
Driving a new-to-me '09S in Aqua Blue Metallic. It does .5 past light speed. I made the Kessel run in less than 12-parsecs.
Motto: If you have your top up, that storm outside had better have a name!
Motto 2: Having the top up on a convertible is an oxymoron. Don't be a (oxy)moron.
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 06/23/2012 09:24AM by KevinR-MedinaOhio. (view changes)
Jeff (Philly) - Saturday, 23 June, 2012, at 6:30:25 pm |
Jeff Benson:
2016 Boxster, See it here: www.greatvalleyhouse.com/Boxster
First car: 1952 Hudson Hornet
First roadster: 1962 Austin Healy 3000 III
Still have: Computer free 1974 MGB
Previous Porsches since 1982: 924, 944, 944S, and four Boxsters; 97, 03, 08 & 2012
2016 Boxster, See it here: www.greatvalleyhouse.com/Boxster
First car: 1952 Hudson Hornet
First roadster: 1962 Austin Healy 3000 III
Still have: Computer free 1974 MGB
Previous Porsches since 1982: 924, 944, 944S, and four Boxsters; 97, 03, 08 & 2012
| Great report. Glad you guys enjoyed it. See you at BRBS 15! *NM* Pedro (Odessa, FL) - Saturday, 23 June, 2012, at 6:36:17 pm |
Pedro Bonilla
1998 Boxster 986 - 311,000+ miles: [www.PedrosGarage.com]
PCA National Club Racing Scrutineer - PCA National HPDE Instructor - PCA Technical Committee (Boxster/Cayman)
Racecar spelled backwards is Racecar
"Racing is life. Anything before or after is just waiting" ... Steve McQueen as Michael Delaney in "LeMans"
"If you wait, all that happens is that you get older"... Mario Andretti
"Being second is to be the first of the ones who lose" ... Ayrton Senna
1998 Boxster 986 - 311,000+ miles: [www.PedrosGarage.com]
PCA National Club Racing Scrutineer - PCA National HPDE Instructor - PCA Technical Committee (Boxster/Cayman)
Racecar spelled backwards is Racecar
"Racing is life. Anything before or after is just waiting" ... Steve McQueen as Michael Delaney in "LeMans"
"If you wait, all that happens is that you get older"... Mario Andretti
"Being second is to be the first of the ones who lose" ... Ayrton Senna
Nice report, glad you and Bev were on our team. See you next year Kevin  *NM* Naples986 - Monday, 25 June, 2012, at 11:11:34 pm |
| Re: Road Trip Report: Our First BRBS Mark from SC - Tuesday, 26 June, 2012, at 7:26:35 am |
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