*AUS* Hill Country Drive 8/26 10am

[articfury]

All,

Earlier this year myself and a friend helped the Sols put together a 25 car drive through the Hill Country. It was a roaring success. We are putting together another drive. This will be a longer drive. We don't expect nearly as many cars. It will be better that way, anyway.

Here are the rough details:

When: Sat Aug 26th 10am
Where: Start location is TBD
Who: All that care to join.

Basic Plan:
Driver's Meeting at 10am
Head out 10:30am
Lunch
Drive
Gas station Stop
Drive
Longhorn Cavern Tour w/ photo op
Drive
Dinner in Fredricksburg

We will use some of the same great roads we drove on the last drive. We will also drive some roads that may be new to y'all.

Bring:
Be sure to bring a good amount of water. We'd recommend a small cooler for the footwell...you'll be glad you brought it.
Sunscreen!

So Who's In?

Solstice
Lagonia and Brenda
popsintx and wife
singlesol
stuck
sway and hubby (maybe)

Sky
espresso_jim (maybe)

Other
articfury
jwfisher and alex

BTW, here is the picture thread from the last drive. Link

D

[espresso_jim]

Originally Posted by articfury

All,

Earlier this year myself and a friend helped the Sols put together a 25 car drive through the Hill Country. It was a roaring success. We are putting together another drive. This will be a longer drive. We don't expect nearly as many cars. It will be better that way, anyway.

Here are the rough details:

When: Sat Aug 26th 10am
Where: Start location is TBD
Who: All that care to join.

The idea is to set out around 10am. Drive until 1pm when we stop at Opie's for some BBQ. Then drive out from there for a few hours ending up in Fredericksburg for an early dinner. (There will probably be a stop or 2 in the middle there. )

So Who's In?

BTW, here is the picture thread from the last drive. Link

D

You are talking about Austin, Texas Hill Country aren't you? It might be fun. Keep us posted and I just might be inclined to show up. And, I am assuming Sky's are invited???

Jim

[articfury]

Originally Posted by espresso_jim

You are talking about Austin, Texas Hill Country aren't you? It might be fun. Keep us posted and I just might be inclined to show up. And, I am assuming Sky's are invited???

Jim

Yes, Austin, TX. I have editted the title to make that clearer.

All Sols and Skys are invited, especially given that there will be an Evo and S2k there

D

[articfury]

In case you all didn't see this post on the Solstice forum, here is more info from Jeff Fisher, the guy I'm working with to help set up the drive. Alex is his girlfriend who owns the S2K that they will be driving.

"Alex and I will be leading this drive again, and as before we've designed a great course. We'll again use an intensive set of roads and turns, occasionally separated by a few miles were you can relax and prepare for the next section. And as always it wil be very scenic and representative of the best of the Hill Country. Speeds will be by the posted limit.

This drive will be considerably longer than the last one - we'll start earlier and drive much farther and later. We'll have lunch at a BBQ joint out in the middle of nowhere - because that's how Hill Country drives are done. And at least 1 photo stop.

And also as before: what's the point of having a real drivers car if you don't drive it? Your Solstice or Sky will get dirty...(If we come across a dirty road we'll go slow, no dirt roads or anything like that - D) garage queens should stay at home. You should wax your car in advance to keep the dirt off. Incidentally anybody needing a fantastic Zaino job should contact me because I know a hungry college kid who has a great reputaion for his Zaino business - cars, trucks, boats, and planes.

We'll have more details as we get closer to the big day. Stay tuned to this forum.

Here's my own blog with a discussion of the hows, whys, and whats of the previous drive: JWFisher.com blog It explains what our goals were, why we did the drive, how we designed it it, how we ran it, and includes a link to the huge set of pictures we took.

A couple of things for the participants:
- Solsti and Sky participants only.
- this will be a *long* drive - bring bottled water. And it's still August, so it will be hot. We will stop for gas and food, in addition to lunch, but you are going to need a lot of water in the meantime.
- suntan lotion is a must. While normally we'd make fun of anybody driving a 'vert with the top up in the summer, drives like this - held in the Hill Country summer months - are the exception. At some point the day will be about endurance and not getting burned any further.
- bring a still camera for pictures. Don't bring a video camera - they attract the police and we don't need that.
- Arrive in Austin the night before. You don't need a 4 hour drive from, say, Dallas before you leave on the ~8 hour drive with us.
- Don't act or drive like an idiot. The last drive ended up on the desk of Bob Lutz, and we want to make him proud of us again! Anybody who is operating under another plan, stay away."

This should be a great drive.

Personally, I'd like to see the Skys out number the Sols.

D

[Lagonia]

Looking forward to this! It would be cool to see a bunch of Sky's on the road with the Sols!

[tweety]

C'mon Sky brothers and sisters. It's fun and you need to be there.
Why? Just because-that's why.
These roads are screaming for you to attend.

[OKSky]

Wow, that kind of drive could make me come down from OKC. Now, if only my SKY would get built...


Waiting Patiently
Green/Tan
Premium interior
LSD

[articfury]

OKSky,

C'mon down...i'm sure you can ride with someone on the drive.

All,

Here is a general outline of the schedule for the drive. Note that the Lunch/Photo Stop/Cool off Break may not be in this order.

Start is definitely the County Line BBQ on 2222 and 360. We will start at 10:00 AM. There will be a driver's meeting that everyone must attend.

Lunch - a BBQ joint (to be named when we get there) in the middle of nowhere for lunch at the regular hour

Photo Stop - we’ll also have a photo stop at a scenic location. There will also be an opportunity for a gas station/rest stop.

Cool Off break - a stop to cool off in the Longhorn Caverns tour (everybody should bring extra cash for this tix= $11).

Finish - a restaurant in Fredericksburg, TBD as we near arrival in F’burg, somewhere around 6 PM.

Drive Crew: Alex and Jeff will lead the drive using GPS maps; Derek will perform sweep at the end of the line.


We added the stop at the Caverns to give a good break to the second half of the drive. On past drives in the summer we have found that the cool cave temperatures make for a welcome respite from the heat.

D

[articfury]

espresso_jim,

Are you going on the drive?

Any other Sky folks up for a great way to spend a Saturday with your Sky?

I hope to see you all there.

Derek

[Karen]

Drive to the Salt Lick BBQ!!!....use to live in Austin

[espresso_jim]

Originally Posted by articfury

espresso_jim,

Are you going on the drive?

Any other Sky folks up for a great way to spend a Saturday with your Sky?

I hope to see you all there.

Derek

As of right now, I plan to be there. I have another event back in Austin at 9 pm and should have plenty of time to get back home...

[articfury]

Originally Posted by Karen

Drive to the Salt Lick BBQ!!!....use to live in Austin

We are going to a fav BBQ stop. The Salt Lick is really good too.

jim,

I have to be back to watch the UFC fight with some friends for a birthday party. It starts at 9, so I'm on roughly the same time table as you.

D

[articfury]

All,

Be sure to check out the "Results" thread on the Solstice Forum.

Jeff has posted 80 or so pics and a write up.

Thanks to everyone that came out. I had a great time.

D

[espresso_jim]

Great article and pics of the run. Thanks Derek and Jeff for the best day I had this summer. The Longhorn tour was a testament for birth control and patience.

The temperature was a minor inconvenience.

The BBQ was tasty and filling.

The cars were fantastic and the fellowship was great.

The roads were challenging at some points and the Texas Hill Country is beautiful.

All in all, a great day!

Thanks again for having the Skys join the trip.

Jim