"J" da man!

 

On Saturday after driving the Dragon we took the long way back to the hotel via the Cherahola (sp) parkway also a great road much more open than the Dragon and more 3rd, 4th, 5th gear action. Just as Keithd was running on his last bit of gas fumes we found a gas station and a group of about 15 other S2000's who had travelled the same route. We scouted out the best route back to the hotel and took off through the countryside at an enthusiastic pace. You can imagine what the locals were thinking as they saw 20 of us tearing up those roads on the way back to the hotel. We made a wrong turn on the way and ended up racing down a 1-1 1/2 lane driveway/access road past a couple of folks standing by a truck on the side of the road. When we realized our error and had to turn the caravan around a woman standing in her driveway looking at all the cars at first concerned, then helpful offered directions so we could get back on track. After turning 20 cars around on the skinny stretch of blacktop we headed back to our intended route, but were soon stopped by a couple of locals standing by a pickup on the side of the road. Chiung was leading at the time and alls we could thing of was a certain scene from Deliverence and dueling banjos playing. Skip jumped out of the second car in our caravan and smoothed it over with the locals after assuring them that we could stay on our side of the yellow lines and that we knew that driving down a driveway/access road at an enthusiastic pace might not be a good idea, they shook hands and we were on our way. (whew) Three miles later we were back on track and grabbing some gears on the way back to the hotel. We arrived in time for the raffles thanks in part to a slick presentation by Lubricatrion Engineers. (Pun intended) I won a quart of rear diff fluid and wil be putting it in asap.

 

Sunday we were on our own after checking out of the hotel. Most of the Fl folks that were left took off for the Blue Ridge Parkway and some other secondary roads on our way to Ashvelle where the groups would split. We ended up with 6 cars and two motorcycles. Keithd, Jereygirl, Lbsypher, Chiung, Brad and his Son, Tidaldwave, Dave's wife Lisa, my passenger Brian, and one other on a motorcycle that I can't remember his name.
After a slow cruise through a traffic jam at Pigeon Forge, a hostile woman in a CRV who besides suffering from road rage might also have benefitted from some meds that could keep her from scratching her arm like a flea bittten dog. We pulled off to get some gas and another road rage incident unfolded right in front of the gas station. A minivan and a car pulled over and a women got out and berated the other driver for making a wrong turn and delaying their arrival at the outlet mall.
Well back to the roads, after taking a slight detour through a national park on some beautiful scenic roads, although clogged with heavy weekend traffic, the views and scenery made the drive very enjoyable. After our lunch stop we jumped on the Blue Ridge Parkway headed to Asheville. The road had been closed due to a fire and some smoke in the area earlier in the day so traffic was much lighter than the other road we were on. We soon had an open stretch of twisty blacktop in front of us surrounded by stunning mountain views. Kiethd and I broke away from the front of the pack and had some fun on the roads, but after pushing pretty hard for 10-15 minutes my passenger and my brakes were both looking for some relief so we backed off and resumed an enthusiastic, but less punishing pace. At one point we stopped at the highest point in the smoky's and actually saw some unmelted snow on the side of the road. The road was a blast to drive, scenery was terrific, and those exhausts sounded great going through the tunnels. We split up toward the Asheville end and Keithd, Jerseygirl, and myself headed back to Florida. Keithd and Jerseygirl had had enough by the time we reached Savannah so they left our caravan and Brian and I drove straight through and arrived home at about 2:30 this morniing. I'll post some more pictures when I get up from my nap.

 

WOW! Glad you guys had so much fun. Can't wait to see more pictures.

~Shay

 

Lots of pics...


Wake the Dragon 2004 Pics

 

Great pics Keith. Thanks for sharing. One of these days Sandy and I will make it up there.

 

J -

Thanks for the in-person description of the events and happenings of your trip to the Dragon and surrounding area. You have a knack for capturing the essence of the activities, plus a sense of humor that keeps us all interested.

Steven

 

Keith, Great pics, thanks for sharing.

 

Nice pictures. I want to say hey to all the Florida folks that I met while at Wake the Dragon, a few even came back down US129 and through GA on thier way back home.

I think large meets like this are a great way to break down some of the distance barriers that keep us from seeing each other face-to-face.

Look forward to seeing everyone again next time.

 

I have to agree with the comments of those above... What a great event! Organized and put on by a true professional, Raul. Awesome roads, awesome scenery, awesome folks! For those of you on the fence about doing one of the Dragon events - do it! Do the next one in September if you can! It is SO worth it!

See Ya',
Bryan