Major road trip to pick up my SWP Premium starting Friday 6/15. Critique my course.
 

I'm flying up from Baton Rouge, LA to Manchester, NH on Friday to pick up my SWP Subaru BRZ Premium manual.
I'm taking the following course: http://goo.gl/maps/E5k7

All of the named stops are places where I know people I plan on visiting on the way down. As you'll see, I'll be hitting up the Tail of the Dragon on the way down. If there are any other really good driving roads I should hit that aren't too far out of the way, let me know and I'll add them to my list, time permitting. This especially goes for anything after 1000 miles into the trip where I can really open the car up.

I'll also be taking tons of pictures and I'll even have a gopro taping the really interesting roads (e.g. the dragon), so there will be a major effort-post when I get time to sort through everything and edit into something presentable.

Your input is greatly welcomed!

-Mitch

ha! i was considering doing this exact same thing (buying from MA. and driving back to houston) but didnt want to go through the hassle of buying a car so far away. Not sure why you want to stop in Alabama, but congrats and good luck. have fun! im jealous!

I'm in the town next to Manchester, when on Friday are you picking it up? If you want we can meet up and I can give you some ideas in person.

Having recently went on a road trip my self from Manchester, NH to Atlanta, GA, heres my take on changes.

Skip Boston. Go from Manchester, through Keene, Brattleboro VT, into Albany on Route 9. It's a very fun and scenic twisty road through mountains and hills. Going down 93 to Boston and then into Hartford is a boring, straight, and congested highway.

I would also avoid the NYC area completely, expect to pay lots in tolls and be sitting in traffic for hours longer then you originally anticipated. With a car like this you want uncongested, twisty roads.

See my suggestions: https://maps.google.com/maps?saddr=m...rsp=3&sz=6&z=6

Couple of Virginia recommendations:

If you want to take a little more time to enjoy the trip, head to Skyline drive at Front Royal, VA and/or the Blue Ridge Parkway once you have reached the southern limit to Shenandoah National Park.

Also, your route takes you on rt 151 through Nelson County, VA (born and raised). If you are a fan of beer or wine, you will be in heaven there and I highly recommend spending a night in that area.

Here’s my favorite area brewery and a nice B&B owned by family friends:
http://www.bluemountainbrewery.com/
http://www.acorninn.com/intro.shtml

Just drove mine from NH to VA, awesome trip! Looks like your taking a very round-about route so hopefully by the time you get to the tail of the dragon in NC the engine will be broken in enough to have some real fun.

Have fun man! I just did a 10+ hour drive for mine going from Utah to LA.

:thumbup:

After you leave Albany, you'll be heading down 87. I live in Poughkeepsie, right on the east side of the Hudson river where 87 is. I'd love to see your car and maybe even have a mini shoot!! Let me know if you're interested!

I saw your car today.

http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b1...6-14162725.jpg

http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b1...6-14162714.jpg

I've been on the tail of the dragon before, there is not 10 feet of straight road on that guy, beautiful side of the mountain scenery.... Perfect for a BRZ :)

Such a good idea, I'm going to copy it. NC, here I come.

Stop in Alabama is to see family. Birmingham is actually a pretty cool city, all things considered.
Thanks for the advice on staying away from NYC. I'll take your route around. I've never seen Boston before, and I'm trying to catch up with people in CT the next day, so it's a good place for me to kill some time. But if something happens that shakes up the plan, I'll make the cut through Vermont instead.
I'll add them to the list of potential stops!
Yeah, I'll be able to open it up just in time for the Dragon. Even have a new GoPro to film it with!
Very nice! Glad we had the same idea. I certainly don't mind going out of my way for something I want.
It's looking like the new route takes me away from Poughkeepsie in the interests of less traffic.
Thanks!! I've been dying to see pictures of it, but I didn't want to trouble Bob for it since I was going to be seeing it soon anyway. It's funny, I've seen hundreds of pictures of this car so far, but those look the best (I guess because this one's mine!).
When you go, remember to check killboy.com for your pictures. That's the first thing I'm going to check when I get home.

After the dragon, when you cross the TN line into NC, take 28 S all the way to Franklin NC. If your feeling adventurous, take hwy 64 from Franklin to Highlands. Both of these roads are better than the dragon IMO, as they have less traffic and cops.

As a North Carolinian, I can agree 100% with this one. I don't like tickets! Similar on the fun scale, not even close on the probability of getting a ticket scale.

I'll add my voice to that. From an overall experience, the other two routes are more satisfying.

That's probably why! He sold me my BRZ, he's a great guy. We talked a little bit about you as well, lol. Hopefully you like your new car!

If you are going to CT, my choice then would be to cut through Route 13 into Townsend, MA through Worcester, then into Hartford. It's pretty much a direct drive south, and the traffic usually isn't as bad.

I can't wait to see it at the next auto-x for CENLA or DELTA buddy!!! I didn't get mine, picked up a Z4 instead...

What a small world. I just put down money on a WRB limited manual coming in to Manchester Subaru in one week. Bob has been awesome to deal with. I'm also flying up next weekend and driving 20 hours back to Memphis, Tennessee. How was the trip back Mitch? I'm hoping to hit some twisties on the way home. Also, I will be going through NYC. I know, tolls and traffic. But I've never been farther north than Washington D.C., so I really want to see NYC. WRXguy1, if you happen to visit again in the next week and mine is there, mind taking a picture? :happy0180:

I cannot wait to get this car. I've had a 1994 Toyota MR2 turbo since I was 16, and I figured at 25 I need something a little newer.

I'll be at the CENLA autocross school this weekend, and just about every CENLA and Delta event I can hit from here on out!
Bob's a really nice guy. He kept in touch during the entire trip back to make sure I was enjoying the car. Speaking of which, the trip was a blast. Go ahead and start lubing up, because you're about to get reamed on toll fees. Being from the south, I though tolls were just for brand new bridges and the like. Nope. North of DC, any major thoroughfare gets called a turnpike, which means keep your wallet out. Other than that, the trip is a blast. I have a bunch of friends in the northeast, so I got to crash with friends the whole way down. Having seen upstate NY and NYC, I prefer upstate. Great area. And Connecticut is a delightful little state. Make a point of visiting the dragon on the way back. It may be a little out of the way, but it's completely worth it. I still can't get over how fun it was.

A few pictures from my trip, including the Dragon...
 

http://i865.photobucket.com/albums/a...s/DSCF1615.jpg
http://i865.photobucket.com/albums/a...s/DSCF1616.jpg
http://i865.photobucket.com/albums/a...rus/191595.jpg
http://i865.photobucket.com/albums/a...rus/191594.jpg
http://i865.photobucket.com/albums/a...rus/191593.jpg
http://i865.photobucket.com/albums/a...rus/191592.jpg
http://i865.photobucket.com/albums/a...rus/191591.jpg

http://i865.photobucket.com/albums/a...rus/191590.jpg
http://i865.photobucket.com/albums/a...rus/191589.jpg

http://i865.photobucket.com/albums/a...rus/191588.jpg

Mitch,

You need to upload that GoPro footage. Like now. :D

Congrats., brother!

Awesome thread! Well done OP!

It's not nearly as fun to watch as it was to drive, but at the very least this will give people an idea of what the dragon looks like.

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SihNJT8Jtrg"]Tail of the Dragon - BRZ - YouTube[/ame]

Glad you had a good trip! Lots of dead bugs on the windshield though.

Awesome video! Thanks and Congrats on that new BRZ.:coolpics:

I want to go there like yesterday.... If I only knew that road existed when I had my Evo.

I took the google map street view through a big chunk of it just now.

Wow, great vid! Got motion sickness watching in fullscreen :barf:

:thanks:

Thank you for staying on your side of the road.

Us two wheelers appreciate that.

I live less than an hour from there, looking forward to driving it when I receive my BRZ. 1 of 1 and still waiting!

Thanks for the comments, everybody! And yes, to anyone considering driving the Dragon, stay in your lane. That road is incredibly busy for what it is, and every other corner is blind. Nothing good can come of crossing the center line. People die out there constantly from simple mistakes, so don't make that one.

First autocross in the BRZ! It was actually a school, so lots of seat time and one-on-one instruction. No action shots (very few spectators since there would be fewer ride alongs available). I've done four other autocrosses with my e36 M3. I have to say, I miss the absolute grip I had in the M3, but of course I was running STU. As soon as SCCA announces our ST_ class, I'll start building towards that.

http://i865.photobucket.com/albums/a...s/DSCF1655.jpg
http://i865.photobucket.com/albums/a...s/DSCF1660.jpg
http://i865.photobucket.com/albums/a...s/DSCF1665.jpg

I need to get out there with my Z4! I just need to find time lol