Possible Road Trip 2016 - Extreme AutoFest
 

Hey guys! Echo here.

I was discussing with a few of my other car enthusiast friends in the area.... and we're thinking about making a trip. Kind of an epic trip, actually. It was going to be just a few of us (an FRS, a Camaro, etc) but then the number of people interested grew, and our potential fleet now has a Mustang, Corvette, a Supra, and WRX. So here's a quick summary of the trip:

BBQ in Ocean City (or Atlantic City if enough of my NY friends are interested). Zip it to Chicago for a day and a half. Then, boom! Denver. Then we cruise over to the Grand Canyon for some scenic driving/picture taking/bbq, then crash in Vegas for a night. Then, LA for the 2016 Extreme AutoFest. :burnrubber:

On the way back, we take the middle route and cut through Kansas City and Indianapolis. My midwest friends are meeting us halfway in Chicago, some people are making it one way and flying back, or some combination thereof.

My background is in event production, and I spent the last seven years working with k-pop and j-pop artists, as well as government entities to raise funds for various causes (disabilities, etc). So I thought...why not use my background in fundraising....to raise some funds for a charitable cause? SO here's what I'm proposing...

The trip itself, is to be 100% funded by the participants. But leading up to the trip, we'll have promo vids and t-shirts/merchandise. 100% of the proceeds will go to charity. I'm thinking either Red Cross, or Paul Walker's disaster relief charity.

We have a year and two months to save up vacation time, save money, come up with marketing material, and plan. Again, 100% to charity, awesome cruise with fellow FT86ers and other car enthusiasts. Any thoughts?

Thoughts?
Yeah, no K-pop bands. I have enough of it in Honey Pig.

Meh, it paid the bills…

You gotta do what you gotta do!


In all seriousness, how long would a trip like this be day wise?
Would you schedule stops?
Talk to the Hotels where you would stop for discounts?
Fast or slow pace?


Is a lot of logistics.

Glad you asked! There are three possible routes, all about the same distance:

Route 80 (north), route 70 (middle), route 40 (south). My proposed trip takes route 80 for the first half to Denver, then head south through 76 to 70 for the second half.

Gas costs will be approximately $750 to $850 depending on the car for the whole trip. As we get closer to the date, we can figure out the specifics. All under $1000 including tolls. Split that between your passenger/co-driver and it becomes a very affordable trip.

Tentative schedule:

Sunday: BBQ. Eat, enjoy. Depart in the evening.
Monday: Arrive Chicago in the morning.
Tuesday: Car meet/hang in Chicago, rest. Meet up with Mid-west crew.
Wednesday: Gun it in the morning. Arrive in Denver 10pm.
Thursday: Gun it to Grand Canyon. Sleep in one of the lodges in the park.
Friday: Sight-see the park areas. Leisurely drive to Vegas for the night, have fun.
Saturday: Arrive in LA 3pm at the start of the Anaheim AutoFest.
Sunday: Relax in LA. I know that place pretty well.

On the return trip, we'll take 70 back (to change things up a bit). The return trip will be faster, and could potentially be faster, but I'm betting a lot of us will be tired.

Monday: Gun it to Denver (12 hours). Sleep. We'll stay on 70 from here.
Tuesday: Denver to Kansas City, MO (8 hours).
Wednesday: Kansas City to Indianapolis (7 hours).
Thursday: Indianapolis to Blackwater Falls, WV (cuz those cabins and camping area are pretty cool. Blackwater Falls is like 2 and a half hours from DC so if camping's not your cup of tea, you can gun it home).
Friday: Home. I can probably secure a party or club venue for free, get us some tables and drinks up top in DC.

In other news, I have been in contact with my auto guys in LA and several media contacts. I'm also currently consulting with buddies in motorcycle clubs, see how they run charity rides and get discounts on hotels along the way. My media contacts in DC will help with promotional vids, and I know graphic designers who can design merch. :-P Again, the fundraising is not for us, it's for charity...though if this gets big and someone wants to sponsor parts of the trip itself, that's a different discussion all together.

Sounds like an adventure, too bad I don't get vacation time.

If I'm still here next year, might be in for this

I'm down in SE VA, but that sounds like a blast. I drove from UT to VA in 3 days late last year. Would be awesome to do a cross country trip with a group.