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June 6 - 8, 2002The anticipation was excruciating. After last year's
BRBS III, I absolutely could not wait for BRBS IV. Same town: Blowing Rock, NC. Same parkway:
Blue Ridge
Parkway. Same mountains. Same twisties. Same people. If it ain't broke...
Day 0, The Staunton CaravanLast year I went to BRBS after visiting my parents in
Florida. The timing wasn't convenient to hook up with anyone else for the drive, so I went solo.
This year, I hooked up with the Staunton Caravan, and proceeded expeditiously to Blowing Rock.
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Everyone gathered together before heading out. |
Jay and Marty led the group. |
Half way there, we stopped for a rest. |
Day 1, "The Lineup"First up: The Lineup...same as last year. There seemed to be
fewer "official" Boxsters in the lineup this year, but once people saw what was happening, there
were lots of last-minute entries. There were lots of goodies this year, including a super-duper
stereo setup, complete with DVD.
This year, I offered to open up my engine compartment - something not many new (or old!) Boxster
owners have done. My motto: "Every Boxster owner should see their own engine at least once." I
was originally planning to just open it up for people to see. But, when word spread that I was
going to do it, a crowd started to form. So began the first annual Rob Kodey Official
Unofficial Boxster Lineup Do-It-Yourself Demo. Gottfried took a bunch of pictures that
hopefully I'll get and post soon. I had a number of people thank me for the demonstration -
You're welcome! It was fun!
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Before the Lineup, everyone is polishing away. |
Gottfried gets some early pictures. |
Have a nice day? Absolutely! |
The Lineup, Row 1. |
The Lineup, Row 2. |
A composite panorama image I spliced together from the Row 1 and 2 pics. |
I like the aluminum interior look. Maybe another project for me... |
Here's my Y2K 986, after opening up the engine compartment. |
Day 1, The Poker RunNew event this year. Instead of just open roads, we had a
"Poker Run". I suppose you could call it a rally, but it was really just a list of five
destinations to go to. At each destination, we drew a card. The Boxster with the best poker hand
won cash. Not a bad deal!
After my first three draws, I had a lot of nothing. Not even a pair. But, all three were
diamonds - possible flush. Draw four was manned by Bob C., who, upon seeing my progress, boasted that he had already
killed three other flushes. I was number four. My fifth draw was another diamond, so I can
absolutely blame Bob for keeping me off the podium! I did win the "close but no cigar"
award, and added a Boxster matchbox car to my collection.
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The first stop was at Linville Falls. |
Price Lake wasn't an official stop, but I couldn't resist. |
Price Lake had a cool dam/waterfall under the roadway. |
Day 2, Grandfather MountainLast year, the fog rolled in while we were on the
mountain. This year, the peak was in the clouds all morning. A bunch of people did the sunrise
photo shoot again, but I guess all they saw was cloud. I went up around 9am, as the sunrise crew
was on their way back down. I guess they gave up. They didn't know what they were about to
miss.
I saw the cloud cover before I left, so I brought a book with me to pass the time. I knew that
if I was patient, there'd be some pretty cool pictures as the clouds blew off. Boy, am I glad I
waited. Not 15 minutes after arriving at the peak, the clouds began to clear...
I was the only one on the mountain.
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The clouds were thick when I arrived... |
...but then they quickly blew away. Sky above, valley below. Awesome. |
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Another sky above, valley below shot. |
There's something about this angle I really like. |
Boxster in the clouds. |
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The word got out, and Gottfried joined me at the top. |
Another one of Gottfried, as Dennis joined us. |
Dan joined us as well. |
I loved this angle last year. It's even better with the clouds. |
Gottfried took this one for me... |
...before he took some of his own. |
Boxsters and a 911 in front of Swinging Bridge. |
This was taken at the base of Swinging Bridge. |
I thought it was neat how the Whaletail lined up with my Boxster. |
Another in front of Swinging Bridge. |
The clouds rolled through again, in front of the peak. |
Day 3, FarewellI got up a bit early, since I was about to drive to Daytona Beach. As I was drying the dew from my car,
Gottfried snuck up on me (as he usually does!) and started snapping away. He said he'd never seen
a cleaner Boxster.
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Gottfried's shot of my cleanliness. |
I took some shots, too. The lighting was cool. |
Another angle. |
'Till next year...It was over way too soon.
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The "BRBS Wave" is a common occurrence on the Parkway. It replaces "The Flash" for a few
days. |
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