[O LEE O]

Hey all,


I know we have just about 4 months ahead of us but we thought we'd get this out there and get our Northeast Lotus brethern thinking about it. -poke-

At this time, there is a small group of us leaving the Princeton area on Thursday morning, Septemeber 18. The actual time and location will be posted at a later date. We will probably be leaving from somewhere in the Mercer Mall because of parking and COFFEE accessibilty. :facepalm

Our navigator Josh bow has been working on the route to Asheville and we will post that link to Googlemaps when Josh is finished and gives us the :up:. We expect this route to be an event in itself! :coolnana:

The longest leg of this route is traveling down on Route 81 but in Wytheville, we jump off the beaten path and navigate some "twisties" evil before we reach our final destination of the day, Asheville.

So far we have; myself, Josh, Mike, Jeff and Eddie (coming from Brooklyn- you gotta love dis guy!) but we are looking forward to having others join us as well (you know, safety in numbers and all that...rotfl).

So if you are at all interested in "caravaning" with us, please let us know via this thread. We look forward to hearing from you guys and gals. opcorn:


O LEE O

 

[JKezele]

Also note that we have an awesome route planned for Friday, which is why we're going down a day early.

 

[O LEE O]

and so speaks the navigator........


:bow::bow::bow::bow::bow::bow::bow::bow:

 

[mkzhang]

People actually check this part of the forums? I thought you were going to post it at the general discussion area lol

 

[carbuff]

Subscribed!


PM me if you want some input on the route.

For example, VA RT 42 parallels Rt 81. (One valley to the west) It is easily accessible once past Woodstock, VA.


Also include any plans for a Return Trip caravan.

 

[Noelsmith]

From NJ to NC in 1day?

So let me get this straight: no over night? Just a straight drive fom Princeton?

That's like 13-14 hours!

I don't mind long drives, in fact I love em but that's TOO LONG. Especially for me coming from RI an additional 4 hours away.

Seems to me the practical thing to do is have an overnight somewhere in the middle, no?

Noel

 

[glb]

Chester, NJ to Asheville is about 9-10 hrs. But, slower off the highway.

I just got back from Asheville.

Did 90 minutes on BRP, which is very much fun.

Asheville is a really good town, but whatever is in the air there right now caused my allergies to almost violently kick in. (Or, I'm allergic to that city.) Ppl there were saying it was a terrible allergy sea on.

We stayed at The Grove Park Inn, my favorite hotel on mainland US.

Would've been better if I could have breathed.

NC is a beautiful state.

On 81, VA drivers showed real lane discipline and courtesy. TN wasn't bad in that respect either.

Ppl who won't vacate LH lane are called (as per C&D) "Anti-Destination League".

 

[glb]

I'm good for about 18 hrs in the car, with some No-Doz sometimes.

Gas gauge and bladder are synchronized...
---

I have some good roads, supposedly better than TOD, from a friend there.

 

[JKezele]

The plan is to drive down in one day (Thursday) so we have all day Friday to play on the roads in NC. Including pit stops, it should be a 11-12 hour drive.

The basic route down is this: https://goo.gl/maps/o1v1S
If some of us would like to have some fun once we get down there (rather than go straight to the hotel), I put together this route: https://goo.gl/maps/byZM6

What is route 42 like?

If you'd like to talk about the fun roads we'll be on on Friday, PM por favor. It's an epic route.

The return trip will be on Monday...we're not doing the stuff at Bristol.

 

[O LEE O]

Hey Noel,

Believe me, I understand what you're saying. As you can see from Josh's reply, we are leaving Thursday morning because we have (or I should say Josh has) a wonderful route planned for us that we want to take Friday during the day. If you would like to join us or just be at LOG early, you may want to consider to driving down and spend the night somewhere here in the Princeton area and join us. I am actually trying to talk Eddie into spending the night at my place instead of driving his additional hours from Brooklyn. I'll take you both out for drinks! Just a thought.

My longest trip in the Elise has been 5 hours (non stop) and 2 hours of that was spent in the 95 degree heat and bumper to bumper traffic on the Belt Pkwy going out to Montauk Point on Long Island. I think I'm game for this run (though I am strongly thinking of taking a thin pillow along).

In regards to Monday's return, I have already signed up (and paid) for the events @ Bristol but I am not sure I will participate. In the event I do, I will probaly be looking for somebody to drive along with on the trip back Monday night.

 

[carbuff]

What is route 42 like?
.

Rt 42 was one of Car and Drivers' "Best Routes of the SouthEast" in an article published many years ago.

As were the "Ladder Roads" southeast of Asheville.

Anyway Josh I sent you a PM... :shift:

 

[streetthrowback]

Aww man Thursday :facepalm Im working, sat n sun work for me, maybe Bueller Can help me out opcorn:

 

[tvacc]

Some of the LOONYS are driving down on Thursday. We will probably meet somewhere just west of Watkins Glen. Then drive down 144 through PA (one of the best drives in the USA). That hits 80 which by that time will be probably enough of back roads. Then hit the interstate through WV and VA. I don't know yet from there. If someone wants to join us, let me know.

 

[mkzhang]

My car will be packed full of snacks and drinks, some pillows, and def noise cancellation headphones

 

[O LEE O]

Atwell and Gil, great feedback, thanks so much! I know the Josh is looking over the routes.

Noel, hopefully you make it to the Bear Mtn. Cruze and we can talk more about the "caravan".

Tony, are you guys spending the night somewhere on the way down? We are serious about making it down in one day so we can take in some road time on Friday. We will probably leave very early Thursday morning. Any chance our two groups could meet up?

 

[carbuff]

"One day down" is an ambitious goal. Better to split it (stopover in Wytheville) and do the Fun Stuff on the last leg to Asheville.

Are not the LOG 34 organizers planning some mountain-road drives for participants? Looky here:

Lotus Car Club of the Carolinas

There are beautiful roads down there...

 

[Noelsmith]

I'm with carbuff. For those of us who can take the time, breaking up the trip makes more sense and is easier on our bodies.

Maybe we can split the NE People into 1&2 day groups?

Noel

 

[walter]

Count us in on Thursday from Buffalo. Doing it in one day may be bit a bit much on my pregnant wife...

 

[JKezele]

"One day down" is an ambitious goal. Better to split it (stopover in Wytheville) and do the Fun Stuff on the last leg to Asheville.

Are not the LOG 34 organizers planning some mountain-road drives for participants? Looky here:

Lotus Car Club of the Carolinas

There are beautiful roads down there...

Yes, the organizers have a route planned for Sunday that will be mostly south/east of Asheville. The route we have planned for Friday will be taking us west of Asheville. There are many many many great roads, which is why we want the entirety of Friday to hit as many as we can.

 

[streetthrowback]

Can we extend the invitation to others, non lotus drivers? opcorn: