Later that evening, we had a cookout at the factory cafeteria. Unfortunately, they don't allow cameras inside, so I couldn't get any pix of the night's events, which included a talk by Burkhard Goeschel, the father of the Z3. He was funny! For a German engineer, he was exceptionally funny to listen to. Oh well, once the night was done, we all went home, but I didn't, not before taking this late-nite photo outside the Zentrum. At dinner, I managed to get a warning triangle that BMW sells in Europe for our cars, but somehow they don't offer it here in the US. Strange, considering that the trunk has a special slot and tie-down straps for it. The warning triangle was thanks to Tim Cullis, known on the message board as Tim UK, and Rachel Corey, who pointed Tim in my direction. Check out his incredibly detailed Web Site that lists all the color options that there ever were for the Z3.
With Hurricane Dennis threatening to ruin our return trip, Rachel, Dave P, and I decided to skip the Sunday morning Drive and head straight back. Tim UK had flown in for Homecoming, and BMW graciously loaned him a Violet Red/Purple car for his stay. He's there on the left packing it in.
I came down with a big box of Shagadelic Convoy shirts, and some other disposable items. Now, as I pack, I can't figure out why there's even less space to spare!
Here's the billboard on I85 just before the plant
So, the weather started getting rough.
I wasn't expecting to see this. Ok, maybe in Georgia, but we weren't going that way.
And I certainly didn't expect to see THIS!
The rain started to fall, but we kept up the pace.
Just before departure, Dave Pavik offered some Rain-X to Rachel and me. It was incredible! The water just rolled right up the windshield. I only needed the intermittent setting for most of the time it rained.
Somewhere around here, another Z3 caught up with us. It turned out to be Shawn Fogg, and his sweetie Melissa. I was able to get them to turn on their Talkabout radio to our channel, and they joined us for the rest of the trip. They were headed all the way back to Rhode Island, and were grateful they didn't have to do it on their own.
At one point, we had to make a determination as to which way to go - straight north to the western side of Pennsylvania, or northeast to Washington DC and up Route 95. Right where we had to make a decision, the rain picked up, and we pulled off the road for gas and to check the local weather. We got off just in time, as there was an accident right after our exit. There was a Fnord Explorer just past these vehicles, and its front end was badly damaged. Whew - we got off lucky!
So, we gassed up and called the local TV station, and they said the storm was moving north and west, so our best bet ended up being the route via DC.
Here again is that neutral look where it appears I'm angry. I'm most definitely not.
Anyway, we made it to the Evil state of Virginia, where radar detectors are illegal, and if the police find you have one, they confiscate it. We hid ours, and I set my cruise control to 65 and led us through this terrible wasteland ;-)
Drive on over to:
13: Home again, Home again, Jiggedy Jig
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