Article: Blue Ridge Parkway Cruise!! Friday Oct 17

[BABY J]

https://www.facebook.com/events/272110799650972/



BLUERIDGE PARKWAY!!! As most of my vacations go - I'd love to have some company, but I definitely can function w/out co-signers, I'll get it in either way. Choosing mid Oct as the foliage should be full-grown by then with color. There will be points where I forage ahead of the pack to setup my drones so we can get some aerials of the meet spots overnight stops and cruising.

* FRI: 17 Oct 2014 : From ATL, GA we cruise up to Asheville, NC. Grab some lodging, get some food and hitting the local scene. HPT AUTOSPORT will be hosting us and doing a dyno night. 3 pulls with A/F and printout for $40. Free bottled water and hot dogs will be provided, but guys let's chip in if we can and thank Scott and the HPT Autosport for providing this. Don't overdo it Friday night bc the parkway is demanding considering we have to make it to Blacksburg.


* SAT: 18 Oct 2014 : Hit the BlueRidge Parkway at sunrise and take in some sights and views.

The 1st stop is Craggy Gardens. It has plenty of parking and there is a 1 mile hike to the top that's not strenuous. This is a view from the top.


After that - we hit the parkway and we won't stop until we get to Grandfather Mountain (minus a few of the more awesome overlooks). This is epic footbridge at the top that we'll cross.


Before we reach the top there are a couple of amazing pull-offs where there'll be some great views, and the road leading to the top? Well... here's teaser...


After Grandfather Mountain we'll head down to Blowing Rock to get a bite. This town has a little bit of everything so that everyone can eat what they like. I tend to keep it light when I drive so I don't get sleepy. We'll set a "meet" time so that everyone knows what time we are leaving. When we leave Blowing Rock we'll make a quick stop up the street at Cone Lake to walk off the burgers. This one will be interesting bc parking it tight - but we'll cross that bridge when we figure out the total count of cars.


Ok - finally, back on the trail for the push to Blacksburg, VA (Home of Virginia Tech). We'll hit some college bars for liquid courage / parties / bjs (lol) and bed down for the night. I'm still putting together some stuff for Blacksburg - stay tuned.


THIS IS THE PARKWAY PORTIONS OF THE CRUISE : LOTS OF TWISTIES --> https://goo.gl/maps/q3No3
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* SUN: 19 Oct 2014 : Time to head back to the house and hit the interstate on the way back to ATL (You TN guys and NC guys can develop your own caravans - just team up and take care of each other please, I want everyone ot make it back home safely). Stops in Fancy Gap, VA and Charlotte (planned for the ATL crew) and then whatever targets of opportunity that we can see... really just winging it here. Another option is bypassing NC and taking the mountain pass through TN / Knoxville on the way home (this has gotten more votes from most than the Charlotte route home).

--> the larger the turnout the more aggressive I'll get with the planning. 5 - 10 cars is "winging it" status. Over that I'll lean forward and load up our itinerary. Also - 10 or more gets us in the range for hotel deals at Asheville and Blacksburg as well.

There is a Knoxville crew meeting us in Asheville -- I will get those numbers soon to update the thread.

:: any Asheville area guys that can give me ideas of a hang out spot Friday night let me know as I am still finalizing plans ::

[BABY J]

HPT Autosport is onboard for hosting us Friday night! Awesome! We'll try to put together a dyno night - or maybe some burgers and dogs (pitch in) so we don't have to worry about getting kicked out of random parking lots for you hard-parkers - LOL. Thanks HPTautosport | Import Performance Parts and Tuning Shop for hosting!!! Baby J

[BABY J]

Dyno night confirmed. $40 for 3 pulls and prinout - and HPT is providing hot dogs and bottled water for free.

[BABY J]

1st post updated. Working on some pretty kool stuff for Blacksburg - stay tuned.

[KevinT707]

This trip seems to be well planned and I have no doubt that it will be fun. I am seriously contemplating if I should join this adventure or not. Maybe if I can find a co-pilot then I'll become more inclined.

[BABY J]

Yeah man it's gonna be a blast - it's worth it just for Grandfather Mtn - but there is so much more to the parkway as well. The Vette guys Porsche guys and Audi guys all have annual cruises there - and they go all the way to Skyline Drive but we aren't going that far just for a 2 day weekend.

You guys won't need a co-driver since the meat of the trip (Saturday) is broken up with events (Grandfather / Cone Lake / Blowing Rock / Craggy Gardens). And the campus at VT is bawss.

[BABY J]

We're 30 days out ladies --- get your shitboxes ready!!

[Sammich]

i hope i remember this i'd love to go

[BABY J]

^ gonna be a blast man ---- git'r done!

[BABY J]

TTT

I decided on staying in Traveler's Rest, SC on Friday night. This was to make sure that some people could afford the trip. I cancelled my Asheville lodging (which was just under $200 for basic rooms due to high travel this time of year). After the HPT Auto meet I'm sure we'll find our way downtown Asheville for some Friday night cruising.

In reality - you guys can stay wherever you like based on where you're trekking in from (for example the Knoxville crew might want to stay somewhere closer to the west Asheville. We'll have meet instructions for breakfast and rollout at HPT Auto, and I'll update the threads on the forum with rollout details / location / GPS as well.

Baby J

[BABY J]

14 days out.

[BABY J]

** lawn chair (foldable kind at walmart for like $10)
** jacket (60 degree high tomorrow on the trail, but 60 in the mountains is different than 60 at sea level )
** sunglasses
** hoodie (better safe that sorry)
** blanket (maybe needed, maybe not)
** water or camel pack (Craggy Gardens hike)
** FRS radios (channel to be shared at the rollout)
** hiking boots (lightweight) - my wal-mart boots rock
** RELIABLE auto that can make a road-trip. I don't like wrenching beside the road - nor do I like waiting around... LOL

** NOTE ** Grandfather Mountain has it's own weather system and it's normal to be 20 degrees cooler on the bridge

** NOTE ** Sat night and Sun morning will be on a college campus or surrounding areas so bring gear accordingly.

** NOTE ** inbox me for my number so we can stay in touch and for updates

** NOTE ** For the NC guys who won't meet us until Sat morning reach out to me before rollout or you might be playing catchup.