What happens when your 16 yo son wants to drive a 911 xcountry

[chris.817]

First, thanks to Girt for the inspiration on a documentary thread. Hopefully, this will be another good one.

My son Brian is a rising high school senior. Our summer vacation this year started as a discussion about a New England drive for a week that I have suggested for a couple of years. He figured we should go west and not fly out to drive the coast, but drive there, and yes, see the whole coast. Discussions about renting a car to get there, or driving the SUV fell on deaf ears. He wanted to drive our 87 Carrera. WOW. He drives our 944 Turbo regularly but has never been behind the wheel of the 911. Tough with racing seats for him to see over the steering wheel. So, as I write this 5 days before departure, he has yet to operate this car...

The car is a 1987 911 coupe with 171k miles. Rebuilt, mostly stock motor has about 5000 miles and 18 months on it with a trip to the Rolex, a couple weekends at VIR, and a weekend at Roebling Road and The Glen. Runs like a scalded dog thanks to WebCams and Steve Wong. 930 brakes. Koni adjustables and otherwise stock suspension. New Bridgestone RE-11s on 7/8 inch Fuchs. Rollbar and shell seats removed and stock seats installed. Original paint freshly polished and waxed to make some reasonable impression on the folks here we hope to meet along the way.

Spares include a tested DME relay, fuel pump, fuel filter and fuel pump relay, belts, fuses, a few bulbs, plugs, oil filter and a couple quarts of Brad Penn. A valve cover gasket set. Fresh A/C charge and a thorough once over at RaceWerks in Virginia Beach.

Our route will be northerly starting this Friday 6/17. From Virginia Beach, VA we'll drive 600 miles to Cincinatti for the night then a short 300 to Chicago via the Indianapolis Motor Speedway for a photo op. Tickets for Cubs at Wrigley Field Saturday night. Sunday morning it's west on I90 to somewhere in SD for about 700 miles then Monday will be The Badlands, Black Hills, Rushmore, Devil's Tower then hopefully to Billings, MT. Another 700 miles. Tuesday north to Glacier NP then Wednesday to Seattle for a 3200 mile total coast to coast. Two nights in Seattle, south a night in Portland, then to Eureka, CA for a redwood visit. South on 1/101. Sunday and Monday, 6/26-27 in San Francisco riding cable cars and such. Tuesday in Monterey for the aquarium and a visit with a freind. A great route thanks to Dave at TRE south to LA and Wed/Thu playing tourist/Porsche enthusiast. Hopefully a stop at TRE and Pelican! Friday and Saturday, 7/1-2 in San Diego. Drop car off at shipper on Saturday morning and a SW flight home Sunday afternoon 7/3. Whew. About 5000 miles.

What I'm lacking are some folks who might like to get together for a beer and sandwich, a drive through your favorite spots, knowledgable shops in BF Egypt just in case, thoughts on lodging in LA and SD, and how to get around in Southern CA without melting the car.

We'll post pictures and maybe some GoPro video. We'll update daily on fuel consumption and costs. I expect about 25 mpg.

Tools include the OE roll, and what I need to replace spares I bring. AAA, credit cards, two cell phones, laptop, Radar detector, compressor, and a CB at Grady's suggestion. We'll be prepared to camp.

For the inevitable "useless without pictures", here's a gratuitous 911 photo plus Sportsmobile picture. This is VIR. No it's not my camper, but I have a very good friend who is generous with his toys. Great hauler! Great weekend.

[quicksix]

awesome experience,you guys will have a blast.
You're a good man.
Keep the pictures coming

[tcar]

Where are you shipping the car? Confused about that part...

[chris.817]

Thank you QuickSix. Should be pretty darn cool. I did this when I was 16 with some good friends.

tcar: I am shipping with Dependable Auto Shippers from San Diego on 7/2. They have a depot close to the ball field. 16 days to VA which does not please me because I wonder where the car will be but they have a tracking site. They come highly recommended. To make it clear, there is not enough time to drive home and the shipping cost is not much more than driving it home. I'm trading $500 in plane tickets for a few more days of vacation in CA. Shipping vs driving is basically a wash...

[RoninLB]

I drive around every few years

Last couple of rides I won't even go into Calif. My bro rides out from LA to meet me in Lake Havasu City

Your ride sounds like concrete to concrete. If that's good enough enjoy the ride

you should be hitting every Nat'l Park you can, zig zagging to avoid weather imho

[carlosR]

I'm on the way to Glacier, givr me a call.

[tonypai]

Have a safe trip.

Yankees v Cubs on Saturday. Don't think you'll have problems getting tickets since the Cubs suck more than usual but you never know with the Yankees. 3:10 start, Cubs aren't allowed to have night games on weekends.

[Grady Clay]

OK, I’ll start by expanding the itinerary a bit but keeping the original schedule:

Our route will be northerly starting this Friday 6/17.
Starting point ON Virginia Beach, collecting some Atlantic sand in the surf.

From Virginia Beach, VA we'll drive 600 miles to Cincinnati for the night

A short 300 to Chicago via the Indianapolis Motor Speedway for a photo op.
Tickets for Cubs at Wrigley Field Saturday night.

Sunday morning it's west on I90 to somewhere in SD for abouty 700 miles then

Monday will be The Badlands, Black Hills, Rushmore, Devil's Tower then hopefully to Billings, MT. Another 700 miles.

Tuesday north to Glacier NP then

Wednesday to Seattle for a 3200 mile total coast to coast. Two nights in Seattle,

south a night in Portland, then to Eureka, CA for a redwood visit. South on 1/101.

Sunday and Monday, 6/26-27 in San Francisco riding cable cars and such.

Tuesday in Monterey for the aquarium and a visit with a freind.

A great route thanks to Dave at TRE south to LA and

Wed/Thu playing tourist/Porsche enthusiast. Hopefully a stop at TRE and Pelican!

Friday and Saturday, 7/1-2 in San Diego. Drop car off at shipper on Saturday morning and a


SW flight home Sunday afternoon 7/3.
Whew. About 5000 miles.

Everyone can add more.
Looks like a trip-of-a-lifetime with your 17-YO.
Just wait until He repeats this trip with his 17-YO in the same 911, 25 years from now.
I’ll be cheering again.

Best,
Grady

[Hugh R]

Sounds like fun. Driving in LA is not a big deal if you do it between rush hours. Like 10AM to 3 PM

[chris.817]

Ronin: I would personally prefer never touching an interstate but the primary goal for Brian is to simply get across country and to see the Pacific coast, along with kicking around a few big cities. I would have added Yellowstone and Yosemite but am concerned with traffic. Would really irritate me to have to fight crowds after hundreds of miles of detours...

Tonypai: Yes, tickets were readily available. We are in right field.

[chris.817]

Thanks Hugh. I've been to LA many times and never really had much issue but seems I hear a lot of horror stories.

Thanks Grady. I guess we need to decide where to deposit the sand when we get to the Pacific. I like your Fort Stevens suggestion. We'll bring sand back as well.

[BIGW]

This is the kind of adventure I love to follow on Pelican. I offer a suggestion that south of Garberville, CA at Leggett on US 101 you take CA 1 over to the Mendocino coast, and down to the Golden Gate. The first 15 miles are about as twisty and beautiful as it gets, then you pop onto the Pacific Coast for a foggy or sunny traffic free run to San Francisco. I am in the San Diego area and can offer local knowledge, tools, surfboards, help getting your car to the shipper etc. Have a wonderful,safe trip!

[GirtAllerton]

Chris & Brian,
Good Luck with the trip. Have Fun..... I'll be watching and following along with you guys. My only recommendation is leave time for the small things that pop up along the way. Be willing to enjoy the adventure and not over plan the trip. The guys will give you great suggestions for side trips if time allows. Revel in the scenery. This country is a magnificent place. Enjoy working out mechanical issues with your son. If any surface, show him that they can even be a fun part of the trip. If I can be of any help pls feel free to drop me a note. Happy to give you my number if there is anything I can do.

Cheers Girt

[dbryant61]

Wow Chris! I am jealous. I have no significant input other than to cheer you from the right coast.

[Doug&Julie]

Originally Posted by chris.817

Our route will be northerly starting this Friday 6/17. From Virginia Beach, VA we'll drive 600 miles to Cincinatti for the night...

Aw man, we're heading to MI for Father's Day weekend, so we'll just miss you. Lots of good folk around here tho, hopefully somebody will chime in.

Good luck with the trip!

[RoninLB]

Originally Posted by chris.817

Ronin: I would personally prefer never touching an interstate but the primary goal for Brian is to simply get across country and to see the Pacific coast, along with kicking around a few big cities.

OK.. If you can hit N Dakota badlands at Theodore Roosevelt Nat'l Park you can track down buffalo and do short hikes into some gorgeous badlands. Extraordinary pics of your son with the background. From there stay N of I-90 and head west on I-94. Once into Montana head for a "scenic" road going to Glacier. From Glacier head to a place called Bagley Hot Springs just about 100 miles SE of Portland Oregon. Bagley has the finest 20 minute trail in the US going to it.

When I'm moving through state roads I like to be rolling at 6:30-7:00am to ride with the local commuters who know how fast to ride and where to do it. Commuter traffic only means soccer moms aren't around and it's time to get to work. I also try to stay away from weekend driving when all the tourists are traveling around and it's time for the HP to write tickets to outsiders. I find it better to follow big rigs and local license plates.

The N area of the Pacific is more colorful and interesting with fish runs and dams that allow you to see migrations inside the dam through a window.

You may log another 500 miles by staying off the interstates but 500 miles is no big deal on big rides especially when you can get a dose of what this country is all about.

enjoy

[patssle]

Sounds awesome! I'm driving to South Dakota then on to Montana/Glacier then back down through Wyoming/Yellowstone/Tetons in late August early September. Starting right here in Houston. Can't wait!

Drove up the west coast last year and did Colorado/Utah the year before that. This country has so much to see...

[fadsbobo]

Chris,

Sounds great! If you have the flexibility, you might want to add up to a day in the Black Hills. Having lived there four years I can tell you all the great roads and sights to see but the majority of the twisty scenic roads run north and south up and down the Black Hills which doesn't move you toward Billings very fast.

I'm emailing you some directions for the best roads linking Rapid City to Mt. Rushmore to Spearfish Canyon to Devils Tower. That is a 3.5 hour leg without stopping but the roads are worth it! If you can spend more time there let me know and I'll give you more places to see like Crazy Horse Monument, Custer State Park, Sylvan Lake, etc...

As far as places to stay in SD, there isn't much along the interstate between Sioux Falls and Rapid City (except billboards for Wall Drug which is near the Badlands)

Have fun!
Dave McFaddin

[Jim Richards]

Originally Posted by RoninLB

You may log another 500 miles by staying off the interstates but 500 miles is no big deal on big rides especially when you can get a dose of what this country is all about.

enjoy

Originally Posted by GirtAllerton

So like they taught me in the Navy: Don't fall in love with the plan.

Some sage advice here. The interstates are not the way to see America, they are a way to bypass America. And keep your plans flexible.

Here's some additional 911 road trip inspiration...

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/porsche-911-technical-forum/344747-early-911-road-trip-2007-a.html

I hope you and your son have a wonderful trip.

[Brorag]

I did that with my kid after his jr year in college. From Seattle to New Jersey.
You will never have such an opportunity again with your son.
They grow up all too fast. Mine is 40 now...............