Page 8

Page 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11

Saturday, September 11, 2004

Hershey, PA. More small towns and back roads through New York and Pennsylvania, passing through rural 9/11 Fire Department celebrations and even a local foot race in Camptown PA---said to be commemorated by Stephen Foster in his famous song. Starting out cold and foggy, the day quickly turned to a perfect early fall sunshiny afternoon---perfect for cruising down curvy country roads!
On the other side of the street, Bill Young had to replace a coil on his 3200CS and he still has carburetor problems to deal with tomorrow. Jeff Lane has sent ahead for engine bearings to replace on his day off. The Veritas and the Dutch 503 both had flat tire events today, too.
The Marathon has arrived at Chocolate Town. Home of Hershey, Reese's and probably more. Even the streetlights are shaped like Hershey's Kisses! Mmmmm.

Sunday, September 12, 2004

Hershey PA still. Today was another rest day, this time at the Hershey Lodge and Convention Center. Some Marathoners were able to spend the day resting or sight-seeing, while others had to do repairs and maintenance. Fortunately, Michael Guimond, the General Manager of nearby Faulkner BMW in Lancaster, opened his service bays to our use. Eight cars or more took advantage of his hospitality and used his lifts and equipment. Several car owners changed engine oil, Jim Smith replaced his differential, Bill Young got his carbs rebuilt, and a few others did other needed repairs. Many thanks to Faulkner BMW!
Hershey is the home of the Antique Automobile Club of America and our cars were the featured center of an afternoon car show at their fantastic new museum. Incredible restorations!
Dinner was compliments of BMW NA and several hundred members of the local BMW CCA chapters joined us---including Jack Miller of Jack's Auto and Aero, another fine Independent BMW shop from the area. Their motto is "We make BMWs fly".

Monday, September 13, 2004

Winchester, Virginia. A light driving day through southern Pennsylvania, a bit of western Maryland, a corner of West Virginia, and finally into Virginia. We had plenty of time to visit Gettysburg and Antietam Battlefields and even a small commercial cave that proudly claims to have the most decorations per square foot of any cave known to man!
In the late afternoon we arrived at the PTG Racing facility, where BMW NA factory race cars are prepared and tuned. BMW hosted a fine BBQ dinner and a detailed tour of the cars and shops. Very exciting!

Tuesday, September 14, 2004

Hot Springs, Virginia---The Homestead. Today might have been the finest driving day of the Marathon. We drove the nearly entire length of Virginia on Skyline Drive in Shenandoah National Park and then the Blue Ridge Parkway. Unfortunately, the drive was marred by fog until we came off the scenic portions, at which point we had glorious sunshine! Grant Randall started an hour later than the main group, and he had sunshine for the entire drive. One of the high points of the drive was at the beginning when we were priveledged to be driving on the Patsy Cline Memorial Highway---none of us can ever forget that experience.

< >

Back to Home Page