Cross country trip

[RandallNeighbour]

I have made two long trips in the boxster. One from Miami to Houston one way, and the other was Houston to San Diego to San Jose to Yosemite to Las Vegas to Houston.

No speeding tickets (armed with a V1 at all times). No high speed driving (wife in car, refused to fall asleep, even in death valley). No breakdowns. Car was as dependable as a new Toyota Camry.

Went to the world's largest garlic festival held in Gilroy, California, just south of San Jose. Had a stinkin' good time too. Got there via Hwy 1 up the coast.

Oh yeah, we spent the afternoon at the Hurst Castle. Amazing place with antiquities that should have never been allowed to leave their home countries.

Yosemite has the hands-down most beautiful twisties for driving the boxster. The wife asked me if my face hurt because I'd been smiling for hours on end as we drove through the park each day.

Las Vegas was a total letdown. Drove down the boulevard with the top down and everything. Lost $20 on dime slots between us. Buffets sucked too.

The wife and would both say this driving vacation rivaled our trip to Alaska one summer.

Only bad thing to happen on the trip was that back then I had my stock muffler on and it heated up the rear trunk so much that the laces of my tennis shoes were embedded into the melted sole of the shoes and my new Porsche jacket got paint all over it from a home made game board we took along (the paint got hot and melted onto the jacket). Now I have my aftermarket muffler on and its very cool back there, btw.

[SD987]

I drove NYC - Palo Alto in 99, but not in a Porsche (in my e36 BMW convertible), going the southern way through Indy, St. Louis, Tulsa, Amarillo, Albuquerque.

The highlight of the trip was running over a deer carcass at 80 mph in western PA(so a jacked-up alignment the rest of the way). I was trying to make the best time as I was driving solo and in the process of moving, not vacationing or stopping to smell the roses, but I still think driving cross- the US is something that people should do at least once in their life.

From my experience, the friendliest people in general seemed to be in Oklahoma. The least friendly and borderline surly, Indianapolis. Scariest place to stop, West Virginia, the stories are true . Best road sign: "Do Not Pick Up Hitchikers, They May Be Excaping Inmates" seen in eastern New Mexico on I-40.

Most serious speeds were maintained (90-100) in the western states where 70mph speed limits were approved at the time, although the 44 between Tulsa and OKC was a very fast-moving road. Saw the greatest highway patrol presence throughout Ohio on I-70 and surprisingly enough, when passing through Native American Indian reservations. The Indian Reservation police seemed very eager to recoup 150 years of injustice, one unsuspecting white man at a time, but fortunately I wasn't ticketed at any point in the trip.

Arrived in Palo Alto on New Year's eve to greet the new millenium with my g/f at the time.