M-Coupe-ing all the way from the PDC to CA

L

Louv

Member
 Das cats, Cali
I've gone and pulled the trigger on #9.
I love my Z4 Coupe so much I went and bought a Z4 M Coupe.
I pick it up at the PDC next Thursday.
Then the 2-day M School at the PDC.
Then a 4000 mile drive home, beginning with the Tail of the Dragon.
The weather should be nice and cool... as compared to the surface of the Sun.

Here's my approximate route home, anyone have any suggestions on sights to see along the way?
I figure about 300-600 miles a day (depending on the scenery). Many photos will be taken.

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That looks awesome, would love to do that someday, drive from one side of the US to another. Hope you enjoy it. :D
 
Lets see, near Houston is a budweiser plant. Oh do me a favor and stop and say hi to my Dad in Lake Charles, La for me. You'll love the Atchafalaya basin area....beautiful scenery, hope you don't mind being on the same bridge for 18.2 miles (had to check wikipedia for exact length). Don't worry though, the shoulder is a car width (if not two car widths) wide with plenty of emergency phones. If your passing through Nawlins stop and eat some food or you will be deported and banned from Louisiana, actually stop anywhere's in Louisiana and eat some food. There is a place called Papadeaux's that serves excellent sea food, there is a ton of places all around Louisiana. I'll let 2 Zero tell you the best places to eat as he is currently in God's Country, more specifically New Orleans. IMO there wasn't much to see between Alburquerque and Dallas (or much of Texas) along that route (yeah your not really passing through Alburquerque), nor was there much to see if you go farther south and hit I-10. I do seem to recall a scenic route somewhere's around the Pecos area, but can't remember if it was on the Texas side or not. Watch out for cops along I-10 in Texas and Louisiana....despite the dateline report all those years back they still pull over out of state plates before anyone else - especially Louisiana cops.

Well I think i've babbled enough, I'm from the Lake Charles area, so spent most of my time in that general area around Lake Charles, Beaumont, and a bit o Houston thrown in if you have any questions.
 
damn, man! i wanted to do this.......................... but chickened out* :tumbleweed:


have fun.. be safe... and take LOADS of pictures!!!!


HAPPY :driving:
 
ovrkll said:
Looks like fun! Just don't wreck it on the Dragon! :poke:
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I shall be careful on the Dragon. My normal commute to work is along twisty mountain roads, so I expect to be ok. I just hope the Dragon isn't too crowded. Are there other, less traveled, but equally fun and scenic roads nearby?

PhilDZ4 said:
Once you get to Cali you just have to drive back for HC. Why don't you just stick around for a couple of months?
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I'm already going to be away from my team (who are in the middle of shipping a new product) for two whole weeks. Someday I need to retire, so I can tour for months. And, more importantly, I'll be away from my wife for two weeks, which will make me cranky. Strangely, she has no interest in doing this crazy road trip... ok, to be fair, she has a little interest. But she works at Apple... and y'all are waiting for what she's working on... so she has to stay there.

Aebous said:
Lets see, near Houston is a budweiser plant. Oh do me a favor and stop and say hi to my Dad in Lake Charles, La for me. You'll love the Atchafalaya basin area....beautiful scenery, hope you don't mind being on the same bridge for 18.2 miles (had to check wikipedia for exact length). Don't worry though, the shoulder is a car width (if not two car widths) wide with plenty of emergency phones. If your passing through Nawlins stop and eat some food or you will be deported and banned from Louisiana, actually stop anywhere's in Louisiana and eat some food. There is a place called Papadeaux's that serves excellent sea food, there is a ton of places all around Louisiana. I'll let 2 Zero tell you the best places to eat as he is currently in God's Country, more specifically New Orleans. IMO there wasn't much to see between Albuquerque and Dallas (or much of Texas) along that route (yeah your not really passing through Alburquerque), nor was there much to see if you go farther south and hit I-10. I do seem to recall a scenic route somewhere's around the Pecos area, but can't remember if it was on the Texas side or not. Watch out for cops along I-10 in Texas and Louisiana....despite the dateline report all those years back they still pull over out of state plates before anyone else - especially Louisiana cops.

Well I think i've babbled enough, I'm from the Lake Charles area, so spent most of my time in that general area around Lake Charles, Beaumont, and a bit o Houston thrown in if you have any questions.
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I will most definitely be stopping in Nawlins. I have a favorite B&B out on Napoleon St. Great people. I won't have much time for food, but I've spent (in total) a couple of weeks there, love it, and almost moved there once upon a time.
My 1200 service will be somewhere between NOLA and Houston. And friends to visit in Houston.
As for Albuquerque, I'll be by-passing that, but trying to see Santa Fe & Taos and the northern edge of the state.
Thanks for the tip on "out of state plates" & TX/LA cops. I shall be on my best behavior. :rofl:

mystik said:
damn, man! i wanted to do this.......................... but chickened out* :tumbleweed:
have fun.. be safe... and take LOADS of pictures!!!!
HAPPY :driving:
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Carpe Diem. Don't chicken Out.
I shall take many, many pictures. (I'm carrying over 30GB of flash memory. Think that'll be enough? Me neither.)
And you shall see them in Roundel. 8) I'll be writing at least two articles: one on the M-School, and one on the Delivery/Roadtrip experience.
 
Hi. I've done the western half of your trip many times since 1987. :thumbsup: The classic to see is Monument Valley in Arizona, the Grand Canyon obviously. If you can, go to the
North Rim it's less crowded and the scenery is as fantastic as the South Rim. You have to go through Death Valley. Having lunch in Stovepipe Wells is a classic. Going through Yosemite
Park is also a must.

Wish I was there. :roll:
 
pmeloche said:
Hi. I've done the western half of your trip many times since 1987. :thumbsup: The classic to see is Monument Valley in Arizona, the Grand Canyon obviously. If you can, go to the
North Rim it's less crowded and the scenery is as fantastic as the South Rim. You have to go through Death Valley. Having lunch in Stovepipe Wells is a classic. Going through Yosemite
Park is also a must.

Wish I was there. :roll:
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I did this run last 4th of July Week. CA to MN in two days. Rest two days, Return in two days. 1000 miles a day. Whew!
On that trip I took very little time for scenery, except what was going by the car windows. I did come back via Yosemite, which was amazing as always.

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Just remember that the ///M will not be broken in untill sometime after New Orleans. :roll: :wink:

Have fun.

The first service is at 1500 miles? Don't know that one for sure. It does run in my mind that the ///M requires some sort of early service?
 
Yea, you got me scared with that service thing. I've put 4000 on my SI now and haven't had it in for service. I'm gonna call Chris in the morning.

I second the notion on eating at Papadeaux's. Great place :thumbsup: Haven't been there since 1995 though.

Looking forward to the pics and the writeup. I haven't done a good roadtrip like this since 1998! I do have one planned for this fall though and after hearing about yours I am now so EXCITED about it!!! :D
 
Should you drive through Hattiesburg, MS stop by at Letha's BBQ located on HWY 98 (not too far from I-59). Great place to eat. NOTE: Feel free to PM if need better directions as I'm in Laurel, MS, 25 miles NE of Hattiesburg on I-59.
 
IMZ4N said:
Just remember that the ///M will not be broken in untill sometime after New Orleans. :roll: :wink:
Have fun.
The first service is at 1500 miles? Don't know that one for sure. It does run in my mind that the ///M requires some sort of early service?
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I shall be gentle, and respectful of the power of the ///M... as difficult as that may be.
Hopefully the 2-day M-School will get most of the need for speed out of my system... for a couple of days anyway.
First Service at 1200 miles is for M Cars only. (engine oil, tranny oil, and diff oil are changed)
The non-M cars don't get a first service until approx 15,000 miles.

fins said:
Should you drive through Hattiesburg, MS stop by at Letha's BBQ located on HWY 98 (not too far from I-59). Great place to eat. NOTE: Feel free to PM if need better directions as I'm in Laurel, MS, 25 miles NE of Hattiesburg on I-59.
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Thanks, I'll try to stop there! Always happy to find great food.
 
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