[CANCELLED] 2013 Northwest (USA) Meetup: September 21st

Wow.. I've never heard of this meetup but it sounds awesome.. I'm very interested in joining in. Hoping to hear more details soon. I live in Tacoma.

I'll bring either a Crossfire or Grand Prix
 
Cool -- the more the merrier!
 
The coast is very scenic, but cruising around the sound would be fun too. Fort Casey is a good place to kill some time and take photos, and I've got a Discover Pass.
 
What are the ferry on/off-ramps like? Specifically are they level with the pier or do I need to bring boards in my trunk to avoid dragging my front bumper? :p
 
depends on the tide. Really high or low tides can be an issue for high centering a bit.. but most of the time you have no issue. I've never scraped my wagon on a ferry ramp, and I scrape on sharp transitions like that pretty regularly
 
I heard of the 2012 meet-up and couldn't make it. I'd definitely be interested in the 2013 meet-up and drive. I really look forward to hearing about this one and can't wait. Give me a chance to give my new 2014 Taurus Limited a run and stretch its legs.
 
I would be interested in maybe making a trip over from Spokane area. Have friends in the Seattle/Portland areas that would join in also. Hopefully bring over some local friends also. :)
 
the cascade loop drive last year was epic, can't wait to do something like that again this year if we manage to organize something again!
 
I would encourage people who are planning to invite friends to at least get them on this forum first. This drive will probably be larger than last year's.. which was already fairly large for a loose group of people.. so getting people on the same page (so to speak) will help some.
 
Perhaps if I were more active on these forums id be more inclined. Is there anything special that goes on or is it just hanging out?
 
MidEngine4Life said:
Perhaps if I were more active on these forums id be more inclined. Is there anything special that goes on or is it just hanging out?
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It's going to be a road trip. We'll make a few stops along the way to take in the scenery and chat, and we should have radios.
 
the few people who made the whole drive last year came back feeling like it was pretty awesome :thumbsup:
 
rootrider said:
ust a suggestion: http://goo.gl/maps/CYzkE
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I would suggest a loop around Jefferson county instead. A lot of that in the link is boring freeway driving. I lived in Kitsap and spent a bit of time on that side of the water (lived in Poulsbo for ~12 years) , it isn't that interesting and those roads tend to congest.

The Seattle side is mostly boring. I've done the Kitsap to King county trip many times (going around the peninsula), not fun and possibly horrible traffic.

And Shelton is neither interesting to drive to nor be in (I had to support a campus there on occasion).

Jefferson has much less traffic and is far more scenic. We can all meet up at Port Gamble and go from there.
 
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that's just a lot farther from Seattle and would mean a lot more driving. Have a map link with some suggestions?
 
rootrider said:
that's just a lot farther from Seattle and would mean a lot more driving. Have a map link with some suggestions?
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Most people here aren't from Seattle, so the extra drive won't matter much.

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Sometime like this. Follow 101 then end it at Olympia.

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http://goo.gl/maps/sgorM
 
I'm thinking more about how much driving is happening during the meet.

I've done that 101 drive many times.. and have been on many variations as well. There are some good roads there and some great scenery. I think it's almost wrong to drive out that way without stopping at a few very worthwhile locations along the way.. and that greatly increases the time of the drive. It's a full day thing. It's worth considering though.. doing the 101 loop.
 
Then make it a full day thing.

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I'd rather have a full day of fantastic scenery, than a shorter day of boring scenery.
 
I tend to agree. Personally I've been around those areas so many times that I'd prefer something different.. but don't let that stop others from thinking it's a good idea :D

My concern is more about where people could turn around and cut out early. Last year we had a large amount of the group only drive over Stevens Pass and then depart from the main group in Leavenworth. Committing to the full 6 - 8 hours of driving is just not possible for some people. So, doing a full 101 loop with a few (very worthwhile) stops means that people may not have an ideal place to turn around. Once you make it a couple of hours in, you may as well continue the drive.

I guess people could just skip the stops and drive straight back home if they want to cut out early :D
 
argatoga said:
A lot of that in the link is boring freeway driving.
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A to E in that link is the real drive with Olympia to Seattle just the evening return trip rather than part of the cruise. The freeway part can be left off the map really.

argatoga said:
http://goo.gl/maps/sgorM
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That was an early suggestion in this thread but as rootrider/Joel mentions, it makes it hard to avoid doing the whole route.

Also I'd enjoy starting out at Exotics at Redmond Town Center but I'm cool with not starting there or even doing it on a Sunday instead of a Saturday. It's "inland" a bit so it'd add time to the route.

Speaking of which, we really need to pick a weekend ASAP. We should have picked one already.

These coming weekends work for me:

  • August 17/18
  • August 23/24
  • September 7/8
  • September 14/15
  • September 21/22
Those are the only free weekends I have between today and October.
 
I'm not available for full day drives on Sundays :(

Sept 14
Sept 21

those are my picks.. though August 24 *could* work for me. (it's Aug 24/25.. not 23/24 :))
 
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