Leaf the driving to us!

[pjrose@servtech.com (Phil & Judy Rose)]

Osman said:
>I just got back from the Adirondack Run. It was a great success

And I say, Amen!

I want to post some of my own impressions of our 2-day jaunt in the autumn
foliage with Qlisters (and others) in the mountains of New York, Vermont
and New Hampshire. My apologies to any listers missed (or mispelled).

Adirondack Run:
--------------
Osman has already posted a summary of the 1st Audirondack Run last
Saturday, so I'll try not to repeat except to say: Yes, a great success
indeed. I enjoyed getting to "put faces" with the names of several Qlisters
who've become long-distance friends over past years: Osman P., Bob Myers
(and his S6 champagne  machine),and Gary Steinbru. Bob M. was amazed to
discover that he and I _both_ had "come of age" oh so long ago--in the era
of the bouffant hairstyle. Neither Bob nor I do our hair that way any more.
:) Judy Rose and Annetta Myers were soon enjoying the mutual "empathy" that
assures bonding between Audi-wives during these occasions (sorry, but I
don't know how to avoid sounding sexist here).

BTW, while I don't want to diminish the pleasure of lakeside driving and
seeing the beautiful colors, I'll have to admit to getting a big "charge"
from our little caravan's initial jaunt on the busy Northway (I87) as we
cruised--no, slithered snakelike--for 40 miles to Lake George. I can only
imagine how cool a _transcontinental_ caravan to Audifest must be! I was
surprised to learn that Osman was following a "rabbit" on I87. We all
thought _he_ was the rabbit :) The MR2 guys were fun to have along--the '85
and '95 MR2 turbos made an interesting contrast to each other as well as to
the Audis.

After the group had lunch and drove over to Brant Lake, we (Roses and
Myers) split off to head back east in order to meet up (next morning) with
the Kanc Run group. So while the others proceeded on to even more
Adirondack foliage (as described by Osman) we sprinted back towards Lake
Champlain and made it to the Ft. Ticonderoga ferry a few minutes before
boarding time. A spirited run along Vermont Rte 4 took us to I89 in New
Hampshire (my 200q got to lead Myers' S6 'cause _I_ had the map, heh, heh).
We enjoyed an excellent Italian pasta dinner in Concord, NH, before heading
to our respective motels.

Kanc Run II:
-----------
On Sunday AM everyone met for breakfast in Concord: Roses, Myers, Stott
Hare, Andrew Duane, Kirby Smith, and Chris Semple. Chris showed up only for
breakfast and to give moral support (some folks gotta work, I'm told). Mike
Del Tergo arrived (but too late for breakfast) in his cool white '70
Corvette. We took off and regrouped outside Lincoln, NH (at Loon Mt) where
two other Audis (Jonathan Fenton and friend--sorry, lost the name) joined
up. There was much examination of Stott Hare's 4K turbo-transplant during
the wait. Finally, a total of eight "Kanc II" cars cruised Kancamagus Hwy
and then over Bear Notch Rd. Lots of traffic!!! All around were beautiful
vistas of the mountains in autumn colors, and adding to the festive feeling
was a nice parade of antique cars that passed as we conferenced at the
roadside.

After a lunch break at the Roadkill Diner (Mooseballs, anyone?), six Audis
continued on to the base of Mt. Washington. We all piled (no hemorrhoid
jokes!) into two vehicles--Myers' and Rose's--and drove to the top of the
mountain. Whoopee!!! Even at 25 mph, this generated some
excitement--considering the heavy two-way traffic. The foot-thick ice near
the peak was in stark contrast to the sunny, mild autumn day we left below.
This drive is a "must" for anyone to truly appreciate the accomplishments
of the racers in the Mt. Washington hillclimb.

After the descent, the three 20 valvers (Myers, Roses, and Fenton) split
off for a homeward (westerly) jaunt. Jonathan (Valentine-equipped) Fenton
led the way--briefly reaching 120-140 mph on the virtually empty interstate
hwy. Empathy and "bonding" between Judy and Annetta reached a very high
level at this point! :(

Myers and Roses stayed overnight in Burlington Vt. The Myers then headed up
to Montreal.

Monday morning, as Judy and I drove from our Burlington motel, we
unexpectedly passed the Imported Car Center. That was where I had the
pre-purchase inspection done on my '91 200q, which I bought from Dave Flagg
last April. Here we saw literally dozens of late-model used Audis on the
lot. The salesman--seeing us in our "old, obsolete" '91 200q--figured we
_surely_ were feeling in dire need of "upgrading", so offered to lend us
something to drive to breakfast: a nearly new  (6500 miles) '98 A4 V6
30valve Avant (5 spd, sport suspension). We accepted. Nice!! I drove it
demurely for just few miles on city streets, but was able to judge that the
engine/chassis combo moves _very_ well indeed!! Has a buttery smooth
shifter, as well. If only it had better rear seat room (and a lower price)!


Finally, we made a quick visit a few blocks over to chat with Dave Flagg at
DF Autohaus. While there, we had the unexpected pleasure of meeting
Thompson Smith, renowned for wonderful Audi graphics.

We're home now, after another ferryboat trip and a smooth, "well-paced"
drive of about 100 miles along NYS Rte 8. A Monday, we discovered, is a
pretty good day to tour the Adirondacks at 85 mph. A total of about 900
miles were covered over the weekend. Nice to be retired, right Bob? :)
Thanks again to Osman Parvez and Andrew Duane for being our hosts. I'm
looking forward already to Audi events next year.

regards,

Phil Rose
'91 200q

P.S. No tickets, no mechanical surprises. The gods were smiling.


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              *** Phil & Judy Rose      Rochester, NY *********
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