On the spur of the moment decided to head for the mountains. Because of work constraints could only have three days. Had planned on a travel log of sorts. Planned on taking some photos along the way...well, you know, just sort of documenting the trip. Also wanted to go into Stanardsville and take snaps there. There is a restored old hotel that serves meals. Normally eat there at least once every trip. There's also a neat up-scale gift shop that has several tables and serves lunch. Checked the weather report a few days before leaving and yes, thunder showers and rain. Oh, well. And, then two days before leaving sadly learned that we had a funeral to attend.
Well, I've had the car since late October 2008. It now has 4,000 miles. We left home Monday and returned Thursday. Our trip wasn't what we had hoped or planned. Yes, rain, and sadly the funeral. We drove up Monday. Tuesday, up bright and early...well, maybe not bright as it was raining. Tuesday we spent a little over six hours driving in the rain so we could attend the funeral. Though we had planned on going into Stanardsville for lunch on Wednesday, we decided given the rain and such that we'd just stay in the cabin and take it easy. The drive on highway 33 on Tuesday, given rain and fog (yes, most of the on-the-road snaps were taken on 33 going west) was OK. There are sections of the road where there are three lanes. Great roads. Two whole lanes to use as well as a little of the shoulder. Yes, you can pretend you're the boy racer of your youth and dreams.
The car was great. No leaks of course... And, while in the mountains the tach stayed above 3,500. Even with the rain and fog, the car was a blast to drive.
We were on the road Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday for a total of 720 miles.
The car has been great and there is no buyer's remorse. On the trip we averaged 30/32 mpg. No speeding, just 5/7 over the posted speed limit. I now routinely use 4,000/4,500 as a shifting point.
Anyway, overall a great car.
Camera used for all snaps is a Ricoh GR with a fixed 28MM lens. Post processing was only cropping and resizing.
Pat took all of the on-the-road snaps.
The cabins are located 20/25 minutes outside of Charlottesville, Virginia. If interested here's the link.
http://www.chesleycreekfarm.com/