A Road Too Far

[JHof]

There's a boring predicitibility to the Florida road system.

Once you forsake the Interstates-- which by themselves define "boring"-- Florida's state roads, unemcumbered by pesky geographical elements, are laid out mostly in a grid, with even numbered roads going East/West and the odds going, oddly, the other way.The land is flat and the roads are straight and that is the recipe for dull drives, so to really enjoy my G I have to flee the Sunshine State and get to places where arrow-straight is not the everyday mode in highway engeneering.

That means places with hills and mountains and other obstructions, where the roads meander and change direction and otherwise twist around and up and down the land's contours, and that means zones like North Georgia, Coastal Carolina or the sinous highways that parallel the Gulf Coast. Many are just a workday's drive from home and they are filled with GREAT roads and overfilled with greater scenery, prime territory to explore the G's performance envelope and burn off a weekend.

I've taken those rides several times in the last few months, simply to go somewhere and to do something other than swill beer on my patio. The most recent trip was a weekend buzz to Blairsville, Georgia, a cool little place in the Appalchain foothills of North GA. My Son recently inherited some real estate-- a cabin in the woods-- from a sadly deceased in-law, located a shotgun's blast from the NC border outside Blairsville, so there is where-- if anyone was searching for us-- we both could be found last week. We were checking the place out for the first time.

Boy, does a trip to B-Ville deliver. It's a tiny town in the wilderness, miles from anywhere and down some really hairy roads. I have been through there a number of times and have always enjoyed it's location. Getting to Blairsville is always a great drive.

The fun in owning a car like the G lies not in blowing off all challengers in the Stoplight Grand Prix, but to find the Moment--that perfect combination of weather, scenery and empty, winding twisty asphalt, at a time when the Law is somewhere else-- and just drive the car's azz off.Each time I discover that Moment, the G earns back a large chunk of it's depreciation. This trip, I lost count of The Moments.

The road OUT of Florida--mostly I-75-- is dull and tedious and is used mostly as a time-saver, but once we were North of Atlanta (and the World's Largest Traffic Jam) a quick exit from the superslab put us on roads that a serious driver prays for -- little unnumbered trails that wind in serpentine paths through valleys fresh with green which pass through tiny Outback villages where no one seems to want to reside. Peak driving Moments pile up on one another and the concrete urges you to seek the challenging experiences that driving along them presents.

They lead us to true mountain roads where the highway clings to the granite sides, roads that the cops seem to avoid and the intersecting roads, none of which appear on any maps, go to God knows where. Then I'm always left wondering what the hell could be down THAT road? Another Moment, maybe? A deeper, more dense challenge? These are the roads that I will have to go back to someday, just to finally see what is down there.

My Son's place is down one of those kind of roads and on top of one of these mountains, up a rocky path that grows worse by the yard. If you didn't know where to find it, you would never know it is there. I could hear chunks of mountain grind against the low-slung undercarriage of the G, and I came to a stop a few hundred yards from his place, unable to go on for fear of puncturing a muffler or screwing up a suspension. It was a true Jeep Trail, a road not meant for a genteel Japanese Sports Coupe, so I parked the G under the pines and we hiked the rest of the way up. We were both seeing the place for the first time, and despite having pushed the G a little further than I should have, we found it was worth the effort-- it's the perfect weekend getaway. It's a little trailer with a 20'x 30' wood-framed expansion, nicely furnished with a rustic Great room that overlooks a large lake and a steep mountain valley, complete with a stone fireplace and a thousand skinny pines to frame the view.

Nobody seems to live nearby and the power was off, so we explored the place then cooked steaks over charcoal and drank rapidly warming beer, really roughing it. Later we spent the dark night in sleeping bags, comforted by the heat from the fireplace. We did most of a day exploring the terrain nearby and when we went to leave I discovered that there was no way to K-turn the G, so I wound up BACKING down the mountain, my Son guiding the way, until I found a spot wide enough to allow a turn around.There is no road like this ANYWHERE in boring, flatland Florida, I'm certain.

A great adventure, something I know I'll be doing a lot more often, probably in his Dodge Ram the next time.We rode home along US 129, a classic mountain road, where I had the chance to open the G up and play for awhile.

That experience has fulfilled--again-- the Faustain deal that I first made with my G-- I'll supply the gas money, you supply the kicks-- and the G is living up to it's end of the deal.It's gonna wind up owning my soul.

[sci2000tech]

Another great read, thanks!

Motivation to get the 240 running again and just drive

[nissangirl74]

You, sir, are a true enthusiast. Since you like driving in this area of the country, may I suggest this (just out my back door):

http://www.tailofthedragon.com/

If you decide to make the trip, please post up your story. Also, the next time you to go to your son's getaway, take some pics and post them up. This area of the country has some spectacular views.

[frapjap]

and not a single picture?!

[JHof]

Nissangirl--I have done The Dragon, several times. I wrote something about it in "Back From Nashville" in my Skidmarks column on the NICO Homepage...

I drove the entire Tennessee-NC length a couple of times in my ex-350Z and once in the G.Unfortunately, one of the trips with the Z and the only trip with the G were both done while it was raining, a rare occurance in your part of the country, so I was not able to exploit the thrill of blasting through The Dragon full-out, but there was one time in the Z, back on ought-four, where I took the road on as it was meant to be taken and I had one of the BEST driving experiences ever.

I envy your location, so close to one of the best roads in the eastern US, although if it were just out MY back door, I probably would have launched myself right off the mountainside and would not be here to write about it...

[Mr1der]

I wish it wasn't rainy right now...sudden urge to go waste a tank of gas...

[nissangirl74]

<off to read about more adventures>

[Bwana]

Another excellent read, Jerry. Thanks!

[IanS]

Im bumping Jerry's last story so that some new people will get a chance to read (search for his others, newbs), and also in hopes that maybe this will entice him to write another.

Where are you JHof?

[Dittoz7]

After a trip from FL to NY and back, I can certainly agree.

[audtatious]

Yeah, where's Jerry?

I think I need to add that story to the SkidMarks section.....