Preparing for 944Fest at Nelson Ledges

If you’re on the fence about going to 944Fest this year, now is the time to just make up your mind to go.  There are some folks coming from hundreds of miles away to this awesome weekend.  You have to be there.  944Fest.com

Here at 924S944.com we are getting ready for our very own Grand Tour 2021, a three-week, three-weekend Porsche extravaganza that will take us 5,000 miles in pursuit of PDF – Porsche Driving Fun.  In August 2019, we sponsored and attended 944Fest at Nelson Ledges and it was fantastic!  So with the return of 944Fest this year, we are ready to go.  In 2019, our trip was 1,100 miles each way with truck, trailer and Sparky, our 87 924S.

This year, we are loading truck, trailer and 924S Special Edition and headed first to Minneapolis to visit family – with a side trip to meet with the Dakota Region of PCA in Keystone, SD and some great drives around the Rapid City monuments and such.  And yes, the South Dakota “Run for the Hills” annual event is quite the thing, and yes, we will have our 1988 924S Special Edition there in the mix.  We also have it on good authority that out of the 40 Porsches registered, we will have the only front engine water cooled vintage Porsche at the event.

After Minnesota is the 944Fest weekend.  We will unload at the track and have a great weekend on track and off!  Nort Northam is bringing his ’88 924S Special Edition to Nelson Ledges, and both of us will be participating in the track day on Friday.  (Many have never seen a Special Edition close-up, but we will have two of them side-by-side in original condition, including the interior cloth.). We will also be bringing some local Orlando beer with us as requested.  As we did last time, we have rented an AirBnB cottage on a farm nearby with lots of room for trucks, trailers, etc.  (We’re getting a bit old for camping on the ground!)  And we will have special 924S944.com/944Fest hats this year for the event!

From Ohio we will go back south to North Carolina, eventually to Blowing Rock with the Appalachian Region PCA for their annual Appalachian Adventure weekend.  This is a great weekend with some great Porsche folks who love their twisty mountain roads.  Then home.

In all, we will have driven the truck and trailer 5,000 miles or so, and the Special Edition another few hundred miles.

And, okay – why not just drive the Porsche the whole way instead of relying on a truck and trailer.  There are a few reasons for this…

1. We’re old.  I love my cars, but the truck is more comfortable and travels much better, even with a trailer.  The lack of cruise control in the car is also a factor.
2. We have found that the best insurance against breakdowns when far away from home is to trailer your car those great distances.  The car knows.
3. The Special Edition only has 27,000 miles on it.  We’re not real anxious to add another 5-6,000 miles if it’s not necessary.
4. We have to bring “stuff” with us to 944Fest, and it won’t all fit in the car.  Popup, chairs, hats, a few tools, etc.

So what to do to get ready?  Here is the list…

• Oil change and other preparatory tasks on the truck.
• Grease the bearings on the trailer, check the lights.
• Add newly-acquired red-and-white reflective tape stripes to the trailer.
• Organize and box the stuff that is going with us.
• Grocery store for road trip provisions.
• New tie-down straps for the car.
• Service fluids, etc. on the car.
• Organize all paperwork on the truck, trailer, and car, including insurance info, registrations, etc.
• Clean the car and truck, including the windows and mirrors on the truck!
• Double check hotel reservations, gather that paperwork in one place.
• Cooler.
• Double check all the technology, such as laptop, tablet, phone, trailer tire pressure monitor, charging cables, extension cords, surge protectors…
• HPDE stuff – helmet bag and gloves.
• Remember all the stuff we are forgetting.

SEE YOU AT 944 FEST!