The Object of My Selection

Part 3 of a Series

We arose and had yet another wonderful breakfast on the White Doe’s patio, surrounded by flowering shrubs and other happy guests. We took a few more photos of the Inn before packing the rental. Here’s the best one.

We drove back to the Raleigh area to head southwest toward South Carolina and Spartanburg. We returned the rental at the Greenville-Spartanburg airport, where a driver from BMW in a nice Alpine White 5 Series was waiting to take us to our hotel in Greenville. It was a nondescript business hotel, used by BMW for buyers in the factory delivery program. But we were spending just the one night there and it was clean with hot water, so it was perfect for a couple of tired travelers.

The next morning, the 6th of July, after a nondescript, clean, and hot business breakfast, we were ferried to the BMW complex located on both sides of the 4-lane SH 101 between Spartanburg and Greenville. Our first stop was the Performance Center, where we attended a few hours’ class of driving safety and technique. The instructor was dynamic, and there were several demonstrations, so the time went quickly. Then it was out to the road course to put what we’d learned into practice.

I knew that we would not be using the vehicles we’d purchased on the road course. What I didn’t know is that the vehicle you’re given to use on the course is intended to be as much like the one you bought as possible. I bought a Z4 3.0i Sport trim, so that’s what I was given to drive on the course. Even the color was the same–Maldives Blue!

You can see an X5 in front of me; another customer in our group was taking delivery of one of those that day. This photo was taken after I'd made most of the seat adjustments as recommended by our instructor. I recall two. One had to do with how far back the seat should be in relation to the brake pedal. The other was for seat height: with the top closed, the top of my head should be about 4", or one closed hand breadth, below the top. Since the top is open, then, this must have been after I had done that.

We were taken out to various parts of the courses (which you can see on Google Maps), sharing some parts at times. Here I am coming south on the road called “Entrance” on a short clockwise loop. Out here was where the steering, anti-lock brakes, and other safety and performance features were demonstrated. We (owners) had a BMW instructor riding with us during the course, so DW had plenty of opportunity to take photos.

After driving around a bit on the road course, I was directed up to the skid pad in order to demonstrate the traction control system. In its normal position, it allows < 15% slip, so I could mash down the accelerator and crank the steering wheel, and it would not skid noticeably. I was instructed to take it to the minimal level without turning it completely off, and attempt the maneuver again. This time, it was like doing donuts on an icy parking lot.

After the practicum, we went back inside and were offered small pieces of BMW merchandise, then were taken to the main attraction: delivery of our new cars. There was another short orientation, at least for me, because I had specified I wanted the SMG, or Sequential Manual Gearbox, transmission. With that transmission, the starting procedure requires specific steps that even a regular manual transmission does not have. I only mention this because of what happened directly after delivery.

After all our deliveries were completed, we were invited to go as a group, in our own vehicles, across SH 101 to the BMW Zentrum Museum and Manufacturing Center. After delivery, I had pulled my car out to a parking space and turned it off; when I went to start it again, I forgot one of the required steps for a few moments. Just as one of the employees realized it and started over to help me, it came back to me, and I got the car started. It was the only time I forgot that I needed to do that.

Over at the Manufacturing Center, we were met by a lovely, healthy Bavarian lady, who would be our tour guide. As we entered the facility, she asked if anyone knew what BMW stood for in German. I answered, “Bayerische Motor Werken”. She said, “That's very good. It’s the Bayerische Motoren Werke”. I realized that I had said one motor, multiple factories, rather than many motors, one factory.

The manufacturing facility was quite impressive, with plenty of robots and lots of X3s, X5s, and Z4s being assembled. We were surprised to see many right-hand drive vehicles; the South Carolina facility at that time was the only production site for those three models to be exported to all the countries where they were sold.

I didn't get any photos inside the factory, but we did get plenty in the museum. I’ll present the ones I’ve selected here with minimal comment.

This was called a Varilus	1950s 328 Roadster	Special Edition Dixi by Ihle
1960s 507 Roadster	1970s 1800	Z1 Roadster, limited numbers sold in USA
The Z3 as introduced by James Bond	Z8 Roadster, also a Bond car	And for motorcycle enthusiasts…

After our day at the BMW facilities, it was still not terribly late. We were headed for Asheville that night, but on the way we took a little drive along the Blue Ridge Parkway. It had turned overcast and a little misty, which I guess is normal for the Great Smoky Mountains, so we put the top up. Here, we were in a scenic pullout, and I was charged with getting something out of the suitcase, or putting something away, one or the other.


We did take some photos of the views, too. This one is representative.

If you ever get a chance to participate in a driving course like the ones offered by BMW (and they offer courses to everyone, for a price, not just factory delivery participants), I highly recommend it.

Independence Day in Small Town USA

Part 2 of a Series

It's the 4th of July: Independence Day!

After another great breakfast at the White Doe Inn, DW & I decided to walk the 4 or 5 blocks down to the harbor. There is a nice municipal park area along one side of the waterfront.





There was a little sloop moored just offshore, and the harbormaster’s shack looked ship-shape.
  

A little further along the piers, we saw a fellow with a little larger boat, and a hand-made sign advertising harbor cruises. We asked if he’d be doing business today, and he said sure, and he had a few spots left. Regretfully, I didn't get any photos of the whole boat or the sign, but I did get a couple of the Cap’n and his craft during the cruise.

We had barely left the pier when we noticed this three-masted vessel off to port. I believe the Captain told us it was a recently built reproduction of an 18th-century style.

As we sailed out of the harbor, our host pointed out the homes of some of the wealthier residents of the area, over on this spit of land.

Just a bit further, and we found this local resident for whom money is truly no object. Or speed limits, for that matter.

Only a few more photos from the cruise. There were a couple of groups of parasailers, which we found sort of interesting. At least the sails were brightly colored.

Then we met this fellow who was out crabbing Albemarle Sound with Miss Mandi and his canine helper. At least the dog looked happy to see us.

We headed back toward the Inn for lunch, and found this truck parked nearby. How appropriate on Independence Day!

After lunch, we headed back down toward the harbor, but on a different road that leads through the business district. The town was all turned out for an Independence Day celebration. The local deputies were having fun, too!

While “downtown”, we learned that there would be a concert that evening on the Common Lawn, where there is a permanent outdoor stage. It was a fine hometown concert with probably the best musicians and singers from all of eastern North Carolina–that’s my story and I'm stickin’ to it.™ Here is one photo from just before sunset.



All in all it was a fantastic way to celebrate Independence Day! Tomorrow we check out and head to Spartanburg, and the next day we pick up the new car. So excited!

I Got a New Car!

Part 1 of a Series

Not recently–nine years ago. But I was reviewing and renaming some old digital photos recently, and came across the ones DW and I took on that trip.

You see, we picked it up at the factory. Those of you who follow me on Twitter may know that I drive a BMW Z4 Roadster. The purchase experience was unlike any I’ve had before, and likely unlike most of yours, too. We bought it from a dealership in Oregon, negotiating over the phone (by voice mail in many instances) and signing documents by fax.

We specified factory delivery in our first conversation. BMW has a program where buyers who pick up their cars at the Spartanburg, SC factory and «BMW Zentrum» are entitled to attend a half-day driving class and practicum on the road course there. As it turned out, we never even met the person we bought the car from!

After mailing a check for the down payment, we booked our flight to Raleigh. Yes, there’s an international airport in Greenville, just down the road from Spartanburg, but we were planning to go around the 4th of July, and spend some time at a B&B in Manteo, NC, on Roanoke Island, not far from Kitty Hawk and the Outer Banks. We enjoy staying at a B&B, and DW is a pro at researching them online. Looking at a map now, I think perhaps the Newport News-Norfolk-Virginia Beach area is a bit closer, but the route from Raleigh is more direct and mainland-based.

We arrived late on the night of the 2nd, just as the proprietors of the B&B were finishing their day’s work. We got checked in, brushed our teeth, and fell asleep. The next morning after a breakfast that included a fruit compote with black currants (yum), we took a few photos before deciding what to do.

(As usual, click on the image to see it larger. Blogger will then let you scroll through all of them.)

The B&B we had chosen is the White Doe Inn. This day, we didn’t get a close shot of the sign, but in this first photo it, and a flag with their chosen arms, are visible.















For this one, DW went across the street, and got a bit more of the entire Inn (as well as my Aloha shirt).

We drove the rental car around Manteo a bit, finding nice, clean yards and homes. We decided to take a few photos of those. I’ll show you one here.

 

We got back on the main highway (US 64) eastbound, and headed out to the real Outer Banks, the long sandbar that Kitty Hawk and Kill Devil Hills are on, among others. When US 64 ended, we looked both directions: to the left it looked more civilized, so we went right, south on SH 12. Near the south end of that sandbar is the Bodie Island Lighthouse. Not as famous as the Cape Hatteras Lighthouse, perhaps, but closer to the highway, and more significantly, closer to where we started.


We crossed Oregon Inlet and drove all the way down Pea Island and Hatteras Islands–the next two sandbars–to the ferry landing that continues SH 12 across Hatteras Inlet. If I recollect correctly, the ferry was even there getting ready to load. But we knew it would take too much time to go, then come back, then get back to the Inn, so we headed back north.

It was only about noon when we got back to “Whalebone Junction”, as the intersection with US 64 is called, so we decided to continue north and maybe find some lunch. Of course it’s only 4 or 5 miles to the Wright Brothers National Memorial in Kill Devil Hills, so we had some lunch and then went there.

Naturally the first place to go at the site is the visitor’s center, which also serves as a museum. There are exhibits there by NASA as well as Wright Brothers historian groups. One of the things that caught my eye was this treadle-operated sewing machine like the one used to sew the wing fabric for the Wrights’ contraptions. It looked just like the one my grandmother had in her house!



As I said, there are Wright-related displays, too. They included reproductions of a glider they built as well as the powered flyer that gained them their fame.



After a few more less-interesting photos inside, we went outside to the field where the famous flight took place. A pillar has been erected there, and there is a nice little path that winds around and up to the top of the hill. We had not started hiking, yet, so we were not enthusiastic about that walk; we opted to stay near the building and take a long shot.

One of the other things put up at the site to memorialize the Wrights is this bas-relief:

What better way to celebrate (nearly) Independence Day than enjoying the tale of American Innovation that is the Wright Brothers’?

Tomorrow is the 4th of July, so I wonder what kinds of activities will be available for us? Be sure to watch for the next post!

Ski Trip to Vail, CO

As members of the Reno Ski and Recreation Club, DW and I participated in a club trip to Vail, Colorado for a week of skiing and recreation (duh), from the 3rd to the 7th of March 2014.

Actually, I shouldn’t say “duh”, because I’m not sure if I’ve published on this blog yet that I relented to learn to ski this season, so I can ski with DW and the rest of the recreational skiers.

Anyway, we arrived by air at Denver early afternoon on Sunday the 2nd, and along with about a dozen others took the club-arranged transportation to our hotel, the Vail Cascade Resort. It’s a not-overly-fancy-but-nice-enough property, with beautiful old (or old-looking) furniture in the lobby and main desk, and a nice little sunken bar behind a huge double-sided (gas) fireplace. But the real attraction, and the reason the trip coordinator chose the place, is the Ski Concierge right next to Chair Lift #20 (Cascade). It was so nice not having to shlep equipment either down the hall or out along the building to get to a lift, or a bus to the lifts.

Oddly enough, I have no photos of the hotel, but you can follow the link above where there are plenty. In fact, we didn’t even take pictures on Monday, as we had to go from the bottom of the west end of the ski area all the way to the top near the east end, to be at Two Elk Lodge™ for lunch. (You can see a trail map at Vail’s site linked above, if you desire.) Since I’m just a beginner, we had to take some catwalks (which I figured out refer to the snow cat grooming machines), but we got there a half-hour ahead of the others. In fact, a couple of them remarked how surprised they were to see me there!

On Tuesday, we decided to ski around the Game Creek Bowl area, which is on the west peak. Vail (and Beaver Creek) are somewhat unusual in that they have relatively easy runs near the top of the mountain; most resorts don’t use the ridges, and instead bring runs down the steep face, making them more difficult. Game Creek Bowl has a number of runs marked blue (medium difficulty), but a couple of fairly long green (easier) runs around the outside of the bowl. One of them, the only way out of the bowl, is called Eagle’s Nest Ridge. It’s very easy, being nearly flat in one long stretch leading down to the Eagle’s Nest Lodge. I stopped and had DW take a couple of pictures, one off each side of the ridge.

(As always, click to view larger.)

That evening, we went with a couple of friends from the club to explore Lionshead Village, a smaller village on the west between our hotel and the main Vail Village. We found a liquor store, a crowded little BBQ restaurant that serves what’s on the menu until they run out, and Albert Einstein, just chillin’:

Monica adores Al.

On Wednesday, most of the trip-goers went over to Beaver Creek (about ½ hour away) for the day. As one of our bus-mates said, Beaver Creek–a Vail resort–has to be just a bit better, because it isn’t Vail. Also, it’s the farthest resort away from Denver. Well, it was great! DW and I headed up to the easier runs near the top of the main lift. The views were spectacular.

DW about to get her camera out

I actually got a little over-confident right away, and fell part way down. There is a technique for getting up that I could never quite do in Tahoe, but I made it work this time! DW got photos of the process. Here are the beginning and the end.




We skied the easy runs for the better part of the day. We took a break around 2:30 after having skied down to the ski school area, where the children ride a gondola to after mastering the basics at the bottom. Here’s a panoramic photo from the deck:

Late that afternoon, we met our fellow clubbers at the Beaver Creek Chophouse and C Bar, outside. It was such a nice day, we all stayed outside.

This pic got tweeted.

Some of the group stayed to eat there, but some of us were ready to hit the shower. Six of us went for pizza, to the Blue Moose Pizza in Lionshead, right next to the skating rink. Since the previous day had been Mardi Gras, the Moose had been celebrating, and was covered with beads.

When we got there, and yet when we left, there was a broom hockey game going on on the rink.

The next two days, DW and I skied the Mid-Vail™ area. There is one green run and a whole series of blue runs there. DW and I had been to Kirkwood on Presidents’ Day, and we skied a blue run a few times there, so we decided to do these. They were a lot of fun! Except for the one called “Whistle Pig”–it had a bunch of little moguls! We got most of the way through them (slowly), and I saw a cut-off back to a smoother run we had done before, so we took that. Here's what one of them looked like:

Actually, that may have been the access run along the ridge. Anyway, on Thursday night we attended a group dinner in Vail Village, and on the way out we stopped to take photos of this sculpture and lighted tree.




 On Friday we went back to the same runs to ski, but snow had been falling since about midnight and was still falling, and the smooth runs of the day before were starting to get bumpy. I was actually having fun learning to handle the snow, but it did make us tired quickly. We skied about 2½ or 3 hours, and had had enough. We made it back to the main village and rode the bus back to the hotel, where we had some hot cocoa and a nap.

We really enjoyed the trip and being able to ski every day for a week. We did some checking into individual trips, and the group really got a great deal, so we were pleased. The organizer did a fabulous job, and if he ever puts together another trip, we’ll be the first ones to sign up!