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One of the more important things I have learned to bring on a road trip are actual paper maps. A good portion of my last trip had zero cell service.
Google Maps lets you downoad static maps onto your device. They can cover a considerable amount of territory; for example all of New England is doable. When cell service is lost there is still GPS. This way you will still have a map and Google Maps can guide you. You do lose realtime data, but if you're that far out it probably isn't important. I set up and download maps of my target area just before leaving on a trip so they're as current as possible.
Google Maps lets you downoad static maps onto your device. They can cover a considerable amount of territory; for example all of New England is doable. When cell service is lost there is still GPS. This way you will still have a map and Google Maps can guide you. You do lose realtime data, but if you're that far out it probably isn't important. I set up and download maps of my target area just before leaving on a trip so they're as current as possible.
Yes, but I do find the paper maps rewarding. Plus, she enjoys finding roads as the co-pilot. On a side note, my job requires me to be on call nearly 24/7, so I am greatly looking forward to turning the stupid thing off for a week. Just washed the car and zeroed out the trip odo. Leaving on a perfect weather day, so hopefully that continues. I had to deal with multiple downpours and even a snow storm last time, which was one of the sketchiest drives I've ever had.
We got back yesterday, Friday, 4/29, at approximately 9 pm. 1178 total miles. Zero plan. A completely 'fly by the seat of your pants' trip. We would typically google places to eat at noon and a place to spend the night around 6pm. It works in the off season, but doubt that possible in the summer.
The dark line was the route we took. The rennline phone mount was actually great. We used a combination of Waze and the paper map to follow along. Waze was also great because I could generally see the road layout ahead and if there were any reported issues. This was especially important on the first day commute to Freeport. More on that later, but it helped to notify us of approximately 10 police officers ahead. We ended up taking a nice leisurely drive at that point.
We left and made it to Freeport in the evening. The next day we explored the little town.
A lot of little shops. Then we headed east to Wolf's Neck State Park. After that, we went north to Brunswick. Found a great little brewery at the airport.
Then we checked out this very cool little old fort. Fort Popham. Well worth the trip. The road to it was like a roller coaster. A great little drive.
Then we found this cool sculpture where destroyers are still being manufactured.
After that, Bar Harbor and Acadia National Park. I highly recommend Primrose Inn. Bar Harbor is not bad in the off season to find a place but apparently millions of people visit in the summer. The inn keeper, and part owner I think, Brandon, is a big car guy. He owns a Maserati and a, new to him, Gallardo SE. A very cool car that sounds incredible. The inn was amazing. Highly recommended.
The national park roads were new pavement and there was no one around. It was amazing.
This is from Mt. Battie, which overlooks Camden.
We then found this old cool garage in Deer Isle. I couldn't pass up a picture opportunity with the Pegasus.
From there, we were looking for a tavern for lunch. I randomly searched for places and found a great inn/tavern in Searspoint. Owned by a big time 911 guy. He used to own a 2005 GT3 race car. If in the area, check out Homeport Inn/Tavern. I walked into the tavern and sat down. Within less than one minute, he walked over and asked "is that your 996?" I knew immediately he was a 911 guy. Not only did he see the car, he knew the generation. We ended up hanging out for hours. Talking all things 911. Early on in the conversation, he told me about the GT3. The original owner purchased it only for racing. The car had never been registered and it was an arctic silver 996GT3, which I knew they didn't make many of. The owner, Arnaud, then began to tell me of all the things the original owner did to make it track dedicated. My head exploded. The car was seriously built for the job, as the original owner spent an additional nearly $100k on racing modifications after buying the car. Arnaud then showed me some pictures of it: Arnaud used to live in Massachusetts and tracked the car at Lime Rock and Palmer. I just laughed, as we were meeting each other in the middle of nowhere Maine, but he used to track the car at Palmer, which is 30 minutes from my house, and I am at Lime Rock maybe 5+ times a year. Too funny.
My jaw dropped. Such a cool car. He chose the martini livery, which was based off the 2013 race team livery. I can't remember the full details, as I was killing some of his fancy amazing cocktails at that point, but he mentioned that he still had the wheels for the GT3 and would sell them. I had seen the pictures only briefly, and heard a bit about the car, but I immediately asked if they were E88s? He couldn't remember, but the wheels were in the basement of the Inn, which was right near where I was sitting. I couldn't believe it. As he was pretty busy with customers, we waited for a bit until he was ready to bring me to the basement to check out the wheels. After a little time, when things slowed down, we entered the basement of this old ship captain's residence. The basement was cool all by itself, with all sorts of interesting artifacts everywhere. He took me to the far back corner, moved some boxes, and uncovered a set of BBS E88s. Again, my jaw dropped. I also, as fast as I could say it, told him "I will take the wheels."
Talk about a MASSIVE score. Although the vacation just became way more expensive, I couldn't be happier. The wheels still had some unused Hoosier slicks, but too old for use. He had to sell the GT3 to help pay for the Inn, and I knew he missed it greatly. Apparently it was sold to a fairly local man that still tracks the car at Lime Rock and Palmer. I will definitely be looking for it.
The next morning we swapped cars and I drove his 997 and he drove my 996.
On PSS10s, GT3 sway bars and with a numeric shifter. The shifter was amazing. I could immediately feel the effects of sway bars and Tarett drop links. The car was incredibly planted. He loved my car, with a grin from ear to ear. Although my car could never compare to his GT3 race car, he said that it reminded him of it. That was a big enough compliment to me. I've never tried to make my car a GT3, or even a clone. I've only tried to make it a Porsche plus 1 or plus 2. To turn up the volume button a bit from how it came from the factory.
The experience was amazing. Again, I highly recommend it. Bring your 911s and prepare yourselves for car stories with great drinks and incredible food.
A great trip and a great drive. We took hundreds of pictures. I could tell stories about every day. It was definitely worth it and it was a fun adventure. The seats were WAY better than I would have expected for such a mission. All day comfortable. The center delete also adds just a little more space, but its very noticeable. I had more room to move my legs. I used to get numbness in my right leg during long drives and I didn't have a single issue on the road trip. The headlights are very worth it. They weren't cheap, but the drive up to Maine in the dark showed just how much they improved things. The high beams are amazing. I saw a few deer off the side of the road. I didn't think the OEM headlights were bad, but they are amazing now. Bright modern headlights definitely make a difference.
Thank you. A great trip. It was definitely fun to pack the trunk and leave the house with not a single plan, just a destination.
I added some car guy details and some pictures.
On the way back I looked down and saw that I was at 995 miles, so I had to take a picture of this:
In NH, we checked out this pretty cool distillery. I just entered "distillery" in google maps and picked this place. It ended up being way more impressive than I could have expected. Flag Hill Distillery. It is a winery and a distillery. They hold events there, like weddings, and there are trails all throughout the grounds. It was a pretty cool spot.
I could go on and on about all the random breweries, restaurants, and places we explored, but that would take forever.
We made it back in one piece and the car performed great.
+1 - awesome pictures, story, and winter projects! Looking forward to taking my own 996.1 aero up to Boothbay sometime this summer (based in Boston).
Taking down notes on your retrofitlab headlight experience as well. I'll be sanding/polishing/sealing my stock ones soon, which should help a little but I'd appreciate a lot more light than they give me.
04-20-2023 | 06:56 PM
