Master's Miata Club

Members Attending: Brian & Donna Bogardus, Trudy & Hal Scott, Dennis Mason, Glenn Link & Deb Tonini, Kurt Breitinger, Stacey & Cindy Timmerman, Don & Kaye Boltz, Daryl Shipman, Ralf & Annie Wilms, Mike & Shirley Dyer and Jennie & Thomas Hodges plus grandson Caleb & friend.

When we rolled out of Greg’s Gas Plus at 11:30 for the drive to Greenwood we were 8 Miatas strong. We also had an OTM bringing up the rear, a Ram pickup truck, because Caleb and his friend refused to ride in the trunk of Jennie’s Mazdaspeed Miata. The Wilms’ got a late start and met us at the lunch spot and Daryl Shipman met us in Greenwood.

The drive started cloudy and a bit chilly so everyone’s top was firmly in the up and locked position. The fog was supposed to break near midday, so we hoped to be able to put the tops down part way to Greenwood, instead, the further north we got, the thicker the fog became. Amazingly enough our practically mile long conga line of cars remained intact on the back road drive, until we got into the Saturday afternoon traffic on the US25 bypass around Greenwood. The left turn into our lunch spot was the trickiest part of the drive and true to form, we lost one car, temporarily, in the maneuver.

On the recommendation of Mr. Shipman, lunch was at a place called Migs Pizza Castle and it turned out perfectly in nearly every way. You ordered at the counter, so no waiting to be seated and can I get you drinks, etc. It was crowded so we sat where we fit, no rearranging the furniture into one long “last supper” style table. The food was actually quite good and the service was fast, I’d be willing to bet this is the first time in history that 20 people from this Miata Club got out of a restaurant in an hour.

Knowing the trouble we had getting into lunch, with the left turn needed,  it would be impossible to get eleven vehicles in row, so Brian made sure everyone knew the short route to meet up with the Corvette Club just short of our final destination. When we got to the correct Greenwood High School parking lot we found not many Vettes and a whole lot of pickup trunks and SUVs. Quite a few of them were coming with more than two guests. It was suggested that anyone who could, carpool, so as to not overwhelm the quiet subdivison we were headed to. It helped some, but we still lined the street in front of the Von Seleens.

Arranged up the driveway hill to Hartmut’s two garages were a series of Porsche automobiles to boggle the mind. From the amazing 911R, to an 80’s cool slant nose 930 Turbo Convertible, to the insane 911GT2 RS, to the bonkers hybrid 918 Spyder, to my favorite, the 1969 911S in Cream with a brown interior. At the end of the driveway was the Lava Orange 911GT3 RS that came to Deals Gap with us in November. There was also the relatively sedate late model 911GTS and LeMans race car in street car clothing, a Carrera GT.

All these cars fit in the one garage at the top of the hill, with the red and yellow tiled floor and one wall covered with trophy cases filled with awards from car show and racetracks across America. The two car garage attached to the house held the “pedestrian” family cars, a Porsche Macan SUV (the GTS version) and an S Class Mercedes Benz (the AMG version of course.)

If that wasn’t enough, we then packed up and drove a couple miles cross town to visit Hartmut’s other garage where he keeps his more eclectic collection of cars. There were a little over 20 cars parked cheek by jowl and ran the gamut from a 1959 Corvette race car to a McLaren 650s Spider, a 1963 Porsche 356C to a Spyker C8, including the first car he bought when he came to America, a 1970 Mustang Boss 302. The last photo below is a 90° panorama I took from the front left corner, how many cars can you identify?

Members Attending: Brian & Donna Bogardus, Rite & Larry Garner, Dennis & Karol Mason, Trudy & Hal Scott and Tom Varallo.
Guests Attending: Hartmut Von Seleen

Friday: Tom had invited some members of the Greenwood Corvette Club to come along and it turned out that only one could join us. They would not be driving a Corvette and they would be meeting us at the McDonald’s in Elberton. Needless to say, Mr. Von Seleen’s Lava Orange 911 GT3 RS was easy to spot in lot.

In spite of the gloomy forecast, two of the five Miatas started the drive with their tops down. Our second spot of the morning was in Elberton and we almost made it before the rain started. Fortunately a VFW Hall with a covered entrance popped up at just the right time to save us.

We scrubbed the usual visit to the “Stonehenge of Georgia” because of the rain and everyone had already been there except Hartmut, no problem, he was more interested in driving, so that’s what we did. The next real stop was for lunch in Highlands at the Sports Page. On the way out of town, we blew by a set of cars parked near Bridal Falls taking photos. There was actually a decent amount of water coming over the falls this times, but they have put up barriers so you can longer park underneath.

At our next stop at the little gas station at the beginning of the fabulous Wyah Road, who should go by but the same trio of young bloods from Bridal Falls. There was a 1st gen MR2 followed by a Volvo C30 Polestar and a Fiat 500 Abarth. We waved as they went by and figured we’d never see them again, but a few miles down the road there was an 18-wheeler stopping traffic as it negotiated a sharp corner, so there they were. For the next 5 miles or so we hung around not too far behind them through the twisty parts. Eventually their youth and greater feeling of immortality led them to disappear from us off the front.

After driving the 200 miles to get Robbinsville, no one wanted to drive the 50 extra miles total to do a Dragon run, except for our Porsche driver and me. So instead of the two of us driving, I asked if I could ride along with him. “Sure,” he said. While the cost of the Porsche was roughly equivalent to the cost of all of our 5 Miatas put together, he promptly justified the high cost of the car to me by demonstrating how it would feel to do the trip in a low flying Blue Angels jet.

Saturday: I always plan a very early run through the Gap on these trips up here to avoid the traffic that eventually clogs the 318 turns later in the day. Usually I only get one other car to get up and go early, but this year everyone was up to a morning drive. Our early wake up was rewarded by a clean run through the Tail of the Dragon going north and almost unimpeded going back south. After the northbound run as we were stopped at the parking area, Dennis asked Hartmut if it would be okay if he rode the southbound trip with him, “Of course,” came the reply. On the way back, we stopped at the dam overlook to chat with several “kids” that were enjoying the same roads we were, as part of a Tougefest. At the Crossroads of Time we decided to head back to Robbinsville the long way so we could take the great drive of NC28 along the Cheoah Lake.

By the time we got back to the hotel we were about an hour behind the day’s schedule, but it actually worked in our favor because by then the early morning foggy middle 30’s had become mostly sunny middle 40’s making tops go down for the more hardy of our group. Our first stop at the Bojangles in Murphy is usually just a quick in and out, but it somehow turned into a full fledged meal stop. Once again the delay worked to our favor by allowing the temperature to warm up a little bit more. At the Hiawassee Dam Overlook, I asked if it was OK if we skipped the usual stop at The Field of the Woods because everyone had already been there except Hartmut, no problem, he was more interested in driving, so that’s what we did.

At lunch the weather was pleasant enough that we could dine outside at the Telico Grains Bakery. The return leg over the Cherohala Skyway went back & forth from nice to interminable, as we would get a clear run for a mile or two and get saddled with some knucklehead traveling 25 MPH. For a while there it seemed like we would never make it back to North Carolina because as soon as a slow poke pulled into an overlook another similar vehicle would exit the other side. It is never usually this busy on the Skyway, but I have to chalk it up to our slightly later time of day, but mostly it had to be the leaves and weather. Somebody let the word out that the fall color was later this year and we can vouch for the veracity of this statement, it most definitely was the best leaves I can remember for the first weekend in November.

Sunday: The Scotts were the first to head out on their way to Asheville. Brian & Donna left next with Tom in tow, right after we had to get the front desk to wake up some knucklehead who parked his truck with trailer behind a row of cars blocking us in. I don’t know when the rest left. I’m not sure which way the Masons planned on going home, but I know the Garners were going home via Helen, GA. If I had to guess, I’d bet Hartmut took that 911 GTS R3 back for one more run through the Gap before making his way back home to Greenwood.