An epic 4349 mile road trip to bring home Jamie’s Dad’s 1999 Porsche 911 Carrera 2 tiptronic from Atlanta started with an immediate shake down along the Tail of the Dragon, a stop in Chapel Hill to catch up with a best friend, a dip of the toes in the Atlantic at Virginia beach, and a westward journey through the middle of the country while avoiding Midwest Spring storms. In addition to hanging with the fam, we said hello to Cincinnati, Kansas City, St. Louis, Denver, Salt Lake City, and Boise before making it home about a week later. The 911 didn’t skip a beat and was very comfortable and fun to drive. And this country is absolutely beautiful. 10/10 would do again!
The newest addition to our growing fleet is a 1999 Carrera 2 tiptronic in Ocean Blue Metallic over light grey and it has served Jamie’s Dad as a daily driver since it was purchased new in 1999. Jamie was there when her Dad checked all the boxes and placed his order at the Porsche dealership and she’s been lusting after it since. Jamie made her Dad promise to give it to her if he ever decided he was done with it and on our recent trip to Albuquerque he made true to that promise!
We flew to Atlanta and spent a few days there with Dad and family before packing up the 911 with the gear we would need over the next week as we would drive it back home to Seattle. Dad had his local mechanic give the 911 a good once over so we were confident it would make the trip. First, we had to travel North to Virginia for a quick visit with more family and friends before heading West. No specific plan was made for the journey itself other than to choose routes that would avoid hail and selecting hotels that offered covered parking. We only had the week to make it home so we didn’t really plan many leisurely stops. We narrowly missed a few storms and thankfully avoided damaging hail the Central Plains are known for this time of year, and rarely saw rain on the drive.
Leaving Atlanta and heading North towards Virginia we took a slight detour to the West, and immediately gave the 911 a run for its money along the legendary 11-mile stretch of US Route 129, with 318 tight bends and turns through the Great Smoky Mountains of Tennessee. If we were to experience any mechanical issues on this trip, this is where we would find them! The Porsche took it all like a champ, with tired bushings holding on for dear life as we wrangled each turn with confidence. The body rolled on stock suspension but the tires never met their limit and carried us through without a single hiccup. Photographers posted up on select corners of the Dragon displaying banners of their website offer photos of cars passing by and we found the above photo a week later when we got home. We were excited someone captured us in the 911s first true shakedown on the first day of our road trip.
While we enjoyed a few random sights along the way, another notable detour was Bogus Basin Road in Boise. It’s a popular 16-mile stretch of twisting roads, with 172 turns and a 3400 ft. elevation change. It’s mostly occupied by cyclists so one must be careful managing some of those corners, as well as maintain focus so as not to get distracted by the amazing scenery!
The seats in the 911 were comfortable enough to keep us in them all day without fatigue. We sat anywhere from 8-13 hours between our overnight stops in the car with only a few pit stops for gas, food, and services each day. It was great to be able to mark a cross-country trip off the bucket list and what a car to do it in!
