Synopsis by: Ian Cooper
When Mike started this drive six years ago he had 7 cars and about 18 people all interested in one thing: meeting other members from nasioc.com across 3 states. I'm sure Mike had no idea 6 years later this event would include 20 cars and 35 people who were not only interested in meeting other nasioc.com members but also wanting to raise a large amount of money for the American Cancer Society. I don't think Mike was ever expecting to have nine sponsors who donated door prizes that we raffled off to everyone who participated in the drive. As a fourth year attendee of this event I can say that this year was the best I've ever attended. Due to 2-3 people stepping up to help Mike organize the event we got to print tee shirts, stop by Subaru of America, eat our meals on time, and not pull into hotels after midnight. There were a few changes to the drive this year which were different from previous years; I think they proved to be for the better. First of all the drive went back to a three day format (so yes it is actually the 72hours of tri-state) and instead of going to Canada the route was changed so that we went into the New England states. The route was changed in hopes of bringing some members from that area of the website.
We made it our goal to raise a total of $6000 this year and we not only met this goal but we surpassed it with a grand total of $6700! Thanks to everyone who made donations for this wonderful event, we could not have had such a successful event without you!
Quick note on the pictures: Some of the pictures on this website are mine but most of them are from other club-members who were also taking pictures through out the weekend. If you see a picture that is yours and would like specific credit for it please contact me. Please click on any picture to enlarge.
Friday:
Friday started off with the traditional breakfast at the Oregon Dinner in Philadelphia then we went to Subaru of America which is conveniently (for us) located in Cherry Hill, NJ. Visiting Subaru of America (S.O.A.) was said numerous times to be the best part of this entire trip! S.O.A. went all out for us with some refreshments and snacks ready when we walked in. In addition to the snacks each of us also got to take home a goodie bag filled with some wonderful items including: tee shirt, 128Mb thumb-drive, calendar, key fob, and an LED flashlight. After talking with Tom Salvino about the 48Hours Drive we then started answering questions for Patricia Mickel about some of the most commonly wanted parts/cars from enthusiast like us. The CEO of Subaru of America, Kunio Ishigami, came down from an interview to talk to us; which we were later told normally takes 1-2 days notice for anyone to see him.
Breakfast in Philadelphia:
Subaru of America:
After visiting with Subaru of America we were off to see all the fun the Pine Barrens (in southern NJ) had to offer us. I am sure only a small number of Subaru owners get a chance to do something like this; which is a shame because we really got to use the all wheel drive system on the Subaru's. Unfortunately this was cut short due to Ted's car having a problem with the transmission. We ended up towing his car to a gas station where he had AAA tow him to AZP's shop (which was our next stop). After stopping by AZP's shop to pick up more cars/people we continued on to Dinner at Chili's. Dinner worked out great! Even though we were running a few hours late a local club member arrived early and talked to the hostess. He had everything setup for when we got there so we were able to walk right in and eat. After Dinner we were off to Cooperstown, NY for the night; some of us stayed at a member's Bed & Breakfast and some of us stayed at local hotels.
Pine Barrens:
Friday Dinner:
Saturday:
The next day we all met at the Bed & Breakfast. Ted met up with us Saturday morning after having parts delivered to AZP's shop from his hometown in New Hampshire and a shop in Washington DC; he could not have rejoined the group without working through night Friday with a mechanic from Washington DC (where the transmission was from).
Bed & Breakfast:
After leaving Cooperstown we were off to have some fun through the Adirondack Mountains in NY and then to Rutland, VT. During a morninging gas station stop Billy's clutch died so he continued on the rest of that day without a clutch (this proved to be quite interesting). While going through the Adirondack Mountains Mike took us down an un-maintained road so we could again use the Subaru's for what they were made for.
Un-maintained Road:
Sunday:
Sunday Murray, Rob, and I helped fix Billy's clutch then we all met at a local restaurant. After everyone was accounted for we were off for some twisty/fun back-roads leading us through VT and into New York. The trip officially ended in Newburg, NY where we had our final dinner, said our good-byes, and went our separate ways. All of us agreeing the drive was a blast and already couldn't wait until next year.
Sunday:
Final Dinner Group Picture:
The following companies donated very generous amounts of door prizes which we raffled off Saturday night. Please take some time to visit their website and see what they have to offer.
