So I ordered my car in March and then made changes to my order in late May, I assumed my build date would be pushed back. From the beginning, I absolutely wanted to do another Performance Center Delivery. I received a Week 27 build which is the worst possible time. I either needed a few weeks earlier or a few weeks later. My wife is due with our second child on August 20th, so the car is going to show up at exactly the wrong time.
Last week my SA sent me an email that my PCD is set for 8/14. That's 6 days before the baby, so there is no way I'm going to able to go. The email from PCD states you can push it back 10 working days. Well that only moves to 8/27, so that doesn't help. I ask my SA to try and get me an exception to push it back to the first week in September. I must be the only idiot in the world that wants to push back his delivery! All of this was on a Friday. I spent the weekend thinking about it and decided I would be okay not doing PCD as I'd get the car about a month earlier.
Last Monday I got the best news. I can schedule anytime from 8/14 to 9/12!!!! So I jump on BMWs site to get an idea what days PCD will have open around driving schools and events. Then I started thinking, "Why not see if there is a 1 Day M Driving School at the same time?" Wouldn't you know it? September 8th there is a 1 Day M School. Perfect! So I click on it. It's SOLD OUT! Crap! So I call the school and ask if they can squeeze me in. "Nope!" Then I ask my SA to ask for me. "No can do!" They don't accept extra students, but they would add me to the waiting list. Then I get a call at around 5PM the same day. "We made an exception, you are in!"
Now I didn't like taking my own car to the track, but I really enjoyed PCD in 2011. I'm going to love extending my trip and doing both M Driving School and PCD. The even better news is that direct flights from Orlando to Greenville/Spartanburg are only on Sunday, so I have a direct flight!
I'm not much of a traveler, but I am planning an EPIC delivery trip (for my standards). ED is too much flight time for me. If I have the choice, I much prefer to stay home and play in my garage, but this is different.
So here is the plan:
1.)
Sunday, September 7th:
-I’m taking a direct flight from Orlando to Greenville/Spartanburg, SC on Sunday. I'm staying at the Greenville Marriott where BMW puts delivery recipients. Don't worry, I'm flying my Mom to my house to help with the new baby.
2.)
Monday, September 8th:
-1 Day BMW M School on Monday! I am flying my Dad in from PA on Monday to meet me at the hotel after my day at the M School. Sorry Dad, I couldn’t get you in. It was full, and I got lucky that they made an exception for me.
http://www.bmwusa.com/Standard/Conte...S.aspx#mschool
-I made sure to become a BMWCCA member again to save 15%. It cost me about $1250 for the day without flight and hotel.
3.)
Tuesday, September 9th:
-It’s Delivery Day. I do the standard, instructor led braking, testing, tracking of a car similar to mine. We tour the factory and museum. Delivery of my car happens at some point throughout the day.
-After delivery, we are headed to the Highlands, NC. I’m staying at the super fancy Old Edwards Inn. I figure, go big or go home! There really aren’t very many nice hotels that I know of in the mountains, and I really want to hit the Highlands Hwy (28). I’ll take various roads on the way, back-tracking a bit to catch 28.
https://www.oldedwardsinn.com/
-I was going to take a more northerly route and do part of the Blue Ridge Parkway and stay near Balsam/Cherokee, but I couldn’t find an acceptable hotel. Sorry, I’m a hotel snob.
4.)
Wednesday, September 10th:
-We’ll get up early to make a loop through the mountains. The plan is to hit Moonshiner’s 28 route from Old Edwards Inn through Franklin and past Fontana Lake to the Tail of the Dragon.
http://www.moonshiner28.com/
-Next we will hit the Dragon and take 72 back toward the Cherohala Skyway. We’ll have lunch at Tellico Kats on the Skyway. Then take the rest of the Skyway back to 19/129 and head South. We’ll veer off 19 to hit Hwy 60 and do part of Six Gap on our way to Chateau Elan south of Gainesville, GA.
http://www.tailofthedragon.com/
-We’ll finish the day at the Chateau Elan in Braselton, GA. My guess is that we’ll get there around 6 PM after stops, gas, lunch, etc. It’s dinner and rest for the night.
http://www.chateauelan.com/
-I'm a little concerned this may be too much driving on 35-50 mph roads. We may skip the Cherohala and come down Hwy 68 on our way to the hotel if it gets to be too much. I want to take my time and not rush to get too much in.
5.)
Thursday, September 11th:
We’ll get up at a reasonable hour and decide whether we are taking back roads to my home in The Villages, FL. If we are over the newness of the car and ready to hit Interstate, we will take 75 to get back home. My preference is going to be to drive a more scenic route and avoid highways. I don’t think there are any really exciting roads back to Central FL. I'll spend some more time figuring it out soon.
https://goo.gl/maps/Lwz2E
I'm certainly interested in feedback on my plan.