Gonna try it again....BRP run Oct 19th.

[IwantmyMMnow!]

Well, back in May I was gonna jump all over this and have the plan ready long before now...I blink my eyes and take a breath and it's friggin' August already! I took a drive on the BRP this past Sunday...actually spotted and talked with another SB MM owner for an hour. I saw the MM, was in the process of writing a note to put on the windshield, and the owner and his wife walked up to it. I told them about MV 11 and this website.

As the thread title says, gonna do another BRP run on Saturday, 19 Oct...hope to beat last year's record turnout...me and Roadwarrior....:lol:

Last year Richard and I went the north route and had a great lunch at Mt. Mitchell State Park restaurant and it was a beautiful fall day from start to finish. However, heavy rains earlier this summer have created a giant sink hole between Asheville and Mt. Mitchell, and that section of the BRP is closed right now. They say they'll have it re-opened by Labor Day, but don't want to risk it so the plan is to go south this year.

Attached is an itinerary of the what and where; I will probably tweak it a bit over the next week, but should be concrete by the end of next week. Arrival times of all stops are based on driving 35mph. There's both a good weather and bad weather (rain) itinerary. The featured stop during this year's run will be the Pisgah View Inn/Restaurant. There's no need to make reservations as they can accomodate 400 people; IF one has to wait for a table, it's usually 15 minutes at most. Here's a link to their menu:

http://www.pisgahinn.com/lunch.htm

There are 3 hotels near the entry point of the BRP; Quality Inn, Days Inn, and a Holiday Inn Express....and of course, there's a Waffle House right in the middle.:banana: I will get rates from these hotels over the weekend and see if any 'deals' can be had. Just off the top of my head, I would expect them to be $125/night (sans deal) since it is peak tourist season. Dinner plans for Friday and/or Saturday night will be firmed up about a week or two before the 19th; depends on how many is coming and what nights people will be staying over.

Would like to say more, but need to get my a$$ in bed.

Questions/suggestions/inputs are welcome....


EDIT: Updated Itinerary on 9/24....

[SC Cheesehead]

Gotta see how things roll out, I may be back in Sandland for a month around that time...:(

[Roadwarrior]

Subscribing...

[Mebot]

Dang I will be in Seattle

sent from a Samsung Galaxy far far away...

[Haggis]

Dang I will be in Seattle

sent from a Samsung Galaxy far far away...

I thought we were doing the ayslum then?

[Mebot]

I thought we were doing the ayslum then?

No. We have to look in the November timeframe to get that set up

sent from a Samsung Galaxy far far away...

[IwantmyMMnow!]

Room rates for the weekend of the 19th for the hotels near me are as follows:

Holiday Inn Express: $209/night....OUCH! :flamer:

Quality Inn: $169/night...a little better, but still rough on the wallet :(

Days Inn: $126/night....the best of the bunch :banana:

All rates do not include taxes. The Days Inn folks offered a 10% discount without me saying anything (discounted rate is above). When my Mom and sister visited over this past weekend, they stayed at the Days Inn. It is a very nice hotel since it was remodeled a year or so ago. Keep in mind October is peak season here; as an example, my sister paid $59/night + tax when they were here...but they did stay on a Sun & Mon night vs Fri/Sat. The Days Inn is expecting another group the weekend of the 19th, and all they will have available are rooms with king-sized beds.

There's also a Motel 6 in the area, but I would not recommend unless you are adamant about getting a cheap room.

Don't see any reason to make any changes to the itinerary that is attached in the first post. Wish I had better news about the rooms rates...

[Ms. Denmark]

______________

[fireandice9008]

Keeping an eye on this. It's clean across the state for me, but would be good to take a trip if some things work out. Maybe i'll actually have new back tires by then :drive:

[fireandice9008]

So just how bad is the Motel 6? Like drug dealers and hookers bad, or just kinda...fancy free? I'm not looking for much more than a place crash for a couple nights, but also don't wanna get in a mexican standoff or Marauderjacked. It's pretty much between that and the Days Inn at this point, just trying to figure out how many vital organs I have to sell :lol:

Edit: Looking at Days Inn's website it's showing the "Biltmore east" unavailable, I'll call them when I can and see if they're completely booked.

[IwantmyMMnow!]

It's ranked #56 out of 58 hotels in Asheville. Most of the complaints are non-smoking rooms smell like smoke, not clean enough, and there are a couple of trains that roll through during the night...the hotel is right next to the tracks. (duh!)

It appears that the hotel is under relatively new management, though. I remember back in 2011 (when I was living in SC and coming up here every other weekend to see my kids) reading that this Motel 6 was involved with an APD sting operation involving drugs/hookers, so my opinion is mostly based off of that. Also, there's a gas station right next to it that I get gas from on occasion and I've seen 'sketchy' characters walking to/from the hotel.

I would hate for someone to stay there and have something happen to them or their MM; yes, it's true it can happen anywhere, but I would say it's more likely at this place...

There are a few hotels in Black Mountain, which is about 15-20 mins east of me....

[fireandice9008]

Cool, thanks for the heads up. I figured something was up with is being so cheap, kinda the whole "too good to be true thing"...

On the same note though, I looked into the quality inn you listed and, allegedly, if you join their free rewards thing it drops it to 135/night for advance reservation. We may have a winner!

Who all is coming so far?

[IwantmyMMnow!]

If you can find a cheaper place in another part of town, go for it. I just got quotes from the hotes that are near the entry point for the BRP to make logistics easy vs having people scattered all over....which doesn't look like an issue this year since it's just you and me and maybe Roadwarrior, pending his situation.

The BRP run is still in its infant stages, so it'll have to crawl before it can run...;). I'll try to get a better jump on it next year to help draw a bigger crowd; sucks there's not a TK or Hooters or the like in town...:o.

[Roadwarrior]

Last year when I was with Kyle for BRP 2012, I stayed at The Mountain Inn & Suites in Hendersonville,NC (approx. 25 miles from Asheville) for the night & at the time, I paid @ $140/night through Travelocity with a free hot breakfast, clean comfortable rooms, plenty of restaurants nearby & close to I-26.

[BillFromSC]

Hi to all the Marauder owners from the Carolinas. Just thought I'd stop by and let you know there is another Marauder owner in the Carolinas. Just picked up a 2003 Black, basically stock. 127,000 miles on it but seems like it was well taken care of. Florida car. I've been shopping for one for a while and got this one for a pretty good price, and it seems to have potential to be really nice. I plan on going through it thoroughly, getting everything right, then I plan on doing some minor tuning, nothing really big at this point. Anyway, its good to know there are other enthusiasts not too far away. If it is at all possible I'm going to try to do the BRP run and maybe meet at least 2 or 3 others or more. I've got a lot of questions, and I really want to see, in person, what others are doing.

Glad to be here,
Bill
Charleston, SC

[fireandice9008]

Since I failed to formally welcome you in the other thread... Welcome to the sickness!! I'm new to Marauders too, i've only had mine since mid May. I'm also not (in the grand scheme of things) that far from you, between Little River and Wilmington. Hopefully you can make the BRP run, sounds like it'll be a good time.

Also, if you're interested there's an all Ford show in wilmington the weekend prior.

[IwantmyMMnow!]

Hi to all the Marauder owners from the Carolinas. Just thought I'd stop by and let you know there is another Marauder owner in the Carolinas. Just picked up a 2003 Black, basically stock. 127,000 miles on it but seems like it was well taken care of. Florida car. I've been shopping for one for a while and got this one for a pretty good price, and it seems to have potential to be really nice. I plan on going through it thoroughly, getting everything right, then I plan on doing some minor tuning, nothing really big at this point. Anyway, its good to know there are other enthusiasts not too far away. If it is at all possible I'm going to try to do the BRP run and maybe meet at least 2 or 3 others or more. I've got a lot of questions, and I really want to see, in person, what others are doing.

Glad to be here,
Bill
Charleston, SC

Glad to have you aboard! Joint-Base Charleston was my last duty station before I retired at the end of 2011; lived in Goose Creek before I moved up here to Asheville in Jan 2012. I might come down there in December; if I do, I'll give you a holler.

[fireandice9008]

Well, just made my reservation. I'll be at the Super 8 on tunnel road. Not exactly my first choice, but it was hard to beat the rate with the state government discount, and it doesn't look like i'm toooo terribly far from the shenanigans. Plan as of right now is to roll into town lunch/early afternoon Friday and head out Sunday.

OH! And my new tires are in!! :burnout:

[IwantmyMMnow!]

Sounds good. You're right across the street from Waffle House and kiddie-corner to a biker bar that I've visited a couple of times. The mall is 2 mins away and you'll be 10 mins from where I live as well as the entry point to the BRP. I drive right by that hotel almost every day.

The ex requested her weekend with the kids for the weekend before, so I'll have my kids that weekend, which means no late-night 'fun', unfortunately.

Glad you'll be coming up!

[03mmmonroe]

Sounds good. You're right across the street from Waffle House and kiddie-corner to a biker bar that I've visited a couple of times. The mall is 2 mins away and you'll be 10 mins from where I live as well as the entry point to the BRP. I drive right by that hotel almost every day.

The ex requested her weekend with the kids for the weekend before, so I'll have my kids that weekend, which means no late-night 'fun', unfortunately.

Glad you'll be coming up!

Hello Kyle, Dana and I will be attending the BRP trip. see you in alt.Ga.

[fireandice9008]

Hello Kyle, Dana and I will be attending the BRP trip. see you in alt.Ga.

That makes 3! We're working on a decent little convoy :banana2:

And no worries about no late night shenanigans, I tend to get myself in trouble without adequate adult supervision anyway...

[IwantmyMMnow!]

Hello Kyle, Dana and I will be attending the BRP trip. see you in alt.Ga.

That's awesome news, Russ. It'll be great to see you guys up here!


That makes 3! We're working on a decent little convoy :banana2:

No doubt...if Richard (Roadwarrior) can gets his MM fixed in time, we'll double last year's count....I may actually have to do a little 'coordinating' this year...:lol:

[Roadwarrior]

Latest update from the visit to the body shop before heading to MVXI that it MAY BE ready in 2 weeks. From the past predictions before, its wait & see if this comes to fruition.

[IwantmyMMnow!]

Just wanted to let y'all know I'm in the process of getting things finalized and whatnot for the BRP run and will post up detailed info from start to finish by the end of this week....

[IwantmyMMnow!]

I've updated the itinerary, which is attached to the first post. I decided it would just be easier (time-wise) to drive south one-way and have dinner in Waynesville versus driving back to the entry point. I also added to the bad weather itinerary going to the NC Arboretum after lunch; there are multiple indoor displays, which would be welcomed if the weather is not cooperative. There is an $8 parking fee, but no other costs once on the grounds.

For those that need to get on the road to get back home after we are off the BRP, Interstate 40 is about 15 minutes from Waynesville. If we're at the Arboretum due to bad weather, I-26 and I-40 are 10 minutes from there.

If we have dinner in Waynesville, I know of a great seafood place if that's okay with everyone. If we're closer to Asheville due to bad weather, there are several places too choose from.

For those that are coming in Friday and would like to meet for dinner, I'd like to show off Asheville's best BBQ at Luella's that evening. I ate there for lunch today...had the Luelephant, which is brisket, pulled pork, and bacon with slaw and a light BBQ mayo on Texas Toast....sooo good.

http://luellasbbq.com/

Attached are a couple of maps of the Asheville area; the meeting spot Saturday morning will be at the Ingles (or iMarket) gas station. This will give anyone who needs to fill their tank an opportunity to do so, as well as get any snacks/drinks/etc for the drive. We'll be having lunch around 1pm.

There are restrooms at the Folk Art Center, BRP HQ visitor center, Pisgah Inn Restaurant, and the Waterrock Knob visitors center. Make sure you 'take care of business' :D before we leave the restaurant, as it will be about 2 hours before we make a stop that has restrooms.

I plan to make a practice run of the itinerary within the next week or so to see if my projected times are reasonable. I'll also scout out a few restaurant choices for dinner Saturday night and post them up by the first weekend in Oct.

As always, suggestions/comments/questions are welcomed....

[Mebot]

Nice to see you using some of my satellite imagery! :):thumbup:

sent from a Samsung Galaxy far far away..

[IwantmyMMnow!]

Nice to see you using some of my satellite imagery! :):thumbup:

sent from a Samsung Galaxy far far away..

I took those pics a couple weeks ago when I was zipping around in my private helicopter....:rolleyes:

[fireandice9008]

Sounds like a plan to me. Now...keep in mind i'm from Eastern NC, so you'll have to impress me with the bbq and seafood :lol:

But i'll try almost anything once :D

[IwantmyMMnow!]

Had lunch at Luella's again yesterday. Man, I scored big time! I usually get their pulled pork BBQ, but they had smoked kielbasa marinated/glazed in Green Man Ale w/carmelized onions on special. For my sides I had Mac n hoop cheese and jumbalaya, with the customary hush puppies and slaw.

I gotta stop going there so much...my waist gets bigger while my pockets get smaller...:rolleyes:

[IwantmyMMnow!]

Just wanted to let everyone know that most, if not all, of the facilities on the BRP are closed due to the gov't shutdown.

If these facilities are not reopened by Oct 16th, I will cancel this year's BRP run; this should give those with hotel reservations enough time to cancel them.

I will monitor the situation and will post up when/if the facilities re-open.

[IwantmyMMnow!]

Another update....sorta.

On Sunday I plan on driving what I've got planned in the itinerary to get a eyeballs-on-target feel for what's going on with the BRP. Will post up what I find out that evening.

Again, if having a successful BRP run hinges on the gov't shutdown, the decision to canx the BRP run will be made, by me, on Wednesday to give everyone time to canx their hotel reservations.

Stay tuned...

[fireandice9008]

Anxiously awaiting news. Even if canceled I may come up anyway, i've got some friends between here and there I haven't seen in a while.

[03mmmonroe]

Another update....sorta.

On Sunday I plan on driving what I've got planned in the itinerary to get a eyeballs-on-target feel for what's going on with the BRP. Will post up what I find out that evening.

Again, if having a successful BRP run hinges on the gov't shutdown, the decision to canx the BRP run will be made, by me, on Wednesday to give everyone time to canx their hotel reservations.

Stay tuned...

Hello Kyle, Russ and Dana will not be able to go. Just found out Dana parents have planned a reunion the same Saturday in TN. Sorry maybe next time.

[IwantmyMMnow!]

Hate to do this, but with what looks like another week of gov't shutdown, I regret to say this year's BRP run is canxed. The BRP is open, but all of the facilities are closed until further notice.

Figured it's better to go ahead and canx it now to give everyone that was planning on coming out enough time to canx their hotel reservations.

I didn't make it out on the BRP as I had planned today...rainy weather and a late night last night kept me from making the trip.

I'll bump this once/twice a day all week to make sure it is not missed.

No BRP run this year...:alone:

[IwantmyMMnow!]

.......bump.....

[fireandice9008]

Solid copy. Hate to hear it, but things happen. Thank you for the dedication you've had through this. FWIW there's a car show the weekend of the 2nd i'm thinking about coming up for if you'd be interested in doing a mini-meet or something.