A Z4 Tour of Haunted Houses—and the Devil's Mercedes

[Rick F.]

Originally Posted by Loogey Clapp

Rick, another fantastic outing in a long line of excellent stories. Geez! It is amazing some of the things you put that Z through!! Perhaps when you publish your book, you otta call it, "The Little Z That Could".

LC,

Great idea for a title. There's no way my poor long-suffering Z should be able to get into--and back out of--some of the places I've taken it.

Fortunately, it never seems to mind and is always ready to take on the next adventure!

Rick

[Rick F.]

Originally Posted by Huz-Z

Yet another fun read! Dont worry about the mud on the Z. In the words of Jason Plato, a filthy car is a cool car!!

Huz-Z,

Well, if Jason Plato (British Touring Car racing driver) says it's okay, then it must be okay!

When I got back home after that trip, I thoroughly hosed off the underside of the Z4. I must have left an inch of mud covering my entire driveway!

Rick

[Rick F.]

Originally Posted by fairlady_z

oOooo spoooky!!

fairlady_z,

Glad you enjoyed it! (And I hope it didn't keep you awake at night for too long… )

Rick

[Rick F.]

Originally Posted by EenyBear

Fantastic! Thanks again for some great mid-morning entertainment.
I second the suggestion for a book of some sort. Worth doing.
Cheers.

EenyBear,

Thanks much! Some day I'll work on that book. I may not be able to retire on the profits, as Twisted Six suggested above, but I'm sure the movie rights will go for big bucks!

Rick

[Rick F.]

Originally Posted by Yeggman

Rick, I would not mess with the SLK if you ever see it again.

If I ran up on a red glowing Benz with a license tag of 666, I might take up another hobby.

Yeggman,

Well, I have to admit that you do have a point there…

And you should have seen his / her /its eyes!

Rick

[2mnycars]

Thanks Rick! Fascinating. Beautiful images. Incredible Tale. I feel so blessed that you share your journeys with us.
I had missed this one; appreciate finding it today, with your help.

911 is in the garage, with battery tender plugged in. We have snowtires on, so we can take it out. (We set out on a butter tart quest a couple of weeks ago. We had a route, and bakeries selected by the newspaper experts. North of Highway 7 we encountered blowing snow. We were happy we had the winter Pirellis on the 911. found a wonderful restaurant filled with farmers and truckers. They made room, and we stayed. The butter tart was worth the trip! The things I do after weigh in, at Weight Watchers.)

Thanks for the incredible tale! Appreciate the friendship here.

DaveL

[2mnycars]

Originally Posted by Rick F.

Huz-Z,

Well, if Jason Plato (British Touring Car racing driver) says it's okay, then it must be okay!

When I got back home after that trip, I thoroughly hosed off the underside of the Z4. I must have left an inch of mud covering my entire driveway!

Rick

It's what we do with cars that make them special. My head turns with every Z4 I see. (We found a Z4 with a tin roof. 335 IIRC. Sorry we didn't bring it home. It was calling my name. )

[J-Thurm]

These write ups are great. I love going to old dwellings, houses, buildings, etc. You've found quite a few good spots. I'm still loving your post(s) and if you ever come through KY, let me know and we can take both of our Z4's out for a haunted house cruise.

[Finnegan]

Ah, another great one! The bridge at the end, and the story, reminded me a bit of good ol' Washington Irving (The Legend of Sleepy Hollow), but with you doing the chasing--which was probably for the best! I love the driving commentary--trail braking, ABS chattering--yes, great stuff!

That picture of the sunset/clouds, and the blue heron, well, heck, all of it, it's simply wonderful. The blue heron reminds me of the last one I saw in Wyoming, about 12" from our windshield. He flew right across our path, and fortunately the air current and turbulence pattern created a what I think must have been a buffer, and he continued on his way, as did we (although my heart skipped many a beat). They have quiet a wingspan!

Thanks Rick!

Originally Posted by 2mnycars

It's what we do with cars that make them special. My head turns with every Z4 I see.

I couldn't agree more. The memories that we make, friendships that we create, our connection to our cars and to others who share our passion--that is what makes them special indeed. My car has taken me places I never expected to be, and connected me with a lot of wonderful people as well (many on this forum in fact).

[fairlady_z]

Originally Posted by Rick F.

fairlady_z,

Glad you enjoyed it! (And I hope it didn't keep you awake at night for too long… )

Rick

Lol. It was honestly quite entertaining

[bassrebel]

A little late... but As always, thoroughly enjoyed... I'd love to do something like that in Central Florida... if someone knows places around here let me know!

[Rick F.]

Originally Posted by 2mnycars

Thanks Rick! Fascinating. Beautiful images. Incredible Tale. I feel so blessed that you share your journeys with us.
I had missed this one; appreciate finding it today, with your help.

911 is in the garage, with battery tender plugged in. We have snowtires on, so we can take it out. (We set out on a butter tart quest a couple of weeks ago. We had a route, and bakeries selected by the newspaper experts. North of Highway 7 we encountered blowing snow. We were happy we had the winter Pirellis on the 911. found a wonderful restaurant filled with farmers and truckers. They made room, and we stayed. The butter tart was worth the trip! The things I do after weigh in, at Weight Watchers.)

Thanks for the incredible tale! Appreciate the friendship here.

DaveL

Dave,

I'm glad you found (and liked) the haunted house tour. I've almost caught up with my reports--only one more to go, unless I get back out on the road before it's written. Actually, my most recent trip was done in two parts, since I ran out of daylight long before I finished the route. But I'll combine it into one report (and see if anyone notices the change in light conditions three-fourths of the way through!)

Regarding the 911, it's amazing how "usable" they are year-round, despite their supercar capabilities. For comparison, imagine driving any of the newer Ferraris in Canada all year! I'm glad you found Canada's Best Butter Tart.

Your subsequent post nicely summed up the camaraderie associated with cars and driving. I've had complete strangers give me a tour of their town, and it's always fun to "compare places been and things done" with other enthusiasts.

Rick

[Rick F.]

Originally Posted by J-Thurm

These write ups are great. I love going to old dwellings, houses, buildings, etc. You've found quite a few good spots. I'm still loving your post(s) and if you ever come through KY, let me know and we can take both of our Z4's out for a haunted house cruise.

J-Thurm,

Thanks! I'll make it to Kentucky one of these days. In fact, the latest issue of RoadRunner magazine has a nice 4-part tour that uses Bowling Green as its home base.

Rick

[Rick F.]

Originally Posted by Finnegan

Ah, another great one! The bridge at the end, and the story, reminded me a bit of good ol' Washington Irving (The Legend of Sleepy Hollow), but with you doing the chasing--which was probably for the best! I love the driving commentary--trail braking, ABS chattering--yes, great stuff!

That picture of the sunset/clouds, and the blue heron, well, heck, all of it, it's simply wonderful. The blue heron reminds me of the last one I saw in Wyoming, about 12" from our windshield. He flew right across our path, and fortunately the air current and turbulence pattern created a what I think must have been a buffer, and he continued on his way, as did we (although my heart skipped many a beat). They have quiet a wingspan!

Thanks Rick!



I couldn't agree more. The memories that we make, friendships that we create, our connection to our cars and to others who share our passion--that is what makes them special indeed. My car has taken me places I never expected to be, and connected me with a lot of wonderful people as well (many on this forum in fact).

Finnegan,

Glad you enjoyed the trip report, including the tall tale at the end! Perhaps a headless SLK driver would have been better...

Regarding your near-miss with the Great Blue Heron, I suspect that his (or her) heartbeat probably missed a few as well! On time on a drive, a GBH flew right along the road ahead of me, only about 15 feet in the air. I clocked him at over 30 mph, and I don't think he was trying all that hard.

Rick

[Rick F.]

Originally Posted by bassrebel

A little late... but As always, thoroughly enjoyed... I'd love to do something like that in Central Florida... if someone knows places around here let me know!

BR,

I'm glad you enjoyed the report. Abandoned houses are always intriguing, and some day I might be tempted to explore a bit indoors.

One of the few times that I went inside an abandoned mansion didn't turn out as I thought it would… (See Trespassing Treasure (PA Ghost Towns) for the details!)

Good luck finding some good touring spots in Florida--be sure to tell us about them when you do.

Rick

[2mnycars]

Rick, our P-cab 4S has snow tires on, and a battery tender plugged in. Ultimate 911 forme; my wife would like a turbo-cab. Our Cayenne is an amazing vehicle. Handling is so much more fun than any other suv we've had. Truly a sports truck. Carries our 2 Goldens so well my cr-v is my go everywhere vehicle. In and out of construction sites. No it's not a sportscar.
Tried a 530 wagon with 4 wheel drive. Sure can't claim that as a sports car!

Your haunted story reminded me of an audit I did at Kingston Pen when I was a baby engineer. Visit was aFter a riot in '71, in '73 or so. Haunted.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kingston_Penitentiary

In another lifetime I got to work as an engineer, consulting in 15 active jails.

Have you travelled/toured any jails? Life behind the Sally port sure appears different. No, I don't have any pictures.