Waterfest adventures (long)

[Jim Jarrett <jarrett@rpa.net>]

Whew.

I finally have a chance to catch my breath and file a report from the 
Rochester NY crew......

THURSDAY 7/27

TBerk and Kevin:Collins are on red-eyes inbound to Rochester.  I have 
a department picnic at work, and drive my Rabbit 16v convertible to 
work, planning to style the CA dudes around.  I've only been driving 
the car about a week since   getting it back together enough to 
drive.  My coworkers ooh and ahh over it.

I go to leave for the airport, turn the key, and the starter motor 
comes on and runs...and runs...and runs....until it burns out.  How 
embarassing is this?  I get a ride home to get my other car and go 
pick up Kevin:Collins and TBerk.

We go get another starter and Brett, and head out to my car, where we 
swap the starter....and promptly fry it, too.

I call for a flatbed ride home.  They send a tow truck.  I call 
again.  Finally, about 11pm, my car arrives home.  The seriously 
jet-lagged boyz crash, I sink into a deep depression.

FRIDAY 7/28

We meet Brett V in downtown Rochester for a quick lunch at the Empire 
Brewing Co., a quick tour of the scenic Genesee River gorge, and then 
over to my house for a marathon diagnostic session.

After much poking and prodding about, we find a wire from the engine 
swap that grounds when it shouldn't (thanks to TBerk's quick eyesite 
and a wisp of smoke..).  That, and several other loose electrical 
connectors get fixed, and finally, the car starts.  Even after I told 
Brett to just give up, it's hosed, it's not going to Waterfest.  He 
was unstoppable; on a mission.

So finally about midnight, the tools get put away, and we head home. 
We stop by the airport to pick up Chris Gonzalas, but his flight's 
been delayed again, so he's not getting in until 2am.  We get home, I 
throw together some stuff for the trip in the morning, and Chris 
arrives.  We crash.

(early) SATURDAY 7/29

One more nagging problem with my car is fixed, again thanks to Brett 
and a properly-applied toilet bowl gasket to the coolant level sensor 
in my tank.  We take off for New Joisy; Brett in his white 16v, Mike 
Leach in his red 16v, and me in my Rabbit convertible.

Kevin:Collins decided to take up roadside botany and toxic waste 
management along the way.  The phrase "PIT STOP! PIT STOP! PIT STOP!" 
was called out more than once on the Talkabouts.....I'll leave it to 
others to explain this...:)

3pm, 7/29

We arrive.  The Scirocco list had a big chunk of one side of the 
hotel, so we dove right in on a detailing frenzy.  Got to see a bunch 
of people that we only see at WF, : and TBerk got to meet & be met; 
burnouts, burnouts, burnouts!  Max Power photographed Josh Able's 
Seidl-equipped car; burnouts, burnouts, burnouts!

Down by where the Toronto crew was parked, I see a white 16v.  I 
think, "Oh my GOD!  Brett is letting the Mad Bastard drive his car! 
WHY?"

No.

Paul Maione has done it.  He has Brett's car c. 1998.  The fairly 
straight but filthy 16v that Paul bought from Daun now looks like 
Brett's car.....having his old Villians on it, with Euro lights, 
bumpers, side markers...that helps.  Botch Boy, where are you?

At dinner, a shot-buying frenzy broke out.  For some reason (Brett?) 
Josh, TBerk, Rich Deede, and a couple other people started trying to 
liquor me up.  All I know/remember is that they were Goldschlager and 
Rumplemintz....

The evening wore on, more burnouts, more listers showed up (Mad Matt 
as Jonas' chauffeur), fun fun fun.  Back at our hotel room, we get a 
call from the Potterpeople; we'd left them a message at dinner, and 
they called back.  All I remember saying to them is something like, 
"Dude, we are so wasted here." :-)

And then Mike Leach made a crack about unfrosted poptarts, Brett 
brings his mom into the mix, bottles to the ground, and I had to step 
in and break it up. (not really, but that's our cover story for how 
Brett got a black eye and ripped a contact.  The truth is not that 
exciting, and this story sounds better.)

6am 7/30

We jump out of bed, bright-tailed and bushy-eyed.  Guess that's what 
a bunch of shots will do for ya.  Look out the window.  IT'S 
POURING. >:-(  So we get up, take aspirin, drink water, eat poptarts, 
and head on down to the cars.

Where I find that the seals between my drivers door and convertible 
top really aren't quite right.  Puddle in the front floor, and it 
drips constantly as we head to the show.  UGH.

We get to the show, set up, etc.  There are pix, someone will post 
some so you get an idea of what was up.  There were 26 Sciroccos - 
that's awesome!  Almost as many as were at New Dimensions, even given 
how harsh the climate is here.  Only 3 Mk 1's tho....shows how rare a 
good one is in the Northeast.

The rain stops about 8:30; while it never got sunny, at least it 
wasn't raining.  We watched the weather later and found out that 
other parts of New Jersey got up to 3 inches of rain.  How bad would 
that have sucked?

Back to the hotel for dinner and more bs'ing around our cars.  Jason 
The Mad Bastard went up against each other across the parking lot.

7/31

All of us that were left have breakfast in the hotel, then head out. 
We head up I-80 thru Jersey.  We were just doing a speed check when 
surprise!  One of NJ's finest is right there.  It was darn nice of 
the three of us to help him make his July quota.  Yeah, we got nabbed 
for going 83 in a 65.  We would have been ok except there was some 
doofus in a red Lumina that wasn't letting us in, so we sped up to 
pass him.  Bad timing.  OTOH, I was surprised that my car was doing 
that speed (my speedo doesn't work).

Needless to say, we were a bit more sedate on the return trip.

We hang out at Brett's, surf for porn^H^H^H^H pix of 'Roccs, eat 
dinner, stuff like that.

8/1

Kevin:Collins, TBerk, and Chris crash one more night in Rochester, 
and I take them to the airport bright and early (groan).  To throw 
one more harsh in the mellow, after dropping them off and heading to 
work in my Passat, just about to work I blow a rear tire.......so I 
get to get two brand-new Dunlop SP8K's.  Woo hoo!!!

But even with all the groove crushing that went on, I still had a 
great time, and I hope Kevin:, TBerk, and Chris did too....I think 
Chris is already planning next year.....
-- 

/===============================================================\
| Jim Jarrett                      http://www2.rpa.net/~jarrett |
| mailto:jarrett@rpa.net                                        |
|                                                               |
|    Any problem can be solved with the proper application of   |
|   Force, Heat, Chemicals, or Money.                           |
\===============================================================/



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