Drives Corner

March 30th

Our first Driving tour of 2024 started at the Minit-Mart off I-75 Exit 129 in Georgetown.  We had 25 Bluegrass Region members and guests in 15 Porsches and 1 Lexus RX join the fun.

After everyone signed insurance waivers and roster, we lined up and headed north on US-25 towards Williamstown.  We then headed east on KY-22 E, a road with lots of curves and elevation changes.  We were lucky that we didn’t have a lot of traffic, with the exception of a water tank truck stopped in the middle of the road and a Hearse that we followed for a few miles.  Since we had 16 cars with headlights on, on-coming traffic pulled over and stopped (a Kentucky small-town tradition) because they assumed we were in a funeral procession! 

After a break in Falmouth, we continued east to the Blue Licks Battlefield State Park, where we had a delicious lunch buffet at the lodge restaurant.

April 21st

Twenty-Four Bluegrass Region members in twelve Porsches met at the old Waffle House parking lot off of Newtown Pike Sunday afternoon at 3:30 PM.  After everyone signed roster and Insurance Waivers and a divers meeting, we lined up and headed out.  We were in one group with Larry Dukes in the Lead and Larry McVey in sweep position.  Jamie Donaldson left early to set up for a photo of the group on a hill outside of Stamping Ground.

We headed north and west and enjoyed the back roads through Fayette, Scott, Franklin and Woodford Counties.  The route included a 5-mile stretch of 1 ½ lane road that kept everyone’s attention!  We passed the Switzer Covered Bridge and drove Old Frankfort Pike from Duckers Station Road to US-62.  The total drive was 44 miles and took about an hour and fifteen minutes..

The social was at the Brown Barrel restaurant in Midway, one of the club’s favorites that we try to do once a year. Our server, Cassie provided great service, the food was great and Jamie Donaldson was the lucky winner of the free dinner drawing.

May 25th

It was another Saturday with great weather for a Bluegrass Region Driving Tour!  Fortunately, it was a sunny day that was sandwiched between a week of rain and Storms.

We had a bit of a SNAFU when we discovered that the parking lot of the Railroad Museum/Falling Springs Center was absolutely full due to Woodford County Schools graduation ceremonies, we called everyone and regrouped in the LEDVance parking lot about a ¼ mile away. Twenty-four members in Fourteen Porsches signed the roster and insurances waivers, then we had a brief Drivers/Safety meeting. 

We lined up and headed out to Lawrenceburg for a quick stop since our new meeting spot had no facilities.  The Route via US-62 and KY-44 was a scenic and interesting drive from Versailles through Woodford, Anderson, Shelby and Nelson counties to Bloomfield.  We passed Jerry Bruckheimer’s farm with its buried John Deere tractors on our way to Ernie’s Tavern in the Olde Bloomfield Meeting Hall.  

Patti and her staff did a good job providing lunch that tasted great, but definably isn’t “Fast Food”.  Everything is fresh, so it takes a while.  Some of the group was asking for their checks, before we got our food. But what the heck, more time to tell stories.  After lunch, we visited the soda fountain in the next room (adjacent to the bowling Alley) for ice cream and hot fudge sundaes.   If you haven’t been to Bloomfield, you really need to check it out!

June 16th

It was a hot Father’s Day, but we had a great group of thirty Bluegrass members in Twenty Porsches meet at the Racetrac Truck Stop in Frankfort and drive to Eckert’s Orchard in Versailles.  We took Duncan Road, McCracken Pike, US-60, McCowans Ferry Road, Lillards Ferry Road, Scotts Ferry Road, Troy Pike, Dry Ridge Road, Shannon Run Road and Pinckard Pike to arrive at the orchard.  Thirty-eight miles of Kentucky backroads! 

A special area was reserved for our group at the Orchard, and with Twenty Porsches lined up, it was an impressive sight!  Drive participants received a coupon from Eckert’s for a free box of cider, 6 free cider doughnuts, a box of free U-Pick-M fruit and an ice cream cone!!!!

There was a food truck that served really good food (the Loco Taco that Jamie D. had was HUGE!) and the beer wagon was busy on such a hot day. Megan Fields, Eckert’s General Manager, was so nice and very generous. She said we should make this an annual event.  We’ll see if we can make that happen.  

July 27th & 28th

Thirty Bluegrass Region members and Two Central Indiana Region members meet in Lexington Saturday morning for a drive southeastward to the Breaks Interstate Park in Virginia, just east of Elkhorn City, KY.  

The Breaks Park is known as the Grand Canyon of Appalachia and is a spectacular view from the lodge deck or from several overlooks throughout the Park (or as Larry McVey calls it, a bunch of trees!).  

The drive down included a drive through Red River Gorge (and for some of us, a couple miles on the Mountain Parkway).  After a break we then on to Hazard, where we stopped for lunch at Applebee’s. After lunch, we headed on to Whitesburg, then through Elkhorn City finally crossing into Virginia and arrived at the Park.  

Everyone checked into their rooms, except for George & Cindy Woolwine and Bill & Carol Larkin whose rooms were still being cleaned.  The Manager apologized and said they had two housekeepers fail to show and they were working to get them done.  We all met for dinner in the lodge restaurant. After dinner some of us visited overlooks, then we met back on the lodge deck to enjoy the evening and for some, wine.

Sunday, we had breakfast at the park restaurant, (Key & Felicia Willson were staying an extra day, so they didn’t join us). and then we lined up in two groups for the drive to Whitesburg and a break stop.  Then it was onto KY-7, a very “Eastern Kentucky Highway” that twisted through Coal Country.  The weather was great Saturday and Sunday it was fine until we got close to Garrett, KY, where we stopped to put our tops up. Luckily the rain didn’t spoil the weekend. There were lots of turns (and a few extra, when the group 1 leader missed a couple) but we finally made our way to Saylorsburg and the Mountain Parkway for the last leg of the trip to Natural Bridge State Park for a late lunch. 

August 24th

On a hot, sunny August Saturday afternoon, thirty-one Bluegrass Region Members in Eighteen Porsches met for our annual drive over Kentucky backroads to Ed and Tracy Steverson’s home for our annual Membership Appreciation event.

We gathered in the Football field parking lot of Great Crossings High School in Georgetown.  There was some confusion about which parking lot (it’s a huge facility), but we got together, then lined up in two groups of nine cars, signed in and after a drivers meeting, headed out towards Stamping Ground.  After having the joyful experience of following a tractor going 10 miles an hour for a few miles, we got around him and off we went. 

Our route took us from Stamping Ground west on KY-389 to US-127, then north past Monterey, onto KY-355 and then a stop for a break just shy of Gratz.  After the break, we headed west on KY-22 across the Kentucky River through Bethlehem to Pleasureville, where we headed south on US-421 for a couple of miles before heading west again on KY-43 to Elmburg.  Another turn south on KY-395 took us through Bagdad then to US-60 at Waddy for a left turn for five miles. We took a very hard-to-see right turn onto Bridgeport Road to KY-1665 (Evergreen Road), across US-127 to Lawrenceburg Road, then left for a few miles, another right onto Old Lawrenceburg Road and finally we arrived!  It was a 70-mile trip that had a good sample of Kentucky scenery.

Upon our arrival, we were greeted By Ed and directed to a parking area. Tables were set up with a BBQ dinner from Staxx in Frankfort.  After dinner, door prizes were drawn with Gary Whitaker winning the grand prize, a trip to the Porsche Experience in Atlanta!

October 6th

Our September Driving Tour to mammoth Cave was postponed from September 29th for a week to October 6th due to Hurricane Helene., a Gulf of Mexico Hurricane that destroyed Ashville, NC and caused flooding and tree damage throughout Kentucky.  The change of the date was a good move, the weather was wonderful (the last weekend of summer?), sunny and warm, definitely top-down weather.

Thirteen Bluegrass Region members met at the Bluegrass Railroad Museum in Versailles on Sunday morning.  We had eight Porsches, three Boxsters, two 911’s. a 930, a Macan and a beautiful red 356.  We welcomed new (again) member Chris Bowling for his first drive.  After a safety meeting, we lined up and headed west on US-62.  The trip took us through Lawrenceburg, Springfield, Lebanon (where we took a rest stop), Campbellsville, Cave City and then we reached our destination, Mammoth Cave National Park.  The drive was about 125 miles and took about 3 hours and had a combination of curving roads and straights through rolling hills.

After a bite to eat in the park restaurant, most members headed home, but Brian and Karla Young, Steve and Jenny Krolak and Larry and Shirley Dukes did the Historical Cave Tour.  This tour lasts 2 hours, is about 2 miles and you descend 105 feet into the biggest hole you’ll ever see! There where over 500 steps and the last 200 hundred or so where really rough for an old man with one working lung!

I believe that 2024 was a great year for Driving Tours.  I look forward to planning 2025 drives beginning in March (weather permitting). If you have an idea about a tour route please reach out to Larry Dukes.

February:

On Saturday, February 25th, we got together at the new Stuttgart Motors Garage at 701 North Broadway in Lexington to review the “Driving Techniques for Mountain and Winding Roads” slides. Coffee and snacks were served.  We want to  thank Shawn Leonard and Chris O’Callaghan for hosting this event.

April:

This was not an official PCA Drive.

A group of Bluegrass Region PCA members had a great time at the National Corvette Museum (NCM) racetrack on Friday April 7th.  We were there for the “Drive towards a Cure” event supporting Parkinson’s Disease research.  

Friday morning we met at the racetrack, checked in and attended the drivers meeting.  We lined up (approximately 40 cars).  There was a mix of car brands, including Corvettes, Mustangs, Camaro, a Lamborghini, and Miata’s and of course, Porsches. 

We did Lead-follow on the 3.2 mile road course with three or four cars behind the lead Corvette or Camaro for four laps then returned to get in line for the next run. I really enjoyed having the Boxster on the track going as fast as I could!! I ended up doing seven 4-lap turns.  Almost 90 miles on a really cool racetrack!

It was fun being with Bluegrass Region members Michael Love, Mike Scanlon, Dawn Scanlon and Brian Young.  

The price of $279 plus tax is very reasonable (and $100 of that is a donation to Parkinson disease research).  I highly recommended anyone wanting to get their Porsche on a racetrack try this adventure!

April:

On Saturday, April 22nd, thirteen Porsches and 21 Bluegrass Region members met at 11:00 AM at the Sunshine Food Mart (and Shell station). The weather cooperated (in spite of the gloomy forecast) and was mostly sunny but cool.  Paul and Maureen Elwyn had the top down (hardy folks)!!!  

We left the parking lot about 11:45 heading west KY 78.  Unfortunately, right after leaving the lot, John Akin had a flat tire. Cal Chrisman stopped with him to help repair the tire, Bill confirmed they were okay then joined the group.  Jamie Donaldson went ahead and set up for “on-the-road” pictures then rejoined the group. We then had eleven cars that stayed together for the duration of the drive.  

We arrived at the Cheddars Restaurant in Danville around 1:00 and were seated closely together as a group.  Everyone seemed to enjoy the drive and lunch.

May:

The May 2023 Driving Tour & Social was so much fun!  The route was recommended John Akin last year.  When I was planning for a June drive, I looked at the route and thought it could be really nice.  

All week the weather report had been for rain on Saturday.  I check several different apps and thought that while it probably will rain in the morning, but our afternoon drive should be dry (with fingers crossed). Sure enough, it was raining when I woke up, but by 10 AM it was starting to clear.  By the 12:30 meeting time it was dry!              

We had twenty-two members (including new members and first-time drive participants Brad and Diane Long and Joseph Tutewiler) meet up at the Shell Station in Georgetown, with twelve Porsches.  After the drivers meeting, Bill Griffin & Cheryl Tate left to position for photos and we started the drive.  

We had a rest stop in Falmouth and arrived at Biancke’s around 3:45.  The drive was fun and there were no incidents.  Dinner at Biancke’s was great! 

June:

Saturday morning June 25th, it was raining hard, but by noon it had stopped.  Twenty-Six BRPCA members in 16 Porsches met at Penney’s in Frankfort at 1:30. We left at 2:00, made it through the detour and took a rest break at Smitty’s Marathon station in Gratz. After the break we headed out and drove back roads to the Sunset Grill in Warsaw, KY, right on the Ohio River.  My Boxster is in the Body Shop so I was going to lead the drive in our 2013 Cayenne S. I discovered that in Sport Mode and Manual mode that it definitely was a Porsche! It handled great.

The food was good and the camaraderie was terrific!  Vicky McVay won the free meal drawing.  

The only downside was there were Mayflies around, but they pretty much stayed off of the deck. When we finished eating and were leaving, it started sprinkling light rain.  So we sandwiched our Driving Tour and Social between the morning rain and the evening storms, with a sunny, warm afternoon 

We welcomed three new members to the club and to driving tours:  Forrest Hirsh (who bears a striking resemblance to Will Power), Bill Lancaster and Daniel Leddy.   

July:

Mike Love has been saying “Let’s do a drive to Eastern Kentucky/Virginia and stay overnight” for at least a year.  I liked the idea, but frankly, I was a bit intimidated by the logistics of pulling it off and wasn’t sure how many members would want to go.  I found that with a lot of planning, talking with Erik Hubbard (Backroads of Appalachia Director), using Mike’s knowledge of the area and a trip to scout the roads, restaurants, hotel and area attractions, we could handle the logistics.  When we started promoting the event, we found that there was interest.  

Day one of our Driving Tour started with everyone gathering in the Kroger parking lot in Richmond.  After a safety meeting we organized the cars with me leading, Neil Fisher in the middle and Mike Love as sweep.  We were able to have enough radios for every car to have one to monitor communications.  

It was about a 90 minute drive to Manchester where we took our first break.  It was so cool to have all of those Porsches lined up. The locals cruised by admiring them the whole time we were there.  Then we were off to Hyden, Wooton, Slemp and finally Cumberland for a break.  We took a short drive to Lynch to stop at the Dragon Slayer Welcome center where Whitney and Lindsey were waiting for us. They gave us Sharpies to sign the building behind the shop, take pictures of our cars and to sell Dragon Slayer merchandise. They told us a State Trooper and an Ambulance had gone up Dragon Slayer about an hour ago so be careful.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 

As we pulled out of the Welcome Center we were on the Dragon Slayer.  Great fun (if you like to turn the steering wheel)!  We did see a group of Motorcycles on a pull off with one that had crashed.  When we arrived at the Jebediah Memorial Overlook at the Kentucky/Virginia State Line, the Trooper was parked on the Kentucky side. We are at the top of Black Mountain with an elevation of 4,145 Ft. it’s the Highest point in Kentucky.  After a break to take pictures, we were off to head down the mountain and finish the Dragon Slayer.

Once in Virginia we stopped in Norton to have dinner at the WoodBooger Grill.  They had us in a back room and the food and service was really good. While we were eating, a heck of a thunderstorm came through; luckily we weren’t driving in it.  After dinner it was on to hotel for a good night’s sleep to get ready for Sunday!

Day two started out damp and foggy, but that didn’t stop our group from driving to High Knob Tower on top of Stone Mountain. The good news, it wasn’t that wet. The bad news, the tower was fogged in and we couldn’t see much.  A bit disappointing, but everyone enjoyed the wild flowers and the walk.

We then drove to Prestonsburg, KY for lunch at “Billy Ray’s”.  It was a hour wait, but that gave us a chance to chat and get to know each other better.  The food made the wait worth it! The Rotisserie Chicken was superb! The service was good as well. 

That ended the official drive, so everyone went separate ways to get home.  We had a small group drive together to Lexington. 

This was our first attempt at an overnight drive since I’ve been Drive Chair.  I’m so glad it went well.  I want to thank everyone who attended plus Shirley, Mike & Kathy Love for their help in making it a success.

August:

Happy Anniversary!! The 20th Anniversary of the Bluegrass Region PCA was celebrated with the annual Membership Appreciation Drive on Saturday August 19th.  Larry Dukes (Drive Chair) was out of town, so Mike Love and David Patrick lead the drive.

Forty-three members gathered at Ramsey’s on Harrodsburg Road and drove through Fayette, Jessamine, Boyle, Anderson and Franklin Counties to arrive at Ed and Tracy Steverson’s home for the celebration.  

September:

Last year after a Driving Tour, Cal Chrisman told me that we ought to drive “The Rattlesnake”   I didn’t really know about it, but it was in the “Backroads of Appalachia” app.  After checking it out, I found that it runs between London and Somerset.  I talked with Mike Love about doing the route and he suggested that we drive south from Somerset to Cumberland Falls State Park. 

On Sunday, September 24th, twenty-one members & three children in Sixteen Porsches met in London, KY and drove KY-192 (“The Rattlesnake”) to Cumberland Falls State Park for lunch.   We stopped at the Rattlesnake Souvenir Shack for a break and souvenirs.

After a great lunch at the Riverview Restaurant, we visited Cumberland Falls.  The weather was perfect, the Porsches were beautiful, the soft-serve ice cream was delicious and all of the participants seemed to have a really nice day.

October:

It was a beautiful autumn day for our Fall Charity Drive, sunny and 65 degrees! 

We met at the Peoples Bank in Georgetown at 1:30.  There were  twenty-two Porsches of every variety (including three 356’s). We split into two groups and departed Georgetown and drove to Frankfort via US-460 (Jamie Donaldson took a couple of great pictures of each group approaching Longview Golf Course) and drove past the Kentucky Capital building.  Leaving Frankfort we drove to Lawrenceburg and took a short break before heading out and taking US-62 past the Wild Turkey Distillery, over the Kentucky River then to Versailles.  Passing the Railroad Museum Park, we headed out KY-33 and ended up on KY-169 to the 1922 House Winery in Nicholasville! 

Brian and Karla Young hosted the event at their Winery and we thank them so much for having us. There were over 40 BRPCA members at the event and we had snacks and collected donations for the UK Children’s Hospital. Great weather, great cars, great roads and great people!

In the first year as Driving Tours Chair, I was able to organize and conduct a driving tour each month from March through October. In July, we conducted a drive on PCA Friday as part of this year’s Keeneland Concours. I hope you enjoy the highlights for 2022 and hope you join us for our drives in 2023 through the beautiful bluegrass country.

A synopsis of the drives follows:

March: A drive from Frankfort, KY to Warsaw, KY to have lunch at The Sunset Grill. Fifty-four members in thirty-two cars participated in the drive.

April: A drive from Lexington, KY to Bardstown, KY to have lunch at Colton’s Steakhouse. Twenty-one members in thirteen cars participated in the drive.

May: A drive from Lexington, KY to Ravenna, KY to have lunch at the Old Timers Café. Twenty-three members in sixteen cars participated in the drive.

June: A drive from Lexington, KY to Berea, KY and back. Lunch was at Papaleno’s Restaurant in Berea. Twenty-six members in eighteen cars participated in the drive.

July: We held a drive as part of PCA Friday at Keeneland. The drive was from Keeneland (Lexington, KY) through horse farm country including at stop at the WinStar Farm Stallion Barn for a tour, then back to Keeneland. Sixty-seven members from five regions, in thirty-six cars participated in the drive.

2022 PCA Friday Driving Tour

2022 PCA Friday Driving Tour

2022 PCA Friday Driving Tour

August: Our annual Membership Appreciation Drive was from Lexington, KY to Ed and Tracy Steverson’s home in Frankfort, KY for dinner and celebration of our members. Fifty-seven members in twenty-eight cars participated in the drive.

September: We held a drive from Versailles, KY to Bloomfield, KY for dinner at The Old Bloomfield Meeting Hall. Fifty-five members in Twenty-nine cars participated in the drive and dinner.

October: Our annual Fall Charity Drive from Lexington, KY to Brian and Karla Young’s 1922 House Winery in Nicholasville, KY to enjoy wine tasting, Charcuterie Boards and to raise money for the Eastern Kentucky Flood Relief Fund. Fort-eight members in Twenty-one cars participated in the drive and gathering. $1,305 was contributed by members, the winery contributed $100 and the Bluegrass Region contributed $1,000 for a total of $2,405.

2022 Fall Charity Drive

2022 Fall Charity Drive

2022 Fall Charity Drive