My wife and I are new to Porsche ownership, having purchased our first (a 2005 Boxster) in June of this year. What better way to "break it in," I thought, than to take it on tour? And to tour with a few dozen other Porsches? Even better.
Even while still dreaming of owning a Boxster, I joined the community at Porsche Pete's Boxster Board (www.ppbb.com). A few members there were talking up Boxstoberfest--which this year would turn out to be 115 enthusiasts in 59 cars--and I decided that we simply couldn't miss it. Never mind the fact that Texas Hill Country and the town of Fredericksburg is some 900 miles away from our home near Denver!
This being our first Boxstoberfest, we didn't know quite what to expect--but we would not be disappointed. We arrived a bit late to dinner Friday evening, having left Carlsbad, New Mexico that afternoon. We still arrived in plenty of time to make some new friends, listen to some live music and enjoy a tasty meal at the Auslander Biergarten & Restaurant. But the real treat would come in the morning...
An apparent Boxstoberfest tradition is the Saturday morning Porsche lineup on the tarmac at the Gillespie County Airport. The sight of dozens of Porsches carefully lined up along the runway is quite spectacular to behold! We were also treated to watching the takeoff of some 17 Cessna O-1 Bird Dogs. Interestingly enough, like most of the cars on the tarmac that day, the O-1 is also powered by a flat six (albeit with 2-3 times the displacement of that appearing in most Porsches), and has a top speed similar to that of a Boxster.
We would soon be taking flight ourselves--we had some Bird Dogs to chase, after all! After the drivers' meeting, in which we were told how much fun we'd be having by staying within the posted speed limits at all times, we took to the roads.
Oh, the roads!
One would be hard-pressed to find more thrilling roads anywhere. While we have our share of twisties in Colorado (which are entertaining in their own right), most of them are above 7000 feet, an altitude which robs normally-aspirated engines of much of their power. The roads of Texas Hill Country combine an easier-breathing lower altitude (around 1800 feet) with pavement of not only endless curves but numerous elevation changes as well, undulating delightfully over hill after hill. (There is the occasional cattle guard too, but at least those are well-marked!)
All good things must come to an end--as our drive eventually did, back at the airport. We found consolation in cold beverages and revelry at the Hangar Hotel's Officers' Club lounge. (I was ready to run the route again!) Eventually we filtered out to get ready for dinner, wash our cars, or just take a nap.
Our action-packed day on the road was followed by a lovely dinner at August E's restaurant, accompanied by the awarding of various door prizes. Some people made off with some seriously nice swag--I got a pretty cool lanyard. OK, I also scored a pen and a paint chip repair kit, which I'll soon be putting to use! I don't know who all the generous sponsors were, but keep that stuff coming.
Sunday morning arrived all too early, and although we would have enjoyed the opportunity to visit the intriguing Benini Sculpture Ranch, we had to get on the road back to Denver. Porsches were starting to stream out of the Fredericksburg Inn parking lot. We bid farewell to our newly found friends and set the nav system for Clayton, New Mexico. The 11th Annual Boxstoberfest had drawn to a close.
A big thanks to Boxstoberfest organizer Michael Shassere and to the countless other organizers for making Boxstoberfest 2008 so much fun. As we've found, even for those who don't live in Texas, it's well worth the trip. Bookmark the www.boxstoberfest.com site and mark your calendars for September 11-13, 2009--perhaps we'll see you at Boxstoberfest next year!