Pre-Fest Road Trip: 5000 Miles...

agxster

Veteran Member
Joined
Nov 12, 2008
Location
UK
TDI
Jetta 1.9 TDi DSG (Mk.V) 2008 - RIP
Enjoyed reading your road trip thread each night, too bad it's ended. Make sure you do it again soon.
 

safetywork

Well-known member
Joined
May 22, 2011
Location
San Diego, CA
TDI
2011 Jetta Sportwagen
Wow. Great photos and terrific write up. Thanks for sharing. I'm looking forward to a roadtrip of my own in late October from San Diego to Chicago. Hopefully I'll be able to do a write up as well done as yours. Welcome home.
 

96rabbit

Member
Joined
Aug 25, 2011
Location
Athens AL
TDI
09 jetta wagon 10 jetta sedan 08 2500 dodge 05 2500 dodge sprinter 94 chevy 2500 86 diesel golf
Hay its great to see you made your trip unharmed loved the pictures
 

LiLredTDI

Veteran Member
Joined
Mar 13, 2008
Location
maryland
TDI
2004 jetta tdi pd-1989 Jetta IDI-1994 F-250 IDI Turbo
Scott,

Thank you for sharing your adventures. The photos and blow by blow commentary were very enjoyable. It is very nice to see you took the trip with your Daughter, she will never forget it.

For all of you reading, If you have never been fortunate enough to meet Scott and the "StealthTDI" family, they are a very loving family and a joy to talk to.
 

Stealth TDI

Pre-Forum Veteran Member
Joined
Feb 13, 1998
Location
Newport News, VA
TDI
2017 GTI APR Stage 3 (395 hp/376 lb-ft)
Hello,

Enjoyed reading your road trip thread each night, too bad it's ended. Make sure you do it again soon.
I was ready for the end. I was getting tired! But I probably could've gone another couple of days had I had the time and new destinations in mind. :) The only Continental US states my car hasn't touched are MI, MN, ND, WA, OR, and NV. I'd like to tackle them before such a trip is too risky in my aging MKIII. I'd REALLY like to drive to the Arctic Circle. But I don't think it'll happen... not in THIS car, anyway.

Those are great photos of both your roadtrip and TDIFest. I've been recouping from shoulder surgery at home and in the last weeks your photos brought me all over the US to places I may never see myself, AND to TDIFest 2011 - Thanks for sharing!!
You're welcome. I remember being stunned by how many folks followed our 1999 "TOUR OF THE NORTHERN US." I wanted to improve upon that tour in the area of photography at least. ;)

Your car is a testament to taking proper care of your equipment and enthusiastic TDI ownership, it looks great. I look forward to taking similar roadtrips with our daughter, now 18 months old.
Thanks for that! My father used to flip me so much grief over how clean I've kept the car over the years. He still does. But at least this year he said, "I'm really surprised at how well this car has held up all of this time..." Yeah, no kidding. Taking care of it instead of waiting for things to break does wonders. ;) BTW, go easy on your kid if she spills anything. I used to freak out on mine when she'd spill something. But EVERYTHING came up and out... even cherry slush. :eek: Our earlier years could have and should have been less aggrevating. Life is good now. Resolve carpet cleaner and our Bissell Little Green Machine are awesome! :)

In my trips, I do not take photos because I will always be visiting the same place again because I am a retired person with time at my disposal. The main cost is that of staying at the motels.
Most of my photos are for my website for the sake of sharing and for the challenge of catching that one great shot... or enough "okay" shots to MAKE one great shot. :D I agree... HOTELS are the greatest expense. Luckily, we took more photos than other souveniors. And digital cameras have made photography a relatively cheap hobby unless you REALLY dive into it.

Your mk3 is beautiful, and is a great example of longevity.
Thanks! It looks best from about 20 feet away. Distance hides the paint chips. :eek: I usually photoshop the paint chips out. But, honestly, none of the photos in this topic are altered beyond simple cropping and blurring of the license plate with the exception of one of the panoramics which needed work to "stitch" the photos properly.

What a great trip, Scott. Makes me regret I didn't do something similar with my daughter when she was that age (25 now). You'll remember this fondly for many years to come.
I asked Diana if she enjoyed herself. "YES!" Then I asked if she wanted to do it again... "NOOOOOO." Why? "It takes too long." To her credit, she never asked, "Are we there yet?" Not even once. She spent most of her time on the road either reading (with a gun to her head) or on my laptop watching movies, playing video games, or surfing the net. She's a VERY good traveler!

Great pics! Thanks for sharing the road trip!
I'm going on one myself at the end of Sept. Norcal to Wyoming & back to visit my 86 year old dad! This has motivated me to take some photos of my own!
I have to credit VWVortex user "LG6R" for motivating me to make a photo-journal of my trip. His MKIII road trip threads are truly epic. :cool:

Great thread Scott. Thanks for sharing. After all these years....still my all-time favorite TDI.
Thanks a lot! It's still mine, too! I was sure I'd want another car after five or ten years, especially now that the MKIV's are passing the 200-hp mark with mods. It's very likely my wife will get a second new car before I get rid of this one. In fact Diana may learn to drive our 2003 Passat in five years rather than me giving up the MKIII. :D

For all of you reading, If you have never been fortunate enough to meet Scott and the "StealthTDI" family, they are a very loving family and a joy to talk to.
WOW! That's too kind! I appreciate that. You must be talking about my wife. :p

Thanks for the comments, everyone!

Scott
 

VeeDubTDI

Wanderluster, Traveler, TDIClub Enthusiast
Joined
Jul 2, 2000
Location
Springfield, VA
TDI
‘18 Tesla Model 3D+, ‘14 Cadillac ELR, ‘13 Fiat 500e
Great thread, Scott! Wish I had found it sooner. :cool:
 

Stealth TDI

Pre-Forum Veteran Member
Joined
Feb 13, 1998
Location
Newport News, VA
TDI
2017 GTI APR Stage 3 (395 hp/376 lb-ft)
Thanks! I tend to believe the "Road Trips" folder is not widely visited. And I didn't do a great job of publicizing the trip. I have a link in my sig now and will leave it there for a while. But I didn't think of that before or during the trip. Perhaps next time. I need to see where next year's TDIFest will be before deciding if and where to make my next trip.
 

GraniteRooster

Veteran Member
Joined
Dec 15, 2010
Location
Upper Valley NH
TDI
'12 JSW 6MT
It seems odd that yours is the only "TDIFest" roadtrip report. As you mention, the folder seems not widely used, but lots of folks went road-trippin to get to the Fest last week!! It would be cool to read more reports of where people came from and what they saw along the way to/from the Fest. Thanks again for your write-up - awesome trip.
 

Dodoma

Veteran Member
Joined
Mar 30, 2004
TDI
2002 Jetta White
Thanks Scott for your photos and discriptions. Keep up. Hope to see you some time on the road.
 

rocketeer928

Veteran Member
Joined
Jan 24, 2008
Location
Enfield, Connecticut
TDI
2003 Jetta GLS TDI 5-speed
Scott - I thoroughly enjoyed reading through this thread about your and Diana's adventurous trip. Your TDI is definitely one of my favorites here at TDI Club.

Incidentally, I was struck by how similar you and I look alike, especially in the photos of you with your friends. Probably in real life, side-by-side, we don't. For others to judge. And, based on just having your 25th reunion, I'd say you're perhaps a year younger than me.

I also enjoy your website.
 

Stealth TDI

Pre-Forum Veteran Member
Joined
Feb 13, 1998
Location
Newport News, VA
TDI
2017 GTI APR Stage 3 (395 hp/376 lb-ft)
All of that and no photo to share? What a tease! ;) Thanks for the comments! I'm looking forward to the announcement for next year's Fest so I can see if there's another good road trip in my future. :)
 

kafer65

Veteran Member
Joined
Jul 19, 2007
Location
TN
TDI
Early '06 Jetta 5M
I enjoyed the photo journal vicariously. Our trip was the antithesis of yours. No pictures or stops. A surgical strike without a whole lot of socializing. The exception was Diana. She was quite entertaining as the elevator operator.
I regret missing the dyno session and the presentation, but, man, the heat nearly took me out. I was the tall guy that came by and chatted briefly with you as you had your car out for the show and shine.
 

Matt-98AHU

Loose Nut Behind the Wheel Vendor
Joined
Apr 23, 2006
Location
Gresham, OR
TDI
2001 Golf TDI, 2005 Passat wagon, 2004 Touareg V10.
Excellent stuff, Scott! The white GLX TDI swap you photographed at Fest is mine :) The saggy rear end is due to the obscene amount of tools I packed into the back of it! I'm also now dragging a 01M across the country on the folded down rear seat...

I'm still on my road trip... currently outside of Denver. I'll have to make my own thread detailing my trip. Some work on TDIs along the way. Some day I'd like to plan such a trip with much more advance planning and do more TDI work for people along the way!

I also visited relatives in Southern Tennessee. Also couldn't resist a couple runs on the Dragon :D

I am not taking nearly enough photos!

Should be back in California by Thursday night. Then unload a couple things, grab a couple other tools and head to San Pablo for a big wrenching GTG Friday-Sunday!
 

Stealth TDI

Pre-Forum Veteran Member
Joined
Feb 13, 1998
Location
Newport News, VA
TDI
2017 GTI APR Stage 3 (395 hp/376 lb-ft)
Hello,

Here you go.
I guess I can see a similarity. "Canadian Me." ;)

Excellent stuff, Scott! The white GLX TDI swap you photographed at Fest is mine :) The saggy rear end is due to the obscene amount of tools I packed into the back of it! I am not taking nearly enough photos!
Sounds like you're on a trip as big as mine. I used to carry a lot of tools. Now I just carry a basic kit. You should've shown that car as an exhibit at least! Dirty or not, I know I would've liked a better look. I'm looking forward to next year's Fest. Depending on the location, I may find myself driving to CA next year. My mother's family lives near Tulare. So I see a "Pike's Peak to Death Valley Run" in my future. I'll hit up some of the parks in CA, too. My goal on the trip would be to fill in the states I have not visited on this map:



Time will tell if this trip becomes a reality. I have a year to plan and budget.

:)

Scott
 

warbird24

Veteran Member
Joined
Dec 9, 2010
Location
Rochester, NY
TDI
2011 Golf TDI
Scott,

Just saw this and it brought back many good memories when I was on Active Duty in New Mexico back in the early 70's. Made many an epic roadtrip back then from Clovis NM to my boyhood home in New York State. Did many stupid things like Clovis to ST Louis in one day then the next day St Louis to NY the next.

Looks like NM, TX and OK have not changed much at all. LOL!

Thank you for sharing and thank you for your Service!
 

Norman

Veteran Member
Joined
Jun 11, 1999
Location
In a flood zone
TDI
'00 Golf GLS, '03 Wagon GL
Wow, Scott, I don't visit Fred's very regularly any more, but I'm sure glad I spied your road trip report! Thanks for sharing some great stories and pics, and your Mk3 is looking even better than when you came to visit us eons ago... Man, those kids sure do grow up fast, don't they? ;)

I'll be sure to keep an eye out for more trip reports from you. Take care, and rubber side down, bro.
 

Stealth TDI

Pre-Forum Veteran Member
Joined
Feb 13, 1998
Location
Newport News, VA
TDI
2017 GTI APR Stage 3 (395 hp/376 lb-ft)
NORMAN! Good to see you're still around. I think of you and Peter Cheuk from time to time. Tell him I said hello if you still see him. I hope all is well!
 

JohnBrock

Active member
Joined
Dec 4, 2000
Location
Newburgh, NY USA
TDI
2001 A4/Jetta, Black
Scott, thanks for taking the time for putting this together. Now that's a travel log. Inspiring! I wasn't able to make the Fest this year but I will for sure next year. It will be easier when I retire 1 Jan after 30 some years in the Air Force. I'm thinking of a nice long road trip, maybe actually getting to see something of the places I've been flying to all these years.
 

Stealth TDI

Pre-Forum Veteran Member
Joined
Feb 13, 1998
Location
Newport News, VA
TDI
2017 GTI APR Stage 3 (395 hp/376 lb-ft)
John,

Thanks for your comments. I'd like to take another trip next year. But I think I'll just do an "out-n-back" to the next TDI Fest and save the next "big trip" for another time. Perhaps we'll meet.

Scott
 

JohnBrock

Active member
Joined
Dec 4, 2000
Location
Newburgh, NY USA
TDI
2001 A4/Jetta, Black
Looking forward to it. We did meet briefly at the DC Fest, I was checking out your ham setup. I had got my Tech license just before that. Lexington looks nice, I'm sorry I missed it.
 
Top