Summer vacation.
A time to throw off the shackles, turn off the (depressing) news, step away from all of those daily responsibilities, and just relax.
Maybe it's a cottage rental. Or an all-inclusive getaway to the south (although really that feels more like a winter break thing here in then-frozen Canada). Or perhaps it's backpacking into the wilderness, and spending the night under the stars. Some people like to jet off to Vegas, while others just like to spend time in their backyards, saving money and eating BBQ every night for a week.
This time around it was another trip to my folks in New Brunswick, a story I've told before. This time with a little bit of a twist to try and keep things interesting, a longer visit was planned, which gave me more opportunity to play with the Boxster on some previously-unexplored back roads in southern New Brunswick.
The weather cooperated pretty much the whole time we were there, so I had many short trip outings to put a smile on my face. Whether it was zipping out to Gondola Point to visit my best buddy 'back home' (and lament the lack of cleanliness of his S2000), or just taking the back road into Costco (multiple times), it didn't matter. I'd pretty much use any excuse to twist the key, drop the top and snarl off down the road.
The route out to Smithtown via Kellar's Hill was particularly decent, with a reasonable surface (not something you can say about a lot of the back roads around there). Early evening, while there's still enough light to keep it from being too wildlife-dangerous, it's great to be on a deserted country road hearing the engine echo off the trees with each tip into the throttle, or blip of a downshift. Sounds marvellous, and there's no one around to annoy.
Perfect.
There are even a few decent on-ramps onto Highway #1 that are a treat to take in second gear. The car turns in so well, and just pivots around that central mass. So different to the S2000, and the Subarus for that matter. The growl of the Subie engines is a little reminiscent of the Boxster down low, and that higher RPM wail of the S2000 is echoed in the upper rev range too - like a blend of both of those worlds. OK, ok, that's pushing it a bit. But you get the idea.
There's a particularly nice curve coming out of Saint John and exiting into Rothesay where you can feel the car move playfully as you decelerate through the decreasing radius ramp. Another just down the road where you get back onto the highway from Quispamsis and head east. That one is an acceleration delight as it both opens up AND is even banked a little. Makes heading to the Irving Big Stop for breakfast just that much more enjoyable!
With the carport reserved for me, and the Subies 'banished' to Mother Nature for the duration (thanks mum!) I had the perfect spot to rest, recreate, and sally forth from for the better part of two glorious weeks. In between a (very) few helpful chores (wood-piling, mowing, that sort of thing), I had time to wash and wax, take people for rides, and enjoy traipsing about all my old haunts again.
One particular outing really struck me, as my daughter and I sat in front of the old hardware store where, now, you can get the most massive ice cream cones. As we enjoyed, I realized we were sitting on the very spot where I used to lifeguard some forty years ago, at the same age as my daughter is now.
The old outdoor pool has relocated, but there's a lovely park in its place, and we sat on the bench with me waxing poetic about the good old days'. Kudos to her, she resisted giving me too many eye-rolls. I looked across the road to the gleaming machine parked in front and thought "It's a long way from those days now, who would've imagined it back then?"
Maybe the kid with the Ferrari 308 and Porsche 959 posters on the wall...
Equally, who could've imagined that at some point on the trip I would find myself facing my equine fears, sitting on top of a horse and realizing I much prefer 394 horsepower under MY control, to 1 horsepower under its own. I was under no illusions as to who was the boss and I gained a whole new respect for my daughter and friends who make horse riding look so effortless.
Give me my sport plus seats and a stable platform any day!
My dad's boat is coming along nicely - the care he's taking in building it evident in how well it's all starting to come together. It's a project for him that I liken to these road trips - the journey to get to the destination is as much a part of it as the destination itself.
The finishing work on the hull is mostly done (minus the final paint job) and we flipped it over so he can work on the fiddly bits of the interior; bulkheads, seats, gunwales, etc. Having the huge barn as his workshop is just perfect, and it's even got some memorabilia too - over in one corner I spot a plastic wheel cover from my 1985 CRX's 13" stock wheels. Must have left it there when I upgraded to the 1992 14" Civic Si rims way back when! Old license plates abound - it's the perfect example of a 'barn find' location, the kind of place where one might come across an old treasure under a tarp one day.
Won't be a Boxster GTS I can tell you that though!
The days went by too quickly, with gallons of tea and coffee, walks with Molly and mum in the woods and on the boardwalks, lovely long conversations sometimes about nothing much really, book reading, playing cards or board games, and just sitting out on the deck enjoying paradise.
Leaving is always bittersweet, and I find myself making plans to return almost before I've left. Thankfully, the convertible eases the downer of heading back to Upper Canada, simply because it's such a joy to take on a long road trip.
With the top down, and the full Taylor Swift discography on Spotify for us, the 718 makes the long drive back pretty much as easy as you can. By the time we hit Trois Rivières, we are looking forward to the home stretch and seeing friends back in Ottawa where we will enjoy life there until the next time.
I'm itching to go back already.
~ Luke
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