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Same here, when the sun hits them just right they're amazing, I can't say the same for the Black Cherry Nissan offers the Z34 in, there is one on the way into my neighborhood, the color never really comes out on it.
The color code for Brickyard is AX8.
Have read that the ordering guide's color chip looked very purple, therefore not too many were ordered, and it went away after '03.
Sometimes, you just got to get out of the car and snap a picture, even of the liltle old stock Zs....
"A crowded run in the hills is STILL better than the best day at work."
Head up to Alice's Restaurant (see original post of this thread) again today but much later than I usually do (usually up there at daybreak, today, not 'til early afternoon.)
Big difference!
Couldn't even park at Alice's nor at Mountain Terrace across the way due to all the bikes and a cycle (I think) photoshoot going on. So got back on Skyline and head back up Thomas Fogarty winery, just a couple miles up the road from the 35/84 junction (Alice's).
Kind of enjoying the unintentional juxtaposition of the vineyard's upper contour matching muh cah! Heh heh.
Love this place... sight of some great memories with my lady.
But ya, while the area was crawling with people, I found some pretty sporting people - particularly a couple of sportbike riders who followed me up 9 from Saratoga at, ahem, not so legal speeds, and when I arrived at the 9/35 junction, got a thumbs up from them. Awesome.
Oh, and yesterday, coming down and out of 9's twisties on the way to dinner (in my Volvo), there was person approaching the uphill turns at at least 8/10ths! Our big brother.... GT-R! Nice to see someone pushing the car's potential rather than flashing it at 3mph on Santana Row. (Locals, you know who I'm talking about..... )
Yup, a crowded and slow drive back down from the hills on a beautiful Sunday is STILL better than being at work! (And I work out of my home office 90% of the time!)
Few things are as magical to me as a morning in the hills. No work, all play today.
Did not push the car.... just drove it. Some spots fast, some spots not so much (due to road construction and wet roads not yet dried from yesterday's much needed rainstorm).
Above shots at Woodside Overlook near 84/35 (just above Alice's). Was going to stop at Fogarty Winery where I got married two weeks ago but lots of construction right outside the winery entrance so... off to Alice's for an omelette.
You've been to the wrong parts. I've driven plenty of twisties around here that make driving the Z a lot of fun. I don't like hills as much as I like turns and curves and a somewhat flat road surface.
We have mountains and twisty roads... They are so jacked up with potholes that you cant even go the speed limit unless you hate your car. Sometimes you get lucky and they repave them and they stay good for a year or so.
You've been to the wrong parts. I've driven plenty of twisties around here that make driving the Z a lot of fun. I don't like hills as much as I like turns and curves and a somewhat flat road surface.
The north shore along Lake Superior is beautiful and has some very interesting and scenic drives. Southern Minnesota along the Mississippi has high bluffs with some very twisty roads that are fun to drive and provide great views of the river valley.
I liked the views Mic posted showing the valley in California.
--Spike
HAPPY VETERAN'S DAY AND
THANK YOU TO ALL WHO SERVED!!!!
I know I make jokes about "first world problems" and stuff like that but I am truly thankful to have the luxury of living in it and I know it's because of all of you Veterans who have done so much to make it so!!
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I am also fortunate to have delivered a work project AHEAD of time and the next one doesn't commence until after Thanksgiving so finding time for some fun. And you know what my definition of "fun" is, right?
Yep, off I went for a long run today! And not just up into the hills but did a full roundabout that included fast sections in the hills, some not-so-fast sections coming down (see below), a new road explored (and it was awesome!), a trip down to the beach (a stop in Santa Cruz for coffee refill), back up along the edge of the United States (Pacific Coast Highway) and back inland along the usually fast Hwy 84 (with a stop at Alice's to grab lunch... again).
So yeah, I joke about my first world status and this morning was a real example of how spoiled I am. As I'm about to walk out the door to the garage, I'm standing there UNABLE to make a decision WHICH CAR I'm going to take. Uhhhh, that's pretty pathetic.
Brought both sets of keys out to garage and then just went with my heart.... Love my Nismo but my '03 is, well, just "special". And now that it's wearing a new set of dancing shoes - I had to take it out for this run. (Then again, may take the Niz out tomorrow for "comparative reasons". Heh heh...)
Sitting in a turnout along the tiny highway 236 into Boulder Creek so I could drink some coffee and take some pics of the sun filtering through the trees. (Also catch my breath after covering most of Hwy 9 at, uhhhh, well, greater than pedestrian speeds.... Shhhhhh.... )
After miles and miles in the relative dark beneath the trees covering the roadway, I emerged into the light of a Santa Cruz morning!
And wound up here after pitting for fresh coffee.
The offshore structure known as "Natural Bridges", named for obvious reasons. I love this thing! It's just cool.
As I head back North along Hwy 1 - Pacific Coast Highway, I just alternated between cranking up the stereo and then shutting it down to let the car do the singing through the open windows.
Intoxicating.
This is the Pigeon Point Lighthouse (above), just on the tip of the jetty in Pescadero. It is still functional and also has a hostel located there. My kids' school's 5th grade "field trip" was several days at this place. It's really cool up close.
From Pigeon Point, I continued North and just as I reached the Hwy 84 junction/terminus and was turning right to begin the 20-some mile trek back inland and up into the hills where this highway meets 35 (and Alice's Cafe), I noted an ambulance rolling Southward towards me Code 3. "Hmmmmm, wonder if he's going to turn in behind me?"
Yup. So I did what any normal person would (with as much of a lead as I already had by the time he turned onto the road), I laid heavy on the loud pedal. He never did catch up but then after I ended up tucking in behind a pickup truck and a dump truck, I just cruised it and was ready to pull over if the ambulance got close.
Nope.... we came upon the reason he was headed this way. Cycle down. These roads are legendary for sport and touring bikes but can be pretty treacherous, especially in the morning when the sun can't dry the roads due to the shading of the trees.
From that point on, just exercised restraint and cruised at 40-45 limit and usually less due to the dump truck. But lots of other police on the road anyways.
Anyhow, this pic about sums up the morning. Calm but powerful ocean waves, beauty as far as the eye can see, and a chance to dance with my car in the only manner fitting.... Tight, fast, in control.
I love my Zs.
Cheers,
Mic
Map of today's run (which I do for my own records/journal... and the journal entry of which you just read, above. )
Usual disclaimer and warning: PLEASE exercise caution when driving on roads you don't know. These particular roads (above) are meant to be shared with cyclists so always leave yourself enough room for safety maneuvers and never exceed yours or your car's capabilities. How do you know your limits? Welllll, they teach you how to determine it and increase it in driver's school. Heh heh....
Thought you were going to be able to read a MicPost without a mention of driving school dintcha?
Great stuff, Mic! I've driven some of those same roads on some media events and carry a little of their magic in my memory. Your pics remind me of what I'm missing...
Well, now! Doesn't that bring back some memories of my childhood. It looks like you drove through a couple of "small" towns that I used to live in. And I see the Winchester Mystery House on your map, which I thought was way cool when I visited as a kid.
)
Heh heh...)
)
