Zeattle Dave finished his cross country trip early. Everyone, everywhere just wanted to get "home".

My personal Homecoming (Long) Posted by ZeattleDave on September 16, 2001 at 16:37:56: (posted from: ip159.r11.d.bel.nwlink.com (207.202.174.159)) Leaving Seattle August 23rd , it was the middle of the Summer. Temperatures were very hot and I thought there would be no cooling for the forseeable future anywhere in my journey. Driving across this great continent made me realize just how precious our country was. I was already thinking this by the end of August. We stayed at Tom's cabin in Tahoe (forever to be known as Tahoe Tom!) and headed across vast expanses of unpopulated areas. I will not call these wastelands as these are quite delicate, fragile and terribly beautiful lands. The things I and others complained about seem trivial now (this traffic is terrible; they close the pool when?!? NO, Dakar is NOT pronounced like that). Thinking about the trip as a whole, were were all quite fortunate in our lives that we could financially, physically and temporally make the journey to homecoming. I especially had no reason to come back to Seattle before September 20th as the new quarter didn't begin until the 24th. Therefore, I went to visit my Dad and StepMom in Coco Beach, Florida for a few days before heading down to Key West, the Southernmost point in the continental U.S. After coming back to Coco Beach, I headed to Biloxi, Mississippi where I had a very relaxing time staying at the Beau Rivage casino. On the way to meeting WardHog in Shreveport, he told me what happened at the WTC. Talking to my Dad a few minutes later, I was informed about the collapse and of the Pentagon. I was on the phone for 25 minutes at the gas station pump and a very nice woman a few cars away asked if I knew the latest news. This was a sign of things to come for the rest of the trip. People had no real walls for the 2500 miles ahead of me to get home. Talking to two elderly men at the four corners - one of whom was wearing his old submarine name on his baseball cap, he told me that a few days before, a biker asked if he was ready to climb back down in that submarine. Bikers talking to retirees, talking to hunters! Everybody talking to everybody! It was a great moment in America and I had a tiny glimpse of it. We all instinctively knew that we can be what we want in this country much more than in any other country on the planet and that there is no other place for us than here. Seeing the astounding lighting conditions in New Mexico, the Arches of Utah; and the really great Fall colors beginning near Heber City, Utah, I knew that the Seasons were changing; that Fall must follow Summer; then Winter; but the renewal of Spring will be here someday. It seems like a long way off right now and it truly is going to be One Day at a Time. Thanks for letting me ramble - this message board is truly a part of my life. The people I've met both in person and through the boards; the enthusiasm we all share; the passion we have for driving; the fact that many of us fell in love with the car - that many of us bought the Z3 because of the emotional response of the styling rather than for any kind of logical reason. I don't recall meeting a single person that said they bought the Z3 because of reading Consumer Reports (a great magazine, but the Z3 can't really be quantified in that manner) or by logically deducting that it was the 'best' - however it was defined. Note that I desperately wanted to get home after hearing the news, so I left Shreveport Wednesday and got into Seattle Friday - about 2 1/2 days. Dave finally out

We welcomed in a new member of the family- as they did their part for the economy.

A new additon to the family Posted by NKYBimmer on September 16, 2001 at 19:09:01: (posted from: cgey-int-fw1-pub.ey.com (199.50.26.138)) My wife and I had been looking for a new car for her and had pretty much decided on a Z3 to go along with my E39. We were going to wait until the economy settled down, but I came across a good deal on a used 2001 (dealer loaner) on Thursday. I thought it would be a nice way to show my confidence in economy (all our small gestures can add up) so we went ahead and bought it. '01 3.0, Electric Red, Sport/Prem. Tentatively nicknamed "the Ticket Master". Will post pics soon. Now I have to post on two boards and get ready for my second round of mods! I have a few questions on upgrades, but I'm searching the archives first.