Totally off the topic - need advice for hopeless romantic :P

[Kris]

Hi Guys

I'm wondering if you can help , I'm going to organise a road trip complete with picnic and so on in a porsche in a few weeks for my girl. I'm wondering if i hire a Boxster where would be a good place to drive to , to have such a picnic or lunch?

Is there anywhere up north? Im thinking something not TOO far but enough to have some fun without it being a total hike

Ideas?

[owen]

Heading down south you could visit stanwell tops. Quite nice there with great views of the ocean/coast.

[Raskill]

You could go west, to Windsor then Wisemans Ferry inland up towards Newcastle. It'd be a good road for driving a soft top porsche.

[ozczecho]

Putty Road to the Hunter Valley - nothing in Sydney Beats it. But it is a bit long 2+hrs....

[ghost]

Bundeena would be a nice location and a fun drive drive (plus give you a chance to test that baby out on the corners and hills at the same time!)

[big pix]

Try the old pacific highway to Gosford .... then the Woy Woy turn off and have lunch at the fish co op restaurant on the wharf, out over the water....... best fish and chips cooked the way you want and a good drive along a road with lots of twists and turns.......

[Raskill]

Not proposing are you? If you are, buy all your camera stuff first

[DaveB]

best fish and chips cooked the way you want and a good drive along a road with lots of twists and turns.......

Just be sure your passenger doesn't get travel-sick!

My wife has never reacted to windy roads as a passenger very well...

[greencardigan]

Heading down south you could visit stanwell tops. Quite nice there with great views of the ocean/coast.

The new bridge on Lawrence Hargrave Dr is supposed to be open on Dec 11 if you can wait until then. The coast Rd between Stanwell Tops and Thirroul is very scenic.

[Mal]

Go North up the Old Pacific Hwy (as already mentioned) Great road, fantastic scenery, many photo oportunities. Stop at the "Pie in the Sky" near Cowan for some awesome pies (this is the local stop for all of the weekend bikers)
Head down to the Central Caost to the water. Just awesome on a sunny summer day

[gstark]

I'd second the suggestion of Hunter Valley, and suggest a nice restaurant in lieu of a picnic.

Patonga might be nice too, as might Brooklyn.

My favourite picnic trip though is a trip to Pyrmont to the fish markets to grab ...

a selection of crustaceans,

a selection of sashimi.

some fresh fruit

a selcetion of cheeses

some fresh bread

a bottle of champagne.

Pre-armed with the extended picnic set (includes crystal champagne flutes - plastic will never do - and a waiter's friend), I head down to Balmoral beach where a three hour (minimum) brunch should be enjoyed on the island.

Oh yes, PCH to Laguna Beach is always a nice drive, btw.

But that's SoCal, and perhaps a bit further than you might like to go for a day trip.

[Glen]

Kris, stick the girlfriend, just make sure the road works for you and the car I would echo many of the suggestions about using the old Pacific Hwy to Gosford. If you want a short trip go to somewhere nice on the Cental Coast (maybe Gosford Aquatic club or somewhere like Beaches at Avoca Beach) or longer turn inland at the Calga interchange for Broke.

I would suggest you do this on a weekday, not a weekend as it is too dangerous on the weekend to drive on a spirited manner on these roads on the weekend (plus either too many mobile chicanes or bikes which will go past you with a death wish). A mate of mine used to own a small vineyard near Broke, when I went up for the weekend in my Boxster, I would leave mid morning Friday, drive to the vineyard and drop what little gear I had off, then turn around and drive back to the start of the old road and do it all again! No point not enjoying the trip just because the road is too short I used to do the same going there on my Ducati, loved every minute of it, only difference was on the Ducati you needed to get off and have a drink, in the Boxster you still had the feeling you had another 1,000km left in you.


Ps Pay heed to Raskill's suggestion if that is the path you are going down

[Kris]

I'd second the suggestion of Hunter Valley, and suggest a nice restaurant in lieu of a picnic.

Patonga might be nice too, as might Brooklyn.

My favourite picnic trip though is a trip to Pyrmont to the fish markets to grab ...

a selection of crustaceans,

a selection of sashimi.

some fresh fruit

a selcetion of cheeses

some fresh bread

a bottle of champagne.

Pre-armed with the extended picnic set (includes crystal champagne flutes - plastic will never do - and a waiter's friend), I head down to Balmoral beach where a three hour (minimum) brunch should be enjoyed on the island.

Oh yes, PCH to Laguna Beach is always a nice drive, btw.

But that's SoCal, and perhaps a bit further than you might like to go for a day trip.

The car comes with a picnic blanket so i need to find a basket, any suggestions where I can look? I just need to get a eski for some prawns and various seafood, cheese and the the rest. This is exactly what I'll end up buying for the trip. I've planned it for a Friday, picking her up unspecting from work at 9am

No, I'm not proposing gosh she'd kill me. hehehe

Now to reread all those suggestions and decide where i'm going

I've driven the old road before, it's quite good and the suggest to go up to Avoca sounds good but she's not much of a beach girl so maybe finding somewhere along the coast I can setup a picnic would be good.

Thanks guys I really appreicate it

[thaddeus]

As someone who is a frequent Lotus Elise and occasional Boxter driver, I am happy to pass on Thaddeus' Rules of Romance. I offer these without warranty.

Rule #1: Women like the look of sports cars and like to be in them. Sadly, there are a number of exceptions to this rule:

1. When you drive with the top down: "My hair is getting messed up" and "I'm getting sunburnt"
2. When you drive on windy roads: "I'm feeling car-sick"
3. When you drive for more than half an hour: "Are we there yet?"
4. When they are not driving: "Why are you having all the fun?"
5. When you are driving hard: "SLOW DOWN!!!"

Rule #2: Women like to share everything with their friends.
Sadly, there are no exceptions to this rule.

Rule #3: Women would rather have a picnic than sit in a car.
Again, there are no exceptions to this rule.

Putting these together, my ten-step advice is as follows:

1. Get the car and picnic gear. Put esky in the front boot as the back one is small and gets hot.

2. Arrive at her work with a rose in your teeth, flamenco-style. This is vitally important. You will get more brownie points from having the rose in your teeth from driving the Porsche.

3. Arrange with one of her female colleagues to have all of them come out and ooh and aah over how romantic you are. They will not remember the car, but they will be able to recall the exact colour, shape and positioning of the rose in your mouth.

4. Drive car as little distance as possible. Ideally, drive it past some more of her friends. Drive it round in circles if her friends don't see her. Honk horn if necessary. Try not to crash.

5. I'm not sure which part of Sydney you are in. If you are in the northern suburbs, I suggest Akuna Bay in the Kuring-gai National Park. There is a short but fun road in there.

6. Enjoy the picnic, then offer her the drive out to West Head. Long straight stretches. Watch out for animals. Hold hands looking out over Lion Island, etc.

7. Offer her the drive back to her work. Make sure her friends see that she is driving. Remove rose from mouth. (Okay, you can remove it earlier if you wish.)

8. As this stage she will be begging for you to go to her place

9. Let her beg some more

10. Explain that you can't stay over because you need to go to the Birddog's mini-meet the next day!

Good luck!

[sirhc55]

I have a friend who has had his Boxter for the past four years and has only managed to pull himself

[gstark]

Rule #1: Women like the look of sports cars and like to be in them. Sadly, there are a number of exceptions to this rule:

1. When you drive with the top down: "My hair is getting messed up" and "I'm getting sunburnt"
2. When you drive on windy roads: "I'm feeling car-sick"
3. When you drive for more than half an hour: "Are we there yet?"
4. When they are not driving: "Why are you having all the fun?"
5. When you are driving hard: "SLOW DOWN!!!"

Lindy quite enjoys going out in the SLK, and has never exhibitied any of the issues that you describe.

I guess I'm doing alright.

[sirhc55]

Same here Gary - when I sold my SLK my lady left me and got her own car

[gstark]

Well, Lindy already has her own car.

When her daughters let her use it, that is.

[phillipb]

Kris,
Why don't you send her to an all day beauty treatment, that way you have all day to enjoy driving the car without all the problems mentioned earlier, then pick her up with the car and take her to dinner. That should keep both of you happy.

[MATT]

Kris,

Just drive her to closet local pub, fill her full of cheap wine..your mates will envy your car


The wine willl have the same effect as a sports car in the end


Just kidding sounds like a good plan.

HAve fun

MATT

[Glen]

"Rule #2: Women like to share everything with their friends.
Sadly, there are no exceptions to this rule. "


Thaddeus suggestion about the rose is the winner here Kris. His suggestion about Akuna Bay is good to, but remember Australia's one and only Maclaren went bushbashing on the way to West Head

Thaddeus, I am embarresed to say I am the exception to the rule, I invited many ex's to share me with their friends, precious few took me up on the offer.

[thaddeus]

Hahaha! What about Rule #5?