GoatRun: Day 4

Today was the final day of GoatRun 2011, and started out with the traditional brunch at the Bellagio. I packed-up my car, checked out of the hotel, and headed over to the Bellagio. I arrived a little early, so decided to take some photos.

One of the great things about the brunch at the Bellagio is that we have a reserved parking area on the top of their structure. With all the GTO’s and G8’s lined-up, it is quite a sight.

The Brunch was incredible, as always, and I’m sure I ate way more than I should have! I’d have to say that my favorite part was the eggs benedict with a side of prime rib (and horseradish)… ‘drool!

Normally a few of the NorCal GOATs members try to get together for the return trip to the Bay Area. This year a couple people are staying a few extra days, and a couple others needed to do some repair work on a GTO. I really wanted to drive with everyone else, but I decided to get on the road early… and it really was a good thing I wasn’t part of a larger group.

During GoatRun my car has been behaving very well, only going into “Limp Mode” on the trip to my hotel in the evenings. I was really afraid that I was going to have issue on the cruise, but I made it with no problems…

… well, that was not the case with my drive home. I set-off from the Bellagio and made it two blocks before my first DTC. I was able to clear it out and get moving again, but only a few minutes later I received another DTC… This would be the theme for the rest of the day…

I had a 546 mile drive to make, and every 10-25 miles the G8 was going into Limp Mode. Sometimes it would make it farther, other times it wouldn’t make it a mile. While I had to pull-off the interstate quite a few times, I was also able to recover without stopping the car.

By the time I was driving through the Fresno area the sun had set, and the car was going limp every 3-5 minutes. I never needed to pull off the road (thankfully), but I just couldn’t take it any more. I pulled-off at a hotel I’d stayed at before in Madera, Ca and decided to call it a night.

Despite getting a good night sleep last night, driving over 400 miles with an unhappy car took a toll on me… I was exhausted!

Hopefully tomorrow my drive will be less stressful… I’m only 135 miles from home!