Slipstream - November 2011

Boxstoberfest 2011
By Tom Froehlich
Texas State Trooper.
Friday, September 9th dawned
clear and pleasant for our
drive to Fredericksburg for
this year’s Boxstoberfest. Eleven
cars from the Maverick Region
gathered at the Waffle House on US
67 in Alvarado to caravan under the
leadership of John and BJ Harvey.
After everyone ate what they wanted,
we pulled out and headed southwest
for our drive to the hill country.
We passed through Cleburne and
as we crossed the county line into
Somervell County heading to Glen
Rose, a state trooper had a new Chevy
Camaro pulled over for an infraction.
We passed by, well within the posted
speed limit with the Harveys leading
and the Froehlichs last in the sweep
position, secure in the knowledge that
we were not going to fall prey to the
trooper on the side of the road. But
just a mile down the road, there he was
in my rear view mirror with his lights
flashing. So I moved over to stop, but
he went by me so I pulled back on the
road and followed. He did this with
each of the 11 cars in our caravan and
when he got in front of the Harveys he
pulled us all over. What was this for we
all wondered, as Officer Acker talked
with John at the front of the pack, then
collected all our driver’s licenses and
license plate information and let each
of us know that we were all guilty of
not displaying our front license plate.
He sat in his car for half an hour
checking us all out on his laptop while
we all stood on the side of the road
Photos by Steve Farnham and Tom Froehlich
providing the entertaining sight of 11 hit the road for the relatively short drive
Porsches all lined up behind the trooper’s
left to Fredericksburg hoping to stay
car for the passing motorists. When awake at the wheel after that prodigious
he finally emerged, he handed each lunch. We all arrived at our destination
of us our own official warning for our
safely and most of us checked
infraction and he cautioned us not to into the Hangar Hotel, the center for
follow so closely and to drive safely. So the weekend’s events. After unloading
other than the time lost, we all emerged our bags, John had another adventure
with our driving records unscathed. for us, a trip to Becker Winery where
Following this delay we proceeded
we tasted some of Dr. Becker’s best
through Glen Rose and on toward our
wines under the tutelage of Henri,
destination. John had plotted a route
who John and BJ refer to lovingly as
that took us off the beaten path and
the “crazy Frenchman.” Now we were
somewhere we left US 67 onto a mix
all sleepy so we returned to the hotel
of state highways and county roads.
where some napped while others of
us felt the need to wash our cars for
Officer Acker talked with John at the front
of the pack, then collected all our driver’s licenses...
I think we all saw parts of Texas we
had never seen before. Eventually
we made our way to Llano where we
stopped at Cooper’s Old Time Pit
Barbeque for lunch. If you have never
been there, this is a Texas experience
you need to have, unless you suffer
from liver or kidney disease. You start
by going by the pit and picking your
The Salazars
enjoy a Pork Chop at Cooper’s
meat(s), then entering the restaurant
where you get all the other goodies.
Because we were all hungry when we
got there, I think everyone ordered
more than really wanted, but since we
were on a road trip, we ate it all. It
then took two hand washings before I
dared touch my steering wheel again.
We all waddled out of Cooper’s and
the next morning’s display. So John,
Don Sebert and I went to a local coin
operated car wash I had found last year
and spent a few quarters plus some
tender loving care cleaning up our cars.
After this we returned to the hotel
and guess what, time for another meal!
So those of us who had any room
left to stuff in a few more calories
headed downtown to the Altdorf
Biergarten for a little German cooking.
We had a wonderful meal of a
variety of German delicacies and a
little German brew then headed back
to the hotel for a good night’s sleep.
The next morning, around 8 o’clock,
people started to line up their cars for
the car show. Over 100 cars were there
and they included almost every model
of Porsche road car made since 1950. It
was a mighty impressive collection of
the marque, but true to the name of the
event, Boxsters were in the majority.
We wandered around talking to people
about their cars and drooling over some
of them for the next couple of hours as
we mentally prepared ourselves for the
upcoming drive. Around 10:30 we gathered
for the driver’s meeting. A hundred
cars can not drive in one long line, so
we were divided into 4 different groups,
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