The Trip to Homecoming 98

I decided at the last moment to go to the BMW Z3 "Homecoming" in Spartanburg South Carolina. This is a gathering of people who love their BMW Z3 and MZ3's so much that we take them back to the factory that made them to obsess about them even more. Funny thing is that the folks at the factory actually seem to LIKE seeing the cars they made come "home". I was in a convoy of about 20 cars at Harrisburg, PA when we started out at 8am. At 8:15 I was at the back of the pack, only the team leader was behind me, Walt. Walt had just radioed to the team leader at the front that we were all safely on the highway when a van pulled behind me and was trying to pass me on the left, which would have been OK except that I was in the left lane. I was trying to get out of this van's way but couldn't because the right lanes slowed down and I couldn't fit in. The van drove half into the median strip, tipping at an angle still trying to pass me. Unable to pull off his caper, the van drove into my car. Walt radioed, "Rachel has a problem". The 20 Z3's in front of me pulled off to a rest stop. I got out of my car, saw the damage and fell to my knees crying. We exchanged information with the gorilla who was driving the van.

We joined the group at the rest stop and everyone told stories. It turns out that not only Walt saw the accident, but also the last car in the convoy, Bob, had seen it in his mirror. If you have to have an accident it sure is nice to have the driver in front of you and the driver behind you witness it. This made me a bit famous at the convention as people would ask if I was "the one" who got hit. 500 cars from all over the country but I was "the one". By the time the gathering was over, every single driver and everyone working at the BMW factory knows me on sight by my first name. I am going to get my car (Esmerelda) fixed like new and get it a license plate that reads: PRPLHRT (Purple Heart)...

Many thanks to the NE Convoy for their tremendous spirit and fun.
thanks to George Boyce for the photo, that is his "Trick M" in front of Emmy

I am also asking for recommendations for a GREAT BMW body shop in the New York or Philadelphia Area.

Thanks to Walter O'Brien for the images from the accident.
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