Is there anything more American than the road trip? For decades Americans have set off into the sunset to explore the amazing countryside that makes up everything between our two shores. And this summer we made our first long distance trek, this side of the Atlantic. Lets head to Greenville, SC to start our trip!
Why a Road Trip?
As you all know, we are big car fans, so naturally we love road trips. Having done several across Europe we were excited to try it out a little closer to home this past July. I think all great road trips are made up of the perfect balance of planning and lack thereof. The purpose of this trip was picking up our BMW M2 that we drove around in Europe for 2 weeks on our “European Delivery” extravaganza. Our baby was finally stateside and we chose to pick her up at the BMW Performance Delivery Center in Greenville, SC.
What is Performance Delivery?
Akin to “European Delivery”, Performance Delivery is another special delivery option BMW buyers can opt for to make picking up their shiny new car just that much more exciting. At no extra cost to you, BMW will let you go to their Performance Center in South Carolina to spend a morning with a professional driver learning how to drive your car around the racetrack.
BMW really takes this whole “Ultimate Driving Machine” thing very seriously! They want you to know just how amazing your new car really is. We had such a blast; anyone who really cares about cars definitely needs to do this at least once!
The Big Day
We flew down from Boston on a Thursday night, BMW sent a driver in a brand new X5 SUV to pick us up and bring us to the hotel that they put up all Performance Delivery participants in the night before you get your car—the Greenville Marriott.
The next morning we and the other 4 couples also picking up cars were shuttled a few minutes down the road to the BMW factory and delivery center. When we arrived we were greeted by a team of professional drivers who would be showing us all some tips and tricks to take our cars to the limit on the track.
After a short safety briefing, we headed right out to the track. Another benefit to this program is that you don’t have to learn on your own car, you get to use one that is the same make and model that is owned by BMW.
Pro tip, if you take delivery in the middle of the summer, be prepared for 100+ degree weather, this is South Carolina after all! Our car was reading 101-105 for most of the day!
The Track
We started on the skid pad, then went to the emergency braking and then did a little track course! Seriously so much fun.
The instructor was amazing, and the car is just extraordinary. The M2 is a fabulous little monster and I love it!
The Museum and Off Road Course
After you finish up at the track you head over to the BMW museum down the road, which is called the Zentrum due to its circular shape. Many interesting cars to check out. (At the end of the day we also came back to snap some pics once we had our car with us).
Then after the museum tour you head over to the other test area at the Performance Center, the off road course.
Since Greenville is where BMW produces all the X series vehicles, i.e. their SUV range, they have a comprehensive off road test course, which includes all the obstacles that you might encounter on your typical “off roading adventure”. Think things like steep hills, water, and bumpy roads.
Road Trip
After we finished up our off road experience we had lunch and then it was time to start our All-American East Coast Road Trip adventure! We were starting in Greenville, SC and needed to get back to Boston in 3 days!
But before headed off we had to take a few snaps of our brand new car that was experiencing American life for the first time!
First Stop – Chapel Hill
That evening we shot up to Chapel Hill, NC. Our destination was the fabulous “The Franklin Hotel Chapel Hill, Curio Collection by Hilton” located just steps from UNC Chapel Hill on the picturesque West Franklin Street.
This is the place to stay in Chapel Hill, abound with Southern Luxury, the Franklin does not disappoint. We were fortunate to stay in the Presidential Suite, which featured a massive balcony, several rooms, 1.5 baths and a huge living area.
Basically the size of a luxury 1 bedroom condo! Everything was top notch, the service, the amenities and of course the accommodations. One amenity in particular was just spectacular; the house car service was much appreciated since even at night the temperatures were in the 90s!
Next Stop – Washington D.C.
The next morning we got up bright and early and made our way north, heading towards Washington D.C. But with this being our first American road trip, we knew there was one important stop we had to make on the way, Waffle House! So shortly after leaving Chapel Hill we stopped at a Waffle Hosue for a quick breakfast.
When we finally got to DC we had just parked and then we found ourselves stuck in a summer thunderstorm! But luckily I spotted a chic looking boutique hotel to duck into, seriously this was not planned!
We ducked into the Hive Hotel located near George Washington University and the Lincoln Memorial. They had just a lovely lobby bar so we took a few minutes to enjoy some drinks and some wonderful delicious flatbread! See all road trips need some serendipity thrown in!
When the weather finally broke, we headed out and took a stroll around the Lincoln Memorial, the National Mall, Washington Monument and then headed to the Smithsonian for American History. See we managed to stay right on for our first American road trip!
3rd Stop – Philly
That night we still had some driving to do because we were staying at the Philadelphia Sofitel.
Rolling in around midnight, we didn’t have a ton of time to explore Philly. But we were just there a few months ago! But I mean all this road tripping is exhausting so we just luxuriated in our wonderful suite at the Sofitel!
And the next morning we had to get back to Boston so we took our time and enjoyed a fabulous breakfast. The French influence was definitely there, this breakfast was just as amazing as the ones we had on our last big road trip in Europe earlier this year!
Road trips are so much fun and we were so happy to be able to do it in our brand new car, for more adventures with our long beach blue M2, check out our other Instagram account @LongBeachBlueM2!