Avants is an awesome car club that I’ve written about before with an inclusive, “Drive Everything” motto. It started locally but is quickly growing nationwide…like Fight Club but with less blood. Long drives in a convertible with summer tires become rare as we get into the fall and winter. Heading over our local mountain passes becomes the domain of the AWD vehicle. When I saw that some Avants members had planned a tour across Highway 2 to Leavenworth (cool Bavarian style town), on a weekend where the weather looked warm enough to not die, I was in.

The plan was to meet up at Tulalip Casino early in the morning, drive Hwy 2 over Stevens Pass to Leavenworth, grab lunch and then head back. Temps were going to be in the 50s and it would be dry…no problem. Problem. When I looked at the weather, I forgot to factor in the time of day. Temps would be in the low 50s in the afternoon, but in the morning, as Shep and I started our drive, temps were in the low 30s. It was dry fortunately, but I was a bit worried about traction and we took it easy the whole time. Still, getting over Stevens Pass felt sketchy so on the way home, we made a loop instead of a u-turn and drove to Cle Elum and back to Seattle on I90…it was warmer and dryer coming over Snoqualmie Pass.

We had a great collection of people and cars show up pre-sunrise to meet each other and talk about the route. The pup in the orange Lamborghini convertible was a big hit!

We stopped along the way for a bathroom break and a photo opportunity. I was digging the artistic wrap on this Lexus:

Shep was hungry so we split off from the big group and found a cool diner off Hwy 2 for lunch and some milkshakes. A well deserved reward for a great co-pilot. Shep insisted it was top-down for the rest of the day and we drove over Stevens and Snoqualmie passes, with temps in the 30s and 40s, top down and the heat blasting. A perfect day by my measure.