Extended trip weekend to Buffett at Star Lake

This past weekend allowed the putting on of near 900 miles on the Tribeca in the trip from Northern Virginia to the Post-Gazette Pavilion at Star Lake to see the Jimmy Buffett Bama Breeze tour concert on Saturday, June 23, 2007.

We elected to stay at a Days Inn in Washington, PA, some 20 miles south of the Pavilion. This put us coming in from a different direction than those coming in from Pittsburgh, and avoided that lump of traffic. There were essentially 6 legs on the trip: home to Altoona on Friday for 3 hours. Altoona to Washington on Saturday for 2 hrs 15 mins. Washington to the Pavilion (about a half hour), and then the reverse of those three legs on Sunday, albeit the Pavilion to Washington being just after midnight, and the other two beginning just short of noon.

And of course, there was the tailgate itself at the concert, and the two short legs fitting 6 adults into the Tribeca, and all the chairs, coolers and supplies necessary for the tailgate. With a little ingenuity in the passenger arrangement (2 + 3 + 1), that allowed just enough space to fit everything in. The outer legs featured having to fit 3 adults and a 3 year old, plus space enough for a dog cage in the rear cargo area, yet still fit luggage and some of the tailgate supplies. The Tribeca handled it well, though it would be easier on the packer if the dog did not have to be planned for, as the cage eats up about 40% of the rear cargo area.