This was the first meet I ever hosted, and holds the record to date for most attendees. That could have been daunting, but I had a wonderful time and despite the size, the group kept things running smoothly. Adam Froehlig gets special mention for his prior D.C. Road Meet in late 2009, which gave me some great ideas to keep people organized. For example, this was the first meet I know of where drivers were told not to bother trying to follow each other, and we didn't wait up every time someone got lost. Every car had its own set of printed directions and maps, with things to see along the way. The most interesting part was trying to figure out where to park 10 cars at each stop, but we got it done!
Speaking of getting, getting down there was fairly simple. I took the usual I-287, US 206, I-95 to Pennsylvania and Exit 6 to PA 320. I took PA 320 to PA 352 with the intent to clinch, but it moved so slowly that I had to cut off at PA 3. From West Chester I took Business US 322 to PA 52 and into Delaware, down some local roads including Owls Nest, Barley Mill, and Brackenville, ending up on DE 7 to DE 72, and bypassing the border toll on DE 2 to MD 279 back to I-95. I stayed the night in Baltimore via I-895, Moravia Rd. and the bottom piece of MD 41 I hadn't yet clinched. I got an early enough start the next day to visit family in Pikesville, then came back east via Old Court Rd. (which becomes MD 133) to MD 134 SB and straight on Bellona Ave. to Northern Pkwy. I continued on Kenwood Ave. and Perry Hall Blvd. to Honeygo Blvd. and the Red Brick Station Pub. There was already quite a crowd assembled 15 minutes before the meet. In fact, there were at least 29 people at the lunch, 6 of whom came from Michigan, including 26 who posed for a photo:


In back, Adam Moss, Jake Reynolds, Mike Tantillo, Steve Anderson, Nick Klissas, Anthony Costanzo, A.J. Bertin, Scott and Jeff Davis, Allen Seth Dunn (behind and between the Davises), Dave Consolla, Michael Gronseth, Laura Bianca, Ian Ligget, Mike Pruett, Al Kotchi, Brian Powell, Patrick Arndt, and Stephanie Taylor. And there's more! In front, Larry Harvilla, Adam Froehlig, Brian Reynolds, Jason Ilyes, Brian Rawson-Ketchum, Oscar Voss, and finally, me with the Froggie Frog (TM) on my head. With these folks, we headed down the newly built part of MD 43 to the end at MD 150, then came back up MD 702 onto I-695 through the partially unbuilt Windlass Freeway interchange, and over to the first stopping point via MD 7 EB to Rossville Blvd. to Gum Spring Road. After checking out the I-695/I-95 interchange reconstruction, we went back down to 695 via MD 7 and flew over to I-95 SB, looking at future HOT Lane construction on the way to I-895. We left 895 at Moravia Rd. before the tolls and went west through Baltimore on US 40 to the second meet stop at former I-170. You'll see on that page how much fun people had clambering around this stop at the US 1 interchange before we bundled back in the cars and went down Martin Luther King, Jr. Blvd. to I-395, through the above-water interchange to I-95 to look at the ramp stubs that would have been the I-70 interchange. Our next stop was at the other I-70 stubs via I-695, and then we traced the proposed path of I-70 through Leakin Park along Franklintown Rd.. We took a quick look at the old signs on Hilton Pkwy. (Truck US 40) and followed regular US 40 east to I-83 NB to I-695. To get back to the restaurant, I gave people the option of following MD 43 for a clinch or driving back through the I-95 interchange for another perspective.
Once we reassembled, a portion of the crowd continued for the planned after-meet entertainment: a sneak peek of the Intercounty Connector (ICC, MD 200) under construction. We all chose different routes to get down to the first stop based on what people in each car wanted to see. My car ended up taking I-895 and the 895B spur freeway to MD 2, U-turning to I-695 to the B-W Parkway. We exited at MD 198 after finding out that all of the cars were close together, got in a line, and headed west to I-95 SB for a drive through ICC interchange construction. We took Exit 29B to MD 212and then followed Powder Mill Rd., MD 650, and US 29 NB to Old Columbia Pike. Our first stop was where the old alignment of the old Pike was turned into an access road for ICC construction, and the new alignment now arches over a brand-new overpass. We explored the future ICC for a little while and then traced the route of the ICC west via Briggs Chaney Rd. and Bonifant Rd. to MD 182 and MD 28. Our next stop was on MD 97, where the eventual MD 200 freeway crossed under the new 97 NB bridge, which temporarily carried both directions of traffic squeezed into four lanes until the SB side was completed. After taking MD 115 to cross the path of the ICC yet again, there was one more impromptu after-meet stop at Needwood Rd., just because traffic was light enough that we could get out safely with minimal interference. Finally, we continued west on Shady Grove Rd. to the former I-370, which was decommissioned south of MD 200 into the Metro station parking lot, and headed west to clinch I-370 and share dinner in the Washingtonian Center at I-270. I forget my route back to Baltimore, which I know is unconscionable, but I believe it was south on MD 355 (former US 240) to MD 28; otherwise, it was Shady Grove Rd. to MD 115 to MD 28. I took MD 97 north to horseshoe-shaped MD 108 and clinched MD 104. At that point, I probably took MD 103 EB to MD 100 to I-95, or else I U-turned on MD 104, completing my route via I-395 into the heart of the city.
On Sunday, due to a late start, I changed my route back home and converted some old plans I had lying around into a replacement. I went west on 29th St. to Druid Lake Park Drive, down Madison Ave. to US 1 and up MD 140 all the way out to Taneytown, coming back on the old highway (MD 832, in pieces). In Westminster, I went up MD 27 and headed east on MD 482 to Business MD 30 in Hampstead, to MD 88. I turned up MD 25 to MD 137, making sure to get the piece to the west before heading east to MD 45. I continued on MD 138, picked up MD 562 for a clinch, turned left on MD 23 and headed back west on MD 439. From there, I ran up I-83 to PA 851 WB and turned south on PA 516 to MD 86. I jogged north on MD 30 to MD 496, south to MD 97, and west on MD 140 to MD 31, south to MD 407. From there I headed east to MD 27, north to Nicodemus Rd. and east to MD 32, which I took to MD 91 north. At MD 30 I decided to follow the old alignment through Boring (which was only slightly boring) as I headed south to MD 128, jogging to Belfast Rd. in Butler, which took me to I-83. I took Exit 33 to Stablers Church Rd., bore left on Graystone Rd. to MD 439, and continued up other local roads (Jolly Acres and Dry Branch) to MD 23, which I took to Norrisville Rd. and PA 24. I followed 24 all the way up until it turned into PA 921, and followed that to the end at PA 74. I turned east and then followed PA 238 to the end at PA 181. I started to make time via I-83, US 30, and PA 441 north to PA 772 for the last bit of fun. I followed 772 to PA 72, south to PA 722 west, then jumped on PA 283 EB to PA 741, clinching PA 722 EB to PA 272. My route home concluded via US 222 to Business US 422 in Reading, for a batch of photos at PA 183 (since redone in daylight) and home via US 222, I-78 into New Jersey, and I-287.

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