With pouring rain and Starbucks coffee in hand, the morning of the Great Philly Cheesesteak Run began. As the cars assembled in Tysons corner, getting ready to kick off the rally to Tony Lukes in Philly, the drivers prepared with caffeine and idle chatter. The weather cold, and the rain annoying, no participant was dettered from the mission. The mission… for a cheesesteak.

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With a thunderous roar of engines the cars began the perilous journey in the rain. The first stop was to meet with a second group of vehicles at an Ikea. We arrived promptly after a brief few shenanigans on the highway. Admiring the vehicles and stretching, the decision was made to move out of the rain and into the garage. Before cars could park, we were told to immediately vacate the premises by an unbadged, non-uniformed individual claiming to be an employee of Ikea. The gentleman threatened to call the police and refused to allow any of the drivers in to the store to purchase a poncho or umbrella which were Ikea novelties sold at the front of the store. Forced back out to wait in the rain, we laughed the situation off and found new jokes about Ikea.

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Attention quickly moved to our new goal, checkpoint number 3. Another Ikea further North toward our overall goal. We proceeded on, rain beading off the curves of the cars. We met with the final group of cars waiting on our arrival. Undeterred by the rain and wind, the drivers mingled, exchanged hellos, and promptly proceeded to their cars to finish the last leg of the journey.

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With poor visibility and a trail of cars behind, the rally moved forward to Philly. Pothole awareness became a quick priority as we traveled into Delaware. The drivers had to maintain extreme focus and make every attempt to avoide huge sinkhole style potholes capable of swallowing a prius whole. The unrelenting rain dettered many a photograph, however with our end goal nearing, the decision was made to go ahead and shoot.

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Several other cars caught up to our pack on the road, as we photographed and joked while making passes, it was almost time to turn off the highway and on toward the food! The rally met at Tony Lukes in Philly after several hours of driving. With cars upon cars of cheesesteak hungry enthousiasts, the rally arrived. After filling two parking lots with cars, the crowd progressed to Tony Lukes to acquire the fabled cheesesteak. Nothing could be more satisfying after driving hours for that particular moment. And it was done. After food was ordered, the weather decided to give us a break and clear up. Sun shining we made our trek home after mingling with the other drivers and sharing the stories of the road! Until next year!

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