Our convoy of 2 got off to a late start on Friday, so since we were probably going to miss that evening’s festivities anyway, we took our time getting there. The trip was long and boring, so everyone started getting really tired, but as we made our way deeper into the Blue Ridge Mountains, the curves came and that seemed to give everyone a much needed boost. The final 20 miles or so of mountain roads made us forget all about the dullness of Interstate 81 that had almost put us all to sleep.

The town seemed lifeless as we pulled in around 2am, which was somewhat surprising to us, since we have grown accustomed to the madness that is H20i and expected a somewhat similar atmosphere. Even though we eventually figured out where the action was, we were definitely wrong in thinking this event was anything like H2Oi or any other event that we had ever been to.

SoWo is an event of a different nature. There was no admission to get into the show and the overall vibe during the weekend was great. No rushing from one GTG to another, no having to be somewhere at a specific time to pick up tickets, no pressure at all. Everyone was just chillin. It was exactly what we hoped it would be – an amazing show in an amazing town!

For the staff at SoWo, H20tuning, all the vendors, VWOA and even the front desk lady at the Riverbend Motel and Cabin, we thank you for a wonderful experience and appreciate your hospitality. See you next year!

Photos by: ThegreyT_1

Kentlands Shopping Center, Gaithersburg, MD 20878

Check out the meet thread on our forums for the latest news and updates. Any changes in time or location will always be posted there. Our bad weather location is now posted on that page as well.

Each Rally participant received a set of vinyl Rally Decals for their car, a Rally Shirt and a very nice “Goody Bag”. Even though the goody bag contained a second shirt, stickers, a towel and numerous other items, the highlight was the bag itself! Thanks to Lionell and his Mom and their hard work, each participant received an embroidered backpack.

We met at 10am, at our usual meet location at the Kmart in the Kentlands Shopping Center. Once everyone arrived, we went over some basic rules, handed out the decals and goody bags, then put the decals on our cars before a last minute group photo. Rick, even though he couldn’t join us on the cruise, showed up to see us off with some Donuts and Milk! That was incredibly cool of him… yay Rick!

We departed at 11am and made our way down 270 to 495 to Route 50. We stopped off at the Kmart after the Bay Bridge to use the restroom and say hello to the people in the WaWa Rally, which meets at that spot every year. After their group rolled out, we mounted up and continued on our way. Everything went smoothly and we managed to keep the group together the whole way down there, so things could not have worked out any better. In my opinion, “EVACuation Rally 2010″ was a smashing success!

Thanks again to King Volkswagen and Fitzgerald Auto Malls for sponsoring the event.

Photos by: lillaRe