Midwest Esses 2nd Annual Fall Gathering

[CurtEgerer]

I took this Thursday off and Kim & I are going to do a re-con mission. It's a beautiful area up there in wine country. But 140 miles one-way (close to 3 hours) might be pushing it with the girls along???? If we leave at 9, we'd be at Black Star around 12 with no stops (remember this is all 2-laners and we'll be going thru a bunch of little towns = slow going). Make that the lunch stop as well and figure maybe an hour there. Leave at 1PM. Travel another hour or so to a shopping destination. That'd put us at 2PM. Figure an hour and half minimum there. Start heading for home at 3:30. That'd give us 2 hours to get back to the Inn before sunset. It could work.

I do know of a good restaurant on the outskirts of Traverse City that might work out as a halfway lunch spot, too.

[Cornpanzer]

I think that 280-300 miles round trip is a bit much to try to bite off for one day. Especially since many of us will be driving 4-6 hours the day before.

I feel that 60 miles each way, a nice lunch, some tire kicking and then retire to dinner and drinks would be nice.

[CurtEgerer]

Well, let's get a consensus on how far we want to travel right now. There's a little bit of difference between 120 miles and 300 or so. I'm up for either. But I'd like to get the route nailed down this Thursday. Of course, the prime real estate is all up in the Traverse City / Leelanau area, but that means a minimum 2.5 hour drive one way.

For a shorter drive, we can still drive north up the coast from Montague to, say, the Silver Lake & Pentwater area (very nice little resort towns on Lake Michigan) and then go east into the Manistee National Forest and find some nice windy roads in there.

Cast your vote now!

[CurtEgerer]

Of course, one advantage to Silver Lake would be the possibility of recreating the Safari Rally of the 70s. Bring your sand tires boys .....

[fryardds]

Looks like the RAT Patrol (one of my favorite TV shows as a kid). Guess I should raise up the suspension in the Targa.

Thanks for taking the time to do a re-con drive. Whatever you decide on a route will be fun, I'm sure of that.

[scargo70]

I think that 280-300 miles round trip is a bit much to try to bite off for one day. Especially since many of us will be driving 4-6 hours the day before.

I feel that 60 miles each way, a nice lunch, some tire kicking and then retire to dinner and drinks would be nice.

I agree; i think 60miles each way should be enough....but i might be persuadeable

[JCR]

911, four wheel drift, sudden throttle lift... in the SAND!
Hmmm... wonder what will happen?? We can have a contest to see who can bury their ass end deepest!

I think the lesser, 120 (or so) mile option would be good for this trip... given the group. What we save in petrol costs will be spent during shopping excursions!

Let us know what you find out there Curt. Any Cider Mills??

[larry47us]

I tried to post this yesterday, but the site was so slow that I got "timed out." Judy feels that a 60 mile each way trip is sufficient for her. That opinion might be shared by the other Porsche widows.

She also notes the cost of Petrol and the time to get to the destination (starting point.) I really want her along - to share the passion, so a longer drive might be out of the question. Shopping along the way doesn't mitigate the long drive of the day. Also, a 60 mile drive might translate to 1.5 to 2 hours in the car each way.

That might be sufficient, with time to shop, schmooze about cars, ogle each other's . . . . . cars, and have a nice dinner.

It was a great time last year, I can't wait for this one.

larry

[CurtEgerer]

My wife voted for a 15 minute drive to the nearest shopping mall. That's why I normally don't let her ride in the Porsche ......

Kim & I did a re-con of the area today. Montague to Pentwater is about 50 minutes. Nice road up the shoreline, although views of the lake are really limited on this section of road. Pentwater is a nice little resort town with lots of little shops and the like .... should keep the girls happy for a while ...... From there, it is questionable as to the drive back. I didn't find any good roads inland. Pretty much farm country with some rolling terrain. Like I said, the really impressive stuff is WAY further north but that looks unlikely. So, I'm going to pour over my maps some more and see what I can come up with.

[fryardds]

How about leaving the women in Pentwater, armed with plastic (easy for me to say since my wife won't be there) , and we blast up North with a full load of fuel? Just kidding (kinda).

Thanks for the re-con Curt. Guess we will come up with something for the return trip. I've got my trusty MI Gazetteer out. How about a loop through the Manistee National Forrest? Any interesting roads in there?