[Jerseygirl]

Details for the Jim Thorpe, PA Run:

Meet at 10 AM May 22, 2004 at the Cracker Barrel Restaurant in Hamburg, Pa. (same meeting point as the Rt. 125 run). There will be a sign-in for the run as well as the poker portion. Please arrive as early as possible so we can get all that taken care of. Driver's meeting will take place at 10:55.

Directions to Cracker Barrel:
Exit 29b off Rt. 78 (Route 61 Exit)
Go 0.3 miles North on Route 61
Right onto Jetson Drive
Right onto Industrial Drive
Follow to the Cracker Barrel
The run will start at 11AM

What you need to bring:
- full tank of gas
- 2-way radio
- snacks/lunch (if you're not interested in the scheduled lunch stop)

There will be an Ice Cream/Lunch break at Leiby's Restaurant along the way. Their food is pretty good, but I HIGHLY recommend the ice cream! They have a belgian waffle/ice cream sundae to die for!

The run will end in the quaint little town of Jim Thorpe, PA. From there you will be on your own. You can stay and enjoy the town, get some dinner, or simply head home. Jim Thorpe is located very close to the Northeast Extension for easy return travel either to NY/NJ or Philly. For those interested in making a weekend of it, there are a few bed & breakfasts available in town.

I'm also setting this run up as a poker run. This will be completely optional, but to steal a quote from the lottery commercials... "Ya gotta be in it, to win it!" You can sign up for the poker run at the start of the run. The cost will be $10 per car. At five stops along the run you will receive a card. At the end of the run, there will be a first, second and third place awarded for the best poker hands. First place will receive 50% of the "pot", 2nd place 30%, and third place 20%.

If you are planning on attending, please give a shout either here or on the Yahoo Group. If you are interested in the poker run please mention that when you sign up. I'd like to get an idea how many decks of cards I'm going to need.

Info about Jim Thorpe, PA:

For those unfamiliar with the town... Jim Thorpe, PA is a former mining town which was originally named Mauch Chunk (Indian for "Bear Mountain"). The name was changed in the 50's to honor the Native American Olympian, Jim Thorpe, who is buried there. The town is known as "The Switzerland of America". It was made famous by it's swtichback gravity railroad, used for bringing coal down to the canal for transport. The switchback was used as a tourist attraction in the evenings and was essentially one of the first "roller coasters". Track length was 40 miles and top speed was 100 mph! This made Jim Thorpe the 2nd largest tourist attraction of the 19th century (in the US) right behind Niagara Falls.

Today the town retains it's historic charm. Many of the old buildings remain, and some are still privately owned. You can tour the Asa Packer mansion which sits atop a hill overlooking the town, or tour St. Mark's Episcopal church with it's Tiffany stained-glass windows and one of the oldest operating elevators in the country. Or take a 35-minute train ride originating from the town's 1888 train station. For the shoppers, the town's main street is lined with small shops, including an old-fashion candy shop. For the outdoor lovers, there are plenty of hiking/biking trails in the area as well as access to whitewater rafting, paintball, and camping!

Confirmed so far on MINI2, NAM or MINIUSA...

Jerseygirl and IanF
GMINI03 (poker)
MINI Girl (USA) (poker)
laughscott (poker)
kavorka123 (poker)
abigkid56 (poker)
JaySnyder and Rhapsody (poker)
dodad (poker)
Bob and Susan Highfield
Mark and Jody
cycleguru (poker)
ontheroadagain (poker)
AckerMINI
Herby74
Tonymini

on PhillyMINI Yahoo Group...
Ron and Vanessa (poker)
Ken and Carol Ann (poker)
Rick N.
Steven P. (poker)
John, Leslie and Baby Bear
Craig and Jack (poker)
Scott and Sarah
Bill and Patty
Dave G. and Jenn W.
George and Karen
Heather P. (poker)
Jeff and Marge
Michael W. and Kelly B.
Steve D. (poker)
Joe, Annette and Genny
Ken M. (poker)
Shane

[NEMINI]

Hell ya know I'm in , ooh a Saturday, GMINI won't like that lol

[MINI Girl (USA)]

count me & Dan in......

count us in for the poker run too!

[Jerseygirl]

Oh, just one more request. If you plan on participating in the poker run please mention that. I'd like to get an idea how many decks of cards I'm going to need.

Thanks!!!

[NEMINI]

count me in the poker run also

[Jerseygirl]

Updated the original post with some info about the town...

[laughscott]

Robyn,

Count me in as well, and the Poker Run!

Is this going to be your primary registration place, or PhillyMINI, or both?

Cheers.

Scott

[sdmidget]

Count me in too!

Also for the poker run - assuming I can navigate and drive at the same time.

[Jerseygirl]

OK, got sdmidget and laughscott down as being confirmed!!

Scott, so far I've been using MINI2 as my main place to keep track mainly because I just haven't gotten around to setting up a database on the Yahoo group (which nobody ever seems to be very good at responding to anyway). But I've also got this posted on NAM and I'm keeping the confirmed list updated over there as well.

NEWS FLASH: Looks like we're going to have at least one door prize to offer for this run. I won't give details until everything is nailed down but stay tuned!

[Jerseygirl]

NEWS FLASH! After major negotiations late into the night last night, I have nailed down another door prize sponsor. The Bag Lady has agreed to donate one of her Jumper Cable bags for the occasion. Isn't she wonderful?

Bag will be similar to this...



Additional door prize info to follow in the coming weeks...

[CooperSQT]

To all Thorpe watchers: There is a RSVP database on PhillyMINI set-up and ready-to-go for all those willing and able to use it. Jerseygirl, by the way, you've got 6 RSVP's over there already

Quote: Originally Posted by Jerseygirl

Scott, so far I've been using MINI2 as my main place to keep track mainly because I just haven't gotten around to setting up a database on the Yahoo group (which nobody ever seems to be very good at responding to anyway).

[jfleischer]

Leslie and I were on the first pre run. This is going to be a great run thru
the Counties of Berks, Lehigh, Schuylkill and Carbon. Robyn and Ian have a
special knowledge of the back roads in this area. Great back roads with
little traffic and great pies and ice cream at the lunch stop. Jim Thorpe is
great for browsing thru shops and has a really cool penny candy and ice
cream shop. I am sure our group of Mini Maniacs will be welcome there.

[miniminiminimini]

The run sounds great, but tell us more about the "belgian waffle/ice cream sundae" thing.

[Jerseygirl]

Quote: Originally Posted by miniminiminimini

The run sounds great, but tell us more about the "belgian waffle/ice cream sundae" thing.

Ahh... the Belgian Waffle Sundae, a true delight. Picture this...

A freshly made (when you order), hot and fluffy Belgian waffle. Sitting atop the waffle, a very generous helping of some of the richest ice cream you've had in your life. Top that off with one of about 13 different toppings (my preference is hot fudge), add some whipped cream, sprinkles and/or nuts and let the indulgence begin!

For those more health conscious, they do also offer 98% fat-free yogurt.

[sdmidget]

This month's AAA/Central Penn Magazine has a nice article about Jim Thorpe!


BTW - we were talking about Leiby's at lunch today. My secretary, who's from New Tripoli, wants a banana split. One of the engineers, who's from Pottsville, wants pie with ice cream!!

[Jerseygirl]

We went through a pre-run this weekend to check out some road conditions. You can find some photos and other info about the run here: http://www.millpondminis.com/JT.htm

If you're interested in the run and haven't already signed up, give a shout!

[pocket_rocket]

Hey Robyn,

Put us down for two.. Craig & Jack
This will be the first run for our MINI!!
I doubt it will even be broken in by then!

I have never played poker before but will study up and give it a shot.
Want to win that bag! It would go great with a Lapis interior

Looking forward to it.. the pre-run looked like lots of fun!



Craig

[Jerseygirl]

Quote: Originally Posted by pocket_rocket

I have never played poker before but will study up and give it a shot. Want to win that bag! It would go great with a Lapis interior

Hey Craig, glad you will be making this your innaugural MINI run! The pre-run was great.

Just to clarify to everyone, you DO NOT have to play poker to win one of the door prizes. Everyone who comes to the event will be eligible to win a door prize whether they enter the poker game or not! Each driver's name will be placed in a hat and we will draw for the door prizes at the end of the run. This way even those who don't want to play poker can still win something!

[dodad]

Please count us in for the drive and poker. This will be our first rally, and I have a stupid question. About the 2 way radios - do you mean like walkie talkies, or cb? Would cell phones suffice?
Thanks.

[Jerseygirl]

Quote: Originally Posted by dodad

Please count us in for the drive and poker. This will be our first rally, and I have a stupid question. About the 2 way radios - do you mean like walkie talkies, or cb? Would cell phones suffice?
Thanks.

Wow, two people making this their first run!

As far as the radios go they can't be walkie talkies. Two-way radios look similar to wakie talkies, but I believe they operate on different frequencies. You also have the ability to select a channel (we always use 7 on the runs). They may even operate on the same frequencies as cb radio but I don't know for sure. You can get a pair of 2-way radios fairly reasonably. I've got Motorola Talkabout 5710's. I think they were around $50-$60 and they have a 5-mile range. The radios help the leader pass along instructions and also let people further back announce if they've gotten held up at a light or had some other problem. Trying to use cell phones would be a nightmare and in some of the areas on this run there is NO cell phone reception.

You might be able to borrow a radio from someone the day of the run, but I wouldn't count on it. If you think you'll be doing more runs in the future, you really should invest in some radios.

Hope that helps.