[gabe]

A couple of us came up with the idea of late winter/early spring drive to some of our favorite eating establishments around the northern part of the state (with some curvy roads thrown in for good measure). Unofficially the drive is being call "the Gut Buster". We've designed the route to be more segmented so people can join and drop out whenever they wish. The details are below. As usual you can get more more info at my site or by emailing me.

When: Saturday March 8th 8:00 - 2:00 (depending on where you start and end your drive)

Times: There are a couple starting points due to some of us living near the city and some of us living in the northern Suburbs. For those from outside the Chicago area email me directly for more specific directions.

Plaza De Lago in Wilmette: 8:00 (leaving at 8:30 / Krispy Kreme in Gurnee: 9:30 (leaving around 10) / Jelly Belly: around 10:30 (probably leave around 11:30) / The Spot in Kenosha: 12:30 to 1. These times are all estimates at this point but they should give you a general idea of the schedule.

Where: The starting point is for those coming from the city, near northside, or any who has to drive a ways north to get to Gurnee will be Plaza De Lago located on Sheridan Rd. in Wilmette. We will meet at 8:00 a.m. and leave around 8:30. Directions are as follows:
Go North from the city on the Edens (I94) and exit east on Lake Ave. Follow Lake Ave. for about 10 minutes - once you go over some railroad tracks you will be getting close. From there you go through a large 4 way intersection and then hit a traffic light. At the light you will turn left onto Sheridan Rd. From there you will drive about a .5 of a mile and hit another light. Take a left on this light (Westerfield Dr.) and make an immediate right into the parking lot. We will meet in the side of the parking lot that is closest too the intersection you just came from.

Here's a map of the Wilmette area. Here's a map of the drive from we'll take from Wilmette to Gurnee (we'll be going from south to north so you should start from the bottom of the page)

The starting point for those in the far northern suburbs or for those who want to get up later and just shoot straight up to Gurnee is the Krispy Kreme in Gurnee IL. I would assume those of us coming from Wilmette will arrive at the Gurnee Krispy Kreme around 9:30 a.m. so let shoot for that as the time to meet. Directions are as follows assuming your're coming from I94 either north or southbound: Exit onto 132 Eastbound. Shortly after you are on 132 you will turn left onto N. Dilley's Rd. Krispy Kreme will be on your left.

Here's a map of the Gurnee area

From there we will Hunt Club Rd to County Q/Route 165 to Green Bay Road. The Jelly Belly Factory is another 1/4 mile north of there. This map illustrates the route.

The Jelly Belly factory should be fairly easy to get to from there.

Finally after the Jelly Belly factory we'll head north into Kenosha for some lunch at the Spot. Here's the map of the route from Jelly Belly to the Spot

Who: Anyone is welcome to join us. If you have a new MINI, a Classic Mini, or are patiently awaiting your MINI that is currently on some ship crossing the Atlantic you're welcome to come out.<

The Details: This drive is a fairly long one so come prepared! Our initial meeting place (for those going to Wilmette) is a good place to gather as there's a Starbucks and Jewel right there in the plaza. If you want more information about Plaza de Lago
check out their website: www.plazadelago.com

Of course our second meeting place in Gurnee, Krispy Kreme, speaks for itself.

Things to Bring: FRS Radios, a full tank of gas, all your best Mini apparel, and a smile.

You'll want to check out my site for further details as the drive gets closer: bridger.us/mini

For those coming from outside the Chicago region feel free to email me directly for specific directions.

[gabe]

I guess we use the term "Spring Fever" loosely. It was a great drive with a really fun route. What we didn't expect was a blizzard in Kenosha Wisconsin. It hit towards the end of the route thankfully so most of the drive was fairly leisurely.

All the images are on my site here: bridger.us/mini/march_drive_03/

Here are some highlights:













and finally all of us (minus one that had to leave early)

[ernesto]

It was a great ride. Looking forward to the next one with hopefully a litle less snow..

[nelsdvn]

What a difference a week would have made.........65 degrees plus and SUN!!! The Mini is out of storage and we are looking forward to the next Mini meet in this area.

[Jeeves]

Any chance of having a Milw/Wis group drive?
The Chicago drives are wonderful...
Having said that, I feel there are enough Wis MINIs to have drives around our state, and not always impose on the very gracious Ill Minis. Comments?

[nelsdvn]

Quote:

Originally posted by Jeeves
Any chance of having a Milw/Wis group drive?

I am sure there is, the only thing it requires is a motivated individual to plan and organize. I get my schedule one month at a time and weekends off are spotty at best. Probably not the best candidate to organize.

[Jeeves]

I usually get my E. R. schedule 4 to 6 weeks in advance. But the weekend schedule is a set rotation, every 3rd weekend. I can figure open weekends for severals years if need be. I would definetly be willing to help organize the Wisconsin MINIs. The drawback is that I do not live in the MIlw, or Madison areas. Then again e-mail and the web know no distances. An idea I floated with the Chicago MINIs (I've done 2 drives with their wonderful group) is to combine the Chicago and Wisconsin MINIs for one ride. The event would be, Miller Park to MINI tail gate enmass and see the Brewers vs Cubs on the weekend of Sept 5, 6, or 7th.
Those games are Fri nite, Sat nite, or Sun afternoon.
Group concensus would decide which game. Tailgate from when the park opens. Watch the game. Either post game tailgate or motor to Kopps for ice cream before we disburse. Anyway... Just a thought. The Chicago people do think the idea has merit. Wisconsin MINIs what do you think?

[RobbyTT]

crap. sorry i missed this. is there a mailing list set up for chicago folks? I'd like to make the next drive.

let me know

thanks!

[gabe]

We generally operate via my website: http://bridger.us/mini

Otherwise we generally will post the details on all the forums a week or two ahead of time.