The GREAT Ice Cream Run 2 (TGICR2) - 6/22-6/25 2009

[Jerseygirl]

Mark your calendars and start your diets now. The GREAT Ice Cream Run is back! www.thegreaticecreamrun.com

Registration for The GREAT Ice Cream Run 2 is now open!

Download your registration forms here. (Registration closes on 3/30, but please get your forms in as soon as possible so we can work with the hotels to block additonal rooms if possible.)

The GREAT Ice Cream Run will be a four-day trek from Staunton, VA up to Bar Harbor, ME, with stops along the way for some of the very best ice cream you've ever tasted. Deep fried ice cream... Guinness ice cream... Maine Blueberry ice cream... and don't forget that lobster ice cream! Those are just a few of the ice cream delights that await you along the way. The focus this year will be on quality, not quantity. To that end, we'll be highlighting just 2 or 3 shops each day with the emphasis on making each stop more of a "happening" than just a quick stop for ice cream.

The run will begin on 6/22 in Staunton, and end in Bar Harbor on 6/25. On 6/21 we'll be having an evening get-together at Wright's Dairy Rite in Staunton so everyone can get to know each other and enjoy a Wright's Wheelie (warm glazed donut covered in ice cream, hot fudge, and whipped cream).

But wait, there's more... The Tarheel MINIs group is organizing another Blue Ridge Parkway Tour this year, timed so that event ends the day before the ice cream run begins. The ending point of the Blue Ridge Tour is about a half hour drive from the starting point of TGICR2 so you can go from the Blue Ridge Tour over to Staunton in time for the evening get-together in Staunton.

And as with the original GREAT Ice Cream Run, this year's run is timed to end in Bar Harbor one day before MINIs on Top.

So... if you can swing the vacation time, you can do three great MINI events all in a little over a week!

For those who did the original run in 2007, there are a few changes for this year:

1. We'll be ending in Bar Harbor a day earlier than we did in 2007 so that people can spend some time in Bar Harbor and enjoy some of the sights/activities it has to offer before having to drive over to NH for MINIs on Top (if you choose to attend). OR join up with the Bar Harbor Invasion group.

2. Night 3 of the run will be in Freeport, ME instead of Rockland, ME. This will make Day 3's drive a bit more manageable and allow people time to enjoy Freeport in the evening.


The GREAT Ice Cream Run website has been updated with hotel information for the first three nights of the run. We're still working out the details with the hotels in Maine, so stay tuned.

To stay up to date on all the latest details or to sign up for the event email list, please visit: The GREAT Ice Cream Run

Both the Blue Ridge Parkway Tour and MINIs on Top are being organized independently of TGICR2. If you're interested in doing either of those events, you'll need to register for them separately. Obviously you all know where to go for MINIs on Top info, but if you're interested in the Blue Ridge Parkway Tour, Info can be found here: Blue Ridge Parkway Tour 2009

If anyone has any questions, please feel free to post or shoot me a PM.

Hope to see you for all or part of the run this year!

[Theo]

This sounds interesting! Missed the first one...

Now, if I can figure out how to balance MINIsOnTop needs with this event, I'll throw my hat into the ring. VA is my old stomping ground and I love the BRP.

The cogitative wheels are turning...

[Jerseygirl]

Well we'd love to have you with us. You could always skip out a day or two early if you need to get back up to take care of MOT stuff.

[ravioliworld]

Yeah, that's what Ian did two years ago. Come on Theo, you know you want to!

[GBMINI]

Quote: Originally Posted by Jerseygirl (original)

Well we'd love to have you with us. You could always skip out a day or two early if you need to get back up to take care of MOT stuff.

MOT runs itself these days ... at least I hope so, since I plan to redo TGICR

[NHRef]

Quote: Originally Posted by GBMINI (original)

MOT runs itself these days ...

WHAT? MOT runs itself?

Ian, YOU run MOT and the rest of us get so worn out throwing brickbats (and the occasional bouquet) that we barely have enough energy to open up the wallet to buy another raffle ticket!

But you're such a great leader that we always do!

[NHRef]

Theo, how can you make either the IC Run or MOT?

Won't you be making up ice and snow days until Labor Day?

If you're gonna take time off, take it off for the 24 Hours of LeMons!

[NHRef]

Kidding aside, I'd do the IC Run if its focus returns to quantity . . .

[Jerseygirl]

Quantity is up to the individual participant. With 2-3 stops a day that's still a lot of ice cream, especially if you have 2-3 cones at every stop...

[LePew]

I might be interested in this. Especially if there is a way to fit a track day or two in on the way to the start. I'm thinking Thunderbolt, Pocono, Summit Point, or perhaps even VIR....

[GBMINI]

Been and Gone and a wonderful trip

Many thanks, Robyn!

[snek]

Mini Coopers arrive in Haverhill on ice cream trek - EagleTribune.com, North Andover, MA