You are currently viewing our forum as a guest, which gives you limited access to view most discussions and access our other features. By joining our community, at no cost, you will have access to post topics, communicate privately with other members (PM), respond to polls, upload content and access many other special features. Registration is free, fast and simple, so please join our community today!
Hi Iowa MINIs and Dustin. I just posted a quick note on the Madison MINIs Yahoo Group message board about this thread and events. I hope it will generate some interest. I look forward to seeing you all sometime over the weekend. I plan on the Vineyard tour. Unfortuately I have an event Saturday night I can not miss.
Did we get our 5th room booked? Hopefully so! I hope everyone can make it out. I am off in a few minutes to run the test route. I have an old family route through Wisconsin from Lisa and a pretty fun looking route from Dustin so we'll be driving both of those today!
Lisa and I have a final route now and I will post it up when I have the notes and all done for it. I will have printed copier for everyone the day of the drive.
Its a fun route with some nice straight scenic portions and then some other parts where the only scenery you'll want to keep your eye is the road in front of you. Should make for a good drive for everyone. We'll have a lunch stop real quick in Boscobel, WI at the A&W and Subway there and then push on to Madison. Took us a little over 3.5 hours from Dubuque where I think we'll try and pick up all of the Northern Iowa and Possibly Chicago/Madison MINIs if possible. In any case I'll have all the details up early this week.
Please see the attached document for full route info.
Unfortunately the route takes us a bit far from the Chicago area so they will not be meeting up with us for the run but we'll see them in Madison and on Sunday for the Winery tours and what not.
Still haven't heard if any of the Madison MINIs or any other Wisconsin MINIs are meeting up with us at all, so as far as I know it's just Iowa MINIs making the full drive so hopefully there are a few of us going along to make the drive.
In any case, I think you will all enjoy the route we have planned it is full of some nice turns and should be a good time.
HR, thanks for all of the hard work setting up this route. It looks first rate.
My sched is in flux but I hope to be able to commit once I get back from MITM. I'm optimistic about being able to meet the group in Dubuque for the trip up.
"...indeed the love that the horses of the Rangers bore for their riders was so great that they were willing to face even the terror of the Door, if their masters' hearts were steady..." --- J.R.R. Tolkien
Well, I can probably still call the Country Inns and Suite for $99 otherwise too. Please shoot me an email at rob@robhigareda.com if you will be needing a room at the Country Inns and Suites. I'll see if I can still get the $99 rate. thanks thought Brian for trying on the rates!!
I guess at this point we can just try and get rooms wherever it works best for everyone unless I get 5 people to confirm for room, we can just go wherever is least expensive and convenient for everyone
Hello there Eastern Iowa MINI's! I am putting together a weekend get away drive for the last weekend in August. This drive is targeted to end in Madison, WI for Taste of Madison. I love the Taste of Chicago event and think the Taste of Madison event would be a great event to make it to.
The plan is start the drive on the 30th from Iowa City, and then head to Wisconsin to meet up with the Wisconsin and Illinois MINI groups to finish up the drive to Madison for an evening at the taste.
Once we head north we will make a stop for some leg stretching and lunch. After some leg stretching we will continue our drive north east with the first days drive ending with us arriving in Madison Wisconsin for a nice dinner and possibly some pestering of the Madison MINI group. Taste of Madison hosts around 60 food vendors and live music so I would expect Saturday night to be a night on the town eating and taking in some concerts.
Day two will essentially be a return trip back home, with the night before being the mainstay of the Taste. If you want to revisit the taste you can of course do so, but Thanks to Dustin from the Chicago MINI Driving Group there is a Sunday Vineyard Tour driving west after breakfast, then North and back east to Madison. For those that have to head back(such as myself) We will part from the Vineyard tour at around noon to head back home. For those that want to head home on Sunday afternoon or Labor Day/Monday it will be a fun filled day and night back in Madison area.
If you are interested in making the drive please let me know so I have a good estimate of what we can expect for numbers so I can contact Madison area hotels for pricing on any possible group discounts. Hopefully this is something of interests to all of you EIM Minis.
I will post a link to this on our EIM site and MinisofIowa.com
The only thing I had lined up was if we can get five room we can do $99 at the Country Inns and Suites, otherwise as it seems now we are all just trying to find the cheapest rooms using Hotels.com or PriceLine.com or wherever you normally shop for discount rooms.
Hi everyone from beautiful Santa Fe. Have any of you looked for rooms on the East Side of Madison or in Sun Prairie? I live on that side of town and it is usually less expensive than the west side or Middleton. Try near East Towne Mall, there are several motels there and Sun Prairie. These areas are right off I90/94 and it is easy downtown access.
Just a heads up. I ended up booking at the Super8 East. It was only $76 a night and they just renovated rooms in 2007 I guess so it should be in pretty good shape.
Ok, I'm sorry that I have not responded yet on behalf of the Madison people. Summer is slipping by like the wind. I did not know about this thread until one of our other MadCityMINI members told me about it.
After Rob PM'ed me it was a posibility, I did a alternate Wisconsin route to what you have chosen, but have not sent it on to him. It may be something to use for a future drive. I will send the info to him this weekend.
I have mentioned the event to the Madison Group at some of our social meetings recently, but can't say that we have a solid contingent of people who are planning on participating.
I will try to get some more feedback from the group this week and coordinate some involvement. I personally do not expect to be participating, due to a family gathering which I have to attend in Chicago. Hopefully one of the other members will chose to lead our groups participation.
Jim (MadisonKobalt)
Ah as far as times I have them set as meeting in Marion at 8:30 departing at 8:45 meeting in Dubuque at 10:00 leaving by 10:15am. Stopping in Boscobel at 12:00or so. And then leaving Boscobel whenever and hitting Madison some 2.5hrs later for checking into hotels then meeting back up and heading down the the Taste for the night.
"...indeed the love that the horses of the Rangers bore for their riders was so great that they were willing to face even the terror of the Door, if their masters' hearts were steady..." --- J.R.R. Tolkien
"CHEQQRS" 02 MCS DS/W,RMW DynoTune(203.5WHP),15% Craven,MadnessCAI &Cowl+BlueSilicone,Magnaflow,M7 STB,M7 CF APD,19mm HotchkissRearSwayBar,PowerflexFtControlArmBushings ,HamannRearDiffuser,Kazera KZV17"chrome,JCWdashCF,Chequer:Roof+Mirrors+Custom SideStripes+Whalen+
I hope everyone can make it out. I am off in a few minutes to run the test route. I have an old family route through Wisconsin from Lisa and a pretty fun looking route from Dustin so we'll be driving both of those today! 
ROHERYN -- 2011 MCS SO/W -- 
! We don't have any radios so it would be great if we could borrow one.
