6th Annual MINI Cooper Iowa Fall Tour
 

The BIG annual MINI event will be held on Saturday, October 11. This is not an EIM sponsored event, but all MINIs are welcome to join in the fun. The excitement starts at 11 AM with lunch at the fabulous Tuscan Moon restaurant in historic downtown Kalona, Iowa. Then, hang on to your hats, as Larry leads us on a fun route through the countryside. We’ll catch our breath in Muscatine, on the banks of the Mississippi, before we head out to the “most photographed site in this part of the state.” After enjoying Wildcat Den, we’ll end our day in Walton at the oldest soda fountain in the nation,. You’ll be on your way home at 5:30. We’ll need a head count in a few weeks for the restaurant so we can be seated together on the patio (weather permitting).

Hope to see you on October 11!

I'm interested. But it's my weekend with the kids. I'll see if they want to go. They love my new MINI. Any other kids there ages 9-14?

David

I have put this on the calendar and am looking forward to it!

David and all:
We rarely have kids along, but there is no good reason why they shouldn't be a part of the fun. This event would especially be fun for kids from Muscatine to the end. We plan to roll into Riverside Park in Muscatine at 2:20, if the whole day seems like too much. You could skip lunch in Kalona and the hair-raising back roads route to Muscatine.

Hope to see you and the kids!

i'm hoping to make it on Saturday and meet up in Muscatine. When you take these excursions are you guys leisurely driving, racing or both. I was recently in Arkansas and took some awesome roads thru the ozark mts to Branson, Missouri. The bummer part was my dad was driving in his minivan and it was raining. Had I known the roads were going to be like that we would've taken my mini.

As far as I know Lisa and I are in. Hopefully nothing comes up that gets in the way.

I am for sure in pending any disasters...

I guess the answer to that depends on who you talk to :)
We sometimes like to mix it up a little bit, but there is no "racing" in the traditional sense of the word. For me it's mostly just the fun of being with MINIs in a caravan and enjoying the good company and sites/sights.

+1 on primarily enjoying the company of good MINI friends, visiting new places (and eating good food!). I characterize EIM as a fun and law-abiding group. I can't remember a drive where we weren't paying reasonable attention to the posted speed limit. That said, when out on the open road I think I speak for the group when I say that we really like to see lots of road signs with very crooked arrows on them and like to take the twisties that follow those signs at a spirited pace (within each person's ability and as allowed by the road conditions). It's the exhilarating, natural, visceral thrill of driving a MINI. :thumbsup:

Hope you can make this event--I'm certain you'll have a good time.

The best roads are those that give you the experience without having to break the law to do so!

Just remember MINI's look best on all four pieces of rubber pointing down!

I am pretty sure the Soda Fountain is in Wilton, IA.

Were planning on it,:thumbsup:

This sounds like it will be a good time! :thumbsup: We are looking forward to enjoying some MINI fun. Let us know what we need to do to sign up (if anything) as this will be our first twisties trip.

Paul & Nora

Hey Paul and Nora! We're very happy to have you join us! The only sign-up is going to be for the lunch reservations. That notice will go out on Friday. See you next month!

Daryl

Fall MINI Fun October 11
 

MINI Fun-Seekers,

The annual fall MINI tour is going to be held on October 11. The fun starts in Kalona at 11:00. Please see post #1 for details. If you’ve mentioned here that you’ll attend, I have your name down already, but to ensure VIP MINI seating, please email me with the number of VIP seats to reserve for you. Everyone is welcome to stop by, even without a reservation, but only those with reservations will get the VIP treatment that you rightly deserve. I’ll send in the reservations on September 26, so if you can let me know by then, that will be perfect.

Hope to see you for all the fun on October 11!

Daryl

MINI Friends,

Tomorrow I’ll be calling in the number of VIP seats we need for lunch on October 11. If I’ve missed anyone, please let me know so we can all be seated together.

Daryl
David and kids (not lunch)
Linda and Tom
Lisa and Rob
Paul and Nora
Gary and Penny
Roger
Janis
Linda
Greg and Judy
Larry and Pam
Brian and Cora
Gary (not lunch)
Maria (not confirmed)

See you, soon!

Daryl

'ello gov'nor

It will be me + 3 for lunch.

See ya there!

Looks like we may have great turnout!!

I understand that responding this late might put us at the kids table but Jan and I plan to meet you all for lunch.

Tim, I'll be happy to give up my seat for Jan, but you might have to balance your plate on your knees :)

Alas, it looks like my prior family commitment to the Alzheimer's Walk-a-Thon in Burlington on the 11th is going to trump my participation in the Fall Tour. For a while I thought I might be able to catch up with the group later but now that's not looking likely. :cry: I hope you all have a great time. Looks like a good group.

I'm particularly bummed since you're going thru Washington -- my old home town. When I go there to visit family in the MINI, I've made a habit lately of taking W61 down from Riverside. You'll have fun on that stretch! BTW, the south side of the square in Washington is closed due to construction, so if you go there you might have to route around it.

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(P.S. - I'm thinking about hosting a drive up my way on Saturday, Nov 1st. Rather than clutter up this thread, PM me if you'd be interested in coming on that day and experiencing some twisties in my corner of the state. If I get a sufficient response, I'll start a new thread.)

Final preparations have been made and we’re all set for lots of MINI fall fun on Saturday! The weather will be a balmy 74 degrees and we’ll have a fun-filled day beginning with lunch at the Tuscan Moon at 11:00. The restaurant is in the heart of downtown at 203 5th Street, Kalona, IA 52247 (319) 656-3315. We’re under somewhat of a tight schedule so we can pack in as much fun as possible We need to leave Kalona as close to 12:15 as possible. So, we’ll enjoy our gourmet lunch, than off we go!

See you on Saturday!

Were ready, Marty might get a wax job

washing waxing and new fluids abound!!

Pretty purple engine oil and blue brake fluid

This is a weird coincidence...

I posted earlier that I was missing the Fall Tour drive on Saturday because of the Alzheimers Walk-a-thon in Burlington. Well, my brother who lives in West Burlington invited us to go see their son perform in a marching band festival later in the afternoon after the walk was over. We've never seen him perform and gladly accepted. Guess where that band festival is taking place? Wilton!

So I might get to see all of my EIM friends after all if our paths happen to cross at the Wilton Candy Kitchen later in the day, which would be very cool :thumbsup: (but I'll be in our Subaru Outback and not the MINI, so please don't look the other way...).

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BTW, a note to deanman: I called the Wilton Candy Kitchen to confirm their hours, and they said they were planning on closing at 5 pm this coming Saturday. I know your original schedule said something about 5:30, so I'm alerting you just in case you need to adjust your route times.