Those of us at the Cooper Vineyard Convergence on Saturday 24th July had a great time and some commented we should do this again. So here's a proposal for an event that I'm going to go ahead and set up. Hope people will be interested. I founded and organized a similar event in INDIANA back in the early 90's - I ran it for 8 years and started with 7 cars the first year, up to 121cars, all BRITISH, by the time we moved from IN to VA in 2000. It's still going strong and just celebrated it's 12th Annual meet -- Do a search if you're interested for "TEA AT THE VICARAGE, HOWE, IN)

Date: TBD - Late September, early October (A fall rally)

Where: Meet at Sunnyside Farms Famous Rest Stop in SPERRYVILLE, VA (Lots of room at the place for parking and opportunity to eat lunch at the BURGER BARN or the DELI.)

What: A 50 mile drive (or thereabouts) around the area (Rappahannock, Culpeper County) in the foothills of the BLUE RIDGE on a pre-determined route looking for answers to clues provided on the day. i.e. A TREASURE HUNT or SCAVENGER HUNT. For this event it is advisable to bring a passenger to navigate and help to look for the answers/clues. The event is not a race and no skill is required (beyond that of being able to DRIVE a MINI!) The event is meant to be a fun time for fellow enthusiasts doing what we like to do -- DRIVE our MINI COOPERS!

The rally will start and end in SPERRYVILLE, VA. At the completion of the rally the answer sheets will be tallied and a winner will be announced. I'm sure I can come up with some sort of "PRIZE" for the winner.

Proposed time frame for the day would be. (Times Approx at this point)

11.00 Cars arrive, register (no fee) and receive route/clue sheet.
(Time to eat lunch and chat together)

12.00noon cars begin to leave at intervals on the rally.

2.00pm First cars begin to arrive back at SPERRYVILLE.

3.30pm/4pm Announce winner and enjoy some fellowship before heading home.

I'm sure I can provide discount coupons for those who want to eat at the BURGER BARN (Best BURGER in the Greater DC AREA -- as recognized by GOURMET FOOD MAG and the WASHINGTONIAN MAG) but everyone would be welcome to bring their own picnic if they so wished.

I'll set the date as soon as I've checked SUNNYSIDEFARMS event calendar. Other than that -- if anyone has any questions PM me. To get an idea of the number interested please indicate on this thread if you think may attend.

Looks more than likely that this will be on the 9th October. Watch this space for more info

 

I am totally up for this (If my wife lets me)! Count the MINI VERDE in!

 

Planning continues for this event. One of the reason for the date being October 9th was so that it would coincide with "The Harvest Moon Fall Festival" which is being held at the Sperryville location of Sunnyside Farms Famous Rest Stop. There will be a lot going on at the place. There will be a number of displays of traditional farming methods, and there will be some things for the younger ones. Apple bobbing, cider press and the like. I am working on the prize for the rally "winner" at the moment and have something in mind that a MINI enthusiast would love!!!! Tell your friends, bring your family and have a great early Fall day out in your MINI.

 

Looks like there are about 12 cars "signed" up for the day as of today. With more than a month to go I am hopeful we might get closer to 20 - 25 cars, so tell your MINI friends to "sign" up for the day. The trees should be beautiful by then and I promise there will be some interesting roads - and they will all be surfaced! No unpaved roads!

 

Sunnyside has kindly agreed to purchased the prize for the winner of the rally. If you're young at heart, and you must be to drive a MINI -- you're going to love it! I'll post a schedule of other activities going on in Sperryville as soon as I get them

 

Assuming this event is still on, my wife & I are planning to join it.

 

Minilla,

Thanks for the planning and hospitality. Bea and I enjoyed seeing familiar faces and new ones as well. It turns out we are better at looking out the front window than the side. Your test is too tough. Grin. Thanks, again.

Vince

 

That was fun! Even if I didn't win! Although, I would have tried a bit harder if I knew what the prize was!

-Paul!

 

Glad you guys were able to enjoy the day. Yeah, I wanted the prize to be a surprise! Maybe next time - huh Paul! I can't find the winner on any of the forums. Please stand up and identify yourselves!
Thanks Philip
I'll post some pictures soon!

 

:smile:

Hi Phil,

Nancy and I had a great time ... sorry that we didn't get a chance yesterday to post anything. We enjoyed greatly tooling around the countryside -- even if our command of cockney was somewhat lacking. We plan to return to the area periodically, just for the fun of driving around and loading up on local produce--our 'boot' was completely filled with fruits & vegetables (and the prize) by the time we left the area. (The curious login ID dates back 30 years from user names on old NASA computers at the Goddard Space Flight Center -- I really need something more contemporary!)

I didn't have time to play with the prize yesterday, but fully intend to today!

All the best,
-Melvyn & Nancy

 

Hey, if any of you living out in/around the mountains, there's a DC Metro MINIs club event that's going to be held out there the 23rd! You don't have to be a club member to take part in this event. If you might be interested, the thread with info is here.

-Paul!