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Bluerauder
08-05-2007, 07:01 PM
Memories of Marauderville V (MV5)

50 pics in the MV5 Event Gallery >>>>>http://www.mercurymarauder.net/showcase/showimage.php?i=9026

Wednesday, 1 August 2007

• Arrival at the hotel at noon
• Pick up visitor bags from Hagerstown Convention and Visitors Bureau (CVB)
• Begin registration/check-in set up at 2:30 PM
• Do some final bag stuffing
• Participants begin to check-in around 3:00 PM
• Meeting some people for the first time “in person”
• 20 people head to the Schmankerl Stube German Restaurant
• 12 MMs lined up in the parking lot near the Visitor’s Center in downtown Hagerstown
• Weiner Schnitzel, Bratwurst, Sauerkraut, and 1 liter beers
• Local TV station leaves a business card on the cars – Call me
• Back to the hotel parking lot at 10:30 PM
• Pat suffers a roof dinger from a flying object enroute to the hotel.

Thursday, 2 August 2007

• Up at 6 AM – out in the parking lot at 6:30 AM to give the car the once over with ICE
• Several other folks have the same idea …. Cleaning products are abundantly evident
• Grab a coffee at the hotel restaurant
• Mini-convoys to Richardson’s Restaurant for the kick-off breakfast
• Some 35 Marauders in the restaurant parking lot. Many photo opportunities.
• Huge buffet breakfast in all-you-can-east style -- Marauderers have LARGE appetites
• Eggs, bacon, sausage, scrapple, home-fired potatoes, pancakes, French toast, biscuits, coffee, orange and apple juice.
• Short welcome speech – Welcome to CAM Territory
• Back to the hotel to resume registration/check-in for the later arrivals
• Some folks back to washing, waxing, cleaning and shining their MMs
• Others just kicked back and hanging out in or around the swimming pool
• MV5 Picnic and Car Show begin at 12 Noon
• Arrive on time, park MM and set up Bluerauder display
• Hang the banners for “Marauderville V”, Tire Rack and others.
• Watch as Haggis runs the official Marauder Banner/Flag up the flagpole
• 31 Marauders enter into the car show. About 40+ MMs actually on site.
• 98 degrees and Hot as Heck. Shade and water is on everyone’s mind
• Flippin’ burgers and turnin’ hotdogs on the grill – hotter here.
• Tom Doan doing his Pig cooking duties with his special cooker
• A fantastic spread of food courtesy of Ladyhawke and Haggis
• Joe Walsh on the corn and the grill – he’s a virtual chef
• Time to vote in the Car Show, Pick 3 of the top cars, Best Engine Compartment, and Best Presentation or Display – i.e. narrow the field to 5 – this is gonna be hard
• Round 1 – Picked the top 15 cars and made notes on my first go-around
• Round 2 - Narrowed the field to 10 MMs on my second pass
• Round 3 - Settled on the final 5 cars on my third walk through
• Wow, this is really tough – every MM out there was of show quality
• TV crew on site interviewing car owners and asking about the Marauder
• Lots of volunteers lined up to meet the young, statuesque, blonde TV reporter from NBC Channel 25
• Back to the pavilion for more refreshments while the ballots are being tallied
• Trophies for the Top 3 Marauders, Best Engine Compartment, and Best Display or Presentations.
• Prizes for all car show participants (Meguiar’s Spray detailer, MM shotglasses, Marauder parking signs, BBQ sets, plus much more)
• Winners are announced
• The Bluerauder takes 3rd Place Overall in Best of Show AND Best Display/Presentation
• WOW, I don’t really know what to say --- thanks gang !!!!
• Picnic breakdown and clean-up
• Load MM up with cases of water and soda for the Drag Event in the morning
• Head back to the hotel to clean up and cool down
• Hang out in the lounge for a while and chat with other folks
• Order food from room service and hit the rack early

Friday, 3 August 2007

• Up at 6 AM
• Meet in the hotel restaurant for a quick buffet breakfast
• Convoy of about 12 cars to Mason-Dixon Dragway at 7:30 AM. Some cars already there, more show up as the day goes on. Final count at the event was about 25+ with about 20 racing.
• Arrive at track and begin setting up water and drink coolers
• Cars in the pit area getting cars registered, prepped & ready, and appropriately numbered
• Driver orientation on the track and its rules
• Demonstration run by Sherm as the tower announcer walks through his familiarization with the track
• Drivers begin practice runs single or in pairs beginning at 9:00 AM
• Taking lots of photos and trying to find some shade
• Temperature broke 90 at 8:00 AM and is climbing
• Most drivers make about 4-6 practice runs and start to figure Dial-In times
• Vkirkend makes 12 practice runs – all nearly identical --- consistency
• Bracket racing begins at 10:30 AM -- about 14 N/A cars – vkirkend takes the top spot
• Bracket racing for Power Added class begins about 11:15 AM – 03MMmonroe takes 1st place beating out Sherm after he broke out against his Dial-In
• Head back over to the hotel to get ready for the tours
• Grab a quick lunch in the hotel restaurant
• Meet about 30 folks in the hotel lobby ready for the trip to Skyline Drive & Luray Caverns
• Lead a Convoy of 16 MMs on a 210 mile roundtrip
• The climb up Skyline Drive, winding roads, scenic overlooks, many photo ops
• After first stop, driver’s proceed at own pace to meet at Elkwallow Lodge
• Rest break and brief pit stop at the lodge
• Continue on to Luray via Route 211 down the winding road all the way to the Shenandoah Valley floor.
• 16 MMs make a grand entrance to Luray Caverns and swing past the main building to find an open row for all the cars
• Private 1 and Ό hour tour of the Caverns (125th year of their discovery being celebrated in 2 weeks)
• StalaCtites (ceiling), StalaGmites (ground), Pluto’s Ghost, Dream Lake, Cave Darkness, Christmas Tree/Ice Cream cone, Fried Eggs, Stalagpipe Organ.
• The Car and Carraige Museum
• The Garden Maze – “Go This Way” --- Not !!!
• Finish up at Luray at 7:30 PM and convoy back to Hagerstown
• Arrive back in Hagerstown at 9:15 PM, get gas and something to eat
• Hit the rack again – another busy day

Saturday, 4 August 2007

• Up at 6:00 AM again.
• Breakfast buffet in the hotel restaurant with Russ, Dana and Mark. More and more folks begin arriving.
• Driver’s convoy meeting in the parking lot. FRS/GMRS radio check.
• 40+ MMs begin an 80 miles convoy to Alexandria, VA
• Bluerauder and Haggis alternate as convoy leads
• Route from I-70E, to I-270, to I-495 to George Washington Parkway
• A 2 mile single lane construction merge breaks the convoy temporarily
• Able to regroup into a single file in about 15 miles
• Sweetair jumps on the tail end of the convoy at Exit 16
• Turn south on the GW Parkway for the scenic ride past the Pentagon, Arlington Memorial Cemetery, the DC monuments, and National Airport
• Arrive for the Potomac River Cruise at 10;15 AM
• Board the “Nina’s Dandy” beginning at 11:00 AM
• “Wow – this is much nicer and fancier than I expected” said a few people
• Lunch is served beginning at 11:30 AM
• Cruise boat departs at 12 Noon “sharp”
• Boat Captain narrates the trip pointing out places and things of interest
• Finish lunch and head to the large open deck on top with Joe Walsh and Sweetair
• Must leave top as the boat approaches several low bridges
• Antennas and Radar dome are lowered
• Top of wheel house clears the railroad bridge by no more than 8 inches
• Head back to the main lounge/dining room to collect other folks
• Up on top taking lots of photos
• Breeze on top feels very good
• Boat turns around at the “Three Sisters” rocks after passing under the Key Bridge and begins the return trip passing Georgetown, Washington Monument, Lincoln and Jefferson Memorials, Arlington Cemetary, Pentagon, Naval Research Center, Reagan National Airport.
• Boat docks at 2:30 PM sharp
• Group photo
• Lead Mini-convoy of 6 MMs back to Hagerstown.
• Haggis & Ladyhawke lead another convoy on a “Drive –By” around the Mall to see the monuments
• Back at hotel at 4:30 PM
• Freshen up and head to the lounge
• Meet BigDogJim as he arrives
• Head over to Prime Outlets for some shopping
• Catch something to eat at The Texas Roadhouse
• Top off the gas tank for the return trip

Sunday, 5 August 2007

• Up at 6:00 AM again ………
• Start packing up
• Head to Richardson’s Restaurant at 7:30 AM to aid in set-up
• Participants begin arriving at 8:00 AM
• Another fantastic breakfast
• Recognition of the Longest Drive (james79stang), vendor supporters, and the CAM planning group members
• Vendor and S/C raffle of some 120 prizes and over $9000.00 in prizes.
• Double blind vendor drawing to match prizes with names.
• I'll let one of the raffle officials post up the results and not spoil the surprise
• MV5 officially ended at 10:00 AM
• Members departed to head back to the hotel to gather up their things or head on back to home
• I arrived at home at 2:30 PM.

It was a very fun week filled with all types of activities. My wife loved it and we both had a great time. I am exhausted .... glad I took tomorrow off. :D

Many thanks to the Capital Area Marauders (CAM) for hosting the event and for the planning efforts and flawless execution of a First Class Annual Meeting.

Jax84
08-05-2007, 08:00 PM
Wow! You were sure able to keep tabs on everything, I was just running around clicking away. Didn't you also have a bear run out in front of you on the Skyline drive? Or was that someone else? Crazy memories... will post the run down when I've had sleep.

MyTMerc
08-05-2007, 08:09 PM
Great re-cap Charlie and awesome pictures. I heard you had a bear run out in front of you Friday evening and rumor has it that one of our southern friends had a bear on his tail after breakfast....?

Bluerauder
08-05-2007, 08:10 PM
Wow! You were sure able to keep tabs on everything, I was just running around clicking away. Didn't you also have a bear run out in front of you on the Skyline drive? Or was that someone else? Crazy memories... will post the run down when I've had sleep.
Yeah, that was me. Heck, I am a city boy .... it looked like a panther crossing the road in front of me and I passed the information by radio. :o Five minutes later it dawned on me that it might have been a black bear. No one bothered to correct me on the radio although that is what they figured it was and then saw the bear slinking away into the woods.

magindat
08-06-2007, 05:23 AM
Thanx for the pics. Sorry I couldn't make it this year.

pantheroc
08-06-2007, 06:42 PM
Yeah, that was me. Heck, I am a city boy .... it looked like a panther crossing the road in front of me and I passed the information by radio. :o Five minutes later it dawned on me that it might have been a black bear. No one bothered to correct me on the radio although that is what they figured it was and then saw the bear slinking away into the woods.

It may have been the black bear cub in the woods when we passed by shortly after your group.