Bluerauder
10-05-2009, 05:04 PM
MEMORIES OF INDIANAPOLIS, IN
MARAUDERVILLE VII (MV7), 30 Sep 09 – 4 Oct 09
“Back to the Brickyard” (The 7th Annual Marauderville)
Wednesday, 30 September 2009
• 621 miles one-way total. Left at 8:45 AM about 45 minutes behind schedule. But, the timing allowed me to jump on to the I-95N HOV lanes right at 9:00 AM and save half that time. Indianapolis here we come.
• Got a call from Ms. Denmark as we passed through Hagerstown, MD. Ladyhawke/Haggis, Ms. Denmark/Mr. Man, and MyTMerc were about 1.5 hours ahead of us. Rain and fog ahead just before the West Virginia line.
• Ran the first 2 hours in nice weather right up to Cumberland, MD. Holding steady at 75-80 MPH.
• Stopped at Sideling Hill cut for a pit stop and bathroom break. Took a few scenic photos before hitting the road again.
• Got an update from Ms. Denmark by phone. They stopped at a winery enroute and I am closing the gap between us. They are stopping at Exit #155 in Morgantown, WVa to hit the Cracker Barrel for lunch.
• Pull off at Exit #155 but I must have missed the sign for Cracker Barrel. Went about 1-2 miles before turning around. Headed back toward I-79.
• Hey, there’s the restaurant up on that hill. Turn left. Guess who is sitting at the light exiting Cracker Barrel? I wave as we pass and then make a quick U-Turn and fall in on the tail end of the 4 MM mini-convoy.
• We run with the group for about 50 miles until the wife says that she can’t hear the radio over my growling stomach. I thought it was hers.
• Reluctantly, we leave the group at Washington, PA for gas and food with promises to catch up. We never did.
• Ran through about 300 miles of rain enroute. It cleared up just past Columbus, OH. One more gas stop to top off before arrival. The car looks like crap.
• Pulled into Mike’s Car Wash (I know) to knock off 10 hours of road grime before going over to the hotel. Very nice car wash.
• Arrival at the Cambria Suites at 7:30 PM. Leave the MM out front and check in.
• The hotel has sectioned off the entire back parking lot for us. No Hondas, Toyotas, Nissans or Kia’s allowed.
• Popped into to Marauderville VII registration to pick up name tags, goody bags and check-in with MM03MOK. About 1/3 already registered.
• Lots of folks milling around in the Hamilton registration room. Our official “private” conference room in the hotel. Pops, Fordfrk, 03MMmonroe, Ms. Denmark, Mr. Man, Ladyhawke, Haggis, MyTMerc, MM03MOK, RF Overlord, MERCMAN, Mike Poore, and others are there. N40GL is checking in at the hotel desk.
• Some of the gang is headed over across the highway to Mo’s Irish Pub for dinner. “You can’t miss it.” Yes, you can …… we spend about 20 minutes taking a grand tour of the Town Center. We caught up a little later than expected.
• Back to the hotel to hang out in the hotel lobby/lounge until about 11:30 PM.
Thursday, 1 October 2009
• Up early and in the lobby at 6:10 AM. No one in sight. Some folks start drifting in around 7:00 AM
• Breakfast and coffee in the hotel lounge with 03MMmonroe and his dad. Ms. Denmark and Mrs. Fordfrk drop in for coffee. Seems Mr. Man is enjoying his beauty sleep and Fordfrk is laying in bed playing with the TV remote.
• Out to the rear parking lot to begin wiping the dew off the Bluerauder. The MM gang is starting to stir … very slowly.
• Do a quick wipe down, ICE shine, and wheel wipe before 8:30 AM.
• Departure for Old Metamora is 8:30 AM Sharp. Yeah, right …. This is the Marauder group. Actual departure is closer to 8:45 AM.
• One large convoy to Metamora. About 25 MMs.
• 75 miles one-way to Metamora, IN. We took the 90 mile scenic route via I-74 then through Oldenburg. Pit stop at Shell and McDonald’s for gas and rest breaks.
• The last 15 miles was a twisty and winding 2-lane road with a posted top speed of 45 MPH. What a thrill ride. Just like Mr. Toad’s Wild ride. Wheeeeeeee! Following Ken all the way from the Shell station.
• Arrive in Metamora, IN about 10:30 AM. The entire town is getting ready for “Canal Days”. Most of the shops are putting out their wares and others are setting up tents/booths. They are expecting attendance over the weekend of abut 100,000. Today, we have the whole town almost to ourselves.
• Visited some of the shops and picked up some gifts and souvenirs for the kids.
• Mongoose and his buddy are milling around on Main Street.
• Stopped into the local coffee bar and chatted awhile with Blackened300a and Susan. Cougar_Marauder and his folks drifted in a little later.
• Headed back to the parking lot with Blackened300a figuring the others had already departed. Where did they all go?
• Still lots of cars in the parking lot where are all the people? Started to touch up the car a bit and check under the hood to see what damage the rain trip made. Not TOO bad but it needs work.
• Convoy departs at 12:30 PM for the Pizza King in Rushville, IN. Took the trip back up IN Route 52.
• Did you see the Castle up on the hill for sale?
• Police escort for the ride into Rushville, IN drops in on the tail end of the convoy. ??? Oh well, he was in a Dodge Charger anyway.
• Got lost within 200 feet of the restaurant due to some confusion at a 4-way stop. Lost sight of the others. Was able to find the correct lot with the help of the FRS radio.
• Ordered lunch using a phone in the booth.
• MM Group 2 shows up about 40 minutes after MM Group 1.
• Back to the hotel about 2:30 PM. Group splits in two going though the festival zone in Greenfield. I stay with the group headed to State St/IN Route 9. The group behind me turns left and gets lost according to Crownvic.Net observers.
• Pull off I-69 at Exit 5 behind James79Stang to top off with Shell gas before heading back to the hotel around 4:00 PM
• Departure for Hotel Park Raceway and Casino at 6:00 PM. Decided just to hang out at the hotel.
• Dinner at Hoolihan’s with BigDogJim and the MyTMerc’s.
• Back to the hotel around 8:30 PM and waited for the folks to drift back from the casino. Pops and Linda were the first to arrive. Seems he hit the TriBecka big and decided to walk. Others came back later. Mike Poore broke even using the casino coupons. I suspect that others were not as lucky.
• Off to bed around 11:00 PM.
MARAUDERVILLE VII (MV7), 30 Sep 09 – 4 Oct 09
“Back to the Brickyard” (The 7th Annual Marauderville)
Wednesday, 30 September 2009
• 621 miles one-way total. Left at 8:45 AM about 45 minutes behind schedule. But, the timing allowed me to jump on to the I-95N HOV lanes right at 9:00 AM and save half that time. Indianapolis here we come.
• Got a call from Ms. Denmark as we passed through Hagerstown, MD. Ladyhawke/Haggis, Ms. Denmark/Mr. Man, and MyTMerc were about 1.5 hours ahead of us. Rain and fog ahead just before the West Virginia line.
• Ran the first 2 hours in nice weather right up to Cumberland, MD. Holding steady at 75-80 MPH.
• Stopped at Sideling Hill cut for a pit stop and bathroom break. Took a few scenic photos before hitting the road again.
• Got an update from Ms. Denmark by phone. They stopped at a winery enroute and I am closing the gap between us. They are stopping at Exit #155 in Morgantown, WVa to hit the Cracker Barrel for lunch.
• Pull off at Exit #155 but I must have missed the sign for Cracker Barrel. Went about 1-2 miles before turning around. Headed back toward I-79.
• Hey, there’s the restaurant up on that hill. Turn left. Guess who is sitting at the light exiting Cracker Barrel? I wave as we pass and then make a quick U-Turn and fall in on the tail end of the 4 MM mini-convoy.
• We run with the group for about 50 miles until the wife says that she can’t hear the radio over my growling stomach. I thought it was hers.
• Reluctantly, we leave the group at Washington, PA for gas and food with promises to catch up. We never did.
• Ran through about 300 miles of rain enroute. It cleared up just past Columbus, OH. One more gas stop to top off before arrival. The car looks like crap.
• Pulled into Mike’s Car Wash (I know) to knock off 10 hours of road grime before going over to the hotel. Very nice car wash.
• Arrival at the Cambria Suites at 7:30 PM. Leave the MM out front and check in.
• The hotel has sectioned off the entire back parking lot for us. No Hondas, Toyotas, Nissans or Kia’s allowed.
• Popped into to Marauderville VII registration to pick up name tags, goody bags and check-in with MM03MOK. About 1/3 already registered.
• Lots of folks milling around in the Hamilton registration room. Our official “private” conference room in the hotel. Pops, Fordfrk, 03MMmonroe, Ms. Denmark, Mr. Man, Ladyhawke, Haggis, MyTMerc, MM03MOK, RF Overlord, MERCMAN, Mike Poore, and others are there. N40GL is checking in at the hotel desk.
• Some of the gang is headed over across the highway to Mo’s Irish Pub for dinner. “You can’t miss it.” Yes, you can …… we spend about 20 minutes taking a grand tour of the Town Center. We caught up a little later than expected.
• Back to the hotel to hang out in the hotel lobby/lounge until about 11:30 PM.
Thursday, 1 October 2009
• Up early and in the lobby at 6:10 AM. No one in sight. Some folks start drifting in around 7:00 AM
• Breakfast and coffee in the hotel lounge with 03MMmonroe and his dad. Ms. Denmark and Mrs. Fordfrk drop in for coffee. Seems Mr. Man is enjoying his beauty sleep and Fordfrk is laying in bed playing with the TV remote.
• Out to the rear parking lot to begin wiping the dew off the Bluerauder. The MM gang is starting to stir … very slowly.
• Do a quick wipe down, ICE shine, and wheel wipe before 8:30 AM.
• Departure for Old Metamora is 8:30 AM Sharp. Yeah, right …. This is the Marauder group. Actual departure is closer to 8:45 AM.
• One large convoy to Metamora. About 25 MMs.
• 75 miles one-way to Metamora, IN. We took the 90 mile scenic route via I-74 then through Oldenburg. Pit stop at Shell and McDonald’s for gas and rest breaks.
• The last 15 miles was a twisty and winding 2-lane road with a posted top speed of 45 MPH. What a thrill ride. Just like Mr. Toad’s Wild ride. Wheeeeeeee! Following Ken all the way from the Shell station.
• Arrive in Metamora, IN about 10:30 AM. The entire town is getting ready for “Canal Days”. Most of the shops are putting out their wares and others are setting up tents/booths. They are expecting attendance over the weekend of abut 100,000. Today, we have the whole town almost to ourselves.
• Visited some of the shops and picked up some gifts and souvenirs for the kids.
• Mongoose and his buddy are milling around on Main Street.
• Stopped into the local coffee bar and chatted awhile with Blackened300a and Susan. Cougar_Marauder and his folks drifted in a little later.
• Headed back to the parking lot with Blackened300a figuring the others had already departed. Where did they all go?
• Still lots of cars in the parking lot where are all the people? Started to touch up the car a bit and check under the hood to see what damage the rain trip made. Not TOO bad but it needs work.
• Convoy departs at 12:30 PM for the Pizza King in Rushville, IN. Took the trip back up IN Route 52.
• Did you see the Castle up on the hill for sale?
• Police escort for the ride into Rushville, IN drops in on the tail end of the convoy. ??? Oh well, he was in a Dodge Charger anyway.
• Got lost within 200 feet of the restaurant due to some confusion at a 4-way stop. Lost sight of the others. Was able to find the correct lot with the help of the FRS radio.
• Ordered lunch using a phone in the booth.
• MM Group 2 shows up about 40 minutes after MM Group 1.
• Back to the hotel about 2:30 PM. Group splits in two going though the festival zone in Greenfield. I stay with the group headed to State St/IN Route 9. The group behind me turns left and gets lost according to Crownvic.Net observers.
• Pull off I-69 at Exit 5 behind James79Stang to top off with Shell gas before heading back to the hotel around 4:00 PM
• Departure for Hotel Park Raceway and Casino at 6:00 PM. Decided just to hang out at the hotel.
• Dinner at Hoolihan’s with BigDogJim and the MyTMerc’s.
• Back to the hotel around 8:30 PM and waited for the folks to drift back from the casino. Pops and Linda were the first to arrive. Seems he hit the TriBecka big and decided to walk. Others came back later. Mike Poore broke even using the casino coupons. I suspect that others were not as lucky.
• Off to bed around 11:00 PM.