Someone passing through Knoxville could kidnap a certain builder we all know of. 😈
Should show up as a group, unannounced for a shop tour ……….
I'll turn the rotisserie if someone can brush on the Hot BBQ sauce! Fun around the fire pit!
I'm offering a discount on pitchforks and torches!
Michael McKelvey posted:I will compile the list. It will be distributed to all. PM me with your information if you want to be included.
It might be good to distribute it before arrival in case someone needs to communicate on the way there, maybe a breakdown or delay. If you include your email address I will send you a copy in advance.
Mike---god on ya for compiling the contact list! You have mt cell # and my email address is hsbroker AT aol.com.
Too bad the SOC doesn't have the same kind of list for all members! Could happen.
Phone list sounds great but the service up there is spotty at times. I use Walkie Talkies on the ski slopes and it works pretty well, maybe place one in the lead car and one for the caboose.
We broke off from the wine stop and got lost last year but found that even without cell service the GPS on the phone worked fine.
I hate it when those dam birds eat the bread crumbs.
Unfortunately, I have to work Monday and Tuesday, so we will not be leaving until Wednesday. We plan to get spend the night in Christiansburg, VA then wander around northeastern TN a bit Thursday morning. We will catch up with you guys at the hotel that afternoon.
We decided to rent a truck to pull the trailer - my 2009 Equinox has to last a couple of years longer and I am babying it - so be on the lookout for a big ol' truck that ain't ours. LOL
Sorry you guys will it’s the Rattler, but glad you’ll be there anyway.
For the artsy folk this place is a must. You can spend the whole day and still not see all the galleries.
Cross fingers on forecast.
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Wish I could trust a forecast that far out.
So whats with Lane hitting Hawaii --- and now Gordon hitting FL? That can't be a simple coincidence!
Hahaha, predicting the weather around here is a lost cause.
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I’m headin’ underground when hurricane “Wolfgang” is named.
If they ever get to the W's on the Hurricane list, best to cancel the coupe and make your material list for an Ark.
Given some experiences I have had, I think it was better back when hurricanes only had female names.
Alan Merklin posted:If they ever get to the W's on the Hurricane list, best to cancel the coupe and make your material list for an Ark.
IIRC in 2005 (year of Katrina) they reached the end of the alphabet and started using the Greek alphabet. That was a wild year.
We are leaving home Tuesday and should be to Christiansburg Tuesday evening at some point. Wednesday we'll leave sometime in the morning and stroll into Maggie Valley in the afternoon, around check-in time. The drive time on Wednesday will be about 4 hours. Tuesday closer to 8.5.
It'll take me about 5 hours from Charleston to get there Wednesday. I should be there early/mid afternoon.
We are leaving Ann Arbor on Saturday, the 22nd. We will stay in Berea KY on Saturday night. Then we will spend 3 nights in Gatlinburg and spend time exploring the National Park. We will arrive in Maggie Valley on Wednesday afternoon. On the way home, we will stop and spend the night in Lexington, KY.
I'm only 50 miles from Creekside and it'll take me 1.5 hrs to get there from my house.
The place I had picked out for lunch on Saturday, is no longer doing lunch in the Fall. I do have a second choice just as long as everyone likes southern food. It will alter the drive route a touch.
I drove a section of it in my 4runner today just to see what road conditions are like. There are a few small sections that the rains weren't kind to the road surface.
What kind of mileage is everyone doing for the other two drives? and what can people stand for Saturday?
Michael McKelvey posted:We are leaving Ann Arbor on Saturday, the 22nd. We will stay in Berea KY on Saturday night. Then we will spend 3 nights in Gatlinburg and spend time exploring the National Park. We will arrive in Maggie Valley on Wednesday afternoon. On the way home, we will stop and spend the night in Lexington, KY.
You going down 75 or 23? If you're going down 23 and want to hook up for lunch or dinner around Columbus, let me know.
650 mi., and about 10 hrs, as per the omniscient Google.
Carlos,
I suspect from the feedback last year that the crowd will be of two minds. Some will want to drive from 9:00 or so until 4:30- 5:00-ish. Some will be done shortly after lunch.
What killed us last year was the lunch stop up on the Parkway— 2+ hrs just takes the mojo out of all but the most committed drivers.
The bulk of us will be headed back to whence we came the next day (Sunday), which is generally just a slog. I’d suggest having an “all together” AM drive, then 2 routes after lunch: one which heads more directly back to the ranch, and one which does not. This is Phil’s plan for Friday, and I think it’s a good one.
@Jethro, we will be coming down I-75.
Coming up from Maggie Valley to the Parkway and dropping down to my neck of the woods does consume some miles. They're fun miles though, if you like the twistys.
From Creekside to my "Plan B lunch spot" is about 83 miles/2.5 hrs, with some stops on the Parkway for some views, maybe 3-3.5hrs. Maybe two legit bathroom stops, if the park on Cathey's Creek Road is open.
The "direct" return trip from lunch is about the same distance, but without the Parkway stops.
If some would like to add a few more miles after lunch, maybe 30 or so, I can take them on a few more back roads that I usually drive on, to a view of South Carolina. Then return on the "direct" route back to Creekside. When I say "direct", it is not the straightest route. In the mountains, there are no straight routes. I guess you could use the Highways, but that would add a lot of time and aggravation with traffic. The horror!
If some would just want to do a ride without lunch, then they would follow the whole crew up the Parkway then turn left on 215 while everyone else turns right. This would take them on a 100 mile loop, maybe 3 hours or so. They could also keep on going on the Parkway and drop down 276 back to Waynesville to lengthen the loop by a little. This group could also do lunch at the same place as last year, the Pisgah Inn, then drop down 276.
It's all good. I do need to let Lola's know how many are coming to lunch though for the ones wanting to do the Deliverance portion of the ride. The owner is a regular at the bike shop. He brings us fried chicken or smoked wings every once in awhile.
I can send someone the routes on Googlemaps. I'd post the links here, but I don't know how to make the link itself a few words versus a paragraph.
I'm in for the lunch and whatever else you got planned. Makes no sense to me to drive from Chicago to NC and only do a couple of hours a day.
I understand the short trips with cars that are not comfortable, but my approach will be that I can rest when I get back home.
Looking forward to seeing everyone and partaking in whatever is planned, so just count me in automatically.
Thanks
Atttaboy Tom, persactly the right approach. Welcome to the (Mountain) Madness!!
Not sure it matters any, but my plan currently is to bump down to overnight in Charlottesville tues (family there), then roll on down I81 6+ hrs to the Creekside by Wed PM. Flat towing.
Carlos - Count me in for lunch. I'll decide afterward whether to do the quick return or the scenic route. Thanks for setting this up.
The Galat's are in for the full-meal deal. I'm 100% with my friend, Bones-- I'm not taking a week off and driving halfway across the country to sit in a hotel room.
Carlos, count me and my wife in for lunch.
Add wife and I to lunch - she will decide if she's had enough driving for the day at lunch, I'm sure.
Saw a TV food show last night that featured BonFire BBQ in Asheville. They had a great triple pork BBQ sandwich. Pulled pork/ham/pork belly and secret sauce. Looked like a dive but full of hungry people.
We'll (both of us)definitely be in for lunch at Lola's.
Carlos, two more for Lola's, Michael & Dianne.
Plus my sorry ass. A man's gotta eat . . .
El Frazoo posted:Plus my sorry ass. A man's gotta eat . . .
And will you be solo or with the lovely Babs?
Carlos---please count me and Alice in for Lola's. Wouldn't miss it---thanks!
Carlos, Cory and I will be in for lunch as well!
As they say, 'Sh@t happens', and that means we have to cancel our big trip to Maggie Valley. So sorry to miss what looks like a fantastic event, and so sorry not to be able to meet up with certain people I have known on this site for years, but have never met in person.
I have to thank Lane, Jack, and others for putting together a great looking get together that I know will be a ton of fun. So, enjoy everyone!
Carlisle 2019 is in the calendar for sure, and we will see about Tour de Smo 2019, wherever that may be held. It's an area of the States I have wanted to see for a long time, but not this year...
Now, if someone could hold an event in Peoria...
NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!
Dang it, Bob! I was looking forward to seeing y’all again, and showing off a new part of the country to our friends from The Great White North.