When : Saturday August 2nd, 2008
Where : East Troy, Wisconsin - close to Milwaukee
What : A Pinto Gathering at Gus's Drive-In
Why : This all started because I have a desire to go to Milwaukee and get together with 78squirewagon and hopefully meet some of the members of the Loser's Car Club ( http://www.loserscarclub.com/ ) that he belongs to. I made a video for them last year ( http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IVPAl40EeHU ) and thought it would be a cool adventure. Last year was Tulsa, this year it's East Troy, Wisconsin.
Anyhow I have invited dangerusdug and dmsteen for the cruise and adventure and they are up to the task. How about you!
I plan to leave Hibbing, MN on Friday and meet up with dmsteen in Woodbury, MN. We are then planning to leave early Saturday morning for La Cross, WI and pickup Dangerusdug and then we'll travel together for the final leg to East Troy, WI where 78squirewagon will meet up with us. While in East Troy the plan for Saturday night is to hang out at Gus's ( http://www.gussdrivein.com/ ) for their Saturday Night Cruise Night! This looks like fun!
The only problem we found during the planning stages... rooms at the Inn are very hard to get. Seems the area has few hotels and many events during the summer that draw crowds from far away... After spending some time on the phone with the kind folks at the County Inn Suites in East Troy we picked the 2nd because any other weekend and all the rooms were reserved. When I called they had 5 King non-smoking and 3 King smoking rooms available. Each King room has a king size bed and a pull out twin, I put one of each on reserve. Dmsteen and 78squirewagon have places close by to stay but Dangerusdug and I needed a place to stay. We are willing to bunk up to save cost but I wanted to make sure we had at least one more room in case anyone wants to join the fun. Room cost is well.... $180.00 a night and $10.00 each additional adult after the first 2. Ouch! I checked and found more expensive, seems to be the going rate for this time of the year for that area.
So now here's your chance if you live up here in the mid-north, great lakes area to get together with other Pinto-Nut's to share stories, adventures, fun and lies. We have more than 2 month's to go so if you're interested speak up and let us know. I know the rooms are expensive, gas prices are high and all that but can we really put a price on fun and adventure?
and finally.... Pinto's not required! Any condition welcome, only requirement is you... a fellow Pinto Nut! and a desire to have a little fun!
You know I will be there. I was talking about this at an all Ford yesterday and it got peoples attention. On guy may be going out to find a Pinto and join us so it will be fun. For those of you that want to get to Milwaukee EARLY on Saturday morning, we can hit the WI State Fair and then head down to Gus's from here. For those that want to stay in town a little later on Sunday, perhaps we can drive down to the Volo Auto Museum (www.volocars.com)
Either way, a HUGE THANK YOU goes out to Brian for getting this together. It will be a lot of fun
Quote from: 78squirewagon on May 19, 2008, 05:58:44 AM
a HUGE THANK YOU goes out to Brian for getting this together. It will be a lot of fun
I wanted to come anyway... why not bring friends ;D and make new ones ;D
Hey Mark, Are you going to tell the "Losers" we will be there? If any want to join the fun feel free to invite them.
I can call for reservations at Gus's and will if you want me to as you suggested but.. if you already know the lay of the land and the natives so to speak... could you do that?
Is the reservation so we will be up close to the building? and will we get trapped by other cars and have to stay if we do?
I was kind of hoping a cruise around the area will be required at some point... suggestions on sites we could go see?
I hope you don't mind if you end up answering a few questions because you're from the area...
I know that it's first come, first serve so we would all need to be there by 3pm if the weather is nice. I can ask about reserving a spot for us but I am not sure if they will do that. I will check this Saturday when we go down. If they open the field across the road from the Diner, we will have plenty of space. I know the DJ very well and I am sure he will make a big deal about all of the Pinto's being there. I bought mine from his dad :)
There's not a lot to do in East Troy but we can take a few of the back roads and have some fun. Like I had mentioned before, if people can stay a little later on Sunday, we can cruise down to Volo. It's all back roads to get there from East Troy. It's just a thought but would be fun plus I am sure I can get us a car club rate
As far as the Losers Car Club, they are looking forward to seeing more than just my wagon :lol: After you talk to a few of them, you can understand why I enjoy being a part of the group.
I will try and get a few things planned out. The big thing will be the weather. If there is a forcast of rain, well that will certainly change things because no one will be at Gus's.
we can still go but there will not be a DJ or any other cars ;D I think a back up plan would be the WI State Fair or having a rain date in September (mid)
I am really looking forward to meeting those of you who come along. I am going to start promoting the mini meet and who knows, maybe I can get my friends at FM*106.1 (www.fm106.com) to talk a little bit about it on the air. I am sure Greg over at WOKY (www.mighty92.com) will say something. Plus we might get TV coverage from a couple of local stations
Quote from: 78squirewagon on May 19, 2008, 08:58:40 PM
The big thing will be the weather. If there is a forcast of rain, well that will certainly change things because no one will be at Gus's.
we can still go but there will not be a DJ or any other cars ;D I think a back up plan would be the WI State Fair or having a rain date in September (mid)
hush your thought... I need 7 days to cancel them rooms if not needed and at $360 for both...
No Rain Allowed!! ;D
If the plan works out as it stands... dmsteen and I will have to leave Woodbury, MN early Saturday morning it's 5+ hours to East Troy driving straight thru... If we detour thru La Cross WI to meet dangerusdug it will add 1 hour to our trip for 6+ hours.. I can only hope we are there by 2-3pm...
then there is always the possibility I could get to Woodbury early enough on Friday we could leave Friday night for La Cross, spend the night and then it would only be 3.5 hours to East Troy... Hmmmm....
If we actually get a bunch of people to show up letting Gus's know we are coming would be a good idea, I'll let you talk to them and see what they think we should do. If it turns out to be just a couple of us with Pinto's make it I doubt a big deal needs to be made.
hush your thought... I need 7 days to cancel them rooms if not needed and at $360 for both...
That's what they have a 10 day forcast for ;D But it's not going to rain. It will be hotter than hell (even in WI) but NO RAIN.
I will see if I can talk to the people at Gus's on Saturday and go from there. If we have to, we can always drive across a few countys to Georgie Porgies. I know there is PLENTY of room there.
Come on all of you Midwestern people, jump on boad for this. It will be fun :D
if we could have made it july 19 jimmy buffett is there at alpine valley,that would have been a blast
Quote from: dmsteen on May 20, 2008, 08:49:23 PM
if we could have made it july 19 jimmy buffett is there at alpine valley,that would have been a blast
no doubt!
if the rooms were easier to come by and cheaper...
I didn't live a days drive away and took more time off...
I could stay extra time and enjoy the area a bit more...
I am just letting everyone know that Gus's is excited to know that we are coming. I explained that we wanted to do a "mini meet" there and they thought it was pretty cool.
If we are there by 4pm, we should have no problems parking together in the main lot. We can always park across the street in the field which is OK if we get there later. By 5pm tonight, it was pretty packed in.
For those of you that are bringing trailers, you can leave the cars on the back if you want because there is enough room in the field to park a trailer.
As far as other things to do in East Troy, well, they pretty much shut the town down after dark LOL!!! The cruise night goes until 9pm or so but I am sure by then you will be pretty tired.
I will post some pictures tomorrow
Here are some pictures from Gus's Diner in East Troy. These were taken just before 5pm so you can see that it's get's pretty busy. By 9pm, it clears out for the most part
http://s286.photobucket.com/albums/ll99/78pinto/?start=all
http://s286.photobucket.com/albums/ll99/78pinto/
Pictures look GREAT!!! and I am so looking forward to this. I hope we can convince a few others to join the fun!
if only there were a drive-in movie close by we could go to once it get's dark ;D
the BIG! 3 are over and about 40 days till the Great! Wisconsin get together...
start the planning now... last chance for us northern folk before the kids go back to school and we have to get ready for the "fluffy white stuff"....
Only 32 days left for the Great! Wisconsin Get Together!
** Update
Mark and Doug, I emailed Dave (dmsteen) and he will not be able to make it. He did have other plans for the weekend of the 2nd and is unable to cancel. To bad they didn't have any room at the inns for the 9th, the only weekend we all had free...
Anyhow, this will change my plans a bit... Friday night I was going to drive to the Twin Cities and Saturday Dave and I would have started early for La Crosse to meet up with Doug and then continue on to East Troy...
Now I would guess Friday night I will head into Wisconsin and south... La Crosse is about a 6 hour drive for me as the crow flies... Since I will not be able to leave until 6pm or so I will most likely get as many miles driven, stop for the night, get up early to continue south to meet up with Doug someplace along the route to East Troy if not in La Crosse... final plans will be decided as the time gets closer...
I'm still working on Pintony and trying to get him to come up... Google says 307 mi – about 4 hours 56 mins - So I hope I can talk him into coming up Saturday morning and spend the night Saturday with the rest of us.
I still have the 2 - "King" rooms rented/reserved for the 2nd of August. That's 1 King bed in a separate room with a door for privacy and a pull-out couch in the reception area of the room. Should be plenty for 4. Right now the plans are for me and Doug to split a non-smoking room and the other (a smoking room) is on reserve for any that want to join the fun and will need a room for the night. I have until July 25th to cancel the reservation if it's not needed. I'm a "smoker" so I can switch rooms as needed to accommodate any that want to come join the fun and need a room..
Rooms are hard to get in the area and expensive ($200 a night = ouch) so if not needed I will cancel the second room. If Tony is convinced to come I know he will want one...
Only 22 days left for the Great! Wisconsin Get Together!
August 2nd - East Troy, Wisconsin - Gus's Drive-In
well... maybe not so great anymore.... dmsteen and dangerusdug have both cancelled due other circumstances. That leaves 78squirewagon and me as the only commited members. I still plan to go as I stated this because I wanted to meet Mark (78squirewagon), his Pinto's! and the members of his car club...
Since dangerusdug was the main reason for the hotel reservations I will cancel them if no one else speaks up to say they are coming and want to split the cost... I have a conversion van with bed in the back (I will trailer the Pinto) so I don't "need" a room but willing to split the cost if others are willing...
Rooms will be canceled July 25th if no one speaks up... 14 days left to speak up...
last chance....
I need to cancel the 2nd room this week I have on reserve in case any others wanted to join the fun.
Mark and I are still a go for the 2nd... anyone else?
well looks like it's just me, you and "the losers" 78squirewagon, I still have the one room for me, kid isn't coming and I cancelled the second room.
Looking at the extended forcast... looks clear and sunny for Saturday night at Gus's... should be a blast!
Plan is still the same... I'll leave here late Friday and roll into town early to mid-day on Saturday. I may be meeting up with dangerusdug on the way for a quick chat/coffee but otherwise I'll be there as early as I can ;D
I'll be at 2 different car shows in Grand Rapids, MN this weekend and East Troy, WI the next... gotta love summer
It will only be "Stormy" at Gus's. I got the "White Stallion" running today (more on that in a later post) but found that the back brake line is SHOT!!! If I would not have been out of town, chances are that both wagons would have been there but I just got home yesterday so there is now way to get things fixed before next weekend.
Elkhorn swap meet is also next weekend so keep that in mind for Sunday morning ;D ;D ;D
To the rest of you, it will be a GREAT time but we all know that's it's the busy time of the year and gas is $$$$ We will take lots of pictures of people just looking ;D ;D
Quote from: 78squirewagon on July 26, 2008, 11:53:36 AM
It will only be "Stormy" at Gus's. I got the "White Stallion" running today (more on that in a later post) but found that the back brake line is SHOT!!!
Elkhorn swap meet is also next weekend so keep that in mind for Sunday morning ;D ;D ;D
Awwwww... I wanted to see both! and Goodie! Swap Meet! I hope to leave by noon so it will have to be early...
8+ hour drive home for the Cookieboy
Hey 78squirewagon, thanks for the update (PM) and good to hear you may have found another local Pinto person to join the fun. I hope to see his 73? wagon too ;D
Weather looks Excellent! if not a little warm for the get-together...
Sat Aug 2 Partly Cloudy Hi 84° Low 64°
I will be bringing the 73 on a trailer, reserved one today for the trip.
Tow Vehicle Ready - Check
Pinto Loaded - Check
Milk and Cookies - Check
Cookieboy Has left The Building!
Made it to Tomah, WI about 11pm. No room at the inn's so I sleep w/the Pinto at the truck stop ;D
see ya in the morn DD, give a call when you're ready to leave.
a dog, some soup and more milk to wash them cookies down...
then time to catch some shut-eye :sleep:
Update and Pics.... I'm home safe and sound.
Saturday morning I met up with Dangerusdug for breakfast. He made the hour drive over from Lacrosse WI and brought the Bobcat. What a nice ride you have the Doug. It was nice meeting you and Thanks for breakfast.
After breakfast I finished the drive to East Troy... 3 more hours.
After arriving in East Troy I got ahold of Mark and waited for him to come down with the crew, his wife Karen and their friend Summer. We headed to Gus's and it was all it was advertised to be. What a great time at the drive-in. Great food and a fantastic gathering of old classic cars. Mark's wagon is one fine example of a stock Squire wagon and it was a pleasure seeing it and meeting him and the crew...
Oh... we can't forget the custom shirts mark and the crew had, as I recall Summer had them made up just for this occasion...
Yes Tony, all went well and the tow rig preformed perfectly, just got to love that GMC for the tow rig. Place to sleep when I need it and goes down the road at 80mph towing a pinto with no problems.
9+ hours of driving each way
1132 miles total and 97 gallons of gas...
add in the hotel and trailer rental...
yep... a little lighter but worth every penny ;D
ready to do it again next year ;)
and the video --> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eQqO5H_BuNc