Spring Drive April 17th

WRAPUP:  Almost 70 MINIs from The Chicago MINI Motoring Club, Milwaukee MINIs, M.I.N.I. and Northwest Indiana MINIacs participated on an epic drive to the to the Jelly Belly factory and then on to Lake Geneva.  The weather was cool but sunny.  We explored many twisty curvy roads, and everybody got lost at least once on the drive (and a few people, more than once) but a great time was had by all.  Lots of old MINI friends and new MINI friends made for a fun lunch hangout after we invaded most of the remaining empty parking spaces around Lake Geneva.Huge thanks to the many people who put in a great effort to make such a fun event..  Paul for the route (except for the wrong turn listed on the beginning directions, which was my contribution),  Jenny for working on lunch arrangements,  and Rose for bringing coffee and donuts for everyone in the morning.  Tom reported a large success collecting items for the two hospitals!!Send links of your photos to steve@chicagominiclub.com and I will post them here..

Photos by: Steve | Kes | Tom G. | Arnie and Lena | Francis | Anthony | Morwen | Gary and Therese

Video by: Tom G. Part1 | Tom G. Part2 |

Time to shine up your MINI and change out those winter tires.

Saturday April 17th will be our 8th annual Spring Drive!!  We will again be joining up with the MilwaukeeMINIs plus the Minis In Northern Illinois (M.I.N.I.) Clubs for a fun day cruising around some Southern Wisconsin area back roads..

UPDATE 04/06/2010: Check out the bottom of this post for a special request from club member Tom.

Chicagoland people will meet up in the Libertyville area and we will meet up with the Milwaukee Club at the Jelly Belly factory.  After a break there, we will take back roads to our final destination of a late lunch in the Lake Geneva area.

Here are the details:

WHAT:  A Saturday drive on some fun back roads, with a bunch of MINI (and Mini) friends.  

WHERE: Chicagoland start is at the first parking area inside the one way drive in the Old School Forest Preserves 28201 North Saint Marys Road, Libertyville, IL 60048


View Larger Map

WHEN:  Saturday April 17th, departure is at 9:am

WHY:  Just for fun

WHAT TO BRING:  A full tank of gas, camera, optional FRS radio tuned to Channel 1, Subchannel 1, change for metered parking in Lake Geneva, money for lunch in Lake Geneva, and treats at Jelly Belly, your favorite MINI clothing, and a smile!!

Please add a comment to this post so we know how many people to expect.

Special request from Tom:

Hi!

I don’t know if you guys recall, but last year at Easter, I dropped off some goodies for folks in the Bone Marrow Transplant Unit at Froedtert Hospital (adults) and the Hematology/Oncology/Transplant Unit at Children’s Hospital of Wisconsin.  I had wanted to do the same thing this year, but alas, a live virus vaccination prevented me from visiting either unit.  With the help of some friends, I am hoping to drop of stuff later this month, sort of a tardy Easter Bunny sort of thing.

I am wondering if people were interested in donating items.  They could bring stuff to the April 17th Spring Drive and I could collect from there.  It would be great if people could shoot me an email beforehand (minishagz@mac.com) just so I know what to expect.

Here are some ideas for items:

Adults:
DVDs (these can be 2nd hand)
lifesavers, hard candy, and gum (for dry mouth)
puzzles (for the common lounge area),
magazines

Kids (ages range from infant to 18):
candy (individually wrapped is preferred)
squirt guns (NOT Supersoakers!!)
coloring books, crayons, etc.
Wii games (age appropriate)
magazines (for parents or teenagers)
new toys (if the unit won’t accept these, we will donate them to the Ronald McDonald House Toy Closet).

Thanks for your help!

-Tom

52 thoughts on “Spring Drive April 17th”

  11. How do I sign up?
    I’m in for two. Micki and Gigi. We are first timers to CMMC. We are members of the Windy City BMW chapter of BMW NA CCA.
    I have just mailed in an application for CMMC membership today to Matthew Adams.
    Looking forward to a good time.
    Thanks for this opportunity.

  12. How do I sign up?

    Hi Micki and Gigi. You just did.. We are just looking for counts so we can plan for lunch and printing the right amount of route sheets.

    Glad you will be there!!

  13. Hey

    I’ll be there, maybe even the gf. Hopefully bringing my own MINI. The boss and his sons are bringing the Hubbard Woods MINI.

    So I guess I would say there will 5 total, and 2 MINI’s!!

  15. I’m in. My first ride with CMMC. Looking forward to it. 1 Mini, two guys. My son Max and I.

  16. ARGH we have a birthday party for my niece and nephew that day. So looking forward to getting out to another drive…next time!

  17. Hey!

    I’m looking forward to kicking off another motoring season. It seems too long since the last drive I went on with you guys.

    If anyone is interested in donating either toys or any of the items listed, please do let me know by shooting an email to me at minishagz@mac.com. I am hoping to have a full MINI when I go to deliver this stuff! 🙂

  19. Comming as a guest and future member. Bringing my 12 year old Grandaughter who is a big Mini fan already.
    Two people from St. Charles, Il
    Thank You
    Jerry and Dale

  22. I’m not a member yet but thinking about joining.

    Glad you found us Greg!!

    Please feel free to come and try us out!!

    Our Spring Drive is one of our larger events, and a great chance to mingle with many MINI owners, and go for a great drive.

    Looking forward to meeting you.

  36. I,ll be there early with fresh MINI cinnamon buns and hot coffee for all my MINI friends.

    Hope I’m one of your MINI friends 😉

    If I can get his highschoolness out of bed before 9 am, we’ll be there.

    We’ll stop by your place on the start of the drive to wake you up if you’re not there..

  38. My wife and I are hoping to make it. We just recently became MINI owners (his and hers) and aren’t members yet but would like to see what these events are all about. Now the only question… her Hot Chocolate Clubman or my BRG Clubman? 🙂

  42. Waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa! Count me in. Forgot that I needed to change out of my snow tires for tomorrow. Oh and a bath too, for the mini of course.

  45. Thanks everyone, I had a great time today!! Nice meeting all the new people and catching up with old friends.

    Looking forward to the next event at Axels on the 1st

  46. Steve, thanks for organizing (and for arranging clear skies). We had a great time. Looking forward to another event.

  47. Great to see everyone. Thanks to the many that helped put this event together. That and the weather made for a great day. I just uploaded 100+ pictures. You will probably see yourself somewhere 😉 Next up, Axel’s
    BCNU there. :•)

  48. Thanks everyone for such a great day of driving fun. Those rustic roads are fantastic. My Jet Black mini thought they were great too!!!. Hope to meet up with you again in future events. Tom Ehlers Pewaukee Wi.

  50. Thanks to Steve, Paul, et. al. for putting this great drive together! I just think we need to get a train schedule next time. 😉

    Also, I want to express my gratitude to all who donated items for my little hospital visit which should occur on May 1st if all goes as planned. When I was going through my cancer hell, many of you came out to cheer me up. Now, you are helping me do the same for someone else. Thank you all! You most definitely are the best. 😀

  51. I too had a great time meeting everyone and enjoying the great weather. Thank you so much for making me feel welcome (and Mooki welcome as well.) I look forward to SuperDawg!

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