The Pit

The fall cruise finally came, and what a way to end our season! This was a two day event traveling over to the Quad Cities. We were in and out of Illinois and Iowa several times in fact. This cruise broke records for the club. We ended up having a total of 33 cars and 66 people. We had vipers from both the Illinois and Iowa clubs joining in for this big event!

Day 1

Saturday, October 8th, started off with the majority meeting up the Woodfield mall in Schaumberg fairly early in the morning. We left by 8:30am and were cruising for a couple of hours, headed towards lunch in Fulton. We picked up some more cars along the way having 30 cars when we stopped at Manny’s Too for lunch. Manny’s is known for their pizza and tacos, quite the combination, so we had plenty of choices for lunch. After Manny’s and some newly found heartburn pains, we stopped in Fulton’s famous windmill for a few minutes. This windmill is one of the only full working windmills out there. 

After viewing the windmill, we headed out to LeClair, Iowa to tour the Mississippi Distilling Company. During the tour, we were able to see the entire process, from the cleaning, milling, and cooking of the grain, to the fermentation, distillation, blending, aging, and bottling of spirits. After the tour, we were able to proceed into the tasting room. And oh yes, the tasting room. We were able to pick which kind of vodka we’d like to try out with a free sample. Although, I think some of our members probably sneaked more than one sample, let’s be honest.

After the distillery, we hopped back into the cars to cruise out to the Rt.80 Iowa truck stop. This is the largest truck stop in the world. After touring their truck museum, we headed back up the road to the oldest ice cream parlor in the world. This place has been around since 1860! And I’m pretty sure the worker had been there since then as well. We had the sweetest guy making all of our orders. But, with their being so many of us, and only one of him in his seasoned years, it wasn’t a speedy process. But the ice cream was well worth the wait.

And finally before we headed back to the hotel we stopped at the Southpark mall in Moline for a car show. It was early evening and the sun had fallen but as the Vipers pulled up, the party began. Most cars were already in the lot, there were hundreds of cars at the show that night! When the Viper caravan pulled in, it was a spectacle, plenty of respect was shown for the snakes. We were only there around 30 minutes, but needless to say, we caused quite the stir.

Once we arrived back at the hotel, we had dinner reservations at a steakhouse in the hotel. The food was fantastic, the wine was flowing, and it was an all around great time, finished with some late night gambling at the hotel’s casino.

Day 2

Sunday, October 9th, started out with a brunch buffet at the Moon River Supper Club. This buffet had food if you wanted a full lunch or breakfast, or both. After breakfast, our day began with a tour of the second oldest US Army arsenal and museum at Rock Island. This was a huge military area and quite impressive. We were able to learn a lot about the manufacturing of weapons and weapon components. Some even had a little fun trying on some old army uniforms. The museum was actually quite interesting and the gun collection that spanned 2 walls (hundreds and hundreds of guns) was astounding. We were also able to stop and take a few pictures of the group by all the old army tanks and such. After the arsenal, we visited the John Deere Pavilion in Moline. There were two areas to the building, the first of which had equipment on display (and this included the BIG equipment. It was quite interesting. We toured the facility and were able to climb up into most of the huge tractors. there were also simulators you could play to see what it was like to use the equipment. The other building was one heck of an elaborate store. John Deere, has a heck of a following!

This last cruise was jam-packed leaving most of the members exhausted afterwards - literally exhausted! But what a way to end our season! We always have new stories to tell after each event and this was no different. This club is a family, and these cruises only give us more memories that will last us a lifetime. Thanks to our cruise directors for a great event, and big thanks to our Iowa counterparts for helping to put this together - you guys rocked! We hope to see you all next year!!

The summer cruise finally came and a big one it was! Our cruise this time around was a multi-day cruise. Yes, while most of us reside in Illinois, our club is made up of many different neighboring states (and actually a handful of members from far away states who choose to be assigned to our region).  The group to our north is our second largest Viper contingent by state, so it was only natural our club tour the great state of Wisconsin as we made our way through Door County! This is an excellent cruise destination and over 30+ Vipers registered for the big trip!

The three day cruise began with Vipers meeting up for the initial drive. Most met at the Lake Forest Oasis, while others were laying in wait along the way as we passed. The group left shortly after the planned departure time and we were on our way. Traffic was light so the drive started off great (and swift). The group picked up more Vipers along the way and made an initial stop in Port Washington for a break and gas. The second leg of the drive was more rural and lead to the second stop of the day - Lambeau Field! The group arrived in Green Bay ahead of schedule and filled 4 rows of spaces near the front steps. This was a sight.

Yes it's time to pay homage to the Packers, they pulled it off last season! Our group was actually in for quite a surprise as most of them had never visited here. It was amazing, it seemed like a small city inside the stadium and it had plenty of history. We began our visit with a lunch at Curly's Pub. The food actually amazed us... not typical stadium food. And after lunch there were tours that were arranged. Members split into two groups. Each group would visit the Packer Hall of Fame and then do a Stadium tour.

The Hall of Fame was amazing to say the least. It exceeded all expectations. The pride for this team was truly reflected by the extravagant venue created to house the history and trophies. Club members perused the chasms of rooms and hallways filled with exhibits, trophies, and paraphernalia. This was an hour long affair in itself. Then came the stadium tour which was quite well led and formally presented. A tour guide took us through the history of the stadium and the team. We visited several locations before being lead to a skybox suite where we viewed the stadium from above and shared some laughs (especially when discussing the cost of the suite). We were then lead through a tour of the basement areas where the team spends lots of it's time. Then came the exciting moment, we were actually lead out on to the field through the same tunnel the team uses. There was an audio system that projected a very lifelike roar of an audience. The view was breathtaking. While out on the field, the group discussed more history and of course took many really cool photographs. It was really impressive, none walked away disappointed - especially those Packers fans...

Our next stop was the hotel, the group was staying at the Stone Harbor Resort. The group arrived on time and was greeted with reserved parking spaces for the Vipers. The hotel was beautiful, right on the water. All rooms had a balcony with a great view. Everyone checked in and around 6pm began to gather downstairs for the buffet dinner that was arranged. We had a room to ourselves and dinner was served around 6:30pm. It was a buffet which included beef tenderloin, chicken, and salmon. Dinner was excellent, so far the group was 2 for 2 on good food for this trip! Everyone finished their dinner and continued to hang out and chat until they were kicked out by the hotel staff. Many of them relocated to the bar or outside to continue a late evening of hanging out and relaxing.

Day two was met with a little rain, luckily it was mostly overnight. The group met to have breakfast at the hotel and soon they were away on their first stops. Luckily while the forecast called for rain all day, rarely did the cars really see it. The group had a small period of rain in the early morning for a few minutes, and aside from a very slight mist once in a while, the skies were fairly bright most of the day and had no rain. The group made its way up 42, jumping through Egg Harbor, Fish Creek, and Sister Bay while making its way up near the tip of the peninsula. The views of the water were great and the driving was awesome.  The trail of 30 cars was a sight to see, the reactions from the folks in Wisconsin were hilarious, more attention that we're used to. The 30 Vipers woke up the towns. People heard about us and repeatedly said "hey, it's those Viper guys". The Vipers snaked their way all the way up to Gills rock where they took a quick potty break and hit the small souvenir shops near the water's edge. After jumping back into the cars, the group made its way to the very top of door county. This area is well known for this stretch of road - some of the twistiest you'll ever drive. You've probably seen it pictured in magazine and postcards - now the Vipers had a chance to drive it. As the video camera rolled, Vipers tore through the twists and some probably left the ground on the fun little hills. The cars made their way to the port at the very tip of the peninsula and made a U after reaching the water. Yes of course this meant another jaunt through the twisties!

The next stop was Sister Bay. All the cars had preferred parking as we brought the cars to a halt and kicked back. This is a cute town, everyone milled around and then met later for lunch at Al Johnson's. This is the famous place with the grass roof that has goats that reside up there. They weren't up there that day (must have been the rain during the night). The food continued to be great on this trip! This was a Swedish place with some real flair (and good drinks!). The group kicked back and had a long lunch at the popular place. There was also an arts and crafts show in town so it made for some good shopping.

After that, the group hopped back into the cars for their next stop which would be a fun drive - Peninsula State Park. Just entering the park was a spectacle, Vipers were jamming the streets while attempting to gain access (we love it...). Once inside we were treated to a great ride - thin roads lined with trees completely covering the line of Vipers under their canopy. We made a couple stops, one of them was the 75 foot tower scenic overlook. This was of course a walk up the stairs, many of our gang couldn't resist. The view was awesome. However after that, the group piled their Vipers around the tower and picture from above was taken. Even at 75 feet, the Vipers couldn't fit in the frame of the camera!

Around noon the group fired up their engines and our cruise director led everyone on one final cruise through some really twisty areas of door county before turning and heading south for home! There were a few members that stayed one more night and took their Viper back to the tip of the peninsula to jump over to Washington island. They took their cars over on the ferry and Vipers officially made landfall on the island. Late Monday, all Vipers officially left the area. Door County will never be the same again!

This was another great trip and it had a really good showing (especially given the zone rendezvous was happening at the same time). Big thanks for everyone who came out. It was a perfect spot for the summer cruise and it gave everyone a great feel for the area. It's a place you had to try at least once in your Viper!

Viper season is officially underway with the first club cruise of the year - An overnight cruise spanning Saturday and Sunday, venturing out to Kokomo Indiana! There was total of 13 cars, and 23 people. This was a relatively small bunch for the first cruise, but most likely, the weather scared off most of the regular cruisers.

Day 1 started off with a very early morning, our meeting place was the Lincoln oasis @ 8am. Everyone was pretty sleepy-eyed but excited nonetheless for the first cruise. The vipers started out on I-80 east towards Indiana and got ‘em rolling pretty quickly. There were a couple unplanned excursions do to some not filling with gas and others taking wrong turns, but believe it or not we stayed on our timeframe and hit lunch our lunch stop as we planned (Vipers are good at making up time...).

The next stop we made after lunch was at the Edward Haynes museum in Kokomo. Haynes is famous for inventing the first car ever. The museum was really interesting. We saw the actual car Haynes invented, which was really cool to see where we started, and where we are now with cars, and the technology that’s come so far. Next we were scheduled to go to an antique mall, but when we were walking to the cars, a torrential downpour started. It was absolutely pouring cats and dogs. So instead, we headed back to the hotel for a while.

After it stopped raining, we went off to our next stop which was the Sieberling museum. But as we were leaving, HISTORY WAS MADE in the Viper club. Nancy and Larry Friend rode in the same car! I kid you not, these two, who always take two cars even though they are married, rode in the same car! It was memorable to say the least. Anyways, the Sieberling mansion was a sight to see. This incredibly huge house, with so many different types of architecture, and decorating was beautiful.

One funny thing that happened at the museum was when the tour guide was walking around the gift shop, she walked by the register and her skirt blew up. She yelped and was pretty embarrassed, but it was funny nonetheless. After touring the museum, we went to dinner just across the yard from the mansion. Dinner was provided by caterers, and was delicious. It was a great time of just eating and chatting and having a good time, although, it might be the first time our group has had a dinner without alcohol, but it was a good time no matter. After dinner, everyone was pretty tired from the long drive that day, so we went back to the hotel to rest up for Sunday.

Day 2 (Sunday) started out a little later than Saturday. We started out going to the glass museum of Kokomo. That was interesting to see and see how glass was actually pressed. When we were leaving the museum, there were some grade school boys who were just in awe as we were pulling out. Some of the guys did some revving as we were leaving, realizing only afterward, that we passed a church. It’s only a Sunday morning, no big deal.... Whoops! Away we were to the museum. It started raining a little bit, and of course Kim and Larry had their tops down. Well, I was in the car with Kim, and let me tell you, we should give lessons on how to put your top up in record time. Larry however, could use some practice, because he got a little wet.

The museum was a really cool place to see. There were a ton of old cars, and some new, including the Viper truck, so it was a very neat place to go to. We then ate a quick lunch at McDonald’s and took off for the air museum. The air museum was personally my favorite.

There were tons of old military planes that we got to see. There was just so much history, and our tour guide did a great job of telling us stories about most of them, plus you could even sit in one if you wanted! After the museum, we all left for home. Most of us stayed together going back into Illinois. We were almost to Watseka, and sky is looking awfully dark in the distance. It’s getting darker as we get closer, and by the time we are in Watseka, it’s a freaking hurricane! Roger and Diana were nice enough to let us stop at their place to try and wait out the storm. But it’s raining like crazy, hailing a little bit, and thundering and lightening like there’s no tomorrow. Roads are flooded and it’s raining so hard you can barely see the tail lights in front of you. So we waited out the worst part of the storm and headed off to dinner at a truck stop off of route 24. It’s still raining when we left Roger and Diana’s, but not as bad as before. Dinner was really good, and we had some good conversation and bonding with the new members that came. After dinner, everyone headed in their separate directions for home.

This was definitely a memorable way to start off the viper season. Yeah it stormed and we got the cars wet and dirty, but it was fun nevertheless. I’m sure as we continue through this season, this cruise will be talked about for months to come. So don’t be shy, come join us on the next one, and let’s make some more great memories!

Note: The above write-up on the event was provided by our own Jamie Buckman. Thank you Jamie!