Edge

Fellow MOTD veterans - if you are looking for a good inn room in the Fontana Village lodge, the best one (Room 220), just became available. King room, closest one to the lobby. Call them quick!

I’ll have a bunch of extra ones with me, Alex!

That's great! I'm glad you are both coming - we love meeting new members! Bummer - sorry you guys can't make it.

Hey folks - if you are still a Maybe, or you have not responded to this thread but you are interested in joining us, please update/post here today, so I can call in to Griffin Tavern with our headcount for Saturday. Thanks!

90% sure that I’ll be there, and Susan and Noelle are a “maybe”. I just hope there is adequate seating!

It sounds like everyone has it straight. I'll be arriving on Sunday. Susan, Betty & Noelle will arrive on Monday (they'll probably depart with me on Sunday but will stay with family in southern VA on Sunday night). They will all head home on Thursday. Betty will stay in Mark & Ali's cabin on Monday night, then move to Carl's lodge room for Tuesday & Wednesday nights. Susan and Noelle will stay with me in my lodge room all 3 nights. Thank you all for your help with these arrangements!

Hey folks - the event is 2 weeks from today! If you haven't RSVPed, please don't forget to check your calendars and then do so! Susan, Noelle and I are doing the practice run today, just to make sure there are no unexpected problems with the route, such as construction, detours, etc. Mind you, for the smoother, quieter and more comfortable ride, the practice run will be in Susan's car, not Mr. OEM. On the day itself though, I'll be solo in Mr. OEM, and the family will meet us at the restaurant for lunch.

It took longer than expected to have all of the right conversations (including with Betty), but... we'll take it! A huge thank you to Carl for your sacrifice to make it comfortable for Betty, and to Mark and Ali for facilitating this via your cabin! Mark & Ali - please let us know what we will owe you for Betty's use of the cabin bedroom on Monday night. Carl - same - for use of your inn/lodge room on Tuesday & Wednesday nights! YAY! I wasn't even sure I'd be allowed able to come to MOTD this year... so happy!

Ya know... when I first read this, I read it as shown above (without the words that are struck through)... and thought you were trying to be funny.

I haven't circled up with Susan and Betty on this yet (it's been a nutty week at work). I will try to do so tomorrow evening, and let you guys know if that will work. Either way, thank you all for your help!

Wow, you guys are amazing! Carl - any chance you could extend your reservation to start on Monday, instead of Tuesday? Or have they told you that Tuesday is the earliest it is available?

Hi folks, So I have an unusual request, and I'm hoping someone is in a position to help. My wife Susan and daughter Noelle may be joining me for MOTD, but they would come separately in Susan's (non-MINI) car, and only be there for the first half of the week (before it gets crazy). The thing is, Susan isn't comfortable with a 9 hour drive by herself and with Noelle in the rear-facing baby seat the whole way. So the latest plan is for my mother-in-law, Betty, to come along for the trip as well. The current plan is either for the 3 of them to go down on Monday and leave on Thursday, or go down on Sunday and leave on Wednesday. The catch? I already have a King bed room reserved in the lodge, where Susan and Noelle could stay with me (we'll bring a pack-and-play crib), but nowhere for Betty to stay. What I'm asking for is if anyone already has a Fontana Village lodge room booked from either Wednesday or Thursday for the main event, if they would be willing to extend their reservation to start on Sunday or Monday instead... and allow Betty to use the room for the earlier part of the week, prior to your arrival - and they would depart the same day you arrive. We would of course pay for the added cost of the extra days. I've already tried calling Fontana - they put us on the wait-list... which I found surprising because I figured they wouldn't be completely full until Thursday. We can't wait for the wait-list, we need to find a room in the Fontana lodge, or else none of them can go (and I'll have to shorten my MOTD visit, too). They'll be sharing the one car so Betty staying elsewhere just won't work. Please let us know if you're in a position to help with this problem! Thank you!

Problem solved.

I'm not sure if this is still available, but I'm interested, if so. I sent Jim Carman a message on FBM to ask.

Hey folks - for the record, I really wanted to do this on Saturday, April 21... after Tax Day and still a week before many people depart for MOTD... and at first, Griffin Tavern said they were open that day. However, they later called me back and said that they had forgotten that the annual "Fodderstack 10K race" was happening that day, with lots of road closures, and Griffin Tavern is one of the primary sponsors, so it will be bustling there. So... I had to pick another day, and the 14th was it (the 28th would have been too close to MOTD). Sundays are a bit more complicated for them because they have a large Sunday brunch crowd, so I try to do this event on Saturdays. I'm sorry if April 14th turns out to be a bad day for you!

SPRING FLING 2018 RSVP POST This post/comment will serve as the official RSVP for the event. Please comment on this thread to RSVP, and let me know how many people will be coming along with you (+1, +2, etc.). I will then updated this post. If I have not updated the RSVP list correctly within 48 hours of your comment, go ahead and send me a Private Message (PM) at this link. Looking forward to seeing you all at the event! RUNNING RSVP YES COUNT: 14 people (babies don't eat restaurant food!) Edge +1 (Mrs. Edge - also baby Edge!) SneakyBaron Sollestia TGGRRR (Ali) CHILLIN MELO-R56 +1 GreenCactus Star +1 Ralph + 1 Shadow RUNNING RSVP MAYBE COUNT: 3 people Gearhead60 +1 Shadow’s +1 RUNNING RSVP NO COUNT: 3 people wyretrip TATTRAT NYRican MC40

Event Title: Spring Fling 2018: Drive & Lunch in VA wine country Event Date: 04/14/2018 09:00 AM to 04/14/2018 04:30 PM Event Address: Sterling, Virginia, 20166-2500, United States It's that time of the year again! Spring is in the air, old man Winter is running off to hide, and the trees are starting to blossom! Just like I did in previous years, I'm organizing the Spring Fling run again, this time on Saturday, April 14. WHERE TO MEET: Target Sterling West parking lot (South-East corner). The address is 45130 Columbia Place, Sterling, VA 20166-2500 WHEN: Saturday, April 14 @ 9:00am. Driver's meeting at 9:50am. We depart at 10am sharp! Don't be late! The event will be on, RAIN OR SHINE! RUN DISTANCE: 68.1 miles (morning) + 69.3 miles (afternoon) = 137.4 miles total. Easy "early exits" available in afternoon at 85.7 miles (Rt 66), 94.0 miles (Rt 50) and 105.8 miles (Rt 7). RUN TIME: Approx 6.5 hours - we will return to the Target parking lot at approx. 4:30pm, if you decide to complete the full run. There are 4 segments of actual driving, about an hour each, with bathroom breaks in-between. There is a long lunch stop in the middle (after the first 2 segments). WHAT TO BRING: Full tank of gas, 2-way radio, money to buy lunch (cash please - makes it easier for the check), sweater/raincoat/umbrella (if necessary, depending on weather) and a fun-loving attitude! A quick refresher: One of my fondest MINI-related memories is the very first drive I ever participated in with DCMM - it was the Spring Fling, created by Bruce Pancoast (mty_mini), and organized with help from Jen Oakes (Jen) - who was our event coordinator at the time. This all happened on Sunday, April 24, 2005... only 7 1/2 weeks after I picked up my brand new MINI. Alan (Scavenger), who was getting his first exposure to the MINI, came along as my co-pilot. Meeting in the Sterling Wegmans parking lot (near MINI of Sterling), it was fun to meet a whole bunch of like-minded MINIacs all at once, for the first time. Little did I know just how much fun there was still to come... after grabbing some coffee and/or breakfast snacks from Wegmans. The roads were beautiful and twisty, and was such an awesome experience to be in a long line of MINIs for the very first time. We stopped for lunch at Orlean Market in Upperville, VA (in western Fauquier County), then continued on for wine tasting at Naked Mountain Vineyard & Winery after that, before heading all the way back to Wegmans. It was a long day (128 miles or so!), but so nice. Needless to say, I was eager to do this run again. Our lunch stop will be again be at Griffin Tavern, since Orlean Market closed down many years ago. NOTE: The plan is to have 1 check per table, so to make things easier to sort out, please bring sufficient CA$H to cover your portion of the check. Their typical menu is available here: Griffin Tavern Menu - I highly recommend the Shepherd's Pie - correctly made with lamb, not beef! For those interested or curious: Original Spring Fling thread (2005) Spring Fling 2008 thread Spring Fling 2009 thread Spring Fling 2010 thread Spring Fling 2010 Morning Route on Google Maps Spring Fling 2010 Afternoon Route on Google Maps Spring Fling 2011 thread Spring Fling 2012 thread Spring Fling 2013 thread Spring Fling 2014 thread Spring Fling 2015 thread Spring Fling 2016 thread Spring Fling 2017 thread Due to severe size limitations from the local wineries, we do not participate in wine tasting any more. However, you are welcome to order yourself a glass of wine with lunch at Griffin Tavern. Hope to see many of you out there again! Please RSVP by posting a comment in the Discussion Topic thread - HERE - the built-in RSVP system on these new forums is insufficient because it does not track guests (+1s). I will instead use the first comment to manually track RSVPs. Also, please remember to post updates to the thread if something changes for you (more/less people coming, cancelling, etc.). Please note that our lunch stop (Griffin Tavern) has given us a hard cap of 50 people, so if we reach that number, RSVPs will be closed. If possible, please have your final RSVP in by Thursday, April 12, so I can give the restaurant a close-to-exact headcount.

I’m registered, but I’m not yet sure if I’ll make it... with the little one around now, it is a bigger challenge. I haven’t missed a single MOTD since I bought my MINI in early 2005, so it will be sad if I break my streak.

I’ll take it! I want it for long trips.

On the contrary, because I just bought non-RF winter tires (RF choices were very limited), I do need a spare for winter use.

Darn - missed this one! (I've been kinda busy... )

Sounds like the burble/pop - programmed in on purpose by MINI - for off-gas deceleration. It's a trademark sound that many love, but apparently enough people complained about it from the 1st Gens that they removed it from earlier 2nd Gens... until I guess enough people complained about it being gone, and they added it back in again in on 2nd Gens a few years later.

Man, I would be ALL over this if I wasn’t headed on a business trip tomorrow!