Gumball
07-16-2016, 09:03 PM
Sten and I joined five other cars and a dozen or so other people on a great road trip through the hills of northwestern Illinois this weekend. In addition to our two Roadsters, there was a '74 Pontiac Grand Am (when was the last time you saw one of those), a '72 Pontiac LeMans convertible, a '66 Mustang (every road trip needs at least one), an '03 Corvette (gotta have one reliable car, too), and my wife's "67 Camaro convertible.
After meeting up at two different locations, we headed for some great country roads. Our route took us along the Stagecoach Trail, a road that parallels the IL/WI border from just west of Rockford all the way out to the Galena area. We stopped for lunch at the Eagle Ridge Resort, then headed in to the historic town for a little break to stretch our legs. The afternoon was spent following the Mississippi along ridges and below bluffs, then it was time to turn east and race across the corn fields and flatlands back home.
While I had lots of fun building my car, this is what it's really all about - enjoying the road on a sunny day with friends!
All in all it was a great ten hours and 300+ miles and there were no break-downs or other issues, to boot.
Lunch at the Woodstone Restaurant - the clubhouse for the resorts premier golf course called "The General."
http://i845.photobucket.com/albums/ab15/CCRsAC/IMG_20160716_134023881_HDR_zpsgmxbee8h.jpg (http://s845.photobucket.com/user/CCRsAC/media/IMG_20160716_134023881_HDR_zpsgmxbee8h.jpg.html)
Sten and me letting our cars visit their roots - see Dave Smith's story of his family's blacksmithing heritage.
http://i845.photobucket.com/albums/ab15/CCRsAC/IMG_20160716_140746887_zpsibbla232.jpg (http://s845.photobucket.com/user/CCRsAC/media/IMG_20160716_140746887_zpsibbla232.jpg.html)
Every good road trip requires at least one ice cream stop.
http://i845.photobucket.com/albums/ab15/CCRsAC/IMG_20160716_172805747_zpsff3qhkae.jpg (http://s845.photobucket.com/user/CCRsAC/media/IMG_20160716_172805747_zpsff3qhkae.jpg.html)
After meeting up at two different locations, we headed for some great country roads. Our route took us along the Stagecoach Trail, a road that parallels the IL/WI border from just west of Rockford all the way out to the Galena area. We stopped for lunch at the Eagle Ridge Resort, then headed in to the historic town for a little break to stretch our legs. The afternoon was spent following the Mississippi along ridges and below bluffs, then it was time to turn east and race across the corn fields and flatlands back home.
While I had lots of fun building my car, this is what it's really all about - enjoying the road on a sunny day with friends!
All in all it was a great ten hours and 300+ miles and there were no break-downs or other issues, to boot.
Lunch at the Woodstone Restaurant - the clubhouse for the resorts premier golf course called "The General."
http://i845.photobucket.com/albums/ab15/CCRsAC/IMG_20160716_134023881_HDR_zpsgmxbee8h.jpg (http://s845.photobucket.com/user/CCRsAC/media/IMG_20160716_134023881_HDR_zpsgmxbee8h.jpg.html)
Sten and me letting our cars visit their roots - see Dave Smith's story of his family's blacksmithing heritage.
http://i845.photobucket.com/albums/ab15/CCRsAC/IMG_20160716_140746887_zpsibbla232.jpg (http://s845.photobucket.com/user/CCRsAC/media/IMG_20160716_140746887_zpsibbla232.jpg.html)
Every good road trip requires at least one ice cream stop.
http://i845.photobucket.com/albums/ab15/CCRsAC/IMG_20160716_172805747_zpsff3qhkae.jpg (http://s845.photobucket.com/user/CCRsAC/media/IMG_20160716_172805747_zpsff3qhkae.jpg.html)