The show, presented by Mid America Motorworks, needs to be pre-registered for. Not to worry cause it doesn't cost anything. This show will be held June 4th and 5th, 2005.

To pre-register you can do so at http://www.mamotorworks.com or call them at 1-800-500-1500.

Three couples of us went up last year and had a great time. It is in Effingham, IL which is about a 6 hour drive from Chattanooga.

Dee and I will definately be going. We're going thru the house right now finding "stuff" we can sell so we can afford the gas.  :lol: I should be crying instead of laughing. :cry: We have already pre-registered for the show but we havn't made our motel reservations yet.

:shock: $3.00 a gallon?!?  That's the price you have to pay to live in the land of Fruits and Nuts!

Gas has actually dropped a few cents per gallon in the last couple of days.  I noticed that Cowboy's at the corner of Cloud Springs and Deits Road had regular for $1.91 tonight.  I also heard today that OPEC is planning on boosting production again if oil prices don't drop within the next week.  Maybe the price will drop a little more before June.

I haven't "registered" but Joy and I are planning on going.  If gas doesn't drop before June, I may have install some pedals in Homer . . . but it won't be hard . . . I've already got the holes in the floor to run the chain through . . .   \/

I don't really feel it's a conspiracy.  Regardless of politics, as long as there is competition, supply and demand REALLY control prices.  Pick up everything you see in Wally World and look at where it's made.  Compair the amount of stuff "Made in China" today the amount made there 10 years ago.  Now, think of all the energy all that new industry in China is sucking up.  The folks that run the new Chinees industries can better afford to pay for high priced oil than us . . . after all they don't pay very much for their labor . . . they also don't have to worry about safety or getting sued every time they turn around.  The more the oil companies can sell to China at inflated prices, the less they need to sell to the rest of the world . . . supply and demand.  Somewhat fixed supply + increased demand = inflated prices.  It's not as much a political thing as the politicians want you to think.  In fact, (y'all forgive me for bringing up another taboo subject, but . . .) RELIGION has more of an influance on oil prices than politics.   :-k

OK David . . . you said you liked to stir up stuff . . . here's you an opportunity!   :lol:

Part of us are back from Illinois and Funfest 2005. We had a great trip and attended a great show. There were a lot more cars at this years show than last years. Saturday was a beautiful day with a breeze blowing all day long. It is so flat up there!!! There were more vendors this year versus last and more activities. Everyone who can, needs to plan to go next year.

A couple of us had orriginally planned to come back to the Bowling Green area and go thru one of Kentucky's caves. We left Effingham Sunday morning but enroute, decided to just come on home. We got back Sunday night around 10pm.

Overall, the weekend was great and I think all who went have no regrets.  

Well it's about time you guy's (and girls) got back. The site has been somewhat quiet. Glad to here that everyone had fun and made it back safely....

It was a good show.  Lots of nice VWs along with quite a few that Homer would have felt at home around.  If you're a Herbie (the Love Bug, not VWHerb!) fan, there were plenty of Herbies on display.  The shaking Herbie and the Spinning Herbie from Herbie Goes Bannanas were on display . . . You could sit in them, stand on the seats and have your picture made hanging out the sunroof, and if you let them turn on the "shaker" you got a cool "I got a shake from Herbie" sticker.

On Sunday, we caught the young man (well he's not "that" young any more) who played Poco in "Bannanas" and he let us make his picture with Jesse.  He also autographed a poster and a T-shirt for Jesse.

I got a great deal on some old VW ads in the swap meet . . . I think I gave $12 for 10 of them.  2 were of a Formula Vee ad, and one was a Formula Super Vee.  I also got a bunch of good used door handles from the early 60s through the late 70s for $1 each.

Sunday afternoon we headed to St. Louis.  We took Jesse to the St. Louis Zoo, took a river boat ride on the "Tom Sawyer" up the Mississippi, and went to the top of the St. Louise Arch . . . That's a neat trip that everone should make at least once in their life.

We've finally worked our way down to Springfield, Missiouri traveling part of the way down the old "Route 66."  Tomorrow we are headed down towards Branson to take Joy to see Bonnie Brook, the home of the Rose O'Neill, creator of the Kewpie doll.  We went about three years ago and found out that it didn't open until 3 days after we had to be back home.  Hopefully this time she'll actually get to see it.

I should be back home Thursday or Friday . . . and hopefully I'll have time to get Homer's engine back in before Monday morning.  I hated not being able to make the trip in an air-cooled VW, but after the high winds we had to drive in Sunday afternoon, it might be a good thing that Homer is still up on jack stands!

 

I just got back from Effingham (via St. Louis, Springfield, Ozark, Branson, Sundown, and West Plains, MO then on to Jonesboro, Arkansas where we got back on a ROAD and headed to West Memphis, Arkansas, then back across the Mississippi river into Memphis, TN, over to Nashville, and back to the Chattanooga area).

By the way, if you ever get over to the Branson, MO area and want to go back to Chattanooga, go back to Springfield and take the interstate back to St. Louis.  There is "red line" on the map that goes from the Branson area over to West Plains and another "red line" from West Plains down to West Memphis, Arkansas.  Red lines are State Highways.  It's a much more direct route than going all the way back to St. Louis.  One the map it is.  But apparently, the state of Missouri doesn't have real high standards on what qualifies as a state highway . . . especially in the Ozarks.  One of the dots on the map was Sundown, Missouri.  It was a sign tacked to a post.  You've heard of those towns that are "just a wide spot in the road?"  This wasn't even a wide spot.  If you wanted to stop in Sundown, you had to park in the middle of the road (which I guess we could have done if we wanted to since we hadn't passed another car in nearly an hour)!  No houses, no driveways, no crossroads, no shoulders on the road.  It was LITTERALY a sign on post.  There was absolutely nothing for several miles before the sign and the next sign of any possible human activity was about a mile past the sign . . . it was another "town."  This one did have a couple of houses and singlewide trailer.  The trailer wasn't sitting on blocks; it was still on the wheels . . . even though it was obvious that it had been sitting there for years.  The biggest town we passed between Branson and West Plains had a population of 632.  That was in nearly 5 hours of driving!  One good thing is we needed gas when we got to West Plains and their Wal-Mart had the cheapest gas.  Of course I had to check out the toy section while I was there . . . and found a 1/18th scale Muddy Herbie and a Johnny Lightning Monster's bug and bus.  I guess folks in that part of the country don't care much for VWs.  From Springfield, to Branson, to West Plains, to Memphis over three days of traveling I saw 3 air-cooled vehicles.  Two were Corvairs!  The one VW I spotted was a late model Super Beetle.  But, I got some toys out of the deal, so I'm kind'a glad we took the backroads!