Jim_75Sahara

FYI: I posted a message in the Events section as well.

Please reserve the weekend of October 8th & 9th for THE GREAT KENTUCKY RIDGE RUN. Jason Gipson has planned a 125 mile ridge line drive through the hills of rural Kentucky. The roads are curvy and feature frequent changes in elevation as well as width! There will be some hill hops and various off-camber turns, so we will need to be vigilant. We will be passing through places like: Cynthiana, Carlisle, Brooksville, Sardis, Falmouth, Mt. Olivet, etc. The fall colors and rural scenery will be beautiful. On Friday and Saturday nights we will be staying at The Country Lodge at Sabbath Song Farm in Brooksville, KY. It is a B&B with one private suite available ($100/night) and a loft with 10 single beds. ($25/head) There is some overflow space in the basement studio for cots, air mattresses, & sleeping bags, plus there are two sofas down there as well. Breakfasts are included on Saturday & Sunday. Dinner on Saturday night will be provided by our host for $8/person. Some of you may wish to stay at the French Quarter Inn in Maysville for a more private, luxury stay. ($85/night -- includes an over-sized deep whirlpool tub, mini-fridge, restaurant, outdoor pool, & balcony views of the Ohio River.) Stops along our route will include lunch at Biancke's Restaurant (founded in 1894), a photo-op-ready covered bridge, The Doll & Toy Museum in Carlisle, and Sunflower Sundries Farm in Mt. Olivet. On Friday the 8th, we will rendezvous at the Shell station at 430 Gloria Terrell Dr. Wilder, KY 41076. Time: 5:00 PM. The drive along Route 10 to The Country Lodge at Sabbath Song Farm will take about 1 hour & 20 minutes. We will have a cookout at the B&B once we get there. Bring something to share. Meat, buns, condiments, and soft drinks will be provided. It is not a dry county, so you can bring beer or wine. There is a firecircle with firewood provided, so we can gather around the fire in the evening. There is a full kitchen available to us and a large common room as well. There is also a deck off of the common room/kitchen area. Here is the link to the Rivertown Gearbusters Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=140259459339562 Jason will be adding updates between now and October 8th, so keep an eye on this link. Here is the link to The Country Lodge at Sabbath Song Farm: www.sabbathsongfarm Their address and phone number is: 1331 Toadvine Rd. Brooksville, KY 41004 #606-735-9914 or #606-735-2140. The link to Sunflower Sundries Farm: www.sunflowersundries.com. Their address is: 5021 Dividing Ridge Rd. Mt. Olivet, KY 41064. #606-763-6827. And the link to The French Quarter Inn is: www.FrenchQuarterInn.com. Their address: 25 East McDonald Parkway Maysville, KY. Phone: 606-564-8000 or #800-966-9892. We are very excited about this event and believe that you will enjoy it a great deal. See you there! Please RSVP so that we can get an accurate headcount. Thanks! Jim Denker, cohost (along with Jason Gipson)

I followed Mike Self's lead in using a male German name. I liked the name Dieter. He'd already named his 3 BMW's Wolfgang, Johannes, & Ludwig. I've got a good name I want to use on my next BMW, but I won't say right now since I don't want anyone to nab that monniker.

That stinks, Brian. A very good brew in any case.

In Ohio, it's a 3-way tie for 1st between Sahara, Malaga, & Chamonix. The wild colors (Taiga, Mintgrun, Golf, Inka, etc. ) are very rare in these parts.

Brian: before you throw the lot away, some folks in Calif. may need the smog bits which you could sell. (not for very much, but hey)

It is risky running a small business. The auto repair shop I used to use went under because of embezzlement. Lots of cars were in limbo when that shop suddenly closed. I called to pick something up & had a long rambling talk w/the owner who was nearly in tears. It felt very weird, consoling him as he was about to lose it.

I heard about the sudden need for an engine rebuild, Sam. I talked to Joseph about that. I'm very glad my engine has been redone. Now I need a new key made.... (broke the only ignition key!) Good luck -- you two will have matching 1600-2's before long.

That's the '02 that Jason's friend bought, isn't it? Good to have a solid, non-rusty '02 and to cut your losses! Sounds like a score, getting a good one so cheaply. Good luck, Brian!!

I was gonna go this year, but too many snafu's, breakdowns, and one of our cars got totalled. Not a good time for me to be spending $100's more on top of all that. Focusing on the family instead this weekend. Maybe next year?

George: you met our doggies in May! BTW, thank you so much for the parcel we just received. You are a true gentleman and an exemplary 2002 owner!! You certainly didn't have to send it, but it sure is appreciated!

The SAAB 99 in the picture is exactly like the one my dad drove in the late 70's. Fun to drive, but it had too many things fail/break when it was new IMO. It could hold a lot of cargo.

I can't recall seeing one of these on the road. I saw lots of Kadetts, Mantas, & GT's, but not this model. They must've been rare even back then.

I have similar memories from childhood of family vacations in a station wagon. In my case, dad was driving a '60 Falcon Wagon, with no a/c & a small 6 cylinder engine, hauling the 5 of us to Nebraska or to Garden City, SC. Dad never wanted to stop for the restroom, it was go-go-go. If we stopped for gas, he'd be starting to pull out before we'd finished our sodas. Back then you had to stick the glass bottle in the rack before you sped away. I hated to put it back with any left in it. Soft drinks were a rare treat at the time. It was mostly 2-lane highways, not much in the way of huge interstate hwys. then.

Aaron: let's talk about schizo. OK, we just bought another 2001 Taurus SES wagon to replace the nearly identical one totalled in a 4 car pileup on 6/28. (Mary is OK.) It's great for family vacations & car-pooling. Mary loves it so I got another for her. Chris Burd shares my schizo. tendencies when it comes to '02's & Taurus wagons! He's got 2 Taurus wagons & gets 200K mi. out of them & then gets another! EDIT: YES I did, Harv!!! hehehehehe!

Clap Clap Clap Clap Clap, etc. Next: a Shutterfly book -- you've got a great start on one! Great photo essay, Jason.

I am driving mine a lot in the Dayton area these days. Most people --- NO interest. I need one in a crazy 70's color to get attention it seems.

Guys, you left out the Dixie Drive In. When I was growing up, Cincinnati used to have a dozen Drive Ins, but all of them are gone. The names of so many I can recall: Skyview, Woodlawn, Jolly Roger, Mt. Healthy, Dent, Twin, Oakley, Acme, Ferguson Hills, Starlite, etc. Sad.

Now I need to do the same - we still have a few Drive-In movie theaters around here. We went to see "Toy Story 3" the other night. That was one of the last times I drove our Taurus wagon before it got demolished in a car crash. I may seal the deal on its clone on Monday. They are getting a bit rare around here.

I have learned that any original ' 02 color looks great to me as long as it is shiny & the car is well preserved. Conversely, any of the orig. colors can look ugly if there is oxidized paint, rust, dents, & other forms of neglect.