MINIS ON A FERRY in Colonial VA (w Hampton Road MINI club)

[MINIFIED]

SATURDAY, MARCH 24TH

A MINI Invitation: IT'S BACKMINI's On The Ferry III Saturday, March 24, 2012!!!
Join the Hampton Roads Club MINI as they revive a local favorite.
This is a charity fundraiser for the American Cancer Society complete with prizes!

Just as it sounds, a bunch of MINI's on a Ferry raising money for charity.
If you have never driven your MINI along the Colonial Parkway, you should definitely plan to join us!
If you have never participated in a Hampton Roads club event, you are in for a treat – a wonderful, fun-loving group that often participates in Tar Heel activities and additionally hosts exciting drive and social events in VA that complement our own.

Here's the synopsis as it stands at the moment:

Saturday AM - gather in Yorktown, VA
(accommodation recommendations for the Yorktown area for anyone interested in overnighting Friday evening are forthcoming; a MINI club dinner Friday night in the area is a tentative plan, too)

We'll motor up the historic Colonial Parkway, through Williamsburg and on to the visitor’s center in Jamestown. There we'll regroup and take a short break before queuing on Route 5 to claim the 1 o'clock ferry across the James River. Dinner plans, post-crossing, are set for the Country Farmhouse Restaurant in Surry, VA.
We will have MINI hamburgers, MINI BBQ & MINI Crabcakes with beans fries and coleslaw!

Additional details are being finalized including event shirts that will be for sale and promise to be different than what most MINI owners have seen before. Pictures will be posted soon.

Mark the date and start making plans for this awesome adventure, this is shaping up to be one of the best events in VA !!!

Link to HR MINI website: http://hrmini.com/
Link to this specific event details:
http://www.hrmini.com/component/option,com_smf/Itemid,32/topic,4441.0

[maacodale]

Locked in the starting location today! York County officials gave us the green light to use the Yorktown Parking Garage as a starting location. So even if it's raining, we'll have a dry drivers meeting.

Next up: finalize hotel room block, hopefully we'll have that wrapped up by the weekend.

AND, Craig at Evergreen Graphic is working on a shirt design.

[maacodale]

Check and Check!
Lodging is set with two hotels to choose from:
http://www.ichotelsgroup.com/candlewood/hotels/us/en/yorktown/phfcw/hoteldetail/photos-tours
and
http://hiltongardeninn.hilton.com/en/gi/hotels/index.jhtml?ctyhocn=ORFNWGI

$59/night at the Candlewood queen or double and $89 at the Hilton. Both are less than 1/4 mile apart. Tell them you're with the MINI group or the MINI event.

Shirts are done by every MINI's friend Craig (COOPERation) at Evergreen Graphics. We'll have T shirts and Sweat Shirts.

http://i54.photobucket.com/albums/g119/maacodale/MINIs%20on%20the%20Ferry%202012/MotF122.jpg

There will also be a raffle with some neat MINI prizes as well as a 50/50 drawing.

[MINIFIED]

Only a month away .. and there's at least 3 MINIs caravaning from NC and spending Friday night .. if you've never been on the Colonial Parkway, this is a must-do for every MINI .. if your MINI hasn't earned it's waterwings, well, no worries, the river crossing is on the ferry! And if you've never mingled with our Hampton Roads brethren, you are in for a treat!

[Cary Cooper]

Well, Denise and I will be going. Being so close to us, it would be a shame not to - plus such a worthy cause. We've explored the area a little, but not to this extent so it should be a blast. Who else is going? Hope to see you there!

[maacodale]

Great to hear some of our Tar Heel MINIs will be joining us! Near as we can count, we have nearly $1000 worth of raffle prizes to give away!

[colejd]

I'm in.

[MINIFIED]

Well, Denise and I will be going. Being so close to us, it would be a shame not to - plus such a worthy cause. We've explored the area a little, but not to this extent so it should be a blast. Who else is going? Hope to see you there!

There will definitely be an NC contingent headed to this event .. I'll be leaving Friday afternoon and from the Triangle area if there is caravan interest .. (will probably have to be late afternoon, unfortunately) .. I have not determined which of the hotels I'm staying at yet .. I do not think the Friday night dinner spot has been decided yet, either ...

[Cary Cooper]

There will definitely be an NC contingent headed to this event .. I'll be leaving Friday afternoon and from the Triangle area if there is caravan interest .. (will probably have to be late afternoon, unfortunately) .. I have not determined which of the hotels I'm staying at yet .. I do not think the Friday night dinner spot has been decided yet, either ...

We are staying at the Hilton referenced below. We're likely going to be arriving Friday evening because we're driving down after work and live about 25mi south of DC. If a time/place gets set for dinner we'll try and make it, however with Friday getaway traffic, no guarantees... I have a feeling we're going to have to take back routes to avoid traffic but we'll try our best to hook up with folks if we can. See you there!

[yaemsiri]

Dale, where is the Friday night hotel?

[maacodale]

It's in Yorktown, right near the Yorktown/Newport News line. Right off I64 at the 256B exit. Here's the link:
http://hiltongardeninn.hilton.com/en/gi/groups/personalized/O/ORFNWGI-MINIS-20120322/index.jhtml?WT.mc_id=POG

[yaemsiri]

Thanks Dale.

[Ball80]

Someone say mini on a ferry? This was mine on the cedar island ferry headed out to the Outer Banks.

[maacodale]

Ours should look like that, well, add about 50 more MINIs!

[MINIFIED]

Just a quick update on this ... I'm not on Facebook but I can see on the Facebook page for this event that there are 41 people signed up to go .. and I know of at least 5 others who are going who have not posted to Facebook, so this is easily a 50+ vehicle event.

The event will start with dinner on Friday evening in Newport News .. I believe here (looks great)
Saisaki Asian Bistro (http://www.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.saisakiasianbistro.com%2F&h=RAQGu72R6AQFglbxRkzyPwztvubv30Wm_fxbgbM5t1p-y9Q)
www.saisakiasianbistro.com (http://www.saisakiasianbistro.com/) The newest and best Asian cuisine on the Virginia Peninsula. Authentic Japanese, Chinese, Malaysian, and Thai dishes along with our own fusion creations. Superb sushi and sashimi delicacies. Come by once, and you'll be back often!


Then a Colonial Parkway drive, ferry ride, lunch, and looks like a post-lunch drive is shaping up, too!

There are several leaving from the Triangle area, meeting at Todd Godfrey's store (Godfrey's Jewelers at Sawmill and Six Fork) at 3:15 with wheels up at 3:30 .. there may be others leaving earlier or later than that .. PM for any more details about caravan plans or the event itself!

If you have never participated in an event with the Hampton Roads Club, you really should .. a great group of MINI friends and a fun time always!

[Cary Cooper]

Post lunch drive? Fabulous! Count us in! :ms_thumbsup:

[Cary Cooper]

A quick request here... My wife's (Denise) birthday is on the 23rd. If you could pass the word along to wish her happy birthday over the radios during the run I would really appreciate it and I think she would really be tickled! Thanks in advance.

[Cary Cooper]

A

[mrbeebe]

Yipeeee.....Im sick of working on Saturday....it will be nice to have a couple of days off!!!

[mrbeebe]

Susan, how many are planning on leaving with us on Friday?
Todd

[Cary Cooper]

The event will start with dinner on Friday evening in Newport News .. I believe here (looks great)
Saisaki Asian Bistro (http://www.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.saisakiasianbistro.com%2F&h=RAQGu72R6AQFglbxRkzyPwztvubv30Wm_fxbgbM5t1p-y9Q)
www.saisakiasianbistro.com (http://www.saisakiasianbistro.com/) The newest and best Asian cuisine on the Virginia Peninsula. Authentic Japanese, Chinese, Malaysian, and Thai dishes along with our own fusion creations. Superb sushi and sashimi delicacies. Come by once, and you'll

can anyone confirm this is the plan for Friday evening? Will some folks be meeting there? Somewhere else (if so, where)? Denise and I will be leaving here at 3 or 4pm; about the same number of hours of a drive..the earliest possible we'll be there if the stars align is 6pm; realistically, closer to 7:30 or 8 due to Friday getaway traffic. No answers on Hampton forum. We'd love to meet up with some folks for dinner if it works out but it would be nice to know when others are planning to be there to determine if we should go straight to the restaurant or check in first. Thanks in advance and we hope to see you all there!

[maacodale]

Just check in first. If you staying at the Hilton or Crestwood, you're only about 200 yards away. And yep, dinner starts at 7:30, but we'll probably be there most of the evening. The restaurant is looking forward to us being there. Food is great as are the drinks.

[Cary Cooper]

Thank you! See you there!

[MINIFIED]

Last update before heading out on Friday .. for any sitting on the fence about this gathering ..

- There will be 50+ MINI friends on this outing; the Facebook page has 50 indicating "attending" and that does not include several from NC who are not on Facebook [http://www.facebook.com/events/181455861955155/]
- There are at least 4 MINIs from the Triangle area headed to Newport News for this event; I am not sure how may are leaving early Friday, mid-afternoon Friday, Friday evening, or Saturday AM .. anyone wanting to caravan from Raleigh on Friday, meeting place is at Godfrey's Jewelers on Six Forks Rd at 3:15, wheels up 3:30pm .. see prior post for address to put in GPS.
- The Friday afternoon contingent will get there in time for the group dinner Friday night at 7:30pm. The HR MINI friends tend to linger (a good thing!) so even if you can get to the restaurant before 10pm, there will be MINI people hanging out. See prior post for where the dinner plans are (confirmed)
- The event on Saturday has been extended from concluding after lunch to now concluding at dinner time on Saturday
- There are many prizes, raffles, 50/50 drawing all for a good cause - the American Cancer Society
- T Shirts will be available at the event for $20. PS Look closely, they do have a Countryman on them :-)

Any questions feel free to send me a PM prior to Friday, 2pm .. after that, call the cell .. 9I9 6O6 65I5

[maacodale]

That number doesn't include the5-10 coming down from northen Virginia. And I know there are another 10-15 Hampton Roads folks that either aren't on Facebook or aren't HR MINI members. Weather is looking a bit iffy at the moment, but hey, we've had wet events before.

[maacodale]

We had a great event and the rain held off for most of the day. Big thanks to the Tar Heel MINI members that made the trek up this way. Big thanks to Jeff Cole for bringing the bullhorn. We did raise almost $1900 for the American Cancer society!

Now, I just gotta open up my schedule and get down to more of y'alls events!

[fleazilla]

So badly wanted to make this one,I was wondering how it was going to go with the weather? I'll catch it next time,just couldn't do it this time needed some parts so I can pass inspection coming up..

[colejd]

Here are my photos of the run.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/49818272@N07/

[fleazilla]

Cool thank! There are some really great shots in there,and it was cool to see some of the other events also..
theres one with my car in it too on the parkway tour driving around that long curve whered the field opens up..

[MINIFIED]

For the Tar Heel folks who thought about this event and were unable to attend, next time it's posted: GO!

What an awesome, impressive display of MINIs .. the HR group co-ordinated a dinner for Friday night for those of us who needed a head start on Saturday. Saturday AM was beautiful and 70 shiny MINIs hit the Colonial Parkway for a scenic ride to the ferry. The planning was perfect as 70 MINIs boarded the ferry collectively (and still had room to spare for more non-MINIs) .. it got a bit damp on the drive and the ferry, but did not dampen the enthusiasm. As Dale mentioned in the prior post, almost $1900 was raised for the American Cancer Society via tshirt sales, raffle ticket sales, 50/50 drawing .. it was a lot of fun for a good cause!

Hopefully it won't be another 5 years before it's organized again - but it was a lot of work so it may well be - next time you see it posted, mark your calendar! (Would love to see the ferry be exclusively MINIs - no room for any other vehicle!)

Here is a link to some photos (not mine) .. all those MINIs on a Ferry, yours wanted to be, too!

http://s270.photobucket.com/albums/jj92/eshell5977/Minis On A Ferry 3-24-12/?albumview=slideshow