Lake Michigan area Pixies
 

It was brought up in the vacation thread about a get together in a central location. If anyone is interested (you don't have to live in Lake Michigan area) just drop a note in this thread. We will see how much interest there is and try and iron out a time and place to meet. Also, would you like to get together for a one or two days (two days reguiring a nights stay for some). So how about it folks????

So the party isn't going to be at my house while we all do the windows, siding and landscaping? :( :roflmao:


As long as I'm not on my trip to see my folks in California (dates unknown right now) you can count me in. :thumb:

May as well be two days. Most of us would be spending a night in a hotel anyway, right?

Lake Michigan? :confused:


That's a tributary to Lake Erie.:nod: I could find that. :)

I knew it had something to do with the great lake

I might be able to swing a couple of days I would definatly be interested.

An overnight gives more time too.

I should know more for possible dates with in 30 days.

Does Michigan start with N?

Lake Nishigan?

Pfft.....like that^^^^ happened. August is looking better for us right now but never know what we can work in.

LOL @ Oldfart.


Was thinking, we could change the meaning of the letters so we would'nt have to come up with 'N' names................like:

Pixies
Adult
Gathering
Always
Near

It's gotta be near somewhere.

Any other ideas?

August sounds good to me. Could be anywhere. Never did here any more about the Iowa/Illinois meeting of Pixies (IMPs) ... but anyplace in the midwest is sounding good and August sounds like a good time. Let's see, we honeymooned at Silver Lake near Mears, MI and love the Holland area ... and Wisconsin and Door County are always nice. I'm up for about anything ... er ... would ready be a better word?

I think "up" works just fine DB. :D

August would probably be best for me as well. Looks like I'll be making my California trip during June/July. Nothing set in stone yet but I'm positive that's when it will happen. Look out So. Cal, here comes IowaMan! :p

As for IMP's........ I'm thinking I'll have to make that Peoria trip within the next 2-3 weeks. :nod:

Gotta meet that dicksbro fella. :p

IowaMan, don't forget about DB's PixieBelle, she's a charmer!!!!! ;)

I think she is what makes him so great. :nod:






;)

That's for sure! She's by far the better half. :boink:

I'm in if we can figure out a time/place!

Just let me know when and where.

I'm in for IMP or up for Michigan. Maybe we should get serious and set a destination & date deadline. Like say by Memorial we have the place and date set in stone.


I'm open and anxious for most anything. If any interested Pixies have a known date conflict, list that as IowaMan did and it can help us narrow the window.

(just a starting point maybe :shrug: )

How about a starting date around Aug. 10. Yes? No? Maybe?


Any and/or all Pixies are welcome to join us, the more the merrier.

That^^^^^^^^works for me at this point in time.

Sounds like a good date for me ... on or about the 10th of August. An overnighter sounds pretty good, too. Anyone have a preference on where?

Why not everyone interested list 1 to 3 places you'd like to consider and then the end of next week we could all "vote" on which we'd like to try. Places in Illinois that come to mind include, Galena in the northwest corner of the state ... neat place; home of US Grant of Civil War fame; Starved Rock in central Illinois along the Illinois River (about an hour northeast of Peoria on I-39). Beautiful scenery; great lodge; nice place to visit. Springfield, the state capitol. A new Lincoln museum that I haven't been to but that I"ve heard is FANTASTIC. Lots to see there. Plus, of course, other Lincoln sites nearby; the capitol and other things like that. Finally, maybe Peoria. :) Riverboat rides; gambling casino, great zoo, nice shopping, lots of restaurants and hotels in the area. A good zoo, a nice planetarium and a great nature park west of the city. There, that's my four suggestions. Anyone else?

Would a weekend in September be prohibitive to anyone thinking about this? I've spoke with one Pixie that would only be able to do it then....... MAYBE. While she doesn't want any plans made around her, it would still have the advantage of being right after the official 'vacation season' and have a marked price savings and less congestion, regardless of where we meet in the Great Lakes region. :shrug:

Can't say anything about job wise as it's too early for that but as long as kiddo can be watched by Boog's parents we could prolly go.

My wife's work at the school may preclude a September get away ... but not necessarily. If the dates were a Friday-Saturday or Saturday-Sunday ... it might work out okay. Good part is that it might be a hair cooler than early August. :shrug:

Has anyone given any more thought on where?

Peoria sounds nice and would have the advantage of DB as a tour guide. :D

Another good choice might be Mackinac Island probably staying on the mainland at either Mackinaw or St. Ignace. This is right at the junction of lower and upper Michigan. Nice touristy kind of place and the island is a true delight. Might suggest a Saturday-Sunday pair of dates since it's a bit further, but well worth the trip, I think.

Of course, I'm prejudiced, but Peoria is a good choice given all the things I've mentioned in terms of things to do. One thing that might make the August date better is the availability of Saturday afternoon rides on the Spirit of Peoria Riverboat. They end September 1st. The cruise is a delight and well worth the visit as it's one of the very few paddle wheelers that uses the paddle wheels as it's only power source. Ticket Prices are $13 for ages 13-54 and $11 for 55+.



Also neat would be the wheels of time museum. A very interesting and inexpensive site to see. http://www.wheelsotime.org/

Peoria sounds fine to me. I hear that there is a nice nature reserve near by.


And if need be could we do two dates?

Starting out as a private venture, the Wildlife Prarie Park west of Peoria is now a state park. Wildlife originally native to Illinois are in natural settings and available for people to see following trails through the woods and along the open fields where Bison, Deer and Elk roam. Really a neat place. Just a very few miles from there is Jubilee State Park which features the first college in Central Illinois. Another nice place to look at.

LOL ... I like your idea of two dates. Could be fun!

Hmmmm, Aug. 10 in Peoria............... IowaMan takes out the pocket Peoria Chiefs schedule that was waiting for him in the mail when he got home today and sees that the Chiefs are at home that night. I Love The 80's Night and fireworks. :thumb:


Oh and I can't forget to include that the first 1,500 fans there over the age of 21 get a free "Bud Man, Cub Fan" t-shirt.

I've heard from a few, but if Peoria sounds pretty good to enough people, I'll start checking hotels for rates and scope out an agenda that might be fun. I'll assume the weekend of August 10th (Friday) through August 12th (Sunday). If you do think you might come, let me know when you might arrive and for how many nights so that I can check out things that cover the time of your visit. I'll also give a list of airlines that service Peoria if you think you might want to fly in. Cars can be rented at airport. I check on the agencies that have rental booths there.

Sounds like with a bit of luck, we might actually get in something of a PAGAN-P-07. Pixies Adult Gathering At Nifty Peoria '07 :).


P.S. Already checked out airlines servicing Peoria. They are: Allegiant Air (Las Vegas, Tampa/St.Petersburg), American Connection, American Eagle (Chicago | Dallas/Fort Worth), Delta ASA (Atlanta), Northwest Airlink (Minneapolis) and United Express (Chicago). Ground transportation includes: Avis, Budget, Enterprise, Hertz and National.

Oh, yeah, here's a site that lists a lot of the 250+ restaurants in the Peoria area. (I'll do more checking on these, but it at least lets you know you wouldn't have to starve here. :) ) http://www.peoriarestaurants.com/

:yikes:

Is that a "P" like in PANTIES? :tongue:

How could I miss that? :D I'm in for a couple days in Peoria. :thumb:

I'm in, will stay Friday and Saturday nights.

I'll try and attend, but at this point I really can't commit either financially or otherwise. I've got many bills to get caught-up on before I can plan on a trip, but damn it sure sounds fun!

:bump:

Not sure how interested people are in historical or scenic things ... but Peoria is famous for it's Grandview Drive. Teddy Roosevelt called it the "World's most beautiful drive." Flanked by some of Peoria's biggest and most beautiful homes, it's a 2.5 mile stretch that overlooks the Illinois River valley some 450 feet below. Attached are three pictures, two of one of the homes and one of the view of the valley.

Got a feeling there are far more things to do than time to do them, but, I want to know what interests the folks that may come to PAGAN P07. :)

Oh, yeah, there is a ball game at O'Brien field featuring the Peoria Chiefs. The stadium is a new one and possibly worth a look. :)

The new stadiums are really "customer friendly" and I know that IowaMan and I would probably be interested in taking in a ball game, but obviously not everyone is into baseball like the two of us, but that would sure kill a couple of hours.

Make sure that there is plenty of time to just sit around and chat.

Good point. We'll be sure to have that on the agenda. I figure like, at Niagara, we'd aim for a Saturday morning "get together breakfast" and a Saturday night dinner together followed by a Sunday morning "Bon Voyage" breakfast for those that can make it. Now, I wonder if Red-Green will be free (or at least inexpensive). :)

Does he have a pass port? :confused:

That^^^^^^ is what I was thinking. We seem to enjoy doing just that. The sites at Niagra were cool but the best part was the company. :)

^^^^ That was fun, wasn't it?

You know what might be fun ... weather permitting ... have of a picnic down by the river where we could visit, enjoy the fresh air, have some fried chicken, potato salad, cole slaw or whatever. Some great parks on the Peoria and E. Peoria sides to do that if something like that sounded good.

Um, are you a mind reader DB? I was thinking of suggesting that but never got around to it. :)