Very Wet and Cold Midwest Fall Season

I feel cheated! A friend all the way back from High School posted "I can't believe it's November" on her Facebook wall this morning. I had to comment that I couldn't believe August had arrived and am in denial that September and October have come and gone!

Last Fall was warm and dry here in the Midwest. Shuttling between Chicago and the HarborCountry area of Michigan allowed me many opportunities to drive the XK8 with the top lowered. With my black leather driving gloves, I'd retrieve the Clenet from the garage and motor along the open country roads with the cool wind in my hair. Had I tried doing so this year...well, I'd still be pulling wet and slimy leaves from my face! LOL

At least I'm keeping a humorous attitude! The sunny and warm fall days were few this season and I made good use of them by taking the Clenet out for short drives.

The Clenet and my XK8 will be tucked away for the winter within a matter of weeks and I'll have to redirect my focus on other things until Spring of 2010 arrives!

Something about Saugatuck 2009

Mid September came around with the LCC-MDR guys hosting an extended weekend in Saugatuck, Michigan. My first visit to Saugatuck, MI was the summer of '89 when the Lake Michigan Region (Chicago) chapter of the LCC journeyed around the lake from Chicago. Back then, us Chicago guys would take several extended weekend trips to Saugatuck throughout the "driving" months.

This year my brother and I wanted to show the Clenet, complete with facelift and our Cadillac Fleetwood that hasn't been driving much since purchasing the Clenet last year. The weekend prior to the Saugatuck weekend, Mario pulled the Cadillac out of the garage and we spent a few hours working on it. I mentioned this in a prior blog post when I had the Clenet out front of Milda's Corner Market in Union Pier on a sunny Sunday afternoon.

Our good friend Larry from Chicago wanted to join us in Saugatuck; however he recently sold his weekend cruiser, a stunning '84 Riviera Convertible named Carlotta...because she was a lot of car! I convinced Larry to bring one of the commuter trains from Chicago to nearby Michigan City, IN mid-day Friday. Mario then would collect Larry from the depot, continuing up the lakeshore to Saugatuck. I would drive the Clenet solo from New Buffalo and meet up at the host resort. Mario, Larry and I blew-off the Friday evening reception and invited antother five guys to join us for dinner in neighboring Douglas, Michigan. All eight of us nestled in the Fleetwood, we certainly made our presence known as we secured rock-star parking right out front the restaurant. Mario docked the Cadillac next to a Toyota Pius with a few chuckling as we disembarked for the restaurant. Our table being reserved allowed us to glide past those waiting in the crowded reception area and we immediately ordered several fine bottles of red. Frank and Mike…thank you for the libations!

Several Midwest regions of the LCC join the fun when the Michiana Dunes Region hosts this annual meet. We always enjoy seeing a good number of friends from both the Eastern and Western parts of Michigan, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, Wisconsin and Minneapolis. Many fabulous cars were driven with an (almost) matching pair of '56 Continentals, early 50's Bentley and the proverbial plethora of 50's / 60's chrome & fins! Muscle from the 60’s and 70’s, fully restored pick-ups and early smog/fuel shortage runabouts brought back memories of grade school and high school years!

The nice thing…our Clenet was the one and only, with the exception of a long lost relative being shown! An absolute immaculate 1979 Mercury Cougar Wagon in Forest Green graced the weekend show! The Saturday afternoon car show could not have been nicer with the weather being very cooperative and pleasant. Last year’s event was curtailed with biblical rainfall and an almost flooded Clenet!

Much fun was had all weekend with activities taking most waking hours. Sunday morning came and I had to leave early to meet Ken who was visiting with a cousin that he hadn’t seen in many years in nearby South Haven. With my weekend duffle packed, I said my goodbyes to a few friends milling about and wiping the morning dew from their cars. With coffee in hand I motored away knowing that the driving season of 2009 is just about over. I savored each and every mile driving the Clenet from Saugatuck.

Meet Me in Saint Louis

We attended the LCCI Grand Invitational held in St. Louis, hosted by the Show Me Region of our club over the extended Memorial Day holiday. Mario and I were able to catch-up with some friends we hadn’t seen in a few years as we were unable to attend the 2007 nor the 2008 Grand Invitational shows.

A small group of us from Chicago agreed to caravan down into St. Louis early Thursday morning. We agreed to meet about seventy miles southwest of Chicago in Dwight, IL with the caravan promptly departing the local BP/Burger King at eight o’clock sharp! Mario drove the Clenet to Chicago a few days earlier so that we could have the fenders hand-striped in time for the invitational. This will be another story, so keep checking in!

I set my alarm for five a.m. and woke up just before the alarm sounded. Mario was already up as I approached the guest room to wake him. We were both eager to get on the road to start our journey with the Clenet. We had the car packed by 5:45 and made our way to the local Starbuck’s in Sandburg Village by 6:00. With our morning coffee in hand, I was behind the wheel heading south on LaSalle Boulevard.

The drive down Interstate 55 was uneventful so early in the morning, however we both noticed that the traffic inbound to Chicago was already backed up for miles and miles well into the next county! Mario and I were the first of our group to arrive at the designated meeting place. We had just finished topping off the gas tank as other members from our region started to arrive. Our caravan was comprised of a very eclectic array of cars, ten in all.

Mario and I chose to drive down with the hardtop fitted to the car to make the highway driving more bearable. To our surprise, the replacement vent window seals coupled with the hardtop gave us a very quiet journey. The air conditioning was cycling as it should and we were very comfortable the entire way.

We departed at eight o’clock and continued along the Interstate in formation. Mario and I would periodically pull out of the caravan to snap some pics of our friends in their cars. As we approached St. Louis, the caravan made another stop to top off our tanks before getting into the metro area. After refueling, we had our first minor incident. The white Cadillac DeVille Convertible lost control of his throttle linkage. Mario and I hopped out of the Clenet to help resolve the problem. Mario eventually made a quick and effective roadside repair to get us on our way.

We arrived just in time for lunch that was already taking place at a lovely historic park near St. Louis University and being served under a striking Victorian-era gazebo. We were delighted to have many of the people coming over to our car, showing interest and asking many questions about the car and the make. After lunch we toured the Anheuser-Busch Brewery with the club where we enjoyed the architecture, stables, company history and some ice-cold brew afterwards. We arrived at the hotel and promptly asked the bellman to check our hardtop after removing it from the car just outside the lobby doors.

The five-day meet cumulated with the grand car show held on Sunday afternoon with an awards banquet following later that evening. I was disappointed that the Clenet did not receive any of the popular vote, however I was very proud that the car received as much attention as it did. Many, many people from the club and the public who attended this semi-private show gave the car a good deal of attention.

After meeting with a few friends at the farewell breakfast early Monday morning, we repacked the Clenet and my Jaguar XK8 that good friend Larry used for the entire weekend. The weather turned against us as we endured several wicked thunderstorms near Springfield, IL. The Clenet handled well during the torrential rain and high winds that persisted for the first hundred miles or so. The rain subsided to infrequent showers all the way through back to the Chicagoland area. We arrived back at my home where Mario then continued his journey with the Clenet back to southwest Michigan.