Sunday
Our rude neighbors continued to get on our nerves, so we packed as fast as we could forgoing our usual coffee. These people were the exception to the rule though, as we met many more really nice people along the way than these few louts.

The camp office recommended that we stop for breakfast at “Jerry & Pats” in Clintonville and what a jumping place it was on Sunday morning. It must be the gathering place after church. It was like one big breakfast table, find a spot and jump in and the buffet was filled with every imaginable breakfast food. Needless to say, we ate enough to last the day! With the day still overcast, we decided to visit the EAA Aviation Museum in Oshkosh. We met some people in the parking lot, one of whom lived in Flint Michigan and owns a TF. Another of them was the mail carrier for some MG friends in the Chicago area. Small world, eh? We covered every exhibit in the museum and can highly recommend it if you are interested in aviation.

By now the day had turned warm and the sun was out. We went north around the top of Lake Winnebago so we could head south along its Eastern Shore. The view across the lake was spectacular in the yellowing afternoon light. The road is on a rise above the shore and provides a stunning view down to and across the lake. We stopped at the “Gobbler’s Knob Supper Club” for dinner and had a steak dinner for about $15. It was a nice place to finish the day, with friendly people and good food which seemed to be the standard for the entire trip.

We got to Plymouth Rock campground, outside of Road America, set up camp and pulled out the last of the beer to enjoy our last night on the road. It hardly seems possible that after so many years of considering the trip that we had finally done it and it was almost over.

Monday
The sun alarm was right on schedule even if it was earlier than we wanted. Since this was our last day everything just had to get in the cars, no real worry about packing today. We breakfasted in Plymouth, did a little antiquing and headed south to the familiar roads of the Kettle Moraine area of Southern Wisconsin. These roads are familiar from our annual trips to Road America and we enjoyed the twists and turns on our way back to reality one more time. We made a couple of stops along the way at the Kissel Auto Museum in Heartland and to visit some friends so that we could time the reentry to Chicago’s traffic after the rush hour. As we approached the city, we said our good-byes and headed our separate ways.



I got home at about 8:30 to hugs all around and even though the adventure was done, it was really good to be home. I am truly lucky that my family understood my dream and was so supportive. Thanks to Mary Kay, Kate and Claire for making it possible and thanks to Jeff and Don for making it so enjoyable. It was the best 1350 mile I have ever driven!

We are already considering our next adventure in a year or two.

A PS about our cars;
These three 50 year old cars ran flawlessly for 1350 miles in rain and shine, up and down hills with never a problem. Our maintenance record was short, three quarts of oil, one for each car, and cleaning out a fuel filter. A great testimony to the attention these cars get on a regular basis. We carried plenty of spares, just in case, but never had to use any of them. It proves that with the right attention these cars can still provide plenty of enjoyment.

Ten Best things about the adventure:
1. Three friends beginning the trip and ending it the same way
2. Cold Beer
3. Two lane highways
4. Yukon Bar (a log cabin bar built in 1936-7 in Paradise Michigan that hasn’t changed much since 1937, check out the plumbing in the bathroom) You will have to get your big map to find it but as a hint its in the UP near Whitefish Point, think “Edmund Fitzgerald”.
5. Dreamland Café, an original roadside café and motel somewhere along Route 2 in the UP that welcomed us for breakfast one morning with a dozen freshly baked pies cooling on a table.
6. 3 quarts of oil, one quart for each car (the only maintenance required on three 50 year old cars in 1350 miles)
7. A bottle of gin (make up your own story, I’m not telling mine)
8. A good air mattress
9. Starry nights, shooting stars and the moon
10. Crying child on Mackinac Island who was still crying when we saw her for the second time an hour later (this was a good thing because she was not one of our kids)

Our favorite quotes from along the way:
- - “Are those kit cars?”
- - “What kind of cars are they?”
- - “Nice car show, guys!”
- - “Are you going to a car show?” Standard answer was, “No, just passing through”.
- - “Is that a ’53?”
- - “With those Lucas electric’s, do you think you will make it home?”
- - “Excuse me, are those your MG’s?” Two very nice and polite young guys about 10 or 12 who just wanted to know about the cars. How pleasantly different these two were compared to the ones we saw causing so much trouble for their parents on Mackinac Island.
- - “ I will trade you a camp site for your car”. Ha!
- - “I’ll trade you breakfast for one of your cars”. Ha! Ha!
- - “Awesome”
- - “Cool”
- - “I remember my dad’s old car with the rumble seat. He always took us for rides in it and these look like just as much fun”.
- - “What great cars, I used to have an…Austin Healy, MG, Bugeye, 41 Chevy… and I wish I still had it.”
- - “Why do some of them drive on the right and some on the left?”
- - “Isn’t it hard to drive on the wrong side (right side)?”