10 MG's (MGA, MGBs, MGBGT, Midgets), 3 non-MG's of Asian, Swedish and German/US extraction, and 1 Harley Davidson were seen roaring about the Wisconsin countryside the weekend of the 18-19 September in search of Wine, Cheese, Beer and an all round good time! Guess what? They found it!

Your true blue editor joined these folks in a wonderful escape from it all weekend. This outing was designed and executed by John and Ann Schroeder, and a fine job they did. We began by visiting the Wollersheim winery in Prairie du Sac Wisconsin at lunchtime, where tours were provided and where we sat in an idyllic wine garden, eating our lunches and gazing at the verdant grapevines on the hillside above us.

From there we motored about until we reached the Cedar Grove cheese factory in Plain, Wisconsin. More of our hard earned money was left in Wisconsin as participants purchased exotic (and sometimes smelly) cheeses and curds (no whey, sorry) from Wisconsin's fine Brown Swiss Cows. From there we went to check into our hotel for the night in Madison, Wisconsin for a well earned rest and shower in preparation for our dinner together.

We caravanned to the dinner with our fearless leader "wrong way" Schroeder taking us through parking lots and backwards up a divided street! It was at this dinner that we began to get a little raucous. Those not designated as drivers quaffed a few pints of homemade beer and other exotic drinks. We even observed a Wisconsin-ism, when Sally Hedrick ordered a Bloody Mary. It came with a teeny stein of lager beer, the consistency of which was worse than 3.2 beer from the 60s. A beer chaser. But more than that, the Bloody Mary itself had a pickle in it! Sally knows how to live life on the edge.

That night, many of us sat on the 'grassy knoll' in front of the hotel and sipped from John's growlers of beer and Oscar's Rum Island Ice Tea (a delicious aperitif I might add), talking of past car events, past cars, and the escapades of our spouses, friends, lovers and children.

Sunday morning we got together for our cooked-to-order breakfast at the hotel, took a group picture, and then sped off to the New Glarus Brewery in the town of the same name. In our excitement to visit yet another establishment processing alcohol, we got there an hour early! No problem though, because Pat Simon used the time to read palms and to give accurate and intimate insights into many lives.

Our excellent lunch was at the New Glarus Hotel, served to us by Wisconsin Freuhleins dressed in Dirndls! Very Deutsch. Our last chance to boost the Wisconsin economy was at the charity shop in downtown New Glarus which sold brand new Lands End merchandise at flea market prices! One member bought clogs for $10, another bought a sport jacked for $20 and yet another bought a brand spankin new dress shirt for $3! Talk about big spenders!

This weekend was a wonderful escape. No one broke down, and no one got lost (most credit for that is due to Bill's Midget which could be heard at least twenty car lengths away!). One judge of an event's success is the desire to repeat. During lunch, John and Ann were repeatedly asked "so where are we going next time?"