Shuffle to Buffalo 2015

[manxvair]

Here is my idea of a route/schedule for the Shuffle to Buffalo trip June 2015. We would depart from Bass Pro shops in Rancho Cucamonga, Ca on Friday June 19 2015 0700 hrs and arrive in Buffalo NY on Thursday June 25 2015. The Hotels are yet to be determined if this is an acceptable route. Manx over the Falls is scheduled for June 25-28 2015. The return trip is up to the individual buggy, some west coast participants might be shipping their buggies and flying back to Ca in order to handle the organizing and preparation of the Manx Club's 2015 Big Bear event July 10-12 2015. The 2015 edition of ECVW (East Coast visits West) is scheduled to depart on their journey to Big Bear on June 30 2015 and might be an option for the return drive to Ca. If you have any questions or input please let me know.

Day 1; start-Bass Pro Shops, Rancho Cucamonga, CA to St George, UT-343 miles (time change, lose 1hr)
Day 2; St George, UT to Durango, CO-419 miles (via Zion NP)
Day 3; Durango, CO to Colorado Springs, CO-382 miles (via Million Dollar Hwy & Pikes Peak)
Day 4; Colorado Springs, CO to Salina, KS-404 miles (time change, lose 1hr)
Day 5; Salina, KS to Collinsville, IL-436 miles
Day 6; Collinsville, IL to Columbus, OH-410 miles (time change, lose 1 hr)
Day 7; Columbus, OH to Buffalo, NY-322 miles

Total miles =2685+40(up/down Pikes Peak) = 2725

[Tom-Kathleen]

Mike - I would like to add a tip that has saved me a lot of time on my cross country trips. I see 2 of the cities you are planning on staying at are large (St. Louis & Columbus). If you stay on the far side of the city, when you get up in the am to leave, you don't have to fight the morning rush hour traffic for that city. For example, instead of staying in St. Louis, make it over the river into Illinois, you will be heading east & the rush hour will be heading west. Tom

[Scott-Drolet]

Hi Mike! This looks great. I took the data from the Sea-to-Sea Safari run from San Diego, CA to Nags Head, NC to see how it compared to your trip layout:
•Day 1 - 433.6 miles
•Day 2- 458.6 miles (lost an hour crossing into Mountain time zone)
•Day 3 - 462.7 miles (lost an hour crossing into Central time zone)
•Day 4 - 338.3 miles
•Day 5 - 353.9 miles
•Day 6 - 427.2 miles (lost an hour crossing into Eastern time zone)
•Day 7 - 305.4 miles
•Total distance travelled: 2779.7 miles

Overall, it looks pretty comparable to last years' trip, which will mean 7 am departures on most days, and 9pm dinner times when we hit our destination. It also looks like you timed days 2 & 3 perfectly , because those days will be made long by sightseeing and off-the-beaten path excursions (but at least its not compounded by losing an hour to time changes). Great Job!

I wholeheartedly agree with Tom, having learned that lesson when we lodged on the "wrong side" of Memphis, TN and to a lesser extent, Winston-Salem, VA during the Sea-to-Sea. Rush hour slowed us down at least 30 minutes. Also, we'll only use truck stops for refueling to avoid bathroom line related delays.

I'd be happy to start working on reserving hotel blocks along the route . . . Just say the word!!!!

[manxvair]

I'm on board with Tom's suggestion of staying on the East side of the nights destination, In St Louis I would really like to get a visit and photo shot at the Arch. I just don't know which day/time would be better, Day 5 arrival-PM or Day 6 departure-AM.
To those thinking about joining in on this trip please sound off. I would just like to get an idea of how many might be interested. This is NOT a formal commitment, below are a few that have expressed interest.
1-Lori Ann & Mike Dario
2-Scott Drolet
2-Winnie & Bruce Meyers
3-Mark Miller
4-Mimi & Butch Myers
5-Connie & Lynn Breedlove(join the group in the middle)
6-Diane & Bob Baumgartner
7-Barbara & Tim Byrnes(join the group in St.Louis)
8-Joe Spittler(join the group in St. Louis)
9-Lemon, Kira, Kelly & Mark Tebbe

[RedBaronofRedBud]

Mike,

Looks like a great itinerary for this trip! Im pleased that you are NOT stopping in Page, Az. (no Chinese for you!) The scenic route youve chosen is outstanding, as we on the ECVW 14 can attest. Prepare to take LOTS of pictures!

Barb, Kermit and I will be joining you in St Louis for the ride to Buffalo.

That said, I will try and get in contact with Mike at the Martin Park where we had the pictures taken in July and see if we can have a repeat performance.

I agree about staying on the east side when coming to St Louis. I would suggest a stop in Collinsville, IL which is on the east side and just a few minutes from downtown STL. There are a number of good hotels available with a variety of price points. The one we used when we held our Hot Wheels Rallys is the Double Tree by Hilton. It was always a nice spot and lots of parking. Plenty of great restaurants are around there (Bandana BBQ is a fave!) and we can even take a ride down to the Worlds Largest Ketchup Bottle (just a few miles away) for a photo op.

If I can help with hotels or other logistical items, please dont hesitate to ask. Looking forward to another adventure with our buggy family!

Tim and Barb Byrnes

[BobDi-ID-1109]

Count Dianne and Bob in for the trip.

[marklandon]

Mikey Dario

Don't for get the Tiger Tow'd we think we want to go also

[Tom-Kathleen]

HowardConnelly - that is great that you want to make the trip. The giveaway KickOut will finally make it cross country! We can only do one cross country trip this year and it looks like it will be the ECVW 2015, but we will see you guys in Buffalo & Big Bear! Tom & Kathleen.

[manxvair]

That would be great Howard! I hope it you can make it work, we didn't get to see enough of that buggy on Sea to Sea!

[joescoolcustoms]

Having taken about 5000 pictures on the ECVW '14 trip, my advice about photo op's for the Saint Louis Arch is to do it in the morning. The lighting will be directly on the buggys for a perfect picture.

My wife just called me and said this morning she put in for her vacation for the ECVW '15 trip to Big Bear. Would be great to have some of you travel back to CA with us!

[RedBaronofRedBud]

I will need to talk with Mike at the park and see if we can get a photo op the morning we are planning on leaving. The ECVW 14 crew were very grateful for Mike Buehlhorn and his graciousness in allowing us to drive on the lawn for epic pictures! What a great guy! He even fired up the Gateway Geyser for us!

A trip up the Arch may be better when you arrive as its open for rides up until 9pm on the tram to the top. The trip to the top usually takes about an hour and is 10 dollars.

[Scott-Drolet]

Working on the hotel block today and getting quotes based on input from all of you. The only minor issue is that staying in Collinsville, IL will have us driving through St. Louis, MO on a work day. But, I think it's well worth it to get the shot in front of the arch.

Tim, If you could please contact Mike at Malcolm W. Martin Memorial Park and see if he'd grant us access early on the morning of Wednesday, June 24th, to get that photo, that would be awesome! We'll be travelling with two drones this year to get some cool aerial shots as well.

Everybody else, I'm working on a room block of 15 rooms for each nights stay, beginning In Rancho Cucamonga, CA on Thursday, June 18th. 15 rooms includes a few rooms above the number of people that have raised their hand to say they could be coming along. We'll be shooting for less than $100- per night in three star hotels such as Days Inn, Comfort Inn, Holiday Inn Express, etc with a morning breakfast option included. We'll be looking for two queen beds per room to allow room sharing (if interested) and cut the costs of the trip a bit.

I'll have the information posted here in a week or so with all of the details.

In the meantime, if you're one of the adventurous souls who are planning on coming along, please message me with your email addresses AND cell phone numbers so Mike Dario and I can keep you abreast of this trip as it gains momentum. At some point we'll need to be sending out texts and emails to announce last minute changes and adjustments on the fly. ARE WE GOING TO HAVE FUN OR WHAT?!

Scott

[BobDi-ID-1109]

Hi Scott

Our email address is BobDI11603@msn.com and the home phone is 928 305 0092 and the cell is 951 255 0738. Dianne and I are looking foward to a nother fun adventure.
Talk soon
Dianne and Bob

[RedBaronofRedBud]

Working on the hotel block today and getting quotes based on input from all of you. The only minor issue is that staying in Collinsville, IL will have us driving through St. Louis, MO on a work day. But, I think it's well worth it to get the shot in front of the arch.

Tim, If you could please contact Mike at Malcolm W. Martin Memorial Park and see if he'd grant us access early on the morning of Wednesday, June 24th, to get that photo, that would be awesome! We'll be travelling with two drones this year to get some cool aerial shots as well.

Depending on the time of day, a ride through St Louis wont be as bad as you might think. In the afternoon, most people on I-70 are going west out to St Charles, so it should be smooth sailing to downtown. There is a new bridge over the Mississippi that is before the Arch that you will take to go to Collinsville. Traffic once on the Illinois side should increase, but we should be in front of most of the traffic. Barb and I are planning on meeting the group in St. Peters and leading through St Louis to Collinsville. That is, unless there are other arrangements made. Either way, we will be flexible and can lead the group wherever is reserved.

I will contact Mike Buehlhorn at the Malcolm Martin Park and request access. I dont see where it will be a problem, but even if we cant get on the grass, there is a long parking lot beside it that we could use. I will let you know as soon as I have an answer from Mike. Drone pictures will be cool too!

So, how many have signed on for the trip? Maybe a preliminary list?

Yall are gonna have so much fun!