Midwest caravan
 

There will be a Midwest caravan to DGRRX leaving central Illinois on Thurs AM. I will leave Springfield fairly early, head east to Champaign to pick up MAX777, then on to Indy. From there we could go south through Louisville, or southeast through Cincy. I want to leave early enough to arrive at Nantahala before dark. This routing is all Interstate until we hit Knoxville, but from there we will be forced, forced mind you, to drive the Dragon to get to Nantahala. Hate when that happens. Iowa and Chicago folks could meet us at Champaign or Indy. Planning on using FRS radios to communicate car-to-car.

I think a few Ohio members will be traveling through Cincy down 75. Also, I am not sure, but Canadian members I think will be driving down 75 too. Somewhere in Cincy might be a really good place for the midwest caravan to meet up.

I need to find out when people will be passing through cincy i'm here and going and would love to meet up with a large group!

Update
 

OK, so it looks like we will go through Cincy. Currently planning to meet up at the Kentucky rest area on southbound I-75 just south of Cincy around 1 PM Eastern time on Thurs. If anyone has other suggestions, let's hear 'em!

I contacted some people from Chicago to go with us, I am not 100% sure how many people will go, but I'm trying to get as many as possible. Some of the guys seem interested, but no word if they registered or booked rooms yet.

Another thing I want to consider, is booking rooms together since we're all riding down there in a group, this would simplify things a lot.

I've already booked my cabin, so I won't be getting in on the room part of the deal, but you guys knock yourselves out.

I'd be down for meeting up just south of Cinci at the Florence exit or rest stop shortly after, around 1..I'll have a turbo G35 and an R32 GTR in tow.

-J

Alright, so I am officially registered and found a place to stay since NV is booked, but I am not leaving until Friday morning. Anyone else leaving on Friday?

I'm heading out on Thursday morning, so long as everything is in order, if I have last minutes, I'll head out on Friday morning.

thursady sounds good. I'm not sure where the hell I'll stay now that you brought it up... didn't make a reservation in time, so I'll have to pitch a tent or somethin. :D

I'm planning on making the trip from Cedar Rapids, IA along with another member on here. When it gets closer we'll try to plan our departure so we can meet up somewhere, trade cel phone numbers, etc... I also havn't booked a room or anything, are the cabins all booked too?

All the rooms and cabins are booked at Nantahala. There is a Microtel nearby that others have mentioned on here that you might be able to get a room with.

Yeah, I still need to set up lodging too. Wouldn't mind having to drive a bit, if it means I get a very nice place to stay (the wife is a little spoiled). :)

Anybody have any first hand knowledge of the other lodging options down there?

Nantahala Village is pretty isolated so there are not a lot of options right around it. I would first call the Village to ensure everything is sold out. I registered late last year and although the Village was sold out, they have some cabins about 15 miles away that were very nice so we rented one of those. Check in on these first as they are uber wife friendly (great views, jacuzzi, etc.). The only drawback to these is the driveway in is pretty steep and not RX7 friendly. They claim otherwise but those of us that stayed there last year can attest to the fact they are not.

The next best place is probably something in Bryson City and I would go to expedia.com and do a search. To me Cherokee is too far but you could check there also.

If you have never been to the area and want the best, it is the Grove Park Inn in Asheville NC. The wife will love it but it is one hour away which means for some long drives. It is also expensive but she'll love you for it:

http://www.groveparkinn.com/Leisure/

http://www.watershedcabins.com/

Watershed Cabins are the cabins that are located nearby. I have one cabin reserved for myself and my father. After we signed the rental contract we found out they claim minivans are not acceptable for the steep entrance. I kind of freaked out about it, but they said if a van is loaded down and when it starts to go up the hill, the front wheels slip. With RWD I think I will be OK, but hopefully I don't scrape my bumper up too much. I'll take it off if I have to I guess.