M Edition May-16 - NWOhio Miata Club

VOLUME22ISSUE5NEWSLETTEROFTHENWOHIOMIATACLUBMAY2016
SeasonOpenerattheGreatLakesMuseum
TheMudhenskickedofftheirseasonwiththeopeningofthe
new Hensville venue, and the NWOhio Miata Club started
theirmeanderseasonwithanewdestination,aswell.
FifteencarsassembledinBowlingGreenundersunny,ifcool,
conditions to begin their very non-direct route to the
museum.Itfollowedthefamiliar,butalwayspleasantSR105
toPemberville,whereitbecamecloseupandpersonalalong
thePortageRiver,throughWoodvilleandElmore,alltheway
to Port Clinton. At a short stop in Pemberville, we were
photographed by a young man driving a tricked out Celica,
whoclaimedhehadneverseensomanyMiatasinoneplace!
ApauseinPortClintonallowedachoicebetweenaBigMac
oranicecreamtreatatDrown’sDairy,andwiththetemperaturerising,thosewhohadbeentootimidto
putthetopdowngotwiththeprogram.Itwasthenashortdrivetothenorthtopickupoursecondriver
road, following the Toussaint. This was less familiar to many of the meanderers and it provided a
curvaceousandtrafficfreeroutebacktowardEastToledo.
After leaving the river, things got a little
boringontheroad,providingtimetopuzzle
over a Great Lakes fun facts quiz that had
been provided at the start. Then there was
the 200 car coal train that provided an
unscheduledstopasweenteredToledo.Not
toworry-justachancetostretchourlegs.
We checked in at the Great Lakes Museum
and were introduced to the subject of our
visit by a nice audio/visual presentation that
set the stage for our self guided tour. We
thenmeanderedthroughthewellpresented
exhibits, picking up all sorts of factoids on
shipwrecks, freighter history, passenger ship
cruising and wartime shipbuilding. Many of
our group commented on the quality of the
displays, and talked about coming back,
particularlytotourtheJamesMSchoonmakerwhensheisopenforviewing.
After a short photo shoot, the quiz results were revealed and prizes were awarded to the high scorers,
KarlSchwemleyandDianeBrenner,aswellasclose-but-no-cigargiftstotheReitzels,RoansandBehams.
(seeGreatLakesMuseum,page2)
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(fromGreatLakesMuseum,page1)
We then moved on to El Vaquero at the Docks for
dinner. The food was abundant, the margaritas
flowed, and the decibel level rose accordingly. Sue
Greeley, John Puszczewicz, and Kathy & Charlie
Guibersonconductedtheeverpopular50/50drawing,
withthecashgoingthistimetoTomThayer. Aswe
left, we were treated to the sight of two hot air
balloons being launched from the parking lot. Pretty
cool, we thought, until the REMax balloon made the
eveningnews,afteranunplannedlandinginayardat
BancroftandMcCord.
So,agreatstarttothe22ndyearofmeanderingnear
andfarfortheclub.Don’tmissout.Joinusnexttime.
StalwartMiataWomen-SueGreeley,LindaRoan,Pat
Beam,KathyGuiberson,GloriaBrackenandDianeShull
BuenaComidaMexicana!
-PixbyTerryKoral
APerfectTen
We had a perfect 10 members at the
cleanupwithaperfect10forweather
atourfirstAdopt-A-Highwayfor2016.
Becauseofthis,wepickedupalotof
trashinlessthananhour.All10then
madetheshortbutscenictriptoMiss
Lily's in Grand Rapids for great food
andconversation.
The 2016 Meander season is off to a
perfect start! Worker bees: Jarvis
Gamble, John Bretzloff, Walt Beham, Steve Dettmer, Marv Himmelein, Robert Reitzel, Dan Ewing, Tom
Thayer,BillPotvinandKarlSchwemley.Nextcleanup:July16.
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Tentative2016EventCalendar
Sun-Sat,May8-14MiatasattheGaphostedbyLarryandJanSheridan
Saturday,May28EricJonesMemorialRiverrunTour,BuckeyeMiataClub
Thurs-Sun,June9-12Zoomin’MountainsinEastTennessee,Tri-CitiesMiataClub
Saturday,July16 Adopt-A-HighwaySessionorganizedbyKarlSchwemley
Saturday,July23MiataMeanderbyWaltandLindaBeham
Sat-Sun,August13-14MeandertotheGilmoreCarMuseumbySteveandPatBeam
Saturday,September10WhyNotWyandot?MeanderbyRandyandTeresaRaymond
Saturday,October15Adopt-A-HighwaySessionorganizedbyKarlSchwemley
Saturday,October22MiataMeanderbyKarlSchwemley
Riverrun-Saturday,May28
Eric’s Riverrun is a 280 mile driving tour
usingsomeofOhio’smostenjoyableroads.
This year the route will head east through
Dresden and Cambridge to the Hannibal
Dam&LocksontheOhioRiver.Thereturn
route will go through Caldwell and
McConnelsville on some other very fun
roads for a finish at Tom’s Ice Cream Bowl
inZanesville.Youcancheckoutthegreat
roadsath"p://&nyurl.com/Riverrun16.
Cars will leave the Bob Evans at SR256 and New Albany Rd, east of Columbus, between 8 and 9 am,
arrivingattheOhioRiveraroundnoon.Thefinishwillbeabout6pm.Thisisatourwithnofixedschedule
noranyassignedspeeds.Therouteincludesamixofopenandflowingpavedroadsthatconnect8ghtand
twisty sec8ons. Hosted in conjunction with the Buckeye Miata Club, all driving enthusiasts are invited,
regardlessofvehicle,sothosefromourclubcaninvitenon-Miatasportscarfriendstojoinus.Thereare
usually 90+ cars, including many other Miatas, as well as Corvettes, Porsches, MG’s, Austin-Healeys,
Triumphs,MiniCoopers,etc.
Thereisa$20.00percarfeewhichcoversorganizationalexpensesandaniftymagneticeventbadge. All
profit will be donated in Eric Jones’ memory to The James Cancer Hospital for Mesothelioma Research
Fund.Inthepasteightyears,theeventhasraisedover$8,500forresearch.
TheagingNWOhioMiataClubpopulationhasfoundthatdoingthewholeruninonedayisalittlemuch,so
here’stheplan:We’llheadsouthFridaynight,gettogetherfordinner,andstayattheRamadaColumbus
Polaris,6767SchrockHillCt,Columbus(614-890-8111). OptionAistodotheentiredriveandheadback
homeSaturdaynight.OptionBistogoonlyasfarastheriver,dosomesightseeinginMarietta,dodinner,
spendthenightattheBestWesternPlusHotel,701PikeSt(740-374-9660),andfinishtherouteontheway
backhomeonSunday.
If you are planning to go, contact Bill Potvin at bpotvin@bex.net or 419-891-9191 ASAP, since the
organizershaveaskedthatweprovidenamesandcontactinfoforeachmemberofourgroup.Ithinkmost
ofuswillbedoingOptionB,soI’llgetbacktoyouwiththedetailsofthetravelarrangements.
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2016SpringMiatasattheGap
Zoomin’theTennesseeMountains
Don’t miss all the fun to be had at the spring
“Miatas at the Gap” tour. Pick your days any
timeduringtheweekofSundayMay8through
Saturday,May14.
We now have five cars that are planning a road trip
tojoinwhatwilllikelybenearly300otherMiatasfor
abigeventonJune9-12.Thisisthe10thanniversary
ofZoomin’theMountainsofEastTennessee.
Thisadventureisallaboutdrivingthe“Dragon”
at Deal’s Gap, noted for the 318 curves in its 11
mile length. In addition to the Dragon, the
group will drive to many other sites in and
around Gatlinburg and the Great Smoky
Mountains.SeeallofthedetailsintheFebruary
MEditiononourwebsite.
TheFouts,Raymonds,Dettmers,ThayersandPotvin/
Myers will leave on Wednesday, June 8, avoiding
interstates to overnight in Pikeville, KY. The next
morning’s short drive will take them to the start of
threedaysoftouring,partyingandMiatafellowship
aroundJohnsonCity,TN.
Hotel reservations can be made directly with
Highland Manor (800-213-9462) or email
office@highlandmanor.com and indicate that
youarewiththe“Miatagroup.”Thecostis$69
per night including continental breakfast. Visit
theInn’swebsiteat:www.highlandmanor.com.
Forquestions,callusat(419)356-4354.
- Larry and Jan Sheridan
A distillery tour, a car show, a pool party, and an
evening at Bristol Motor Speedway will highlight
theplannedevents.SeemoreinfointheFebruary
M Edition on our web site and for all the details,
checkoutwww.tri-citiesmiataclub.com.
We’dlovetohavemoreNWOhioMiataClubcarsjoin
the adventure and there is still time to register.
Contactanyofthoselistedaboveforspecificsonour
travelplans.
NWOhioOfficers
President
MarvHimmelein419-873-8224
mhimmelein@PalmerAssoc.com
Editor/Membership
BillPotvin419-891-9191
bpotvin@bex.net
1600N.CountylineStreet
Fostoria,Ohio44830
419-435-8131800-589-8111
Email:EmailWagner@aol.com
Adopt-A-HighwayChairman
KarlSchwemley419-841-2842
kschwemley@bex.net
Mazda6
Mazda2
WelcometoNewMembers
JohnandJaneTomaszewski
Tiffin,Ohio
2006TrueRed
zewskijt1947@gmail.com
Lookingforwardtoseeingyou
atournextevent!
CX-5
MX-5 Miata
CallorstopinandtalktoArnie,Brett,David
orJonandchecktheNWOhioMiataClub
websiteforthelatestspecialdeals.