What an amazing day yesterday was! The weather was (mostly) lovely. The people we met were amazing. The cab only broke one time, and in a way that was more hilarious than paralyzing. We were also able to meet up with a lot of readers and weren’t that late to the meetup (for us). If you’re along our route, there are some ways to meet up that I’ll explain below.
In complete and total honesty, April and May were a bit of a challenge for us. The site’s been humming along, but various life things and illnesses have put a bit of strain on us as we try to keep delivering the blogs you love. It happens! I was first re-energized by the number of new members we got this month from people either interested in ditching the ads or making Adrian’s life miserable, or both.
The last two days, though, have given me such a renewed spirit. We’ve had the chance to meet so many readers and members, and it was just a huge reminder of how lucky we are to be able to do this, and how incredible this community is. It started on Wednesday, which was a bit of a disaster for Jason, but not so bad for me because I got to go to the amazing Taxi Depot. That deserves a whole write-up, and I even have a tour of a classic 2011 Crown Vic cab from another reader, but I’ll probably not get to those until next week, so I can do them justice.
In spite of the cab not arriving, a few readers still made the trek all the way to Queens to meet Al and get a tour of his remarkable collection:
And then yesterday, we didn’t even make it until our final destination before A. Barth met up with us to see us along our way. He even brought tools and lights!
Jason wrote about how awesome it was, so I’ll get to the important stuff.
We Will Be In Effingham, Illinois, tonight (Friday, June 20th) for VW Funfest And Saturday Morning
Our destination today is VW FunFest at Mid-America Motorworks in Effingham, Illinois. We don’t have any meetups planned for today, but it looks like everyone is eating at a place called Pinky’s tonight. If we can make it there, we’ll do that (and I’ll update in Discord). As for the best chance to surely meet us, we’ll be at the actual FunFest grounds from around 9am to 11 am before leaving for…
Lawrence, Kansas on Saturday Night/Sunday Morning
Confirmed: Biemer’s BBQ for dinner around 7:00 PM on Saturday night, presuming no cab shenanigans. Will update here and on Discord/social if we’re running late.
Denver on Sunday Night!
We will be meeting at the Lowry Beer Garden next to the Wings Over The Rockies Air & Space Museum, at approximately 6:30 PM and will hang out through dinner. We’ll also update on social if we are running late.
We looking forward to seeing y’all there!
Effingham sounds like a nasty place. Not as nasty as Intercourse Pa but Fingham is close.
Just a suggestion if you are going to run a series of connected articles maybe decide on a naming format? I mean I read step 1 then flooded basement no time saw a day 3 couldn’t find day two until I figured where you can see the cab. Not the easiest format to read in order.
Denver’s Lowry beer garden looks like a good choice.
Manhattan KS in the Flint Hills would have been my choice (Go Cats) but wishing you a great time in Lawrence. However, the drive through Kansas and eastern Colorado – might be anti-legendary. Good luck.
I’d strongly recommend going through the Eisenhower tunnel on your way west through the Rockies. It’s well worth it.
I second that. I-70 west from Denver through into Utah is one of the most beautiful drives there is.
I live in Denver, the Highlands neighborhood is great, but it is a nightmare for parking. The lot on the west side of Sloan’s Lake park is a good idea, but I also like the Olde Town Arvada suggestion.
Thanks for the update, good to hear you guys are making progress!
They did what to a ham?
Yay – I grew up in Lawrence Kansas!
I live on the west coast now, but it is a worthy inclusion for a stop. I’ll pass word along to car friends still in the area.
A. Barth looks like a “git er done” kinda guy for sure.
Thank you, Sammy! I’m not 100% sure what that means but it sounds positive 🙂
So what’s the toponym for residents of Effingham, Illinois?
As in the caption for meeting up at Pinkie’s “ Just look at all those __________”
It’s really been on my mind of late.
Thank you.
I don’t know what the local usage is but what I see are “Hamster” (used for residents of a city in my state that ends in -ham, which I lived in for a while) but more so “F***ing hamster” or the slightly more polite “F’ing hamster”.
I live outside of Denver so I may not be the greatest with suggestions, but here goes. I’m assuming we need a decent size parking lot that is relatively easy to get to (near I-70 for the taxi cab crew). Bonus if near restaurants/hotels.
Coors Field – The Rockies game is at 1PM so the big parking lots near Coors Field would probably be available in the evening. The Rockies are terrible (17 – 58) this year so I’m not sure how many people will be at the game anyhow. A lot of bars and and some restaurants in the area. May need to pay for parking though.
Ball Arena – There are huge parking lots near Ball Arena. Not much else close by, but I think the lots are open even when there isn’t an event (and there isn’t an event Sunday).
Colorado Mills Shopping Center – Close to I-70 on the western edge of town. A lot of parking that should be well lit if you’re running late. Restaurants close by (most close at 9 but a few in the area are open to 10PM or 11PM on Sunday). A few hotels nearby as well (various Marriott brands).
Red Rocks would be cool, but there is a concert that night. You don’t want to deal with that.
The old Bandimere Speedway would be a cool backdrop, but I don’t think it’s accessible/open (but, it is now owned by Copart so maybe you have “in”). There are some parking lots nearby that are accessible, but not much else.
You’ll be arriving too late for the Forney Museum of Transportation and I’m fairly certain, they lock their parking lot gate at night.
Hope this helps…but, probably not. Looking forward to meeting you on Sunday.
Olde Town Arvada parking garage, roof level. Plenty of parking, and Olde Town rules. Plenty of places open late night too, including School House (11am) and the 12 Volt Tavern (good lord, 2am? Wow).
This is a selfish suggestion because I live right by there, but it really is nice and meets the I-70 and space-for-meetup criteria.
This sounds like a decent idea too.
Good suggestion!
I second the Arvada garage, I am close to there and would love to come out. I would do other places but I would be there for for sure! Torch could smoke the tires in my GR Supra
Bandimere is a no go. I just drove by there to see what it looked like. The upper lots are all gated and locked. The lower lot is open, but not really a nice ambiance sitting right next to the highway.
Colorado Mills is a nice idea. Easy access. Plenty of restaurants, bars, and hotels in the area. I’d suggest around the backside near the theater and Burlington. Only problem here is if got too late, we’d have to deal with mall security.
I figured Bandimere was probably locked up. And that’s a good call out regarding the mall security (I live in Evergreen and forget about these things). Maybe if we met in the general vicinity of The Yard House we would have more leeway because they are open to 11PM on Sunday.
One more! West edge of Sloans Lake. Big parking lot at the Target there, some good late night hangout spots right off Sheridan, and killer views of Denver if there’s still light.
That’s a good one, too. As Richard O pointed out about Colorado Mills, that neighborhood might have various forms of security to deal with.
Biemer’s is a good choice, especially for a meetup. Centennial Park is right next door, with all the usual park amenities. Sadly, I can’t be there – I moved to the Western Slope after being in Lawrence for 25 years.
You’re going to be hot and tired rolling into Denver Sunday night, so can I suggest meeting up at the OG Little Man on 16th street in the Highlands? It’s a Denver icon, open till midnight for when you have a two-hour delay in West Kansas, a good photo op for the taxi, and the whole Highlands neighborhood is a pretty good hangout area.
I like the Highlands neighborhood, but every time I’ve gone down there parking has been an absolute bear.
True! I’m thinking there’s a small lot at the park across from Little Man that should have space late on a Sunday.
Effingham is where Barnes Wallace developed the bouncing bomb and the R101 airship.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Effingham,_Surrey
Also I used to live there.
I wonder what, if any, connection there is between the two?
Man, they’d really have to take a wrong turn to end up in the UK.
Stranger things have happened, Denver is charming, the birthplace of George William Manby the inventor of the portable fire extinguisher. Lawrence is teeny, three houses and a pub.
Also, former Stig and F1 driver Julian Terence Bailey.
So, what’s the toponym for residents of Effingham Surry?
Effing rich Effers?
I’ll wave at you all from Columbia as you go by tomorrow afternoon!
I will try to make the Denver meet up, though I don’t live in Denver (and generally avoid it like the plague) so I have no recommendations on where to meet there.
Ya, Denver kinda sucks now unless you got some cash. My saying is: the street names are the same while everything else has changed.
It’s not all bad though. Got yesterday off and drove my Mom to the Honda dealership. She lost her only key to a ’99 civic. We live out in the middle of nowhere so I had a blast! They got a magic box that cut a key off the vin for a 25+ year old car. Got to try out some new cars that I’ll never afford. Blown away the hybrid civic gets better mpg than my geo metro. I’m not a truck guy but really liked the Ridgeline. You can actually see pedestrians over the hood!
However, most of the stock was chunky cuvs, and they didn’t have a type-r on the lot. Oh well, they probably wouldn’t let me test drive one if they did. I parked my ’95 civic in front of the showroom and was surprised nobody checked it out. They did only charge 18 bucks for the key and threw me a free Honda hat!
Anyway, I’m 3 hours away and got to work monday morning to listen to the usual “you only bring the bills” commentary. Plus I’m on probation for telling management they only bust chops, so I can’t call in right now. Wish there was something to convince a detour to Venengo Nebraska. There’s a bar that could really use the business. Or cross the border to Amherst and check out the county renowned grain towers. There’s plenty of parking and dude has some hobby cows and riding horses!
I’ve driven past Effingham maybe 100 times but never stopped.
I’m not a great tour guide or party planner but I’ll probably come out of hiding if there’s a meetup in Denver.