I'm in for IMP or up for Michigan. Maybe we should get serious and set a destination & date deadline. Like say by Memorial we have the place and date set in stone.


I'm open and anxious for most anything. If any interested Pixies have a known date conflict, list that as IowaMan did and it can help us narrow the window.

(just a starting point maybe :shrug: )

How about a starting date around Aug. 10. Yes? No? Maybe?


Any and/or all Pixies are welcome to join us, the more the merrier.

That^^^^^^^^works for me at this point in time.

Sounds like a good date for me ... on or about the 10th of August. An overnighter sounds pretty good, too. Anyone have a preference on where?

Why not everyone interested list 1 to 3 places you'd like to consider and then the end of next week we could all "vote" on which we'd like to try. Places in Illinois that come to mind include, Galena in the northwest corner of the state ... neat place; home of US Grant of Civil War fame; Starved Rock in central Illinois along the Illinois River (about an hour northeast of Peoria on I-39). Beautiful scenery; great lodge; nice place to visit. Springfield, the state capitol. A new Lincoln museum that I haven't been to but that I"ve heard is FANTASTIC. Lots to see there. Plus, of course, other Lincoln sites nearby; the capitol and other things like that. Finally, maybe Peoria. :) Riverboat rides; gambling casino, great zoo, nice shopping, lots of restaurants and hotels in the area. A good zoo, a nice planetarium and a great nature park west of the city. There, that's my four suggestions. Anyone else?

Would a weekend in September be prohibitive to anyone thinking about this? I've spoke with one Pixie that would only be able to do it then....... MAYBE. While she doesn't want any plans made around her, it would still have the advantage of being right after the official 'vacation season' and have a marked price savings and less congestion, regardless of where we meet in the Great Lakes region. :shrug:

Can't say anything about job wise as it's too early for that but as long as kiddo can be watched by Boog's parents we could prolly go.

My wife's work at the school may preclude a September get away ... but not necessarily. If the dates were a Friday-Saturday or Saturday-Sunday ... it might work out okay. Good part is that it might be a hair cooler than early August. :shrug:

Has anyone given any more thought on where?

Peoria sounds nice and would have the advantage of DB as a tour guide. :D

Another good choice might be Mackinac Island probably staying on the mainland at either Mackinaw or St. Ignace. This is right at the junction of lower and upper Michigan. Nice touristy kind of place and the island is a true delight. Might suggest a Saturday-Sunday pair of dates since it's a bit further, but well worth the trip, I think.

Of course, I'm prejudiced, but Peoria is a good choice given all the things I've mentioned in terms of things to do. One thing that might make the August date better is the availability of Saturday afternoon rides on the Spirit of Peoria Riverboat. They end September 1st. The cruise is a delight and well worth the visit as it's one of the very few paddle wheelers that uses the paddle wheels as it's only power source. Ticket Prices are $13 for ages 13-54 and $11 for 55+.



Also neat would be the wheels of time museum. A very interesting and inexpensive site to see. http://www.wheelsotime.org/

Peoria sounds fine to me. I hear that there is a nice nature reserve near by.


And if need be could we do two dates?

Starting out as a private venture, the Wildlife Prarie Park west of Peoria is now a state park. Wildlife originally native to Illinois are in natural settings and available for people to see following trails through the woods and along the open fields where Bison, Deer and Elk roam. Really a neat place. Just a very few miles from there is Jubilee State Park which features the first college in Central Illinois. Another nice place to look at.

LOL ... I like your idea of two dates. Could be fun!

Hmmmm, Aug. 10 in Peoria............... IowaMan takes out the pocket Peoria Chiefs schedule that was waiting for him in the mail when he got home today and sees that the Chiefs are at home that night. I Love The 80's Night and fireworks. :thumb:


Oh and I can't forget to include that the first 1,500 fans there over the age of 21 get a free "Bud Man, Cub Fan" t-shirt.

I've heard from a few, but if Peoria sounds pretty good to enough people, I'll start checking hotels for rates and scope out an agenda that might be fun. I'll assume the weekend of August 10th (Friday) through August 12th (Sunday). If you do think you might come, let me know when you might arrive and for how many nights so that I can check out things that cover the time of your visit. I'll also give a list of airlines that service Peoria if you think you might want to fly in. Cars can be rented at airport. I check on the agencies that have rental booths there.

Sounds like with a bit of luck, we might actually get in something of a PAGAN-P-07. Pixies Adult Gathering At Nifty Peoria '07 :).


P.S. Already checked out airlines servicing Peoria. They are: Allegiant Air (Las Vegas, Tampa/St.Petersburg), American Connection, American Eagle (Chicago | Dallas/Fort Worth), Delta ASA (Atlanta), Northwest Airlink (Minneapolis) and United Express (Chicago). Ground transportation includes: Avis, Budget, Enterprise, Hertz and National.

Oh, yeah, here's a site that lists a lot of the 250+ restaurants in the Peoria area. (I'll do more checking on these, but it at least lets you know you wouldn't have to starve here. :) ) http://www.peoriarestaurants.com/

:yikes:

Is that a "P" like in PANTIES? :tongue:

How could I miss that? :D I'm in for a couple days in Peoria. :thumb:

I'm in, will stay Friday and Saturday nights.