Rich and Sundy could not have ordered a more spectacular sunny, blue sky, 75+degree day for a fun filled fall rally in the beautiful North suburbs of Fox River Grove, Illinois! At least 27 cars,

Rich Meservey presiding over the Driver’s meeting.

which included both members of the CMGC & VMGCCC, gathered at the Jewel Parking lot in Fox River Grove at 11:30 am. Everyone was handed an instruction/direction pack along with a numbered black & white checkered “race type” flag to put on our cars for identification.

We were briefed on the instructions for this five leg rally and then lined up in numeric order to run through a quick tech inspection before heading out on our adventure. Not only did the navigator need to let the driver know mileage, turns and street names, but there were also numerous questions thrown into the mix to concentrate on along with paying attention to “special instructions”. It was challenging to take in the beauty of the trees with their changing colors of red,

Starting lineup included a car inspection

yellow and orange leaves. I never realized how much multi-tasking would be needed for navigating a quaint joy ride on a gorgeous fall day!

We pulled into Woods Conservation areas and Forest preserves after each completion of a leg. We were then given a new answer sheet where we had to document our start and finish time and mileage. There were also new special instructions to note on the ride. A picture was taken at the end of the 2nd leg of each car before heading onto the 3rd leg.

Rich & Sundy apparently had some fun in conjuring up HARD to answer questions, such as a “E” cut – which we learned at the end of our drive

OH.. So there is the ‘E’!!

was an ACTUAL “E” cut into a large grass area. Who would have ever known to look for that? They also threw in a trivia questionnaire of the legendary Joseph Lucas. Too bad we could not use our phones to google the answers, so Tim & I came up with our best educated guesses. They really challenged just how sharp our minds are with clever questions and observations.

The ride was filled with National historical places such as Col. Gustavius A. Palmer’s House, and Terwilliger’ House – a stop for the underground railroad and George Stickney’s house which now is the Bull Valley Police Dept. claiming to be “haunted”.

We were not able to see much of these places, being that our concentration was scattered by where to turn next, how many miles to go or answering questions `in between what street we may have just missed. This pretty much sums up the fun and challenge to this ride - complete chaos and whether or not your Driver won’t kill the navigator!!!

Rally ended at the Kelly's Roadhouse

Our rally ended with yet another mechanical inspection and then off to dinner at Kelsey’s Road House. Little by little, drivers and their navigators trickled into the downstairs bar where we all ordered much anticipated meals and well-deserved drinks.

Rich, Sundy and their team of inspectors tallied up all the answer sheets