NUIAS, Cars & Coffee, Fall Drive

Pictures to follow.

Friday, October 7th

Our three-day early October event in Midland started Friday afternoon with dinner at the

Genghis Khan Mongolian Barbeque. Following dinner, we traveled a short distance to the west

side of Bay City to the residence of Bill & Kay Jordan. We spent several hours viewing Bill’s

1954 MG TF, his mounted hunting trophies, and beer memorabilia collection, some very good

apple cider (with or without Caramel vodka), and delightful conversations.

Saturday, October 8th

On Saturday late morning we met up in the parking lot behind a local Taco Bell. From there we

caravanned to the Northwood University campus and Tom Hudak negotiated some prime

parking spots for the Cars & Coffee. A quick count suggested that about 100 cars participated in the Cars & Coffee. The main draw was the larger International Car Show. While no attempted count was made, a casual stroll of the entire display took about 2.5 hours. A significant number of exotic cars not generally seen in captivity were on display. And despite temperatures that started in the 40s, a very large number of the viewing public was present. This show is well-known in the Midland area and well-attended. It is run by Northwood students and they do a great job. The fall colors on the campus made a great backdrop for the show.

Leaving the campus of Northwood University, we drove a short distance to Dow Gardens. There

we strolled the gardens as we worked our way over to the largest canopy walk in the United

States. At 1400 feet in length, and at times elevated some 40 feet above the ground, the views

were excellent. Again the color change was well along, and the raised walk offered some unique

views. We left Dow Gardens and drove a short distance to the Villa d'Alessandro Restaurant. There we enjoyed the Italian ambiance, cuisine, and of course, animated conversations. As always, our group ate well and enjoyed the evening!

Sunday, October 9th

On Sunday, a smaller group of us set off from Midland towards Bay City where we would pick

up M25 and follow the Saginaw Bay coastline toward Port Austin. On the way, we stopped at

three pieces of Barn Art from The Barn Project by the Greater Port Austin Art & Placemaking organization. The first barn was named the Sky Barn. It has a large triangular-shaped piece missing and views to the inside where a significant amount of wood framework had been added to hold it together. The second barn has two murals painted on the ends of the barn; the American Gothic (with gas masks) mural, and the HDL Logo mural (Hygienic Dress League). The third barn is called the Ark Barn, and upon viewing it does look like an ancient ark. There are a total of ten barn art projects planned, but only three are currently completed. For more information: https://www.portaustinart.com/hygienic-dress-league.

After viewing the three art barns, we drove on to Port Austin for lunch at The Bank 1884 Food & Spirits. We enjoyed our food and conversations there and continued along M25 to the Pointe aux Barques lighthouse. There we stretched our legs and enjoyed nice views of Lake Huron and the lighthouse before moving on toward Port Huron.

In keeping with JAGM traditions, we stopped for ice cream in Lakeport at the Pepperoni Cow. Yes, they sell both pizza and ice cream! When we entered the parking lot we spotted an X-Type. The driver and her passenger were surprised to see three Jaguars pulling in at once, and she asked if there was a Jag club she hadn’t heard about. We discovered that she had just recently purchased the Jaguar. We gave her our website information and invited them to join us at our Holiday Party. While the color change was better inland around Midland than along the lake shoreline, we did have lots to look at and do. So, we all had a good time and enjoyed this great weekend together.

Organizers: Phil Crutchfield, Gary Hillebrand, Tom Hudak, and Bill & Kay Jordan.