Florida Georgia Get together

[Francesco Rizzo]

How about a lil get-together somewhere between Daytona, Jax, or Orlando? I’m trying to be flexible in this so that perhaps this it might appeal to some of our Georgia neighbors.

Let me know where the Floridians are at and who might be interested.

Myself and Flbeachgal are in daytona trying to set this up.

[-x-]

....but PLEASE lets pick a good when. Work and stuff is always hectic for everyone so im putting in first for sunday.....x

[Heraclid]

Well, I got real sick and missed this past weekend's rallycross at Joe's place. I also missed the last Daytona meet. Now I have to wait until at least April 9 for my next rallycross fix, and since that's in Homestead I may not be doing it until May 14 when it goes back to Ft. Meade. So I could use a little VX meet or something to keep me sane. :-)

[Joe_Black]

I'm definitely in as long as my hideously packed schedule doesn't interfere! :p Might even be able to bring both the Dragon and the IronMan. We talkin' a general get-together or maybe some off-road action?

[johnnyapollo]

I'm always game - cyndi and mark from the ATL meet were interested in convoying down too. I do have some stuff going on with my mother's health - so it's iffy for me to make a committment - I'll have to play it by ear.

-- John

[FLBeachgirl]

so from what im hearing it sounds like a sunday is good, i kow sundays are good for me too, so im gonna throw out a couple of dates and please respond and let me know what sounds good
sunday march 6th
sunday march 13th

just let me know what sounds good to you
if anyone wants to email me its afspiglet04@aol.com

also me and Francesco Rizzo were thinking if the weather is nice a BBQ at Blue Springs which is in Deland FL its really pretty this time of year

so let me know what sounds good or any other ideas

ttyl

[Arachnid J]

If it ends up being on a day that I can make it, I'm in!

James

[Dirty Dave]

What up yall,
Any Sunday is great for me. I'm in orlando, let me know where & when. Ocala National Forest is always an adventure. The less pavement the better!
let me know.
Dave
forcefactorviii@yahoo.com
00' PROTON

[Francesco Rizzo]

hey, I'm likeing the march 6th date.. looking into which park, but it seems flbeachgirl is getting all the e-mails maybe she can finalise arrangements. I'll gring some burgers, who likes yeinglin?

[FLBeachgirl]

ok so im gonna make it official..... march 6th...... now i just need people to respond about whether or not they can make it...so start letting me know.

we were thinking a bbq in one of the springs, i dont know much about the ocala national forest if there is a place to bbq there that someone knows of let me know.....

i will send out group emails with info about date time place etc.....if you want you email on the list just email me at afspiglet04@aol.com and i iwill add you

thanks
look forward to seeing everyone soon

amber

[ZuZuLvr]

There's the park at Juniper Springs which has a big area with grills, pavillions and such. Joe had the June 2003 VX meet there and much mud was to be had, as -X- and Heraclid can vouch for. :p There's even an "official" DVD from the meet! Mud not included. LOL!

Here's the photos: 2003 Ocala VX Meet (http://www.vehicross.info/gallery/showgallery.php/cat/543)

Blue Springs (Volusia County) might be a good choice too, but there's not much in the way of off-roading. The spring is nice though and open to divers if any in the group were interested. You can make about 110 feet down into the main spring.

Just a couple ideas! ;)

[FLBeachgirl]

juniper springs sounds good to me!

so right now it sounds like march 6th at juniper springs..... now we just need a time.....lets hear from someone who has to drive the farthest for a time idea would'nt want them to have to get up insanely early

amber

[Heraclid]

It's roughly 2 hours for me, so not too bad. I'm sure the park folks will love to see us come back. One of 'em yelled at me for speeding on the campsite loop. Why? Just because he was driving his golf cart in the middle of the road around a corner and he about crapped himself when he saw me coming. I wasn't speeding and I guess he just had to yell about it. :-)

The mudholes there when we were there were more like waterholes. LOL! I'd advise against it, but it is fun at the time. I'll play in the sand there but won't do that again. The cleanup is a bear (your engine bay will never look the same again). I have traces of Ocala riding with me to this day. And you may lose your alternator and get stuck in an interesting part of town or something. Just a friendly warning. :-)

[Francesco Rizzo]

one hour ride for us in daytona and mapquest puts it at about one and twenty from orlando... I might have to work at 4, so the earlier the better. but am trying to take the day off.. willput in request today and will find someone to cover if I am on.. but I just might have to call in if it comes down to it.. or tell them my truck is dead inthe sand with a burnt alt. I mean, I missed hooters and two rallycrosses.. I definately gonna be there to wiz in the spring.

but put me down as a def..

[Jonnie]

I think my schedule is clear, but I will check with my handlers.

Jonnie

[Joe_Black]

There's a restaurant just up the road from the springs entrance we all met at last time for breakfast, and it was really good too. Just can't remember the name! Is there definite interest in off-roading? I just need to know since I'll probably be only be bringing one VX and want to bring my Yokohama's if there's going to be some wheelin'.

[Francesco Rizzo]

it's official, I'll be thur mud or shine, got the night off too.

[FLBeachgirl]

ok guys i hate to throw this in the mix but i completely forgot about bike week here in daytona so i wont be able to do anything til thats over......... so the soonest i could make it is march 20th........ does that sound ok?

let me know

amber

[Joe_Black]

LOL! I figured you were using the meet to get away from Bike Week!

Can't do the 20th as I'll be on my honeymoon. :winkb:

[FLBeachgirl]

oooooh honeymoon! sounds fun!

how about the sunday after that? the 27th?

let me know......there is also a slight possibility i could get this sunday off so we will see

let me know

amber

[Heraclid]

SAY WHAT?! :-) Joe, when's the big day?

There's a pic from the last Ocala meet in your gallery and on the big version I can just make out the sign - looks like the restaurant is called Jake's Place.

[Joe_Black]

March 19th, thought you knew? :confused: In any case, we won't be back from honeymoon until the 26th. So I won't make the 27th but y'all are always welcome to come out to Fort Meade anytime we've got a rallycross. I began the entire rallycross thing for the VX crowd, but only one took to the sport besides myself. :( So don't hold up a meet on my account! Just call a date and make it happen, otherwise you'll be hashing dates and never get together.

[Heraclid]

Now I wonder if I'm crazy. I don't remember ever getting a specific date, but maybe you did... I just don't know about me sometimes. Could be a new form of early-onset Alzheimer's. If you told me, I'm really sorry. :-(

I was pretty upset that I missed the last rallycross. Everyone told me a thousand times I should stay home and get well, but I was determined to go. The night before I was out in the garage in the cold remounting the rear seat because Amanda and Scott were going to come along. I didn't make the decision until 3:30 in the morning on the day of. Just felt too bad, and was on meds that make you sun-sensitive to boot. First round of pills didn't quite clear it up, so I'm still popping pills. A few hours later I felt marginally better and was kicking myself over it. Basically I'm saying the rallycrosses mean a lot to me, and a lot of other folks really appreciate the incredible amount of work you've put into the rallycrosses.

Now you two have fun and congratulations! You two are great together - anyone can see it's a super match. I'm very happy for you! :-)

[Crowml]

Anyone from the GA crew heading down for this? I got family in Orlando that can put me and a couple others up. If interested get back to me. Cyn, John, mark, joe, etc...

[Apostle]

Well, if its in FL i should be able to make it.

School kinda kicking my but atm (gotta love it)

Just need a date with enough warning to prepare

[FLBeachgirl]

so how does this sound.........

March 27th.......Juniper Springs (Ocala, FL)

now all we need is a time and where to meet

if anyone wants to put up some suppestions let me know!

amber

[Dirty Dave]

let me know where and when. i'll be skiing that week VA and testing the new nittos in the snow, but i'll make it back in time. i know some of ocala natoinal forest pretty well, but the place is huge. im doing some off-road recon for those who want to play. i know a few spots 10-15 minutes away from juniper springs, but always looking for new terrain. Ill probaly take a ride out there this sunday (6th).

dave

also have coordinates for some sweet off-site camping spots if any one is inerested.

[Joe_Black]

Someone be sure to take along the DVD from the last Ocala VX outing to share with the new folk! ;Dy;

[Apostle]

Hey, just a thought.

March 27th is easter sunday. soooo.....

personally, by myself so wont be doing anything anyway, but some of you married/family people this may not work

[FLBeachgirl]

good point with the easter sunday thing..... if anyone has a problem with easter sunday let us know.... i personally dont but if someone does we can push it back another week

[Apostle]

bump

[FLBeachgirl]

bump?

lets get some feedback about the date..... does march 27th work for people?

[Heraclid]

He just wanted to "bump" up this thread by posting in it. Since the last activity on it was getting older, doing that helped move it towards the top again so people still see it when they look at "Latest Threads" on the home page of this site. A lot of people don't look any further than that and then threads get forgotten.

[-x-]

...but if we can get more vxs on a non holiday id preffer that definately.

Ill also bring tha dvd to watch in tha vx for whoever wants to see joe go thru a mud hole with tha windows down - gee-nee-ussssss....x :rolleyes:

[Heraclid]

Ill also bring tha dvd to watch in tha vx for whoever wants to see joe go thru a mud hole with tha windows down - gee-nee-ussssss....x

Was that really necessary? Joe has invited you to his property and let you play around with your VX there, and without him we wouldn't have had that Ocala meet in the first place. And he went to the trouble of setting up a dashboard camera rig to get that video and made that DVD for you too. Everybody makes mistakes and we can laugh about it now, but it's going a bit far to make remarks about his intelligence. Joe is anything but dumb, and in fact one of the furthest people from it I've ever run across.

[Apostle]

I think he was jokeing.


good ole rubbin for Joe. We all know he's one of the good guys

[Joe_Black]

No sweat David, it's all good! Believe me, -X- is giving some well deserved ribbing for that maneuver. :laughg: As evidenced on the DVD, of course, by the resulting harsh dialogue after I rolled my windows down to discover about 10 gallons of mud still on the roof. ;eekg;

Fortunately, as can be seen below, not that much made it in... LOL!

http://www.vehicross.info/gallery/data/543/23408_mud-med.jpg

http://www.vehicross.info/gallery/data/543/23411_mud_dragon-med.jpg

Keep in mind folks, that's a Dragon VX under all that Ocala! :bgwg:

[Apostle]

Funny thing, ever since i have been here, i have YET to find a self serve car wash.

whats up with that?


<grumbles> stupid town

[Cyrk]

Joe I wanna see this DVD...

[Francesco Rizzo]

I ready to make the sequall, can we really get together this time? I haven't hit a meet since my first and only one last year that was in daytona.. and I had to work that day too. I hate being the poor college grad

[Apostle]

What about making the 26th? saturday. alot of things closed sunday and what not.

beachgirl, hows that sound?
Joe?
X?
Fran?
Cyrk?
Hera?
<insert name>?

[Heraclid]

Works for me.

[ZuZuLvr]

I'll be returning from my honeymoon the 26th. Was entertaining thoughts of showing up Sunday, but it's a big maybe for me that weekend.

[Francesco Rizzo]

I'm trying to finish up a close on a house my brother and myself just bought in orlando :clap: :dance: :jump: , but won't be able to move in for another two weeks.. which would probly be that weekend. I did put in my two weeks notice at work earlier in the month, but they will be expecting me that weekend for easter; I would consider showing up for the morning and making a nice drive out there if peeps get together early enough, That would give me a few hours to chill before returning to be backby 4ish. I mean I already quit, so I'm not worried if I don't show up that last day or so. Sat would def. be better this way I might be able to work all day sunday and might even be able to go in at 6 sat night. Let me know about the hours and possitive day. I'm working against a whole lot of stuff, so this is gonna be tough, but am will to try for it.. meaning don't let my problems influence the set date, I'll work with whatever you guys decide..

[-x-]

....wasnt neccessary but felt comfortable sliding it in david, i gots nothin but love for joe and all that makes him tha great man he is :)....as the rest of you ladies and gents....I LOVE YOU ALL. Some more than others lol...

....ummmm so its the 27th??? i may have to bum a ride (joe) if....when we go offroading. Im pretty sure that 22's aren't good for muddin and off roading to the extent that i enjoy ;) we'll see though i just got some cute 16" xterra rims that i just need to get tires for em if not ill be stickin my thumb out....x

congrats and luck on that crib-o rizzo!

[Heraclid]

No prob, it's all good. :-)

[thebear54]

Frank,
Is that you on E-Bay this morning?
John

[FLBeachgirl]

i work all day saturday the 26th, so thats a no go for me :-( but i can get any day off with about a weeks notice so just let me know.
sorry it took me so long to respond i have been quite under the weather lately

amber

[Heraclid]

The first weekend in April looks good to me - what about everyone else? There seem to be too many problems getting everyone together for the March 26/27 weekend, plus there's the holiday and all. I don't know about Joe, but I may be attending the rallycross in Homestead on April 9 (second weekend in April) so I can't commit to anything that weekend.

[Apostle]

Im up for either day, or whenever. weekends are pretty open for me

[Joe_Black]

First April weekend is good for us too as we'll be at the Homestead RallyCross on the 9th.

[FLBeachgirl]

the first sunday in april is good for me, i cant get saturdays off but sunday i could do

[Apostle]

first sunday good for me as well

[Heraclid]

bump

[Francesco Rizzo]

Hey Bear, I got your sticker int he mail, thanks for listing it for me. I will be moving to orlando completely by this monday.. and then flying up to orlando the first weekend of the month to get some stuff down so I can't make it.. I probly can't do it regardless.. too much stuff going on with new job/move... anyone by any chance work for airtran?

[Dirty Dave]

Sunday, April 3, is good for me. still meeting at Juniper Springs?
dave

[Heraclid]

bump

Sorry John, just noticed your comment earlier - I hope your mother is doing better now.

[Heraclid]

Okay everybody, let's hear it - is everything still a go for this coming weekend?

[-x-]

.....Si :cool: ....x

[Joe_Black]

I don't know if I can make it with both VX's, but can make it with at least one. If it IS going to happen, someone please put it on the calendar. ;)

[Heraclid]

<smacks forehead>

Yeah Joe, that would help huh? LOL! Done. Hey do you still have the forestry service maps and the GPS unit handy? Those were a huge help last time.

[Apostle]

Yup yup, im in.

Might want to provide a mapquest map to get there. (new to FL)

some may not have any idea where we are going (me)

[Heraclid]

Try plugging these into MapQuest for your directions...

Here's the address for the restaurant we met at for the first meet:

Jake's Place
16275 E Highway 40
Silver Springs, FL
352-625-3133

Here's the address for the Juniper Springs Recreation Area:

Juniper Springs Recreational Area
26701 E Highway 40
Silver Springs, FL
352-625-2808

The restaurant is 7.4 miles west of the Recreation Area. Both lie within Ocala National Forest, so they're actually a bit east of Ocala. But we all need to decide if we're meeting up at Jake's Place first or not.

[-x-]

....anyone wanna drive up together im in orlando so anyone round this way heading there we can ide together (in our respective vxs :) ) .....x

[Apostle]

Hey X, yeah we can do that. think there are a couple in this area.

im at 4 and the lake mary exit. just let me know



Jakes place is fine, not sure how long it will take to get there (Florida drivers are slow as mules) but 10 -11 ish?

[Jonnie]

OK

Jonnie

[Heraclid]

Ok, let's shoot for 10am at Jake's. Does this work for everybody?

[Joe_Black]

Looks like I'm not going to be able to make it due to work-related issues. :mad:

As for the forestry map and GPS, you should be able to pick up a map at any convenience store around there. If no one has a GPS a regular compass will help tremendously in conjunction with the map. Just be sure to pay attention to the numbered "roads" and significant landmarks. Last time I took everyone in just East of the Juniper Springs entrance (about 2 miles IIRC) and we basically worked our way around the bombing range to the big power lines which returned us West of Juniper.

If anyone has FRS radios bring 'em. That made communication much easier and kept the group moving last time.

Have fun, take plenty of pics and keep it sunny-side up! :p

[Heraclid]

Grrrrr. I'm mad at myself. It occurred to me that the last meet was on a Saturday and I forgot to call the restaurant today and make sure they're open on Sundays. I will do that tomorrow and post it, but I'm afraid we'll have people miss the post so maybe we should just meet there either way.

We'll miss ya Joe! :-( BTW, do you recall where that carwash was? I'm thinking it's along 40 more towards Ocala, but not sure.

I was going to have to go to Gainesville from the event, but I'm thinking I may even head down early, do what I have to do in Gainesville, and head over to Juniper Springs and try to pick up a map then and do a little scouting ahead of time. Could find a tree in the road like last time. :-)

[Dirty Dave]

what up!
i have quad maps of the entire forest, showing state forest roads, jeep trails & elevations. i also have gps and two radios. i think south of 40 is whare to explore, its a lot dryer than north of the springs. there is a few "clay pits" marked on the maps i would like to check out. i'll try to make a few copies of the maps (surrounding the springs). i'll also have full color aerials of the area, which always comes in handy.
are BBQin' for lunch, or should people just bring cold cuts of what-not?
dave

[Heraclid]

Dirty Dave, you are a lifesaver! That all sounds terrific. I'm glad we'll have someone who is pretty familiar with the area. Are you still doing some recon for us? I've been there just once before and don't have all of that so I was thinking I may go there today and get some maps and try to scout out a route for us. Do you think that's a good idea or are you comfortable enough with the area that I can skip it (I'm in Jacksonville)? I will probably run out to Gainesville today so I don't have to cut out early for it tomorrow, but would rather not have to run over to the Ocala area until the meet if that's ok.

Oh, and BTW, Jake's will be open so we're good for breakfast. I kinda figured, but it's better knowing. Whatever everyone wants to do for lunch is fine by me. At the spring itself they have shelter and tables and maybe grills. What we did last time was eat at Jake's, hit some trails, do lunch, and go out for a second round of trails, then on to the carwash for those who wanted to.

We had a few people whiz right by the restaurant last time, so whoever gets there first should try to grab a prominent parking spot near the road.

[Dirty Dave]

Hey,
(heraclid)It sounds likes more trouble than its worth, but scoping the area wouldnt hurt. I think the maps that you would get nearby would only show forestry roads, which are clearly marked, unless they are selling the quad maps which I doubt. With the maps I have, gps & aerials i dont think theres any chance of getting lost. I am not going to be able to do any phsyical recon, but im down to explore if everyone OK with that. I made a few copies of the maps, we can review them at jakes and decide then. heres my cell number for anyone who might be running late, and has worries about finding everyone.
Dave
407-782-3042.
P.S. Wheres the orlando crew meeting for the ride up? Im in South Apopka(436 & 441)

[Heraclid]

Sounds great! Looks like you have it all covered. Last time we found a downed pine tree in the road, but a VX and a tow strap fixed that. :-)

[Heraclid]

Okay, so where was everybody?!

:confused:

Apostle and I were the only ones there at 10:00 and we waited until a couple minutes after 11:00 in case some of you got screwed up with Daylight Savings Time happening last night. Jake's was packed by then and we headed up the road a piece, ate pretty quick, and came back and no one was there then either. If anyone did show at about 11:00 and just missed us, they didn't wait long for anyone else. And a few days ago I e-mailed or PM'ed everyone who has posted to this thread and mentioned the time change then. So what's up people? Oh well.

It was nice meeting you Apostle (and I think a lot of anyone who has served in the military) and always good to see another VX.

[Dirty Dave]

hey guys,
i did finally make it there around 12:00, with the hour for daylight savings and the bogus directions i got from map quest. i should have gone my normal route there, but thought i might save some time with map quest. i went to juniper springs first, no vx sightings according to the ranger at the entrance. so i headed on to jakes. packed! but no vx's. swung back by the springs and dropped a map set at the gate and asked the ranger to give them to the first vx that enters. I spent the day south of 40 exploring with my co-pilot cory.
the first "clay pit" i found was incredible!! i was begining to think there was no good hill climbs in florida ....untill now. met up with some locals in a toyota and got the guided tour of all the good riding areas. anyway, wish i could of cought up with you guys. im disapointed this didnt work out. if you guys ever want to play in ocala let me know, we"ll make it work.
dave
p.s. ill post some pics in my gallery from my adventure.

[Jonnie]

A friend's water supply broke at after 7pm Sat. and he called me as his go to guy. Fixed it but it took a while and overslept.

:(

Jonathan

[Heraclid]

Hey Dave and Jonnie,

Sorry 'bout that Jonnie - I was hoping nothing too serious like that or worse like a car accident or something had happened to anybody.

Yeah, I'm disappointed too but it's over and done with so no use regretting it now. We were supposed to all meet at Jake's at 10:00 but only Apostle and I were there and we never pulled into Juniper Springs. We waited at Jake's in case anyone got screwed up with the time change, but I did e-mail or PM everyone a reminder because I was afraid of that happening. Anyway, we stood outside and chatted with Apostle until a little after 11:00, then got a bite to eat. Jake's was packed by that time so we headed up the road a bit to a barbeque place, then Apostle left (I'm surprised you two didn't run into each other, as he was going back to Orlando) but I went by Jake's one last time just in case. It would have still been a bit early to have run into you, though. At that time I did actually go up the other way just on a whim and doubled back when I reached Silver Springs and headed home from there. We probably came very close to crossing paths then since you would have come in from that way. I was hoping we'd pass each other somewhere because I was so sure that you would definitely be there.

Dave, sorry that Mapquest messed you up. I forgot how hit-and-miss they can be. I understand because the first time I ever went down to Joe Black's place, -x- and I ended up dead-ending in the middle of an orange grove because of the Mapquest directions then. A word of advice to everyone - DO NOT rely solely upon that website! But... this also could have all been okay if I hadn't made a mistake of my own. I had a lot of information with me, but I realized too late that even though I wrote down your cell number from an earlier post, I didn't have your cell number with me or we could have worked through the other issues. I'm glad you made lemonade out of lemons and went out and had a good time anyway. I'd love to see pics and we'll have to try it again some time. I can't complain - I got to meet Apostle and the drive was scenic.