October can be a tricky month for planning a car event, but we’ve been fortunate this year. The evening of the Cruise Night, was going to be the last of the 70 degree days for the for seeable future. There was some speculation about a light sprinkle later in the evening, with everyone consulting their phones. You couldn’t ask for a prettier evening with a few members coming in their Gen 1’s without tops and windows.

For our October Cruise Night, our host, Mike Cipponeri, picked the Grand Tavern, located in Rochester Hills. We had a nice secluded area to park our cars and another indoors to dine with our friends. The club treated everyone with heaping plates of nachos, while we were waiting for our meals. The staff did a fantastic job of handling the large influx of people, all hungry and thirsty.  After the meal, Mike spoke to the members and thanked everyone for attending.  He let on that he was a little concerned, that when the clock rolled around to 6-ish, no one was showing up.

We didn’t let him down and shortly thereafter we had 33 in attendance with 20 Vipers.  A nice turnout indeed!

When we came out of the restaurant, we were a little surprised to see some rain on the cars, with the Gen 1’s getting their “interiors cleaned”.  Word quickly spread that rain was coming and everyone said their goodbye’s and made a hasty retreat home.  All in all it was a fantastic evening to see some we haven’t seen in awhile and a new face or two.  Dan Steele who was recently transferred to Michigan for work, came in his Gen 2, and we quickly pounced on him about membership.

Thanks again to Mike Cipponeri and the staff at Grand Tavern for an enjoyable evening.

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Michigan weather in fall is always unpredictable.  We had been having some beautiful and very warm days prior to our event.  Unfortunately, the night before, we received a lot of rain and the weather turned very cold.  Our members were greeted with wet roads and temperatures hovering around low 40’s, that morning.  The Fall cruise to Frankenmuth has been one of our more popular events and we felt it was time to go again since we hadn’t been there since 2018.

Our Cruiser maestro, Bob Swartz and our new Motorsports Director, Paul McClorey, were able to bring together a fantastic event in short order after we heard many ask if we were going to have a fall cruise.  Our soggy, cold day started at Great Lakes Crossing and from there we cruised to Past Tense Cider Mill.  Their delicious pies were awarded to every member car that attended, courtesy of MCVO.  After a brief stay of shopping, cider and donuts, we cruised to Frankenmuth.  By this time the sun was beginning to peak out it was a gorgeous ride thru the countryside.  A few late arrivals met us at Frankenmuth and by that time we were 39 attendees and 15 Vipers strong.

We dined in the world famous Bavarian Inn restaurant, and everyone seemed to enjoy their meals. After our lunch, our members said their goodbyes and went off to explore the city.

We want to thank our coordinators, Bob Swartz and Paul McClorey for taking the time to put together a fantastic after for our club.  Also a quick shout of to the management at Past Tense and Bavarian Inn for working to make our stay seamless and enjoyable.

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Our Event Coordinator, Jon Block, came up with a fun and creative way for our club to enjoy our cars and what Michigan had to offer.  It was a beautiful late summer/early fall day with temps starting out a little chilly in the morning but warming to mid-70’s with a bright sunny sky.

After our initial meet, we cruised to Port Huron, and parked along the St. Clair River, with lunch at Freighters restaurant.  The meal and service were excellent, and as an added treat, our Club Mom, Diane Cipponeri provided cookies, so we could celebrate the birthday’s of Sam Milana and Mike Cipponeri.

We departed for a short drive to the Desmond Marine where we boarded the Huron Lady II.  The ship sailed with our “stout crew” along the St. Clair River and into Lake Huron, for an enjoyable 90 minute cruise.  It was pretty windy at times, with some choppy water when we entered the lake.  This made for an entertaining ride.  Our First Lady, Susan Andring, was taking photos of our windswept “crew” as they posed and hung on the railing, at the bow.

After returning safely to dry land, we traveled north for another short run to our final destination, the Fort Gratiot Light Station.  We were given a tour of the grounds, of Michigan’s oldest lighthouse, (1829).  Our guide then led us into the lighthouse and we climbed to the very top and were able to step out onto the walkway.  We were able to capture some truly remarkable photos of the surrounding area and beaches.

Unfortunately all good things must end, and we said our goodbyes to our fellow members and friends, and went our respective ways.

Our thanks to Jon Block for all his work into coordinating the event and the many volunteers, who helped along the way.

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It was the beautiful summer/fall day for a Cruise Night.  The temps were in the mid-70’s, with a clear and sunny sky.  Our host, Mike Cipponeri, was able to secure the outdoor deck for our club and as the sun set, it was the perfect way to spend the evening with good friends and good food.

We were back on the East Side in Clinton Township, at Ernie’s restaurant.  We even gathered a small group of admirers enjoying our cars.  They commented they had never seen that many Vipers in one setting.

There has been a lot of road construction and getting there unscathed was a challenge, but once we arrived, our cares melted away.  We had a nice turnout with about 25 in attendance and 15 Vipers.

It was great seeing all our friends and discussing our upcoming event, the Blue Water Cruise, this Saturday, which many were going to be in attendance.  This is an entirely new event, with a boat ride and lighthouse tour.  We’ll let you know the details in a future post.

Thanks again to our host, Mike Cipponeri, for all he does for the Cruise Nights and our club.  We also want to thank our Club Mom, Diane Cipponeri, who pitches in to help and is always so gracious that she brightens up every event.

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