The Pit

Let's put the past behind us, winter is over. Time to kick the tires and light the fires! Our Viper Club spring cruise is at hand and we have a wonderful plan to put some miles on those cars and enjoy the great climate in May. We decided to kick things off with a SPECIAL cruise for our first trip of the year, this trip will also be a big deal because it's another of our multiday cruises which have been so popular. The club will be subsidizing this cruise HEAVILY to make it very affordable for everyone! Where are we going? We're headed to Indy!!

Day 1 (Friday - May 18th)
We’ll first be meeting at the Lincoln Oasis (Eastbound entrance on I-80 between 294 and the Indiana border). It’s a very convenient place for us to gather (it's the highway overpass w/restaurant, gas, and restrooms), but please allow enough travel time to get there, we plan to leave promptly at 8:30am!!

We have multiple stops to make this trip an easy one. We'll make one stop as we head toward Lafeyette for lunch, here we'll split up and eat at the various restaurants.

We then take off on a short trip to our next stop which will show us what it was like to be a firefighter almost 100 years ago as we visit the historic firehouse museum. We'll then hit the road to our next stop, the Garfield Park Conservatory & Sunken Garden. This is a well known 136 acre area that has gorgeous floral displays, fountains, and interior exhibits. We'll then make our way to the hotel where we'll have plenty of time to check-in and get comfortable. We've also setup a dinner at the Cracker Barrel which is right next door to the hotel (walking distance). We'll then call it a night and rest up for the next day!

Day 2 (Saturday - May 19th)
We've arranged a very special day. We begin by getting some breakfast and leaving the hotel at 8:30am. Our destination is the Indianapolis Motor Speedway for pole day of the Indy 500! There are several things that we plan to do here. We'll have a visit to the Indy Museum which is a must do! We're also in the process of using our connections for a VERY special tour inside the Andretti's pits! This isn't guaranteed, but we're trying our best and looks like a strong possibility!

Then we'll break for lunch, many restaurants right there in the park so we'll split and eat wherever we'd like. Then we sit down to watch qualifying. If you've never seen an Indy car run, you're in for a treat - it's memorizing! This is an amazing and historic speedway, you have to visit once in your life. We'll hang out for a few hours watching time trials and then make our way back to the hotel. We've also arranged nice meal in the evening at Maggiano's Little Italy.

Day 3 (Sunday - May 20th)
We wanted to make sure the fun continued as typically the 3rd day isn't as action packed because it's a travel day back home, so we made sure to make it a REALLY fun ride home you won't want to miss! We'll catch breakfast and check out of the hotel, then we'll hit the road for our first stop - Lucas Oil Stadium - the home of the Indianapolis Colts! We've arranged a special stadium tour for our group that will include a behind-the-scenes look and access to some special places! After the 45 min tour, we'll continue to head home as we stop at a very special place - the Albanese Confectionary Group. Who are they? We'll they're the folks that make the world famous Gummy Bears, chocolates, and other tasty treats! We've arranged a very special tour of their plant that will give us a look at how they make all their tasty treats. We'll also spend some time in their store where there is a treat for everyone. We'll depart and continue to head toward the north. We'll have a lunch stop at a nice restaurant before we split up and head our different ways as we get closer to Chicago.

Cost & Details
This cruise is being subsidized by the Viper Club to make it affordable to all. The cost of the cruise is only $35. This doesn't include meals, but includes all tours, parking, tickets, and entrance fees for all three days. Everyone will need to fill out our registration form and mail it in (next page). Everyone needing a hotel for the two nights will also need to  call  and arrange for it. We've arranged a special $77.99 rate at Jamieson Inn Indy West (great rate)! Simply call and tell them you want a room out of the Illinois Viper Club room block. Their address is 3850 Eagle View Dr, 46254, Indianapolis and phone (317) 299-6165. They will hold rooms for us on this special rate only until April 18th! Sp call immediately.

As with every cruise I will remind you of our usual disclaimers... we generally cruise with the speed of traffic and each Viper follows the Viper in front of them. This helps make for some care free cruising without having to follow a map (though maps will be provided as well). It’s important to stay together, while the route has been selected to take us away from traffic where possible, let’s not allow too much traffic to break us up since we’re following each other with line-of-sight. Please remember to have your cell phone with you. We also encourage you to bring your walkie-talkie's since we use them to coordinate and chat during our cruise (channel 10-10). Sunglasses are always another good idea. Definitely don’t forget your camera and comfortable shoes!