Tour and Agenda
for the
2001 Event
by
Ron Conlon

Lake of the Ozarks is a resort area and quite a busy place. Shops and restaurants abound and go-carts are common. The lake is an enormous Chinese dragon shaped affair that snakes through a large part of the state. It is close to Springfield Missouri in hilly forested country. This was very nice after Oklahoma prairie heat.

On Friday we shopped a bit and picked up some beer to greet the arrivals that drifted in about 2pm. Bill Ackland from Iowa got in first and started to unwind as he showed us his autocross prepared spider and told of the plans for it. Soon most of the crew had arrived but Allen, Lynn, Christian, Pete and Maria were slow due to some bad gas and one car needing a tow. Two Scorpions, Gratham's and Keim's, arrived to keep Delmer happy and interested.

We spend the rest of the evening after dinner troubleshooting the "Black" and learning all about Crane ignition and dual carburetors. Others prepped their cars for show. Pete and I fussed with a leaky head gasket and sipped on brews. New friendships were forged and faces put to names.

Saturday dawned in glorious sunshine. Pete's head got torqued down and Allen found fuel filters for his Spiders, which cleared up the problem. More car cleaning was initiated, then off to a grocery store and the lake for the BBQ and show of cars. It was a fine sight to see all the Fiats and Lancias under the mantle of the oak trees and cruising in the town. We were too mellow to attempt the go-carts by evensong so dined and drifted off to beds after evening chats around the cars. We were met by Kent at the motel in his fresh painted Spider. It is the same color as mine in brilliant red #152 and looked so virginal. This is the color that I call "whore's lipstick" so maybe virginal is not quite appropriate.

Sunday was getting ready for the long drives. Pete left early and a few of us discussed plans for next year. That will include a cruise and tour as well as some kind of show.

This event was an informal gathering of enthusiasts mostly from the Mid-West.  There is no official registration and no entry fees, just show up and enjoy the activities.  The event for 2001 was scheduled for June 15, 16 and 17.  The unofficial hotel remained the same as last year, the Scottish Inn, of Osage Beach, MO.  Although this is an informal gathering, we did have some planned activities and a rough agenda.

Friday June 15 ­ arrivals into the Osage Beach area, check-in at the Scottish Inn or other hotel of your choice, or camp at a near by campground (Lake of the Ozarks State Park).  We will assemble in small to medium sized groups to go to dinner.  This is not a prepaid event so you can find other folks that have your same tastes and form your own group or sneak off with your significant other for a romantic dinner.  Afterwards, meet in the parking lot and clean off some of those bugs that hit during the drive and meet any newcomers.

Saturday June 16, a casual morning, brought more arrivals, and plenty of time to debug that beautiful Italian metal. There was also plenty of time for some BS and maybe a tech session from a well respected Fiat Freak. Pete (Fiat-1 / Deer-0) Angel gave a seminar on how to use the Fiat deer avoidance maneuver mentioned in the owner's manual.

We headed to the State Park just prior to lunch; there a shelter that had been reserved for our group.  There was a cookout for lunch. Most folks brought something to slap on the grill.  After lunch we there was an informal Concorso D'Eleganza so that people can look at all the other fine cars that showed up.  This is also an informal event, no registration and no judges or prizes, at least not yet.  We planned to meet again after dinner for the second annual Fiat/Lancia go-kart runoffs.  This was a tradition that started last year and seems to have struck a nerve with the group.  The BS sessions took precedence over the go karts this year, but there is always the next time.

Sunday June 17 ­ a casual early morning, either a tech session or a drive around the lake, this really depends on what we were able to work in on Saturday.   A casual get together was planned to review the weekend's activities and make some plans for 2002.  Most of us left around noon for the trip back.