We couldn't have had a better day for this ride - the weather was pleasantly warm, the sky was brilliantly blue, and a few trees were showing signs of autumn color. There are some mighty fine Miata roads in the southern Kettle Moraine area, and Jim L and Bill B found plenty of them. 16 cars joined the colorful line as we traversed the area.

We were barely out of our starting point - the Kwik Trip just off I-94 and Hwy T - when a deer jumped over Brian H's dolphin grey Miata, knocking off his FM radio antenna which sat atop his windshield. I did not see it myself since we were still in the gas station's lot, but I heard about it from Brian himself, and several other Miatans who were talking about the event later in the day. Pretty sure our leader, Jim L, also said a ground hog crossed in front of his car almost immediately after the jumping-deer incident. I guess we could have called this one "The Critter Crawl" (for those who remember them)!

As we curved through residential and rural areas in Wales and Genesee, I couldn't help but mention that we passed only a stone's throw from our house. Some folks asked if we could stop in for a beverage; we were willing, but time was short. We drove through the Kettle Moraine State Forest and discovered amazing Miata roads going through Ottawa, North Prairie and La Grange, places you probably never heard of.

Our first pit stop was at a BP station in Palmyra where we found ice cream bars, so it was technically the requisite ice cream stop. There was also a Subway for those of us who had forgotten to eat lunch before we left (this was an afternoon-only drive). I always enjoy chatting with the ladies as we wait in line to use the facilities.

From Palmyra we wound our way past the Nite Cap Inn (famous for its Friday night fish fry) and then through Eagle, before arriving at our 2nd pit stop at Field Park in Mukwonago. This park is home to Maxwell Street Days flea market, a farmers market through the summer months, and many other community events. It had plenty of parking for our cars, and the plumbing flushed.

Leaving the park, we drove past the public boat landing of beautiful Lake Beulah and retraced some wonderful roads that took us north through downtown Delafield and to Water Street Brewery where we had dinner in their private room.

Kudos to Jim Loeffler & Karen Hart and Bill & Jan Bright for pulling together a wonderful ride through magnificent country on fabulous Miata roads without a single U-turn. Thanks to Hank & Laura N who served as Sweep.