It’s easy enough to criticize people, events, politicians and whatnot, especially with all these internet kids nowadays who know it all but have never lifted a finger in their lives! If you’ve read my articles, especially my event coverages, you know that I like to speak my mind and I’m blessed with the fact that I can voice said opinion through Wangan Warriors. But like I said, to criticize something is easy – to do something about is something else! So after another lame, half arsed, sloppy organized cruise I attended with my best bud Jack, we decided to take matters in our own hands. If you want something done…
So Jack and I came up with the idea of organizing a cruise ourselves. We decided to start with an invitation only event to keep things small which would leave us enough room to experiment a little. We wanted it be something better than just another cruise or meet. So on a sunny Sunday in September we welcomed about 25 cars for the first ever Wangan Warriors Drive and Dine!
The goal of our little event was to give people an experience they would remember with some nice driving roads, a little sightseeing, a few small challenges, a lot of food and drinks and of course…
… you can’t organize an event without a proper goodie bag!
Around 10:30AM everybody had found their way to the start/finish location. Jack’s mom and stepdad manage a campsite which also has a big pub/restaurant. A perfect location for our event!
After everybody had settled in and received their goodie bag and drink vouchers it was time to hit the road! At 11:00AM the tour would officially kick off.
The first part before the lunch featured some assignments which meant we started “rally style” with everybody setting of two minutes apart. Some last minute instructions…
… and off they went! And no, that’s not “blown engine” smoke… ;-)
The first part of the tour was all about the beautiful roads surrounding my hometown of Hilversum in the Netherlands. Not only are we surrounded by some gorgeous, smooth roads but also some beautiful forests…
… wide green meadows …
… and with The Netherlands being The Netherlands, a lot of water!
And while everybody seemed to enjoy the route we had planned…
… we were already busy setting up shop at the lunch location!
Jack is a master when it comes to carpentry, so he made some one off’s for this tour – our wooden “Wangan Warriors – Drive and Dine” sign is a fine example…
… These wooden crates are handmade by him as well, including Wangan Warriors stencils! We managed to set everything up in a jiffy which was a good thing…
… because it didn’t take long before the first car arrived! Our good friend Carlo was early for lunch but late for the first part of the tour as he had some overheating issues with his “butaketsu”! Luckily he still has the C210 to take out!
Slowly but surely everybody found his was to the forest lunch site. A spot we particularly chose for it’s beautiful location…
… and when I say beautiful, I mean beautiful! Luckily the weather Gods where in our favor and we had the Sun as our friend for the entire day.
The assignments for the first part of our tour had to be handed in at lunch so everybody had their hands free for the second part of the tour…
… which again would take them to some beautiful scenery!
Did I mention we are blessed with some forests, parks,…
… and picturesque villages in our area? Well, I hope you catch my drift (pun not intended). Jack and I mapped out the route the week prior to the event and we both came to realise that we need to appreciate our home country of the Netherlands more for what it is; gorgeous!
Meanwhile we cleaned up the lunch area, moved everything back to the campsite and set up shop there. BBQ – Check!
A lot of meat – Check!
Returning participants to eat all the meat…
… Check!
All in all it turned out to be a perfect day for a cruise…
… a small lunch with friends…
… and a big BBQ to finish the day in style!
But we managed to save the best for last. Next to the goodiebag, every participant received a limited edition Wangan Warriors coffee cup…
… so you can drink your morning brew in style as demonstrated by our good pal Palle! *Oprah Winfrey voice* “You get a mug and you get a mug! Everybody get’s a mug!” Well, if you participated in the first WW Drive & Dine that is but hey – there’s a chance you might score some limited edition WW stuff at the next drive and dine!
Because with all the positive feedback we received from our participants, this probably wasn’t the last time we’ll organise a cruise like this, maybe even a little bigger next year? Who knows!
Maybe we’ll see you next year at the WW – Drive & dine!
A big thanks to;
Everybody who participated! We couldn’t have done it if you didn’t believe in us.
Jeroen of DBM Engineering for sponsoring enough trays of Monster Energy to keep an entire nuclear plant going!
Nick Witte of NW Media for the additional photos. Thanks buddy!
Joost and Monica from Camping Zonnehoek for providing us with a beautiful start/finish venue!
And last but definitely not least, Jack and Irene for everything they have done, not only for this event but also for being two of the most important people in my personal life!
– Allard van Grafhorst
Bonus Images
