This looks like it's shaping up to be fun & edutainional meet... (or something!).
Closest I've been to your neck of the woods was a road trip about 8 or 9 years ago to Muskegon, MI, to crew on a tall ship up the lake & over the top to Bay City. Got a ride back from there to pick up my car and then headed home. Back in my pre-eco-car days:
Well, sorta pre-eco-car. Still beat the EPA regularly by ~20%, and yes, those are VX rims. No other mods though -- I wouldn't have qualified to visit you then!!