Lane's SCA - 2007 SPC Rally (1)

SPC Logo (6k) The 2007 Saturn Performance Club Rally

The Saturn Performance Club is a group of die-hard Saturn enthusiasts dedicated to taking their cars and driving ability to the next level. The annual club rally begins its journey each summer from Chicago, IL, and brings many enthusiastic owners with custom and performance-modified Saturns from all around the U.S. You can take a look at my pictures from previous club Rallys in my site's Archives section.

The 2007 Rally was the club's tenth annual. It is hard to believe that so many years have gone by.

Arrival

Participants began arriving at our hotel in Joliet IL on the evening of Tuesday, May 15. Members traveled to the event from IL, WI, KY, OH, CT, MA, and MO. Other than saying hello and hanging out in the hotel room enjoying a beverage or two, not all that much happens on the evening of arrival. We're all usually tired from a long drive and looking forward to the next day when all the action is scheduled to start.

After a good night's sleep, we were up early on Wednesday morning (May 16) to meet for breakfast at Blueberry Hill. Any time we're in the Chicago area for events, it's one of our favorite places to eat.

After discussing some strategy for the day, Deebs came up with the great idea to rent a big van for our travels around the city. It sure beat trying to keep everyone's cars together and communicate while in traffic. Plus it saved on gas money and parking fees too.

Part of the group decided to break off on their own and head toward Great Lakes Dragway in Union Grove, WI. This would be a major undertaking with several hours on the road each way, along with having to fight terrible traffic into and out of Chicago. I was with the group that toured the city.

Museum

We were all looking forward to our day in the city, as most of us are not from the Chicago area and haven't seen many of the sights.

Our tour group's first destination of the day was the Museum of Science and Industry.

The highlight of our visit, and one of the most impressive exhibits I've ever seen, was the U-505 submarine. This was an actual German sub that was captured during World War II. On this sub were the famous Enigma code machines, whose capture helped bring about the end of the war. The sub measures 252 feet long, 37 feet wide, and weighs 700 tons. 700 tons! As we walked through it we heard a bit about the mission of the sub, its history & crew, and how it was captured. The quantity of pipes, valves, and electrical stuff crammed inside the sub was phenomenal. I could not imagine living for months at a time in such a cramped space.

The restoration of the sub was amazing, and it was hard to believe that they built a wing of the museum to house it. In fact, there was an exhibit on how they built this exhibit which was astounding.

Photos/video of the interior were not allowed, but you can find a lot of info on the sub and its history HERE.