I be the "other guy" (with the STi).
I could live with going the night before, I guess, but it's all the same to me. I like 8:30am better than I like 5:00am, so that might be a good idea. Since it's only a couple of hours down the Des Moines, it would be a short trip the night before and we could all go as a group then.
James? What think?