94 replies to this topic

[flash]

ok - even my wife, whose normal reaction to anything related to this stuff is "car!", thought that was hysterical

[ds968]

Don't feel bad MRmr , you're not alone - Flash also locked the keys in his cab and he was in a state of panic pacing around the vehicle like crazy because it was starting to rain, and he had left the top down .


barrrump-pum , I got a million of them, folks

Edited by ds968, 14 March 2010 - 09:26 AM.

[flash]

i'm zeroing in on all the details - i should have everything nailed by the end of the day tomorrow

sorry i'm so behind this year - there have been a couple of things on my plate

[tom968]

I'm ok with anywhere we stay, but I suggest we stay
together. If we're scattered all over Paso it makes it difficult
to get together for the fun run.

Also, lunch, dinner, and 3 wineries may be too ambitious. We
would need to stick to a tight schedule.

[flash]

actually, the way i have it lain out now, it will be quite easy, and a more relaxed day - i'll post everything later today

as for the hotels, i would love to have everybody together, but it just may not work - i'll see what i can do

tom
dan
brian (you +1?)
me
chris
joe (you +1?)
jared?

who else? anybody else a +1?

[ds968]

Erni ( Ernest ) + his better half Melissa

[mrmister]

Not going to make it. My car will be over at a little place called RSBarn getting the engine rebuilt, an LSD, and something called a supercharger. All basic maintenance performed by my local mechanic.

Edited by mrmister, 15 March 2010 - 11:52 AM.

[flash]

lol - yeah - i figured that might be the case - just didn't know if you would be back yet or not - i knew the car wouldn't be, but that shouldn't stop you if you were so inclined

[bva]

count Brian with Robin

[flash]

just about done making the arrangements for the wineries and such - sorry, but today has been pretty busy - i'll finish everything tomorrow

[94SilverCab]

Brian,

Sorry we won't be able to join you this year, maybe you'll just send me a bottle of that fine Madiera cask Scotch and we promise to drink it at the same time .

Jay

[ether_joe]

o hai doods!

did I read that this is planned for April 10-11? that prolly works for me, but wow that's earlier than before? oh well... I was gonna try and swap out my suspension for the run... maybe not. didn't we used to do it in May?

anyhow, if i move my ass, I can probably be ready by then. So make me a YES!

and +1 for my girlfriend.

[flash]

yes, we used to do it in may - it was just so bloody hot, plus we keep slamming into scheduling complications with the festivals and such - so, i moved it to earlier

i'll wrap up the remaining details later today

updated list:
tom
dan
brian +1
me + ayn
chris
joe (you +1?)
sean + 1
ernie + melissa

[flash]

Ok - Here it is!!!

This year we will be doing things a bit differently than in previous years. We will be a bit looser on some of the arrangements, a bit tighter on others, and will be focused more on the wine.

I will not be making the hotel arrangements for you this year. It’s just too hard to get it all done in time, given everything else I have going on. However, I have arranged for a block of rooms at La Quinta, and have negotiated a rate of $149 for the night (down from $159). Call them for your own reservation. Tell them you are in the 968 Forums Group. The hotel books fast this time of year, so don’t delay.

If you want to stay somewhere else, you are on your own for that. A list of all the hotels is at the end of this.

While everyone is welcome, even if you are not a wine drinker, please be aware that this is a wine event.

To that point, I will be charging a fee for this year’s adventure. Many of the wineries have now adopted a “Tasting Fee”. This is included in the price of your ticket. This is also to streamline the day, as well as to ensure the good will of the wineries. The tickets will be sold in advance. There will be no exceptions. There are no "non-drinker" tickets. This is about the wine as much as it’s about the cars, and we really need to keep the wineries’ interests in mind as we go through the day.

Tickets are $40 per person in advance (so I can arrange the food). For that, you get lunch, tasting at 4 wineries, and even a souvenir glass from one of them. Contact me to arrange payment.

Of course anybody is welcome to join us at dinner, or Sunday for breakfast, or the Fun Run, and can do so without buying a ticket, but the tasting sessions and lunch are for ticket holders only. If you aren't buying a ticket, please do not come to that portion of the event.

I will again open the house to anybody from the San Diego area that wants to crash here Friday night, so as to shorten their drive day. Contact me if you plan to stay here.

The SoCal contingent will depart my house at 6am. That’s right 6am. I don’t want to get stuck and be late again. In order to shorten the time to get there, with the exception of a rest stop along the Highway in Gaviota, we will also not be stopping at all along the way. If you want to caravan up with us (very fun) I highly recommend being at a point along our route BEFORE we are scheduled to be there.

We will take a modified route from last year, but still winding up the coast for a bit. A detailed route guide will be provided at my house, or can be emailed if you contact me. Basically we are going to go 405 to 10 to 1 to 101.

The Socal route “pass by” times are as follows:
7:30-7:35 Cross Creek Shell - Malibu (Corner of Cross Creek Rd and PCH) 23887 PCH 90265

9:30 – 9:40Gaviota Rest Stop http://www.dot.ca.go...int/ra/ra30.htm

11:45 La Quinta Inn - 2615 Buena Vista Dr Paso Robles 93446


We will all rendezvous at the La Quinta Inn. We will not be checking in at this time. I will hand out your tasting pass there. This will identify you to the wineries as part of our group, and have already paid for your tasting.

Upon departing the hotel rendezvous, we will go to Robert Hall Winery, to arrive at Noon. I have gone to great lengths to make the arrangements, the staff is going way out of their way for us, and I do not want to upset that, so please do not go in ahead of me.

We will have lunch at Robert Hall. This is also included in your ticket price. It will be a deli tray kind of lunch (lunchmeats, cheeses, salad, etc). This will allow us to avoid the messy restaurant problems we have had in the past, and also will give us the most time for the tasting.

After lunch, we will go in and taste some of Robert’s wines. He is famous for his Meritage. He also has an outstanding Cabernet Sauvignon.

From there we are going to shake things up a bit, and venture West across the Highway to the West Side.

Our next stop will be Grey Wolf. There we will sample some excellent Rhone wines. We are scheduled to be there at 2pm. They are said to have one of the best Syrahs around. I love their slogan. “Life is too short to drink bad wine”.

Leaving there we will head up to Doce Robles, to be there at 3:15. This place sounds like a lot of fun. It’s a boutique winery with wines made from estate grapes.

Rounding out the tasting we will cross back over the Highway to Tobin James to be there at 4:30. Here we will see what they have been up to this year, hang out for a bit, and get ready to head off to dinner.

Again this year we will go to AJ Spurs Saloon for dinner at 7, conversation, and all that goes with the end of such a great day. I have arranged for separate checks this year.

After dinner we will all separate to our respective hotels for the night.

Sunday morning, at 9am, we will all rendezvous at Hoover’s for breakfast. This is THE best breakfast in the Paso Robles area. I have also arranged for separate checks here.

From there we are off on our fun run. It will be about 60 miles of beautiful scenery along the Paso Robles winery roads.

After that, GO HOME!

Hope to see you there!

La Quinta Inn and Suites
2615 Buena Vista Dr
Paso Robles 93446
805-239-3004

AJ Spurs
508 N Main St. Templeton 93465
805-434-2700

Hoover’s
401-North Main St Templeton 93465
805-434-2114

Robert Hall Winery
3443 Mill Rd
Paso Robles 93446
805-239-1616

Grey Wolf Cellars
2174 Hwy 46 West
Paso Robles 93446
805-237-0771

Doce Robles
2023 Twelve Oaks Dr
Paso Robles 93446
805-227-4766

Tobin James Cellars
8950 Union Rd
Paso Robles 93446
805-239-2204

 Paso_Robles_Hotels.pdf   34.34KB   4 downloads

[flash]

i forgot to include that tickets need to be purchased by april 2

[ether_joe]

fyi - i'll probably be rendezvousing with the group in the evening and miss the saturday day activities -- unfortunately i don't drink, and also my girlfriend will probably be busy in berkeley in the day. So... evening and breakfast at Hoover's... which sounds awsum...

[flash]

understood - thanks for that - we all look forward to seeing you

[flash]

i'm not sure how i did this, but i screwed up!

i looked at my hotel list, looked at la quinta, glanced down to the phone, and dialed the number for the hotel above it - i got the wrong hotel - i can't believe it

no worries - i have now worked it out with la quinta - we have a rate of $152.15, not $149, down from their regular rate of $179, but we get junior suites for that rate (all the normal king rooms are booked)

sorry about the confusion guys

just tell them you are in the 968 Forums group

[josephsc]

I'll miss the gathering this year. I managed to get out of going to the ballet, but I now have to spend the whole weekend visiting the in-laws..... I'm not sure if that's an improvement over seeing men in tights.....

Have a great time, guys!

[ds968]

NorCal group : the usual meeting spot ( parking lot behind the Starbucks shack at the Gilroy outlet shops , off Leavesley Rd. ) for those who want to caravan down to Paso. Suggest we leave there by no later than 9 am, and 101 straight on down... unless you guys want to do the ( hwy 25, was it ? ) "detour" run, in which case we need to leave Gilroy by no later than 8:30 am.

Edited by ds968, 20 March 2010 - 07:32 AM.