94 replies to this topic

[flash]

i will make my last 2 confirming phone calls today, but everything else is set

i still need to finish the fun run route though - i have to find time to do the "map my ride" thing - likely tonight - i have the route picked out, but need to put it on a map for everyone

lol - of course i am now trying to figure out the logistics of the dog, since i had to take her in for surgery tuesday, and now the petsitter can't handle the meds and stuff, so the dog needs to go to the vet for boarding

never a dull moment

[rxter]

Sorry I'll miss this one gents. This is the perfect time of year - for everything as it turns out - and those worlds collided to the detriment of my attending the always fun Paso run. I'll miss the beautiful 968s on parade and the camaraderie. From the 2009 version.

[Chris Vais]

Dan

I am also on a Saturday departure, so we can link-up wherever it makes the most sense. I was figuring to leave Alameda about 7:30. I expect a fair amount of traffic as this is the last weekend of Spring Break and I want to give myself some additional time to get to Paso without having try and rush through traffic. Slaloming through minivans on the freeway has kind of lost its appeal since half the drivers aren't paying attention and don't always see me coming. I was also thinking about taking Hwy 25 and that will add a little time I suspect.

Edited by Chris Vais, 08 April 2010 - 02:51 PM.

[ds968]

Ok let me coordinate with Erni and I'll be back in touch.. I can't seem to find your phone #, email, etc... still searching..
( again ! ) so PM me with it just in case and I'll see what might work best for all of us..

Erni makes a mean cup of Peet's coffee, so if a 280 detour is not too much out of the way for you ( 92 bridge over to 280 and once there you're just 10 min from his house..) might be a good meeting spot.

[ds968]

Crap, the forecast changed now to a 2 pm rain start on Sunday in Paso, and much earlier north of that ( starting at 9 am, and raining all day in the greater Bay Area all the way down to Monterey ) We're still ok Paso Robles-wise, I suspect we'll be done and on our way back by then, although those of us in NorCal will have to deal with that s--t on the ride home

[flash]

i'm going to keep my eye on that and play it by ear on sunday - we may have to blow off the fun run if it rains - no point in anybody wrecking their car on some skinny poorly maintained back road

[ds968]

We could always make Saturday's drives from one winery to the next fun-ER , just in case Sunday does not work out.
Not suggesting that we add detours to the drives between wineries, or go any faster, simply have enough fun doing it so there
are no regrets on Sunday.. other than the hangover(s). Stiil, fingers crossed if we do the run early enough I'm betting it'll be dry.
I'll sacrfice a few chickens to the Paso Weekend Weather Gods on Friday to make sure that happens.

[tom968]

If we leave early on Sunday we should be ok.

I'll be meeting the socal group at the Gaviota rest
stop. In case I'm late then we'll meet in Paso Robles
La Quinta.

[ether_joe]

aww damn guys, something has come up and I can't make it.

Chris - flash - dan - everybody, have a great time... hopefully we can catch up... !

[flash]

bummer - i was looking forward to talking suspension with you

well - i'm all set - i didn't get absolutely everything i wanted done to the car finished, but she's in good shape - i'll just have to finish the rest this week

i'm sure a lot less worried about it now that i have logged over 400 miles and 60 dyno runs on the supercharger

i didn't get a chance to figure out any cool application for connecting to daryl's event though, so i guess a phone call will have to do

[Chris Vais]

Hope everyone got home all right. Dan and I drove back North through nearly 3 hours of mostly heavy, and at times very heavy rain.

[tom968]

As usual had a great time.

Thanks to Flash for organizing the event.

Hope we could do it again next year.

[94SilverCab]

Sorry that the weather wasn't the best for you, but it sure sounded like you were having a good time on Saturday. This was such fun last year that I'm really hoping to make it again next year. Flash, post a date now and I'll get it in my calendar.

Jay

Edited by 94SilverCab, 12 April 2010 - 06:36 AM.

[flash]

sorry guys - i wasn't ignoring this - i got back about 4:30 yesterday afternoon, but was so exhausted i just pretty much crashed

i had a great time - i think this format worked very well - we had a much smaller but more dedicated group this time - we only had 7 cars, but we were all there for the wine

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the wineries were happier that we were a bit smaller group, and most importantly that we were all wine fans - this is a very big deal to them - they hate pouring for a bunch of people who just want to get drunk for $5, or worse, just hang out and take up their space and time - i get it - they are there to sell wine after all

it was definitely the coldest it has ever been, and in fact robert hall moved us inside to a private room for our lunch and tasting, gave us our own bar and girl to do the pouring - we all sat around and talked as we ate and tasted - i was very impressed with their sauvignon blanc, and of course the meritage - after lunch we went inside and did some buying and hung out and talked about wine for a bit

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then it was off to grey wolf where we were served by a guy having way too much fun at his job - the tasting room was very quaint, with pictures of wolves everywhere - they had a zin there that is going to be great (it was only 3 weeks old)

from there we went to doce robles, and were met with 2 german shepherds and the most affectionate albeit lazy cat i've seen in quite a while - again, some really nice estate wines

after that we went over to tobin james to round out the day - they put on a spread of hors d'oeuvres that were amazing - we were all trying to buy the mustard sauce, but their private chef makes it himself, and doesn't sell it

at this point i was pretty loaded, and so was the car - i had managed to buy 2 cases of wine at this point - but, that was one of the defining requirements when i bought this car, so no surprise there

after a full day of tasting, it was off to dinner at aj spurs - those people can pile on the food - they first dump these big buckets of soup on the table, and then bring the salad - this alone is enough food for any normal human - then comes the slab of whatever you ordered - at the end of all that i was ready to pass out

back to the hotel and into the bed - the hotel was nice, and the junior suites had ample room to just throw everything down and not have to move it to crawl into bed

the next morning we were off to hoover's for breakfast where we were joined by eezatoy - it was great to see him again, and we all got a chance to catch up - once again, these restaurants in paso really know how to pile on the food - no chance of finishing my breakfast, and i went in hungry too

bva and his significant other were then off to go back home, and we were off on our fun run - the weather was gloomy, but we never actually got rained on during the run - the route i had picked out had a road that was so remote that it didn't really show up on any of the satellite services - at one point it just ran out of pavement - so, we turned around and chris led us on a different route - the roads were beautiful, but there was so much wind that an amazing amount of crap was falling from the trees - it was as much of a challenge dodging the debris as any set of corners could be - it was a great ride though, and a fantastic way to end the day - this shot is after half of the stuff had already blown away before i could get the camera out

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the ride home was not as much fun, since we took the 5 south instead of 101, and we hit rain for a while, and then a horrendous dust storm, and then more rain - finally, as we got nearer home, things got back to normal, just in time to hit traffic - still, it was a fairly short drive of only 4.5 hours, and we were back home

now i get to clean the car up for hershey

by the way, it drove flawlessly

i'm going to rely on the others to post more shots - agian, thanks to those who came, and i really enjoyed seeing everyone

[bva]

good times, good wines. thanks flash.
and a tip of the hat to the scotch and stogie night-cappers.

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[968TDG]

I would have stuck out like a sore thumb in the middle of all those blue and black 968s!!! Glad you guys had a good time :-)

-Phil

[flash]

lol - we also noted that there were only dark cars - very odd

[oceanvue]

That was a blast. I missed half of the fun run when I miscalculated my fuel. My light went on when we turned off of 46 west onto the country road and got nervous. I was disapointed because my new M030 sways, Elephant racing caster blocks and Design 1 strut brace made such a huge diferance in the performance of the car on those tight twistys. I limped into a gas station, picked up wifey at the hotel and we made it over to Hearst Castle for the 1:40 tour which turned out to be the last of the day as the weather turned bruttal and the busses were having a hard time making it up and back down to the castle. We headed home and got in about 9:30 last night braving the elements all the way down to Oxnard. Great time and a great bunch of people. Thanks Flash for the well organized event.

[flash]

we wondered what happened to you, and pulled over to wait - we figured you went on back to the hotel, and then on the way back, we saw you leaving, so we knew you were ok - glad you had a great time

looking forward to next year - i'll have a bit more time to spend on the event planning then too - this year was a bit taxing, due to all the other things on my plate

[ds968]

Great time guys ! and thanks Bob for organizing it yet again. Yo, flash.. of the dozen photos you took while we were all sitting at the lunch tables inside the Robert Hall private dining/wedding/dance hall you post only two pictures ?! Let's see the rest dang it

Brian, thanks for the top shelf Scotch tasting event - what a treat ! Had it not been for Hurricane Katrina, part Deux, on the way back I would have stopped to buy the Glenmorangie, but it'll have to wait until later today when the canals which used to be roadways here recede a bit ..

Edited by ds968, 12 April 2010 - 01:03 PM.