Tour d'Hoe 2015

Sorry, Al. I knew I was gonna forget a bunch. Absolutely, gotta meet Ron as well.

No right seat, Kelly. You and your bride will drive Penny and Andie and I will follow in your rental. You will be renting something fun, right?

Danny.  What, no plans to visit Anand, Robert, Bob, Teby, Todd and I in Fresno?  Don't forget, we are the gateway to Yosemite National Park!
       

Hey, I couldn't resist! No offence taken.

No slight meant, Troy. I am now almost 51 and my brain is getting old and feeble. Oh look, squirrel!!

If I might offer some presumptuous bromide for those sitting on the fence regarding a "Trip of a Lifetime":

 

When we are young, time seems like a cheap commodity. There always seems to be plenty of it. As we get older, time reveals itself for what it is: a very precious resource to be shepherded. Not all of us have money, but we all have a limited amount of time. How much of one we choose to spend in the collection of the other is the grand bargain we all make with ourselves. We generally err to the side of collecting mammon. Some of it cannot (and should not) be avoided, but often we sacrifice too much time and health which we cannot get back for shiny bits and baubles which don't make us happy. I've done a lot of this.

 

I was almost 50 years old before I went to Yosemite. This is a shameful thing to me. There are a lot of places I'd like to go and stuff I'd like to see beofre I'm too busted up to get it done.

 

We can't change the choices of yesterday. Tomorrow is a slippery eel we can't ever really grab, as it has a nasty habit of being very late or never coming at all.

 

In every significant way, it's always really just "today"- but yesterday or tomorrow always has some urgent reason not to do the stuff that is truly worth doing.

 

I wouldn't recommend driving a toy plastic car across the US to everybody. But if it's something you want to do "someday", move towards making it happen while you still can.

 

None of us knows how many summers we have left.

 

This thing seems like a good fit for me. Tahoe is gorgeous. The Sierra Nevada range in California is astounding. A bunch of the urgent NEED to do this was let off in 2012 when I drove out the first time. Doing it again last year just about got the pressure to balance. But it's building again, and I can think of no better way to blow off that steam than to get out to the Golden State and drive under the tall trees.

 

I'm making a reservation.

Will it be for one or two, Stan?

 

Danny, I have socks older than you!

 

...they're my father's socks but, still...

Well said Stan.....

My wife pointed out recently that we are all born with an expiration date. The problem is no one can read the bar code until it is too late. For those of you that have never been to Lake Tahoe, there is nothing like anywhere else in the world. 99.9% pure water. The Lake is only fed by rain and snow. The only outlet is the Truckee River and it flows to Pyramid Lake in the NV desert and not to the sea. If it never rains or snows again there is enough water in the Lake to last 900 years. You can see a white plate on the bottom in 100 feet of water. Surrounded by the Sierras it is an amazing sight. For those that have never been West, take an extra week and see the state. There is a reason 40m people live here. Fortunately they are all in LA of SF. That leaves a lot of beauty for the rest of us. Because we are a newer state we have avoided the mistakes of the East. The beaches are all public with almost no development for 1000 miles, the Best National Parks, Redwoods, and SF, the greatest city of them all. I lived in Seattle for 35 years and loved it, but I have been back to CA for 8 years and it is the best of all states.

Troy, Terry, et al

 

We hope to be in the hoe on those dates. Thanks for making the plans.

 

Bob

Hey Stan, believe me, I hear you loud and clear. I'm not in search of baubles and trinkets. I get X amount of vacation time, and I already picked this year. Yes, it is that stupid in telco-land. So I picked my time at Carlisle, and some vacation time with my kids. And a week for me. And a week of days in reserve, for kid sick days and snow days. That's all I get, and how this works for the job/benefits I have. I have to take the vacation I pick or it gets carried over for only a few months next year. It stinks and it's a slippery slope, but it is what it is.

 

The fact that I get to retire in 5 or 6 years is a good thing, there is a light there. Chances are I'll make it, I have good genes of long life in my family.

 

Tell you what, you drop what you are doing Carlisle time, and I'll go west. That's only 750 miles for you, add 2000 for me.

That wasn't directed at you, Danny, it was straight up me preaching to myself. I totally understand the restrictions work places on us. I can sneak out for a week or two in September.

 

For a while at least, May is not on the horizon. I'm starting to hire people, so it might be in the future.

 

We'll get this worked out at some point.

 

Stan, come for Tahoe. Come for the Sierra Nevada. Come for the tall trees, for the crashing surf, for the golden, fog-shrouded sunsets off Big Sur.

 

But stay for the Kardashians.

 

 

 

 

If Stan would just let me follow 30 miles behind him, catch up with him for dinner each night, then sleep at a different cheap hotel, then repeat that for two more days...I might book a room too. But then I drive a Japanese car now and not sure if I'd be accepted.

Alas, the pain of leaving the fold  Whoa is me.

Yeah Stan, nothing I'd like better than to see you at Carlisle, and then again out west. Driving around like a couple of hooligans who just got their licenses! I sense quite a bit of kindred spirit.......

 

Sorry for my reaction, I really do want to go out there. But my kids are 13 and 15, and I don't want to miss that either. And work is work, we do what we have to do, so we can do what we want to do!

Rich - its a Run-What-You-Brung cruise. In fact, there will probably be a Mini and assorted other non-Speedster rides! Doing the Tour D'Hoe in that bad -a$$ NSX will give you a chance to drive it like it was meant to be driven! 

Hey, who is this guy with the crash-test-dummy avatar?

 

Hey wait, that was a band, wasn't it?

 

"Mmm, mmm, mmmm, mmmm, once, there was this girl, who......"

If I didn't think the Kardashians were breathing air that my dog should be breathing, I would have liked your response.

Robert, I'll go a bit further. The white-trash-ians are breathing air that the flies on your dog's poop should be!

I'm going to like this comment from every computer in my house. 

To an East Coaster that is thinking of coming to D'Hoe.

 

I will put out this offer.....  Fly into Reno and you can use the 350Z Roadster.  Who will be the first to say Ya, I am in?

 

Stephen

Bumping this thread for Teby...

Looking forward to this event! 

Maybe Anand will go to this one.

Now this event I may be able to make -- if I am not working! Sounds fun!

 

Stan: if you come out for this, you can borrow a car from me. My POLO powered 356A may be done by then, so you're welcome to it for the trip.

 

Anand

Stan, I have a customers car for sale. You can fly out and drive it home?

Anand:

 

What an offer! My wife and I will be in Europe (or just back) during this event, so it looks like I'll need to pass. I'd love to just see it, let alone drive it. Let me know when you'll be in Breman- I'd really like to connect.

 

Tony,

 

LOL! Don't tempt me. I am the air-cooled cat-lady of the plains! There's always room for one more, it seems.

Anand: Forget Stan. I may be available.

Bwaaaaaahahahaaaaaaa!

"Air cooled cat lady", now that's funny.

Stan,
There are only two people whose posts I read without fail: Carey's (because I always learn something about cars) and yours (because your wit and incredible command of English always entertain me).

My car is always available to you (same to you Danny)! In fact, when Carey has it running, I'll email you both and you can go drive it. Might as well share-we can't take this stuff with us! Always better to enjoy with friends.

Cheers,
Anand