West Coast Cruise v.2016

Checking with Nancy but I think the 3rd weekend would be good.  I'll let you know which one I prefer after she tells me.  I liked the place we stayed last year and I think getting it catered would be a good idea.

None of those girls is  Annaliese....    She called me last night and said another hubcap came off and she needs help pronto.....

I'm good with either 3rd or 4th weekend in June. I vote for staying on hotel grounds and having dinner catered. Cruise up Hwy 1 would be excellent for a change! 

Thanks for coordinating this West Coast Cruise again, Scott! 

Scott thanks for the work organizing the WCC. Either week 3 or 4 is good. Lets cater the dinner and stay at the hotel. I won't gain as much speed coming back down hill from the restaurant.

Larry

Major bummer.   Sally and I are headed to Paris the 4th weekend and my son is graduating from college on the 3rd weekend.   Guess we won't be there this year. 

Troy,

That is a bummer.  This'll be the first WCC that you haven't been to since I started with the group. Maybe Paris can wait?!

And, just so everyone is clear, I'm not suggesting catering the event unless someone else wants to take on that challenge.  I'm always happy to organize the event and get things set-up, but my goal (and challenge) so far has been to make this a worry free event where everyone can pay as they go with no initial outlay of money by either organizer or participant except for the hotel.

If anyone does wish to go with a caterer, I'll happily supply some possible names and numbers to anyone who wants to tackle that challenge.  My suggestion has been to organize the purchase of large trays of food (type depending on consensus) and I can then collect either Friday night or Sat depending on the arrangement I can make with the vendor.

I love you guys, but I'm still paying for college educations, not to mention, I'm on a fixed income!! LOL

We planned our vacation for the latter part of June expecting that the SOC would be at the beginning like it usually is.   Unfortunately, flights have been booked and days off of work arranged and we can't change the plans.

Hopefully,  next year will work out better.  

Although I prefer early June I can still do the later part of the month as well.

Mitch, don't worry about the heat!

I would suggest that we do it the last weekend as Father's Day is on 6/19, the third weekend. Not a big deal for me anymore but we do have some younger dads with kids at home that might not be able to make it.

Dinner? We just send Teby next door to the Mexican retaurant to pick up food. He really made an impression on the hostess last year.

I agree, nix the catering. Trying to coordinate fee collection is more work than necessary. I 'm good with purchasing trays of food from whatever restaurant the group consensus dictates (Italian, Mexican, tri-tip or whatever).

Troy, BUMMER that you & Sally will miss this year's SLO cruise, but cool that you'll be in Paris!  

Yes Jim,  we are very disappointed.   It's an annual event that we always look forward to. 

Hello all:  

Scott thank you for organizing the event again.!!

Even though I'm not a father (that I know of) I always have to remain home just in case I get that knock on the door,  so 6/19 is out for me..

I vote last weekend in June...

I think it would be nice to venture out and take over a restaurant like a bunch of rowdy pirates, forcing other patrons to scramble for their lives!!  But after reading the mega colossal best seller by Terry Nuckles:  "Red Sauce, Green Sauce", a sad tail of chilli verde"  (circa1973)  that suggestion might be out.. 

BUT!!  I would like to throw this out there....  A party bus to a restaurant?   POSSIBILITY?   I will look into this for us...  I'm good either way though..

Troy ..........  WTF!! .. enough said there!!

best regards,

Tebs

Ps  Mitch ,  regarding his comment about the heat.  You need to read Terry Nuckles super smash book: "I feel Like Toast In A Toaster" (circa 1976)...   

Teby S posted:

...Mitch ,  regarding his comment about the heat.  You need to read Terry Nuckles super smash book: "I feel Like Toast In A Toaster" (circa 1976)...   

 

Teby, he's writing a sequel about his trip back from SLO last year - Fahrenheit 101

Teby S posted:

Hello all:  

Scott thank you for organizing the event again.!!

Even though I'm not a father (that I know of) I always have to remain home just in case I get that knock on the door,  so 6/19 is out for me..

I vote last weekend in June...

I think it would be nice to venture out and take over a restaurant like a bunch of rowdy pirates, forcing other patrons to scramble for their lives!!  But after reading the mega colossal best seller by Terry Nuckles:  "Red Sauce, Green Sauce", a sad tail of chilli verde"  (circa1973)  that suggestion might be out.. 

BUT!!  I would like to throw this out there....  A party bus to a restaurant?   POSSIBILITY?   I will look into this for us...  I'm good either way though..

Troy ..........  WTF!! .. enough said there!!

best regards,

Tebs

Ps  Mitch ,  regarding his comment about the heat.  You need to read Terry Nuckles super smash book: "I feel Like Toast In A Toaster" (circa 1976)...   

 

Yes,  Teby I know.   WTF.   Are there really no other hotels in SLO that can accommodate us on the usual early June date? 

Terry Nuckels posted:

Mitch, don't worry about the heat!

Heat? What heat? We have tow bars and air conditioning now!

What about the hotels in Pismo? Are they always sold out at that time as well? 

Pismo or Morro Bay.   We have held it at both many times in the past and they are both VERY nice. 

Hey gang,

I'm up for anyone who wants to try and find another hotel that works for us.  I'm always up for something new.  The nice thing about this hotel has been that we don't have to stand around in the parking lot to socialize like we have in both Pismo and Morro Bay.  Having the center court and tables has been very accomodating to our group style.

But, again, I'm good with anybody who wants to take on the task of finding a different hotel.  Won't hurt my feelings at all.  You may even want to look at Paso Robles again.  The area around the park has become a mecca of boutique wine tasting rooms, craft beer and bars.  Not to mention a large variety of great restaurants all within walking distance.  Oh, did I mention there's also lots of shops for the ladies who don't want to sit and talk cars?!

Let me know soon if someone wants to step up to the plate and organize this years event or, at least, locate and set-up the hotel.

Scott

Que chirping cricket sounds…..

Scott.   You have done a great job organizing our yearly gatherings.   It's a lot of work and I'm sure everyone appreciates it.  Having someone local who is willing to take on this task is a big plus.  I'm not local and can't take on responsibility for organizing the entire thing,  but I can certainly make some calls if there is enough interest in keeping the typical first of the month date.  

This is very self serving on my part,  I just want to be able to attend, but it isn't the end of the world if we miss this year's gathering.  If everyone else is fine with the end of June then I won't bother. 

Troy it will be close to the end of the world without you. Yes it is a lot of work and a PITA. FYI For sport I  checked  the Edgewater in Pismo (stayed there a couple of times) for early June and they were already sold out. If we could do this mid week it would make reservations easy. I can certainly make some calls, but I do not really know that area very well. I am pretty good at beating the crap out of people for deals though. Ugh, I mean negotiating, that's the ticket. 

Troy,

I understand completely.  I look forward to it every year as well.  Like I said, I'm not offended if someone wants to step up and find an alternative hotel and weekend (although WTF?? ouch!).  In fact, it takes a lot of pressure off me.  No complaints for getting this going for the group, but I do put pressure on myself to try and keep everyone happy and many a night is spent hoping it all goes well and according to plan.  As we all know, the weather can make or break or event, but we've been fortunate except for the one year in Pismo. I'm just trying to keep it as much a social event as a car event so we can all enjoy ourselves and our wives look forward to it too.

If anyone does want to step up as the organizer, I would be happy to help locally, as I did before I ended up taking it over.  My goal is to generate more interest and involvement  each year.  The only way I see that happening is by trying to improve the event in a manner that makes the group look forward to it as much as Troy and I do.

Let me know folks! 

Scott

PS Keep in mind that the area caters to two colleges and graduations for both and the high schools start in the beginning of June.  That's what we fight the most for finding hotels that aren't overpriced and overbooked.

Well Troy... If it is the end of the world I suppose if I were you I would rather be in Paris too. Well wait a minute that all depends on what the end of the world looks like - how the end will happen. For example, if it were large earthquakes followed by gastric explosions then maybe Paris isn't the best place with all the people screaming, buildings collapsing and all. That could be very, very horrific. I dunno.

If you were in SLO at that time what would that look like? Would we be on the road? Could we all pull over and watch as the world ends? I don't know about you but I can definitely see explosions and buildings collapsing in Paris...and people screaming - that may be a result of all the WWII movies that I have seen, but, when I put myself in SLO, with the SOC group,.... I just can't see that happening to us. I can't. But if it did, think about it... you're cruising along in your speedster, surrounded by friends, taking in the fresh air blowing in your face, the terrific scenery. Ahhhhh! Let me repeat that... Ahhhhh! Death is upon us and who cares!

I would consider this Troy. Maybe postponing this trip would be pragmatic. I am, as most of you well know, very insightful.

We are thousands of dollars into it and that includes one rescheduling already when we discovered we had booked it when my son would be graduating from college.   We literally did not book it the first part of June, because that is when the SOC meets,  at least that was our thinking at that point.

Scott.  Sorry about the WTF,  but Teby started it.   He's an even bigger trouble maker than Gerd.

Again, this event is about what works best for the group,  not me. 

I think Troy's "WTF" meant, "Wearing This Frown.".

Take a look at this place. Look at the pictures of the courtyard and bar! This would fit our needs.

Embassy Suites by Hilton San Luis Obispo:

https://www.google.com/#q=hote...:1152149482992100333

Scott   LET ME CLARIFY MY WTF    

IT WAS IN REACTION TO TROY NOT BEING ABLE TO MAKE IT   NOT THE DATES OF THE TRIP !!! 

Damn Troy!!  Drama starter  lol lol enjoy Paris!! 

Please make it easy guys  

the hotel is awesome and a perfect central location and the amenities are hard to beat!!

tebs 

mcdusty posted:

Take a look at this place. Look at the pictures of the courtyard and bar! This would fit our needs.

Embassy Suites by Hilton San Luis Obispo:

https://www.google.com/#q=hote...:1152149482992100333

 

Dunno what the availability is like, but FWIW, that's one of the places the California 356 club holds their annual 'North Meets South' shindigs, so they're used to hosting car club events. Full prices on their website are about $20/night more than what our old place advertises, but I'm sure they have group rates, too. 

If it's good enough for guys who drink Perrier and eat watercress sandwiches, it's probably OK for us. You have to pay for any broken furniture, though, and no running naked in the parking lot.

No worries Teby!  I knew what your WTF was directed at,,,I just had to tweak Troy a bit!

This event doesn't work mid-week for people because most folks work or have spouses that work.  So let's keep it to the weekend so we don't lose more participants!  You're always welcome to come to the area mid-week and I'll be happy to run you around the back roads every day you're here.  I've always made that offer...

Just got off the phone with Rusty who is trying to work a deal with Embassy Suites.  Not sure what amenities they provide, but the room prices he got for the first weekend in June was $50 more per night than Quality Suites ($234/ nt I think he said).  If the group is okay with that we can run that direction. 

Do me a favor guys,,,if someone wants to run with setting up the hotel, go Nike and "Just Do It"!  The guidelines are as follows... we block approx 25 rooms for Fri-Sat night with some folks staying Sun as well.  Be sure we have a way of eating either through banquet rooms or nearby restaurants that can accommodate us. 

I will stay on to handle the cruise portion if someone is going to do the rest.  Just keep in mind, the longer we wait the more the prices go up and availability goes down.

If nothing happens by Wed this week, then I will be blocking rooms for the fourth weekend in June since some folks couldn't make the Fathers' Day weekend.  At that point you can just start calling me "Dusty".  Otherwise I fear we will lose the appeal of this event and the simplicity and more people will drop out making our turnout smaller than past years. 

Scott

I have stayed at a lot of Embassy Suites, corporate policy deal, over the years. They rooms are deluxe Holiday Inn style. They usually have a complimentary hot breakfast and some sort of cocktail hour. Swimming in the indoor fountains is optional. I would guess we can negotiate a lower rate. I can try to scam a Corporate meeting rate, but we may  not pass the sniff test when we show up. 

Troy issue resolved..

OK... I have purchased a life size cardboard cutout of Troy and Sally   They will be there with us....  BUT!!!  Someone has to bring them along and stand them up at every stop!!

Tebs

majorkahuna posted:

I have stayed at a lot of Embassy Suites, corporate policy deal, over the years. They rooms are deluxe Holiday Inn style. They usually have a complimentary hot breakfast and some sort of cocktail hour. Swimming in the indoor fountains is optional. I would guess we can negotiate a lower rate. I can try to scam a Corporate meeting rate, but we may  not pass the sniff test when we show up. 

I passed all the contact info for Embassy on to Scott this morning. I am not well suited for negotiating deals. Please keep that in mind if I ever decide to sell my car. I'm a "calculate a fair price and stick to it" kinda guy! I loath negotiating and this will require just that to get the deal that is right for us. As of yesterday they had enough rooms for us for the first weekend in June. They asked if I was doing this for Troy and I asked how did you know that and they said we didn't...

Update:

I received a quote from Embassy Suites for $235 per night plus taxes.  The same amenities are included as Quality Suites, but at an increase of $44 per night.  A banquet room would be made available to us if we guarantee "a food and beverage minimum of $1800.00 before service and tax".  That equates to a minimum of $40/ pp, but no menu or prices were provided.  They also offered to rope off an area of the parking lot for our "car show" (not sure where that came from), but the charge for that is $500.

After speaking with the "founding fathers", we're sticking to the original hotel.  Everyone was in agreement that we stay at Quality Suites because it suits our needs much better and they continue to be very accommodating to our group.  The nightly rate for "SOC" rooms is $189 plus tax.  They offered to provide the breakfast room (at no charge or minimum food cost) and also agreed to throw in ice for cold beverages.

After feedback from some of the group, the only issue for anyone with the two weekends available was concern that Fathers' Day could reduce our attendance and my goal is to increase rather than decrease.

With that said, I will contact the hotel tomorrow (2/24) and block the rooms for the weekend of June 24-26.  As always, they will work with anyone who would also like to stay for any additional nights like Thurs or Sun. You'll be able to start booking rooms on February 25th.

Very important thing about the rooms... Be sure to mention the SOC and, be sure you book early as we've run out of rooms in the past.

With the weekend being set, the only thing left will be to decide what type of food we go with and what I'm going to do for the cruise.  With the lack of availability for the restaurant, we will need to decide what we want to do for food.  I can bring in outside food in mass quantities for the group and collect money on arrival day Friday or another suggestion was to have everyone do their own thing for dinner and then meet in the room for drinks and the raffle.

I like the idea of everyone eating together, or at least having that choice, so I'm leaning toward finding good reasonable food to bring in for the group.  Once the menu is decided, I'll need commitments from anyone who wants to eat what I bring in and I'll order accordingly.  If some folks don't like the dinner choices, they can bring in their own food to eat with the group or eat on their own and then attend the later gathering. 

An example I'm looking at for food...

Italian food trays that feed 20 people per tray.  The Spaghetti is $80 ($4 pp) or Fettuccine Alfredo is $85 ($4.25/pp) or Lasagna is $90 ($4.50/pp) and these all include garlic bread.  Salads are $42 for House Salad and $50 for Antipasto Salad.  Example of price per person for Lasagna, garlic bread and Antipasto salad is $7 plus tax.  We could round the price per person up and make sure we have extra food for those who like to eat more.  At $10/ pp for food it's still a great price!

Keep checking the site for updates and don't forget to start booking rooms after this Wednesday.  Be sure to let everyone know about the event dates being set so we can generate even more interest.  I'd love to see attendance surpass 50 people this year.  Especially if everyone has as good a time as they have in the past.

Scott

Side note....I'm sorry if this doesn't work for everyone, but rest assured, it's very difficult to accommodate a group of 45 people and make it work for everyone, especially when all communication seems to be done by computer. 

Scott,

You're a helluva guy to set this up for us. I know sometimes it's like herding cats.

Food is secondary to good company. Italian sounds fine to me. Can we bring liquor? 

June 24-26 at the Quality Suites sounds good. Use of the banquet room for our dinner shenanigans, great plan. Who doesn't like Italian dinner? Ginny & I are in!

Italian I'm In

Larry

Thanks Terry, although usually it's fairly simple.  Just like the KISS method!  Regarding alcohol, beer and wine is okay, but hard stuff goes in a hidden flask (at least that's what the contact said). 

I'm booked through Sunday night for anyone who wants to stay an extra day.  I'm also offering a golf outing to those who've talked about it in the past.  PM me if you're interested!

The hotel info is as follows:

Quality Suites 1601 Monterey Rd, SLO (805)541-5001

Gentlemen (and ladies) start your booking!!!

Larry,,,one can only hope it looks that good! I guess with enough vino, it'll all taste great!!

I'm going to try the Italian place on Friday to see how it is.  Wish me luck! Although it did come highly recommended.

I do not know what the SLO vibe is, but with Cal Poly located there I would bet there is a vibrant food truck scene. Wouldn't have a food truck come by, and everyone could just get a meal from the trunk to bring in. No hassles with money etc. Also a larger variety of food to order. Maybe get two trucks. Then folks can BYO for adult beverages and have a couple ice tubs. 

Your thoughts?

Video from last year's SOC West Coast Cruise..