"The NEXT" Bay Area Fit Meet

manxman · #1 (**permalink**) 10-07-2007, 01:38 PM

Hi guys-
There are two threads concerning the last meet- "Is this Another?" and "That was one successful" and both are continually growing. I'm posting this as the start of the planning for the next meet. The last two meets took about 2 months of posting to organize. If we keep using one or both of the existing threads, we'll have too much to read and keep track of.

I have suggested Mt. Hamilton/Lick Observatory, and Pacheco Pass (Hwy. 152) from the farmlands of Watsonville up to the Mt. Madonna Inn restaurant/Mt. Madonna Park as possible sites. Not because they are in my neighborhood, but because they are exciting drives. I don't picture mountain-top picnics at the beginning of winter, so an indoors destination would be a good idea. Mt. Hamilton can be dangerous in bad weather, so unless we have a very mild winter, that should be set aside for spring or summer.

I would also like to ask for your consideration of this in the planning-----
our member "grouser" turns out to be my "neighbor" during part of each week. He is a fireman with the CA Div. of Forestry, and I went up yesterday to his fire station in the Santa Cruz mountains to meet him. He has a 600 mile commute because he lives in the Redding area 300 miles north of here.

Mike's 3 day weekly shift ends each Sunday morning, and he drives 300 miles back home. He would like to meet all of us, but he can only come to a Bay Area meet if we hold it on a Sunday. Obviously, we have a lot of people with their own problems and concerns that influence planning of a meet, but please keep Mike in mind.

If there is interest in Mt. Madonna for a meet destination, let me know so that I can go there to scout out restaurant hours, menu, prices,parking lot size in the park, and so on. Weather never completely closes Hwy. 152.

Dave

TOOL · #2 (**permalink**) 10-07-2007, 10:45 PM

any of that sounds good to me!

manxman · #3 (**permalink**) 10-08-2007, 11:35 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TOOL

any of that sounds good to me!

Yeah, but you're "easy".

TOOL · #4 (**permalink**) 10-08-2007, 12:02 PM

haha true that...sorry for getting off topic but my right wrist is in a cast(motorctcle accident)so my posts will short and i wont be posting much at all...

manxman · #5 (**permalink**) 10-08-2007, 12:55 PM

Wow! Sorry to hear it. I hope it heals quickly. I have some experience with broken bones (7 of them).

TOOL · #6 (**permalink**) 10-08-2007, 01:04 PM

yupp, ive broke a few before..i reinjured a wrist that i fractured in the past...

manxman · #7 (**permalink**) 10-08-2007, 10:56 PM

Question for Bay Area Fitfreaks:

Should Dave take his wife to lunch at the Mt. Madonna Inn to check it out as a site for the next Bay Area Big, Big, Big, Fit Meet? Yes? No?

Let's not take two months of posts to set up the next one. Everybody is busy between Thanksgiving and Christmas. I'll bet that most people will blow this one off if that's when it is scheduled.

solbrothers · #8 (**permalink**) 10-08-2007, 10:56 PM

this all sounds great!! btw where the heck is this going to be? im from vallejo....

manxman · #9 (**permalink**) 10-08-2007, 11:01 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by solbrothers

this all sounds great!! btw where the heck is this going to be? im from vallejo....

Still fishing for replies. See above post. Vallejo is 2 hours North of Watsonville. Hwy. 80 W. to 780 So. to 680 So. to 17 So. Off at Hwy 152, East to top of mountain.

Buy a hood deflector. You'll thank me.

TOOL · #10 (**permalink**) 10-08-2007, 11:03 PM

Yes, do it Dave lol!

martymcfly · #11 (**permalink**) 10-09-2007, 03:37 AM

It took me 6 months to find my Fit and I have it for exactly one month now. It is time for me to meet fellow members! I have family members in Watsonville area so this will be just like a "family trip" for me

manxman · #12 (**permalink**) 10-09-2007, 12:45 PM

Hey, glad to see that you are a So. Bay neighbor. So now we have 2 whole votes for Pacheco Pass, and Tool will go anywhere. Help me sell this destination to the other Bay Area freaks.

EXWRX · #13 (**permalink**) 10-09-2007, 12:54 PM

Pacheco pass sounds fine with me. Doing it on a Sunday wuld also be fine. I agree that Hamilton is best done no later than about October. Icy mountain roads can get exciting.

Monterey could be a fun destination(we could get some track time in at Laguna Seca), as well as Santa Cruz, but not sure about fun driving opportunities there.

manxman · #14 (**permalink**) 10-09-2007, 01:07 PM

Thanks Jeff. That's 3-4 for Pacheco Pass/Mt. Madonna. And you are right, there are no good driving conditions in Santa Cruz proper. Monterey County has a lot of interesting driving areas, but I have not experienced anything there of a "challenging" nature. Laguna Seca would fill that bill for sure.

Four Fits would be enough for a fun lunch at the restaurant on Mt. Madonna, and for those who want to continue East over the mountain to Gilroy, then take 101 North to home, there are a number of wineries along 152 that might be of interest to wives/girlfriends who might get a little tired of just a "car club" meet.

manxman · #15 (**permalink**) 10-09-2007, 01:24 PM

Here's another idea that would attract more family members to enjoy this trip, and it fits in with Holiday Season preparations. At the intersection of Hwy. 152 (Leavesley Rd.) and Hwy. 101 in Gilroy, there is a GIANT collection of factory outlet stores like Nike, Harry & David, etc.

grouser · #16 (**permalink**) 10-09-2007, 05:28 PM

I think that's a great place for a meet. The road up is a twisty challenge the whole way. Never ate at the resturant but I doubt it will really matter if the food is just average. it's the company we're there for !!!! I should be able to make a pass thru on my way home for a quick visit.
I'm not available for this the last part of October,I'm on vacation and won't be in the area untill the first of November. On another note my car has just been damaged by a bear and the paint won't cure for 30 days,,,,I really don't want to drive very far without wax on it so I'm on a short leash for 30 days and three coats of wax. I'm sure you can understand my situation. Thanks for Manxman for trying to organize a meet that I can make it to,,, but don't let me ruin all the fun by making it to difficult for all of you. I'll make it sooner or later this is the time of year for things to get busy with holiday stuff.

TOOL · #17 (**permalink**) 10-09-2007, 05:37 PM

Luguna seca is around here??? I wanna go, i wanna go!

macbuddy · #18 (**permalink**) 10-09-2007, 06:12 PM

The Pacheco Pass trip sounds good to me. At this point in time, all of my weekends of October are open. Let me know which weekend (ASAP), so that I can mark it down in my schedule. BTW, I have a friend who is borderline in deciding between a Mini Cooper and a Honda Fit. I'll have him come along since it will be in his area.

TOOL · #19 (**permalink**) 10-09-2007, 06:21 PM

^No offense to the Fit but tell ur buddy to get the Mini, they are badass!

manxman · #20 (**permalink**) 10-09-2007, 11:36 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by macbuddy

The Pacheco Pass trip sounds good to me. At this point in time, all of my weekends of October are open. Let me know which weekend (ASAP), so that I can mark it down in my schedule. BTW, I have a friend who is borderline in deciding between a Mini Cooper and a Honda Fit. I'll have him come along since it will be in his area.

Hey Michael,

With just the 10 Fits that showed up last time,that's at least 10 members to persuade to pick a date and a location for another meet. Pacheco Pass would be a nice enough drive to show your friend the fun-to-drive aspect of the Fit over Mini, and the interior capacity difference is already obvious.

This destination will be at least 1 hour closer for you than Mt. Diablo, and whether or not another big meet is organized before the end of the year, I'll meet you in Watsonville for the drive to the top of Mt. Madonna and lunch at the restaurant any weekend. I'll bet that Tool (Tyler) and his dad would come also, but I am not volunteering their time. The closer we get to the holidays, the more busy people will be.

A good address for people to assemble for the drive up is the Home Depot in Watsonville. Just go to the HD web site, and click on the "store locator" to find the Watsonville address. The store is only a mile or so from Hwy. 1.

I hope that another big meet can be organized before year's end, but only a few of us have responded to this new thread. As far as I'm concerned, the number who are interested does not matter