Your Hosts: Simon and Nikki Tildesley
It was a cold February morning when the first part of the group met. After getting the obligatory coffee 18 cars headed off as a group south on Highway 101 towards Salinas to meet up with the southern NorCal members. Once we arrived in Salinas, we were joined by 5 more cars making our total to head towards Pismo beach of 23 MINI’s.
Driving south on 101 until Exit 252 we then took Jolon Road to head over towards the coast. Our route took us on some wonderful roads heading past Lake Nacemiento and some local wineries. The roads were relatively clear and gave the chance to open the cars up a little.
The group stuck together and we headed west on Highway 46 towards Highway 1 stopping for a group photo on the way with the mountains and ocean as a backdrop. After the photo – it was time to head to Morro bay for our lunch driving south on Highway 1. Lunch was held at the Bayside Café where we were we joined up with the group who had travelled north from Southern California. Their 16 cars lead by Nancy Homer joined our 23 cars to make a total of 39 cars heading south on Highway 1 towards Pismo Beach.
Once in Pismo Beach, some people decided to split off to their hotels, but a core group of us headed to Oceano State Vehicle Recreation Area so that our MINI’s can drive on the beach. This sure made a great sight to see and we had lots of people waving and taking photos. Sadly, one of our NorCal members got stuck in the soft sand – but in true NorCal fashion, we pulled together to help him out. After this, everyone went to their own hotels to rest up and prepare for the evening.
Prior to dinner our friends for SCMM hosted drinks at their hotel which some NorCal members joined. Then, it was on to dinner, which we held at Rosa’s in Pismo Beach. 46 people sat down to a wonderful banquet dinner where many new friendships were made and stories exchanged. After dinner, a few people headed off to Harry’s bar for some drinks, pool and music.
Sunday morning started with wonderful clear blue skies. Meeting at the Cliff’s Hotel and Spa – a smaller group headed down to the Monarch Butterfly Grove. Listening to the presentation about the grove and seeing the butterflies was a truly wonderful experience.
Following the butterfly grove, this smaller group then headed back up Highway 1 & Highway 46 towards the Denner winery. We spent an enjoyable couple of hours here tasting the delicious wines and enjoying the warm southern California sunshine. After this, everyone headed their own way home having had a fabulous fun weekend.
My thanks to Nancy Homer for helping make this joint event between NorCal and SCMM happen. We have both agreed that this is something we should do again in the future.
Simon & Nikki Tildesley
And check out all the great pictures from the weekend.
https://photos.app.goo.gl/ocmvxnEQDkDzCCMs5
By the way if you are not a fully paid member of NorCal Minis there is a $5.00 fee for the event but can be applied to your membership fee for the year if you join up. Check out the details below:
NorCal MINIs Membership
Instructions for joining MotorSportReg and joining NorCal MINIs can be found in the following document: Instructions
Create your MotorSportReg Account and Join Today! Use the NorCal MINIs Membership link below:
Instructions for joining MotorSportReg and joining NorCal MINIs can be found in the following document: Instructions
Don't forget to RSVP for the March Mystery Run. It is going to be a GOOD ONE!
