Paso Robles Christmas Parade Weekend - Sat. & Sun., December 2 & 3, 2023

Back by popular demand, we will cruise down to Paso Robles, decorate our MINIs, and join the town's annual Christmas parade. Last year's participants had a blast despite the rain, and we won best car club entry along the way.

The Kraken decked out for the 2022 parade.

Your Host(s) for the Event:

Tina and Steve Sandke

Route:

https://maps.app.goo.gl/qbU2Eqt5ZCNEEPmx6

Download the map for off-line use - we will likely lose cell coverage.

Register via MotorSport Registry:

https://www.motorsportreg.com/events/paso-robles-christmas-parade-weekend-run-norcal-minis-875012

Check out our 2023 Run Calendar for a complete list of events for the remainder of this year.

Meet-up Time/Departure Time:

8:30 am / 9:00 am, sharp

Meet-up Location:

Peet's Coffee - Morgan Hill
755 Cochrane Rd Suite 100,
Morgan Hill, CA 95037

2022 Meet-up @ Peet's in Morgan Hill

Run Details:

This year’s Paso Robles Christmas Parade run is a reprise of last year’s, but the forecast is without the unrelenting rain we had last year.

We’ll drive down 101, pick up some folks along the road near Salinas, stopping in Greenfield for a quick bathroom break (Starbucks at 367 Walnut Ave., Greenfield). We’ll hop back on 101 for a few miles toward King City then switch to backroads. We’ll drive through Fort Hunter Liggett and on out to Mission San Antonio (1 Mission Creek Rd., Jolon), the most remote of the California Missions. We'll take a 30 to 45 minute stop at the mission, allowing those who wish to pay the nominal fee to tour the grounds. More backroads from the mission will land us in Paso Robles around lunchtime. Folks are free to gather for lunch as they please; there is no group lunch, but we’ll call out ideas as we get into town. Coordinating groups for lunch is highly encouraged.

2022 Mission San Antonio Stop

After lunch, you’re on your own until the parade. You can check into your hotel, explore downtown Paso Robles, go wine tasting, or something else. Please note that we are limited to 15 cars for entry in the parade, so the first 15 cars to register on MSR will be entered in the parade. Others are invited to view the parade and cheer on our club's MINIs from the parade sidelines. Parade Meetup:

544 Pine Street
Paso Robles

Meet: 4 PM
Depart for Parade Staging: 4:30 PM
Parade Start: 6 PM

Folks participating in the parade MUST meet up with the group at 4 PM to decorate our cars for the parade. We’ll drive over to our staging spot at 4:30 PM, as the organizers want us in place early this year. We can continue decorating in the staging area.

The parade itself was about 45 minutes last year, though that timing will depend on our place in the parade. Last year we were quite close to the front, so if we’re farther back this year, the parade experience will take longer. After we finish the route, we’ll return to our meeting spot and undecorate our cars. We’ll have an optional gathering afterward at Firestone Walker Brewing Company's taproom restaurant (1400 Ramada Dr. Paso Robles, CA 93446).

Sunday Run Details:

9:30 am meet-up, 10:00 am departure

Starbucks (2429 Golden Hill Rd, Paso Robles, CA 93446) off of Highway 46 near Lowes east of downtown.

Sunday AM Route Map:

https://maps.app.goo.gl/htABhMJWbGM999Hc9

Sunday morning breakfast is on your own, and then we’ll gather for a short run before folks head back home. We’ll head out for a short but spirited run through backroads east of Paso Robles, ending in Santa Margarita well before lunchtime, and folks are free to head back home or enjoy other sights on their own.

Paso Robles Downtown

Additional Run Details:

Please bring your radio, fully charged, turned on, and tuned to Channel 7, Subchannel 21 CTCSS before you arrive at the start. If you don’t have a radio, ask for a loaner at the driver’s meeting. For radio recommendations, please see https://www.facebook.com/legacy/notes/728353274556164/.

Be sure to turn the “VOX” voice-activated setting OFF, or we will hear the wind from your AC, your conversations, and any noise in your car broadcasting to everyone.

Make a pit stop before the drivers' briefing. We will be driving for a while through twisty hills before our rest stop, so plan ahead.

Hilly California backroads can be rough, especially after winter storms spawn new and bigger potholes. We will call out cyclists and oncoming traffic on the radios. Most of the route is fairly smooth with a few backroad sections that may be a bit bumpier than others.

There are stretches where local wildlife may be seen on each side of the road. At some point, these animals may decide to cross the road, so please watch out for deer, wild turkeys, etc. trying to get from one side to the other right in front of your car.

We ask that you turn on low-beam headlights - not Auto - to make us more visible to other vehicles either ahead or behind us, including your fellow MINI drivers.

Napa/Sonoma Run - Saturday November 18, 2023

No whining on this run, but you may choose to do a little wining after this run is over because we will be cruising through the wooded hills and vineyard valleys of scenic Napa and Sonoma!

Wine Country Roads

Your Host(s) for the Event:

Paige Lane with co-host Duane Caldwell

Route:

https://maps.app.goo.gl/QbyJcRA3zw6ErhfC7

Download the map for off-line use - we will likely lose cell coverage.

Register via MotorSport Registry:

https://www.motorsportreg.com/events/napa-sonoma-run-norcal-minis-391281 

Check out our 2023 Run Calendar for a complete list of events for the remainder of this year.

2022 Start @ Solano Community College

Meet-up Time/Departure Time:

9:00 am / 9:30 am, sharp

Meet-up Location:

Solano Community College

400 Student Services

Fairfield, CA 94534 (South Parking lot near Admissions & Records)

Please Note: There are NO services at this location! Please arrive with a full tank of gas, morning coffee in hand, and fresh from a restroom stop. We won't stop at restrooms for the next hour-and-a-half, so plan ahead.
We recommend stopping in Cordelia (Exit 41 from both  I-80 E & W), 5 minutes away from our meetup location before joining us for the Meet-Up and drivers' briefing. The addresses are all technically in Fairfield, but many of the road signs here identify it as Cordelia, so don't get confused, just follow your navigation system to the addresses.

Suggested fuel/coffee/restroom stops before arriving at Solano Community College:

• COSTCO Gas Station 5101 Business Center Dr, Fairfield, CA 94534
• ARCO 134 Pittman Rd, Fairfield, CA 94534
• Chevron 4470 Central Way, Fairfield, CA 94534
• Shell 4450 Central Way, Fairfield, CA 94534
• Starbuck's 4490 Central Way, Fairfield, CA 94534

(Solano Community College Parking Lot)

(SCC Sign at street as seen from parking lot)

Run Details:

Enjoy your morning zipping over twisty, two-lane roads connecting Fairfield to Napa. For part two, we will climb out of Napa Valley's famous Wine Country along narrow, twisty mountain passes to skirt around the southern limits of Santa Rosa in Sonoma County.

Though our departure is timed to miss morning lake boat traffic, if we encounter trucks pulling trailers, we will collectively enjoy the scenery as there are few passing lanes.

Group Pace:  We will monitor registration to determine if we will have enough registered Minis to add a spirited group to lead off.

Comfort Break (roughly halfway through the run):

Park N Ride (2000 Redwood Road, Napa). After about an hour-and-a-half, we’ll break here for 20 minutes at most, so we can arrive at our destination before the lunch rush. There are restrooms in nearby gas stations and restaurants. This is your last chance for restrooms for the next hour.

After we descend from the mountain passes into Sonoma County, we will end our run at the Lagunitas Taproom in Petaluma  (1280 N McDowell Blvd Petaluma) around 12:45 pm where we can grab lunch and share stories. The taproom at Lagunitas can get busy on weekends, so be prepared for a bit of a wait to be seated, or enjoy one of the many other fine restaurants in the wine country. Please note that the outdoor seating area at Lagunitas is covered, has heaters, and is very dog-friendly.

Lagunitas Taproom

Additional Run Details:

Please bring your radio, fully charged, turned on, and tuned to Channel 7, Subchannel 21 CTCSS before you arrive at the start. If you don’t have a radio, ask for a loaner at the driver’s meeting. For radio recommendations, please see https://www.facebook.com/legacy/notes/728353274556164/.

Be sure to turn the “VOX” voice-activated setting OFF, or we will hear the wind from your AC, your conversations, and any noise in your car broadcasting to everyone.

Make a pit stop before the drivers' briefing. We will be driving for a while through twisty hills before our rest stop, so plan ahead.

Hilly California backroads can be rough, especially after winter storms spawn new and bigger potholes. We will call out cyclists and oncoming traffic on the radios. Most of the route is fairly smooth with a few backroad sections that may be a bit bumpier than others.

There are stretches where local wildlife may be seen on each side of the road. At some point, these animals may decide to cross the road, so please watch out for deer, wild turkeys, etc. trying to get from one side to the other right in front of your car.

We ask that you turn on low-beam headlights - not Auto - to make us more visible to other vehicles either ahead or behind us, including your fellow MINI drivers.