Kurt and Marty: I am really looking forward to this weekend in Santa Cruz. I read the itinerary and it all sounds fun. I am making a reservation at a hotel nearby. I am a newby and I really do not know what to expect with all these people. From all the posts, it sounds like everyone is very nice. I will be there after noon time on Sat, that is my plan. I will bring an snack tray of some sort. Do I understand the drive on Sat would be to dinner? And then a drive on Sunday after breakfast? Sounds fun. -Stacy

 

Hi Stacy!
We're looking forward to having you hang out with all of us this coming weekend! Around noon on Saturday will be perfect, as a bunch of us will be getting there from 11-12pm. We'll be hanging out, maybe check out The Mystery Spot, Lyle's going to do the Felix install on the top of my roof & then we'll all drive up to San Jose to have dinner at Chef's restaurant. Sunday we'll be meeting up with some of the gang from NorCal, maybe a short lil' run, then lunch & make the trek back to the valley.

 

Joe, dont forget about about making reservations
We are all poised and ready for the MINI invasion but we still need a head count

 

Yep! I'll be giving Yankee Pier a buzz today.

 

Looks like around 4 or 5 Norcal members will be joining you in Santa Cruz. I can't make it, gotta work .

 

I've missed directions or address for Kurt and Marty's place. And we sure don't want to miss anyone!

Mariposadust

 

Hey all.
The address is 103 Keystone Way, Santa Cruz

The best way to get there is Hwy 1 North to Hwy 9 North. Aprox 1 mile North you will come to a left turn or go straight to enter Paradise Park. House is first on left. There are 2 parking spots on the street. No other parking allowed on the street. Aprox 8-10 cars can park in the driveway. We will work with our neighbors for more parking if needed.

All those staying at the house please PM me so we can verify the count.

Thanks, Kurt.

 

Hi all!
I talked to Chef today & made reservations for 20 people (given what was on the RSVP list) at Yankee Pier. We're going to be sitting outside on the heated deck area, but make sure you bundle up & wear cold weather gear. Also, I talked to LarryP (NorCal coordinator) today & there's going to be 5 people joining us from NorCal.

I'm monitoring the weather report for Santa Cruz & if conditions don't improve then we'll just be hanging out in SC, ie. no romp through the hills or slow cruise through the hills. The Mystery Spot & the boardwalk would be cool to check out.

 

Sorry for the delay in responding, we have been isolated from the world. The squirrels have chewed our phone line (I couldn't make this stuff up) and everytime we get rain we have no phone or internet service. Today the phone company agreed with my diagnosis of the problem and then when they checked out the pole, determined that it was not safe to climb to fix the line. I pointed this problem out more than a year ago and alas it fell on deaf ear. To make a long story short, Ebitz has to work this weekend after all and PG&E wants to change the pole Friday or Saturday with the phone company coming in right after them and both need an adult at home. I guess I qualify so, tag I am it. I have no bloody clue how they are going to change the pole unless they are going to use a helicopter to bring it in. I am not so sure that I am going to be able to watch! I couldn't watch them lower the airconditioner on the roof, it made me a nervous wreck. I can only imagine me freaking out with a helicopter hovering near the house with a wooden pole swinging around near live power lines. Lets just throw in some trees, wind and rain for good measure and watch Kiki have a stroke. I don't drink but I may by Sunday. Enjoy your road trip and Bitzie and I will have to catch you all another time.

Mystery Spot is cool. We went there as kids and Bitzie who was about three at the time did not like the place at all. They say kids are more receptive to strange forces and she did not want any part of the place. We went back years later and she was fine with it. Oh Winchester Mystery House (San Jose) is cool too. Safe and fun trip to all going.

 

AND THE WINCHESTER HOUSE IS A BLOCK AWAY FROM YANKEE PIER

 

Pm'ed

 

Oooh, Winchester Mystery House would be cool. I've always wanted to check that place out. We could make the theme of the weekend "wacky, wild & cool MidCal SC-time" or something like that.

 

Why not just have a toga party

 

Because it is not summer time
We will try and accomodate everyone inside if possible. But a large group is difficult to seat at one table inside our restaurant. I am looking forward to seeing everyone, old friends and new.

 

Ok folks,
Last message before we leave. We look forward to having all of you over to the coast this weekend. As it looks like rain this weekend, please dress accordingly. We will have food and snacks however bring more if you would like. We will have water, sodas, juice, coffee, but this is a BYOB so bring your preferred alcoholic beverage. We will have most mixes but if you drink something special, bring it. Marty and I have planned for snacks and beverages for Saturday. Dinner at MINICHEF's Saturday night and Sunday breakfast burritos. If you get lost or have any questions, contact Fracky for my cell number.

The address is,
103 Keystone Way, Santa Cruz

Don't forget your radios and please drive safe. See you all over there!!!

Kurt and Marty

 

Just really want to thank you all again for making me feel welcome. You opened your home to me and made me feel at ease. It was exactly what I wanted, to drive around with people that love the car as much as I do. I came home with a whole new respect for my car and I reached out and made some new friends at the same time. I made it home in 2 hours from the outlets in Gilroy, not bad. -Stacy

 

Uh oh Stacy, you shouldn't have posted that. heheh just kidding.

I had an awesome time, and it was great meeting all of you.

Hope everyone made it home safely.

CHEF - Again, many thanks for accommodating to my diet. It was above and beyond of what I expected.

 

Great times everyone Allitle rainy but that kept us all in the house so we could get to know eachother Fun run over to Chefs for dinner, well for most of us . Thank you VERY VERY much Marty and Kurt for letting us come into your home and hopefully not making too much of a mess Me and Janet had a great time finally really getting to meet everyone Can't wait to do this in the summer time and running Hwy 9 again P.S. we all need to post pics.

 

MIDCAL, NORCAL Ken and Lodi Stacy,
Marty and I would like to thank all of you for your company this weekend. The entire weekend was a blast. We had such a great time. We watched Lyle install a graphic, saw the best and worst of backup parking, did some twistys, ate wonderful food and watched it rain on the cars and watched the Italian Job. Fracky had an informative MINI meeting and discussed the Yosemite Ridge camps need for financial assistance. Thanks for all the help cleaning the dishes and putting away all the food! We would love to have you all over again for a summer weekend. I'll keep you posted.

Kurt and Marty

 

You guys are too funny. Thanks for including me in your post Kurt. And Lyle, I am working on a graphic for my car. I have put my husband on the task. Tony Stewart could be my next husband so I need to put him on my car somewhere so he knows that I love him! Joe I am working on trying to come down for the driving class on Saturday but I have to wait to see if my boss will give me that day off. After meeting Joe this weekend I didn't know who he looked like until I came home watched the NASCAR race. ( actually made it home to see the whole thing ). I have posted his photo, I think Joe looks like Chad Knaus. What do you think? -- Lodi Stacy

 

Hi gang!
Thanks for all coming out for a great MidCal weekend in Santa Cruz. You're all our MINI family & spending the weekend with you was tops! The drive over on Saturday morning was fun & allowing everyone to lead was cool.

Lunch at The Greek (Santa Cruz) was lots of fun, even though Michael didn't want to honor the family baklava tradition. Kurt & Marty, thank you for opening your home to us & being such gracious hosts. Your hospitality was fantastic & we all look forward to our semi-annual trip to SC.



Lyle, thanks for coming out & showing us your uber-cool wrapped MCS & doing the "Felix running with a bomb" graphic on my roof. The work you, Derek & Shannon have done to my car has made it "mine" & I love my "new" MINI.





Stacy, thanks for making the drive to Lodi to hang out with us. Welcome to the MidCal family & we look forward to having you join us on our trips. I/we really appreciate you being the navigator of the group with your Nuvi. As everyone knows, I'm not the best at reading maps- that's why they call it 'the scenic route'.





Chef, you da man! Thank you so much for hosting us at your restaurant! The location, table, service, food, etc. was 5-stars. The best though was when we sat down & had special 'MidCal menus'. We're all super-proud of all your hard work & hope you make partner in the venture soon.





Everyone, please do Chef a big favor & post on yelp.com with your thoughts about Yankee Pier. Chef's annual review is coming up in <1 week & this is a website which Yankee Pier management actively reviews. Share your thoughts on your experience: Yankee Pier on yelp.com.

Breakfast on Sunday morning was perfect at Kurt & Marty's. Go Kurt!!

As we get to have fun events like this & enjoy our passion with our MINI's & our friends, it's important to remember that there's a lot of people who aren't able to do these kind of events. I'm super-proud of you MidCal'ers for your kindness & generosity. At our breakfast Sunday morning we raised $345.00 for Yosemite Ridge Camp (Yosemite Ridge Camp). 100% of these proceeds will be donated to YRC & you all are truly helping to make a difference in the life of kids with life-threatening diseases. I'm looking forward to our club runs over the next couple of months to help raise more funds to make a difference.

Finally, thanks to my buddy JIMINNImachine - I've not been punked in awhile & you're the best.



Note: You guys can upload your pictures by e-mailing them to this address: jandjperry-q3hy@post.me.com. I'll take the pictures from there & upload them to this page if you don't feel like posting directly. The address is a direct link to the MidCal MINI 2009 online photo album.

 

Kurt & Marty, want to thank you for allowing us into your home. We had a fantastic weekend. You made us feel right at home. Looking forward to future runs to Santa Cruz. We had such a great turnout. Stacy, Lyle & Ken it was great to have you join our MidCal MINI family for the weekend. Hope to see you on future runs. The drive to Yankee Pier was a blast and the food was absolutely scrumptous. Thank you Chef ! Again, thanks to all that made this weekend run a FUN run.

Nick & Shelly

 

Kurt and Marty, Vivkiey and I would like to thank you for a great weekend. We both had a really good time.

 

Great to see everyone ann hope this becomes a regular stop for everyone in the bay area
It was great to see everyone. I miss all my midcal friends