10.24 – Mid-Week Run to Cold Springs Tavern, Wine Tasting, & Casino Fun
This mid-week trip will start early because we have a lot to do. First we’ll head up to Cold Spring Tavern and enjoy a hearty meal at this famous stagecoach stop on the San Marcos Pass in the mountains north of Santa Barbara. Here you can appreciate the true ambiance of the Old West because, as if by magic, time stands still. Savor the traditional American fare made with fresh local ingredients including our famous Cold Spring Chili, tri-tip barbeque sandwiches, and delicious steaks and ribs. After our meal, before heading back home we’ll have the opportunity to either go wine tasting in Santa Ynez at any of the dozens of wineries or gambling at the Chumash Casino. If you like, do both!
MORE TO COME..
Over twenty Corvettes and their associated drivers and co-drivers were raring to go on Sep 20th when the trip began its first leg to Laughlin, NV for an overnight stop and then on to Arizona for the event which promised to showcase seven generations of Corvettes dating from 1953 to the current 2019 models. 250 cars were scheduled to be on display representing customized, restored, and current models, along with a variety of vendors and exhibits.
Our own Tony and Kathy Munshi and John and Linda Noble have recently departed California for a better life in Arizona and were anxiously awaiting our members’ arrival to help with the lay of the land and word is that several others are in the process of relocating soon and others have begun looking at real estate. 
But that will have to wait for another article.
Although the attendees have missed the deadline for this Gazette article, my detective work has uncovered some pics of their smiling faces and rumors that they had a terrific time and our people were trophy winners, to boot! 
As we arrived, we found the Fort Tejon visitor lot empty and ready to accommodate all of our Corvettes. It was beautiful to behold.
So, about now you are asking, what’s that got to do with the Monterey Run? Here goes then. A long, long time ago, when some of you were in diapers and others were looking for deferments from the draft, some had a short 8-week visit at Ft Ord for Basic Training. Uncle Sam sent me to the Monterey Peninsula in 1968 as a new 2nd Lieutenant on another mission of sorts. I was accepted into Language School at the Defense Language Institute on the Presidio of Monterey for a one-year Vietnamese language course. So, while you may have been listening to Joan Baez, I was appreciating Cannery Row, the Monterey Folk Festival, Big Sur, Laguna Seca and 17-Mile Drive, listening to California Saga and The First Time I Ever Saw Your Face from Play Misty for Me. I was hooked on Monterey never miss an opportunity to go back for visits as often as possible.
When our club began attending the Monterey Coast Corvette Caravan in the infancy of the event I always marked my calendar to make sure not to miss the run. As the years passes, the annual Monterey event became an every-two-year thing, alternating with the Lake Tahoe Corvette Club show each June.
(If you haven’t traveled CA-46 recently, it is now a great route with most of the hour ride from Lost Hills to Paso Robles now a 4-lane highway.) Then it was off to our destination at the Embassy Suites in Monterey for the next three nights.
The planned events for the weekend included: Monterey Zoo Tour, Monterey Wharf Treasure Hunt, Red Nines Tournament, “Car Races” in the hospitality suite, Show N Shine, Poker Run, an incredible raffle display, 50/50 Reverse Drawing, and a Mystery Gift Drawing, concluding with banquet dinner and awards presentation.
Now is the time for the synopsis of the weekend. The Bachmuras took home one of Chuck August’s great hand-built trophies for their well-shined Stingray, Brian de Avila left some cash at the “car race” table which greatly boosted the other players’ winnings, the Turkheimers were great hosts, and the Woodings were first to sign up for the event for the second consecutive time.
was one of the highlights. Everyone loves trains, and young or old all love the museum. The trains on display are wonderful examples of the history of rail travel. 
The museum is a part the state park system, telling of the role of the “iron horse” in connecting California to the rest of the nation.
The trip offered some great dining which included Frank Fat’s, a Sacramento landmark since 1939. Started by an immigrant dishwasher, Frank Fat’s single-handedly created a downtown political scene, along with a tradition of legendary modern Chinese cuisine and unparalleled service. This is why the oldest family-owned restaurant in Sacramento has been thriving for over seventy-five years.
Twenty-two of America’s favorite sportscars with almost double that number of participants left Santa Clarita for a three to four day outing in beautiful Pismo Beach. The caravan was a sight to behold as our assembly of cars headed out CA 126 and all the way north on US 101 on the getaway leg. Morning coffee necessitated a pit in Ventura and then it was clear sailing into Buellton for a traditional traveler’s lunch at Pea Soup Andersons.
The place can’t be beat. Even their parking spaces were EXTRA wide, to the delight of our Corvette owners!
