Creekside Lodge, I was informed. Reservations made. $99/nite.
Yup, you pretty much got it right Kelly.
OK, great. i left off all the food, beer and whiskey, but figure you have all of that pretty well down.
Nooo, we thought you were bringing all that 
FYI people, this is looking good for us. We'll be calling the Creekside.
Cross country trip postponed until next year. It will happen, but this way Michelle will be 100% and I have plenty of time to sort the car and get everything on it done right, like the top, heater, heated seats, etc.......
DannyP posted:FYI people, this is looking good for us. We'll be calling the Creekside.
Cross country trip postponed until next year. It will happen, but this way Michelle will be 100% and I have plenty of time to sort the car and get everything on it done right, like the top, heater, heated seats, etc.......
Sorry to hear of the postponement, but glad you'll be there, Danny.
This is shaping up nicely, as I suspected something in a place people want to go, at a time of year with somewhat more reliable weather would be. Fall really is the best time of year to drive.
As I said on Danny's other thread, I'm sorry about Michelle's problems but I am ecstatic that they will be joining us. This time it seems to be gaining momentum quickly. Woohoo!!
OK, I'm on for some hooch. But if Piperato is coming, I really don't have enough room for the beer required . . .
Pip and Drake plus their fair ladies, Sounds like maybe a caravan from the NE quadrant. My plan is to arrive Thurs, depart Monday.
We need to badger Gordon Nichols into coming. C'mon Gordon, you haven't had Pearl down here in years. She needs some exercise.
Oh, and @chines1 (Carey), you need to fly into Atlanta and pick up a 904 from Chuck so that you can join us.
We'll take I81 all the way. We're going to stop somewhere in VA at around the halfway point, it's over 750 miles for us. Leaving Wednesday, staying overnight, arriving Thursday. Coming home on Monday-Tuesday. So 7 days for us.
That's the same distance it is for me to get to Carlisle. yeah, you want to make it a two-day trip.
Danny. I've got a killer idea for you. But this might take an extra day. Stop at Marion VA and stay at the General Francis hotel. Beautiful old boutique hotel. Eat at Macadoos across the street from the hotel. Great sandwiches and beer. And just north of Marion is The Back of the Dragon which goes into WV. Great road. Lots of other great roads around there. This was a favorite trip for me and my Ducati buds.
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Greg Leach at Vintage said I should have my spyder by the end of Sept. So that would be 3 spyders. Me, Danny and Carlos. Any more? Mine will be brand new with a freshly built engine. I'll be in brake in mode so you guys will have to go easy on me. Probably will only be able to use 175-180 of my available 200 hp.
Ron Mullis plans to be there with the Blue Angels Spyder.
This just might turn out to be something...........
Ya think?
Lane---are you driving your Speedster? What town is Creekside Lodge in?---I lost that info. Will group dinners be set up or will it be a scramble deal?
I need to meet Stan and the new folks plus see so many other knuckleheads.
Just checked the map and we've been through part of that area several times. Hillsville has a great Mexican joint. We stayed there a couple of times heading back up North to get on 81 to meet the group heading to Carlisle. I had no idea there were so many popular driving areas right there. Nice place indeed.
"Lane---are you driving your Speedster?" I don't know, Jack. It still needs the work (tires and maybe clutch) that I mentioned at Carlisle. I may get the tires done by then, but we just built an additional garage and will have to tighten our financial belt for a bit. The lodge is in Maggie Valley, about 50 miles west of Asheville - sort of halfway between Townsend and Asheville. As for dinners, I am not nearby, so I am trying to keep it a little less formal and planned out than Carlisle. However, there is a good restaurant within walking distance of the lodge that we can all eat at, assuming we don't all descend on them during peak times. We might be at separate tables depending on the size of our group. That's what we did last fall when I was up there.
If this is a big hit we can look at making it (or some variation thereof) an annual event. In that scenario we can do some more formalized planning. This is somewhat of an experiment.
Bring the car, Lane. It's a speedster event.
So's Carlisle, but it was fun in the BMW this year. The little Bimmer is at least as much fun in the twisties as the Speedster. Ten round trips to/from Carlisle at 1500+ miles each in all kinds of weather earned me a year of comfort.
On the serious side, the Speedster is not going that far until it at least gets new tires. The clutch is a question mark. I don't see anything happening there for a while and I haven't diagnosed the issue yet. The issue being chattering under enthusiastic launching only.
So..... Don't "enthusiastically" launch!
It might be time for another spacer at the end of the Bowden tube.
Gordon Nichols posted:So..... Don't "enthusiastically" launch!
It might be time for another spacer at the end of the Bowden tube.
Please elucidate. 
And why haven't you signed up for this, Gordon?
Yeah Gordo, get with the program. May as well just give in, as the heckling will be merciless from here on out.
And maybe Lane has found the brass thingie -- it went into his clutch!! ;-) But seriously folks, sounds like an opportunity to do a little internet fix-it for our one and only Laner. Gather 'round all yee know-it-alls, and let's get Lane's clutch sorted out. I'm afraid he'll have to buy his own tires, and I think he can handle that. He'll just have to keep track of the lug nuts, which are not spring-loaded, so far as I know.
If the clutch can be resolved without pulling the engine (seems unlikely) then there's a chance I can get it done. Not really wanting to pull the engine. And I am still on restricted activities post-op, so I can't really do much for a few more weeks. After I can be a bit more active I will get it up in the air and inspect the forward transaxle mount. The tires are strictly a financial thing as I bought two sets for the BMW (street and track) earlier this year and as I said, the garage ate up a lot of cash. Regardless of which car I bring it will still be fun.
C'mon Gordon, ya know ya wanna!
Re El Gordo: Yes, I believe he wants to, but the question is: will he??
Post-op?? I missed something. Hope all is well. Or at least will be soon.
PS: I would not want to pull an engine either, so I hear ya. Option of last resort. That said, back in the day, I could do a remove or install of the engine on my B coupe by myself in about ten minutes. A wrench and a floor jack. Did it many times chasing clutch gremlins. Of course that was then and this is now, but still . . .
Lane just wants Wild Bill, the Nichols and the rest of the knuckleheads who put the motor IN to take it OUT!
Sorry, Lane, that was a one-time alignment of the stars!
I'm hoping a minor tweak can fix it. Otherwise it may have to wait until it's back in Carey's hands whenever the coupe is done.
I would cut a slot in a suitably-sized 1/8" thick fender washer and slip it onto the end of the Bowden tube to see if that helps - cheap, easy to install and no engine pull, just leverage the throw-out arm to slacken the cable and hold it there (make a suitable piece of wood as a brace for this) while you slip the washer on. I may have a couple made up in the shop and can measure the ID of the washer for you....I'll look.
Pearl develops a slight clutch chatter if it is really hot out but smooths out when the temps go back to "normal" here.
We stayed at a friends house in Maggie Valley - It's really nice in that area and I know everyone will enjoy it. We ate at a good restaurant on Mt. Pisgah? Would that make sense? Can't remember much about the area except for wandering around Asheville and the farmer's market (THAT is worth the trip, too!) Nicely hilly with lots of delightful roads.
A little encouragement.
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I was going to include a stop at the Pisgah Inn on the Parkway on the way to Sierra Nevada. Not so much for eats, but a restroom, refreshments, and view stop.
They do not take reservations, but if we show up and they can accommodate our group, we can eat here then roll on down to Sierra Nevada for more refreshments.
Do we need reservations at Sierra Nevada? If folks want a brewery tour I'll bet we will need 'em.
Lane Anderson posted:Do we need reservations at Sierra Nevada? If folks want a brewery tour I'll bet we will need 'em.
For the one in Northern CA (Chico) you should get reservations. Thats my home town! I miss Chico.
Organized tours of Sierra Nevada are available every day. Tour takes about 2 hours and includes tasting about 10 different brews made on site. Reservations are a must. But, just because you have a plant tour, does not insure seating at the SN restaurant for lunch. Toured with Audi folks a year ago and ended up waiting an hour after the tour to be seated. Whomever is making group reservation should discuss this with SN staff. Plus as I said a few wks ago, Saturday's at SN are packed, I mean packed with people.
suggest a 10 AM tour followed by lunch.
Lane, how the heck do you get a hold of the Hotel reservations. The only time I got somebody to pick up it hung up on me:-0
At SN there is a 90 minute tour for free and a 3 hour tour with tasting for $45 but long pants and covered shoes are required. Both tours can be reserved on line, but they only reserve 2 months out. They get booked solid too.
To sit for dinner there, it's first come first serve. I've always had to wait to get a seat and that's just with a small group. There is all kinds of room to hang out while waiting though, the bar in the main room, the bar and large patio outside by the amphitheater, or the bar upstairs next to the stage. They do have a service window on the patio that has a different menu than inside. The food is served more of a Tapas style inside or out, but everything I've had so far has been pretty good and locally grown.
I'll follow whatever path you want to take, Carlos. Saturday is my day to relax and let someone else lead. I'm sure whatever we do will be fun, and it doesn't have to be heavily orchestrated.
Marty: I just called the phone number on the Lodge website. It seems to be a family-run business so you may have to let it ring or leave a message.