We bought the Alpine in Virginia in October and drove cross-country to our first Alpine Coach event. Pismo has long been a favorite destination so when Michael went online to research the Alpine Coach Association and discovered that there was a rally scheduled in mid-November, we took it as a sign that we needed to attend. Apparently we filled the last spot when we signed up in late October! It took us 23 days to drive from Virginia to Pismo Beach, including a few touring stops along the way. (The SoCal Alpine Rally: November 14-18,2014)
And now, on the anniversary of our first SoCal rally, we were the hosts preparing for the arrival of 25 coaches and 52 attendees. It had taken a year to lay the groundwork and prepare everything. We are grateful to have had the help and guidance of our co-hosts, the Collinses, who were the previous hosts. As hosts, we knew we were going to be rather busy all week organizing and preparing for each day's events.
Because Pismo is such a lovely spot, when we sent out registration forms for the 4-day rally, we encouraged folks to "Come early and Stay late." Seven coaches arrived two days ahead of the rally. And so, the pre-rally fun and socializing began. It was good to connect with folks we had not seen in a while. Most of us gathered for dinner at Ada's Fish House, a brand new restaurant. The food received rave revues.
The following day, eleven more coaches arrived, and the pre-rally fun and socializing continued.
All of us gathered at the club house for the first Happy Hour, followed by a clam chowder dinner (or chili) catered by Pismo's famous Splash Cafe.
Saturday was a busy day, starting with breakfast in the Club House at 8AM. As hosts, we provided the breakfast and set everything up ahead of time. In addition to the usual Continental fare of eggs, bagels, Costco muffins, yogurt and fruit, this time we also made oatmeal. It turned out to be a welcome hit.
In the early afternoon, Chuck offered to lead a craft project. Several ladies joined the glue-gun fun to assemble a Thanksgiving Turkey ornament.
Later, the guys gathered outside for a Gearhead session, led by our technical gurus Mike and Sandy. There were a couple of new Alpine owners at the rally who no doubt benefited from advice and help, much like we did five years ago as new Alpine owners.
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| Michele preparing the "tea" |
The "T" in tea should be taken loosely since it's really an excuse to sip a fancy liqueur-champagne concoction!
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| mystery packages |
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| what will it be.... |
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| this tissue box holder was a favorite |
After Sunday's breakfast in the Club House, everyone had a free day to explore the area or simply chill and visit, until Happy Hour. Most folks opted to go to dinner after that, the rest were happy to hang at the Club House and played games.
Monday morning we all gathered at the Club House again for a catered breakfast by Rock and Roll Diner, followed by a general SoCal meeting during which a new roster of Board members was voted in. Without our combined volunteering there would be no club.
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| a scrumptious catered breakfast |
The afternoon was free until we all gathered back at the Club House again for Happy Hour and a Potluck dinner.
Tuesday morning Michael and I picked up a goodbye treat that is pretty popular in Pismo, their Old West Cinnamon Rolls. Folks wandered into the Club House to pick up their treat and say final goodbyes.
And so ended another successful rally in "Pismodise", filled with camaraderie, eating (of course), and a good bit of advising and fixing by the guys.
Other rally group activities included walking in the mornings after breakfast.
We lucked out with Pismo perfect weather and warm temperatures over the weekend. However, the perfect weather created calm conditions with little to no wind. Each coach received a kite and we had hoped we could fly them on the beach. A few folks did assemble their kites and attempted to get them airborne.
Many walked to the Monarch Butterfly Grove to watch the butterflies which are in town for the winter.
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| photo taken by Kathy through the docent's telescope |
And several of us gathered in the late afternoon to watch yet another perfect Pismo day come to a close. Sunsets are always a marvelous phenomenon.
When the rally ended, except for two couples and us who stayed on for a few more days, everyone else headed off. We continued the post-rally socializing.
We drove to Morrow Bay to stroll around the quaint town, enjoyed watching the resident sea otters, went on a bay cruise, and had an early dinner at Tognazzini's on the dock.
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| a sea otter mother with her new little one |
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| Morro Rock (and me) |
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| who says guys don't like to chat! |
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| Michael at the helm |
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| unafraid of people, this sea otter was cracking clamshells open by hitting them against the boat |
And so the rally we had been working on for the past year came to an end. It involved a lot of work and preparation and we were glad to do our part. We have been SoCal members for 5 years and have attended many rallies.
While we stayed on at Pismo Coast Village, several of our friends moved on to the Santa Maria Elks to participate in their Friday "Barbecue your own meal." We joined them for this popular weekly event. It was quite entertaining.
We picked up our main course, which for the two of us was salmon and swordfish, and walked over to the barbecue area. There is an entire building dedicated to several barbecue pits covered with grates with separate areas for meat, chicken, and fish. We placed our fish in the baskets provided and were instructed to cook the fish for 7 minutes per side.
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| tending our fish over the blazing wood fire |
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| these slabs of meat are the most popular |
Several of us lingerers from the Alpine rally group enjoyed the meal together before parting ways, they to return home and we stay for a few more days at Pismo Coast Village.
