While I wish circumstances HAD allowed me the stamina to make the FW journey, it was not meant to be. I have enjoyed the photos and some of the stories. I do, however, reserve judgment on the fact that a lot has appeared about what can only be assumed was a lot of alcohol consumption. Don't get me wrong: I enjoy nice wine, a beer (now and then), and the occasional cocktail. But drinking posts are right up there with the actual details of the event. Perhaps I am missing something.

As for the West Coast event, calling it Fallingwater West is probably inappropriate. So what? Get a location for it and then give it a name. Someone needs to coordinate how it was accomplished with those who were responsible for FW, i.e., Peter, Larry, et al. It appears that they did a fantastic job of pulling it off. They have been instrumental in providing cohesion to the forum and giving members the opportunities to interact with a common thread: their TTs.

While the California wine country would be my FIRST pick, there is hardly any time of the year when things are really "slow" as far as tourism. I have gone out there at various times of the year and it has always been busy. The roads in the area of the wineries could hardly support any caravan of a large number of vehicles. (speaking mainly of the Napa/Sonoma areas). True, there may be exceptions.

The only other problem I see with the event in the wine country deals again with what we'd do there: drink. Even though I consider myself an accomplished wine taster, there is a difference between tasting wine and drinking wine. I don't think elaboration is necessary.

So, what perplexes me are car events interlaced with either the availability or the social excuse to drink heavily. It appears so contrary to responsibility of drinking and driving, let alone the current DUI laws. While most of the FW drinking may have been done before or after the actual drives to the various places in the events, how is this accomplished with the CA wine country proposal?

This is just an opinion. Guess I should sit back and wait for an onslaught of flames. But remember: I have not been accusatory. These are my valid concerns.

 

at our hotel so no driving while drunk !!

 

We also did so after the events of the day were over....anything beyond that, I feel is a judgement that you make yourself....

Dont like the song on the radio? Change the channel

Dont want to become drunk? No when to say when.

I do not want to come off as an *** but, I would certainly not ask anyone to refrain from anything that was legal

my .02

 

hotel. Even our organized dinner was without any alcohol at all....the restaurant did not serve any whatsoever.

Next, many did no drinking at all. The biggest problem was sleep deprivation as we were having so much fun we didn't want to go to bed.

 

2 Beers Friday & 2 glasses of wine Sat. for me. I did observe some fun lovin' - budding AA members.

 

The hotel I picked had a bar, so people were free to indulge in the evenings once the cars were safely parked. Some had hangovers in the AM, but they tended to be more the passengers than the drivers.

Also, the lunch buffet had no alchohol... at least none that I was aware of. The Saturday dinner was an alcohol free establishment - we ate dinner and then back to the hotel to safely park the cars and have fun.

Being the most worried person of this entire group (as you can well imagine!) and even though there were some minor incidents, I was very pleased at how well it all worked out.

This is really a fine bunch of people Steve, I wished you had been there to join in the camaraderie.

 

.02 is not bad, and legal! JK. :-)

 

I think most, if not all, of the drinking was done in a very adult manner and was nothing more than a stimulant to the comraderie of the event. All done in good friendship and in a safe, localized manner.

 

believe me, I enjoy a couple beers as much or more then the next guy. But I went to college and consumed enough beer for three skinny guys my size... and is been a few years since then. To me, TT event isn't about getting plowed, its about meeting people and celebrating our common interest. After the days events, a few beers would be great. Maybe not a few dozen though. Flame away.

As for a western TT rally, I would like to avoid wine country for the reasons Steve mentioned... tourist hell. I live in the Bay Area, and I can't drive anywhere without being buried in traffic. When I go for a drive to get away, I want to really ENJOY the drive. That means getting far enough away from big cities and tourist meccas to enjoy wide open roads.

Perhaps some areas near Tahoe would be ok, but perhaps crowded as well-- I don't know. Or we might consider something more remote, like Death Valley, Joshua Tree, Moab UT, Sedona AZ... somewhere we can stretch our legs and enjoy the drive as well as the scenery and company of many other TT's.

My $.02.

 

...by all, nothing bad happened as far as I know, Nobody was hurt no cars damaged. We drank ice tea, water and coke all day and only drank at night. Some of us did not drink at all but you know if you have a West Coast meet the WILL be drinking. JIM