HearsTT Castle Rally Photos and Comments...
Thread Starter
Eighth Member of AudiWorld. God-like, glorious and all-knowing.
Joined: Mar 2000
Posts: 21,469
Likes: 3
HearsTT Castle Rally Photos and Comments...
<center><img src="http://albums.photopoint.com/j/View?u=188870&a=14066435&p=57022519&Sequence=0&res =high"></center><p>
The HearsTT Castle Rally is now history. I really had a great time and very much enjoyed seeing some old and new friends. I'm hopeful that most of the attendees had a decent time too.
I took a ton of pics, and they can be viewed by following the link below. Additionally, here are a few comments regarding each day of the trip:
Friday:
My initial impressions of the Inn at Morro Bay was that it was a very nice facility. Not the Ritz Carlton by any stretch of the imagination, but certainly one of the nicer properties in the area. They had a great Christmas tree out front, and the carollers were a nice touch.
Only 8 of us did the optional visit to the Piedras Blancas Elephant Seal rookery. I really thought it was very much worthwhile. These seals weigh up to 5,000 lbs and are magnificent. The view was also gorgeous, as was the sunset. All of the sunset photos were taken during this visit.
Back to the bar later in the evening for drinks, and live jazz. Many of the crew were already there, and got a good head start on me (what a shock). I wished I had more of a chance to talk with some of the attendees, but my lousy hearing (from days playing drums and standing in front of PA stacks) prevents me from having conversations with loud background noise. Also, though it's a nice lounge with a great view, the arrangement did not allow for the free-roaming/socializing as did the Holiday Inn bar at Fallingwater.
Saturday:
Heard the screeching monkey on the FRS, and that signaled the kickoff to the first full day of the rally. Hmmmm, bit of a headache today. Anyone got some aspirin? Thanks, Gary! We lined up and caravanned to a very twisty road which led us to the Eberlie Winery. The road was more scenic and twisty that I had thought. I tried to take it at a pretty moderate pace so everyone could keep up. Arrived at Eberlie exactly on schedule, even though we made a potty and gasoline break. Gina was a big help in keeping me informed via the FRS as to the progress of the rear of the group, so thanks for your assistance, Gina.
Eberlie Winery was pretty cool, I thought. Loved the wine caves. Their quality of wines was very good, as was the quality of lunch. Our tour guide was outstanding, and I ended up buying some of the yummy Muscat Canelli dessert wine.
As the slightly buzzed crew wound their way through the green hills, it started to rain lightly. Again, I arrived at the Hearst Castle ticket counter on time to the minute. Truly amazing, as I had estimated all times pretty roughly.
Went to the bathroom and left my umbrella behind. Went back to retrieve it and it was gone. Not at lost and found either. Oh well.
Rainy and cold on the hill in San Simeon, but nice and warm inside the castle, and the holiday decorations were brilliant. I think I would have liked to have been one of Hearst's buddies, though the 2 drink per night maximum wouldn't have gone over too well with me or the rest of the attendees.
Concluded the tour as darkness fell upon San Simeon. Took one last visit to lost and found, and surprise, the umbrella was returned. There are still some honest people out there! Watched the sparkle of a few Xenons in my rear-view mirror as we wound our way back to the hotel in moderate rain.
Dinner was generally good. However, the "steak" was nothing like real steak. It was fairly tasty, but not exactly what I had expected. Overall, the meal was pretty good, I thought, and it was a convenient location as we were within walking distance of our rooms and the bar.
Later, back to the bar, and of course the crew's all there with that damn monkey. That thing gets more play! Wanted to join the group, but there wasn't really enough room, and I have that slight hearing problem. So a couple of Grand Marnier snifters later, it was off to bed.
Sunday:
Most of us did the Sunday Brunch for an hour and a half on the Tiger's Folly, which is sort of a paddle wheel ship. The food was really good, and there was a truly outstanding fresh seafood pasta bar where everything was cooked to order. The "Champagne" sucked, but perhaps that's good since we all had to drive home. Cold and windy upstairs, but a very nice view. Lots of seals frolicking about, and great close-ups of Morro Rock, which is actually a 20,000,000 year old dormant volcano which rests in the middle of the bay.
Well that's my report. Again, I had a great time, and I hope everyone else did too. Will look forward to the next rally, wherever and whenever it will be. Again, below is a link to a ton of pics. To view a shot in the largest format available, click on the photo again.
The HearsTT Castle Rally is now history. I really had a great time and very much enjoyed seeing some old and new friends. I'm hopeful that most of the attendees had a decent time too.
I took a ton of pics, and they can be viewed by following the link below. Additionally, here are a few comments regarding each day of the trip:
Friday:
My initial impressions of the Inn at Morro Bay was that it was a very nice facility. Not the Ritz Carlton by any stretch of the imagination, but certainly one of the nicer properties in the area. They had a great Christmas tree out front, and the carollers were a nice touch.
Only 8 of us did the optional visit to the Piedras Blancas Elephant Seal rookery. I really thought it was very much worthwhile. These seals weigh up to 5,000 lbs and are magnificent. The view was also gorgeous, as was the sunset. All of the sunset photos were taken during this visit.
Back to the bar later in the evening for drinks, and live jazz. Many of the crew were already there, and got a good head start on me (what a shock). I wished I had more of a chance to talk with some of the attendees, but my lousy hearing (from days playing drums and standing in front of PA stacks) prevents me from having conversations with loud background noise. Also, though it's a nice lounge with a great view, the arrangement did not allow for the free-roaming/socializing as did the Holiday Inn bar at Fallingwater.
Saturday:
Heard the screeching monkey on the FRS, and that signaled the kickoff to the first full day of the rally. Hmmmm, bit of a headache today. Anyone got some aspirin? Thanks, Gary! We lined up and caravanned to a very twisty road which led us to the Eberlie Winery. The road was more scenic and twisty that I had thought. I tried to take it at a pretty moderate pace so everyone could keep up. Arrived at Eberlie exactly on schedule, even though we made a potty and gasoline break. Gina was a big help in keeping me informed via the FRS as to the progress of the rear of the group, so thanks for your assistance, Gina.
Eberlie Winery was pretty cool, I thought. Loved the wine caves. Their quality of wines was very good, as was the quality of lunch. Our tour guide was outstanding, and I ended up buying some of the yummy Muscat Canelli dessert wine.
As the slightly buzzed crew wound their way through the green hills, it started to rain lightly. Again, I arrived at the Hearst Castle ticket counter on time to the minute. Truly amazing, as I had estimated all times pretty roughly.
Went to the bathroom and left my umbrella behind. Went back to retrieve it and it was gone. Not at lost and found either. Oh well.
Rainy and cold on the hill in San Simeon, but nice and warm inside the castle, and the holiday decorations were brilliant. I think I would have liked to have been one of Hearst's buddies, though the 2 drink per night maximum wouldn't have gone over too well with me or the rest of the attendees.
Concluded the tour as darkness fell upon San Simeon. Took one last visit to lost and found, and surprise, the umbrella was returned. There are still some honest people out there! Watched the sparkle of a few Xenons in my rear-view mirror as we wound our way back to the hotel in moderate rain.
Dinner was generally good. However, the "steak" was nothing like real steak. It was fairly tasty, but not exactly what I had expected. Overall, the meal was pretty good, I thought, and it was a convenient location as we were within walking distance of our rooms and the bar.
Later, back to the bar, and of course the crew's all there with that damn monkey. That thing gets more play! Wanted to join the group, but there wasn't really enough room, and I have that slight hearing problem. So a couple of Grand Marnier snifters later, it was off to bed.
Sunday:
Most of us did the Sunday Brunch for an hour and a half on the Tiger's Folly, which is sort of a paddle wheel ship. The food was really good, and there was a truly outstanding fresh seafood pasta bar where everything was cooked to order. The "Champagne" sucked, but perhaps that's good since we all had to drive home. Cold and windy upstairs, but a very nice view. Lots of seals frolicking about, and great close-ups of Morro Rock, which is actually a 20,000,000 year old dormant volcano which rests in the middle of the bay.
Well that's my report. Again, I had a great time, and I hope everyone else did too. Will look forward to the next rally, wherever and whenever it will be. Again, below is a link to a ton of pics. To view a shot in the largest format available, click on the photo again.
Thread
Thread Starter
Forum
Replies
Last Post
ITALSKIER
TT (Mk1) Discussion
4
Aug 21, 2005 09:05 AM
