Gauging interest: Couple of ideas for meet/drives in Oregon

Hondasucks · #1 09-23-2008, 01:27 AM

So I came up with a couple of ideas for some drives to do down here in Oregon, and I figured I'd post on here and see how many of you would be interested:

First idea is here in Linn County we have a pretty good number of covered bridges, and there is a very scenic "Covered Bridge Tour Route" down here that would be pretty cool for an autumn drive, or even winter for that matter since it doesn't snow too much down here.

Second idea is like a winery tour, since there are a crapload of wineries down here, there are also quite a few in Douglas County which is about 100 miles south of Albany or about 180 miles south of Portland. The community college in Roseburg has a winery program, and my father in law is part of it so I'm sure if I talked to him he could probably help me get something together, maybe even arrange some winery tours. There are some micro breweries down there as well, and a pretty cool old soda fountain in Oakland, and on Saturdays at 4pm is the Metz Hill Country Auction which is pretty interesting, they have pretty much everything there for you bargain hunters! (Kinda hard getting furniture home in an SVX though)

Not sure of any exact dates yet, heck could even wait until Spring do do it depending on interest. Just let me know what y'all think!

WestCoastSVX · #2 09-23-2008, 10:38 AM

I personally would be interested in doing one of those down there, sounds great and I like a change of scenery.

Anything much past Portland and I'd probably be looking to lodge somewhere at least one night. One idea around that would be to have a wine country loop that starts and ends at an "official" hotel where everyone stays and can continue the "alcohol testing" into the night. Just an idea, everyone doing their own thing works too.

I probably wouldn't be able to justify going down until Spring, what with the two drives already this fall and then the holidays, etc.

Looking forward, even with the "official club" aspect kinda going away, it seems like the local SVX owners are still settled into somewhat of an annual meet schedule:

January - March: Dinner get together to hang out, maintenance meet at Earl's house (could be two seperate events or combined in the same day).

August: Dabob Seafood Fest

August/September: SWWA/NWOR Driving Tour

October: Fall Colors Driving Tour

So you can see there is a pretty big hole between winter and late summer, even more so when considering that the only actual DRIVING events are the 2 that take place in the 2nd half of the year.

Of course this is all from my perspective being pretty far north of your proposed routes. There's a good crew closer to you that may be open to doing this much sooner.

Hondasucks · #3 09-23-2008, 11:38 PM

Well, Roseburg is the "hub" for southern Oregon, so even though it's not that big population wise (~26,000) they have plenty of lodging, etc.. Spring would be a great time to do it, as I think that a good chunk of the wineries aren't going to be doing anything too exciting in the next few months...

KVRXS · #4 09-24-2008, 11:06 AM

Hi,
They both sound like great tours. I'm up for them. Another tour, centered in Oregon would be a great addition to our annual schedule. Sure it would be a bit of a drive for those coming from the Seattle area, especially if trying to make the tour and the drive down in one day.
My home is always open as a place to spend the night, either for the night before or for the night after the drive. I have a spare room and a few couches, if more than one person is interested. Of course, Troy's idea of having everyone stay at a hotel sounds cool if a large group decides to stay to continue the meet into the night.

Mark

WestCoastSVX · #5 09-24-2008, 12:00 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by KVRXS

Of course, Troy's idea of having everyone stay at a hotel sounds cool if a large group decides to stay to continue the meet into the night.

I have been trying to get this idea to work for YEARS!

It always works at Reading, not sure why folks in the NW are so against it.

Turbone · #6 09-25-2008, 08:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MacGyver

I have been trying to get this idea to work for YEARS!

It always works at Reading, not sure why folks in the NW are so against it.

Different mind set

My problem is that I'm involved in the Subaru Community as a whole.
I make other meets and always make WCSS. So its not easy making more than 2 weekend meets a year. I'm thinking of going back to the Dragon next year, so thats going to take a big bite out of my budget.