This year's District Rally held Labor Day weekend was at the DoubleTree Hotel at Bakersfield, CA. Unlike past years, the weather was not unbearably hot. It was actually at a fairly pleasant low 90's upper 80's. 2Q was represented by Shirley and me along with Steve & Jacque Foster, Rich & Linda Sciacqua and Susie Coles. We met up with the Fosters and Sciacquas at Fry's Electronics parking lot in Fremont and later picked up Susie at south San Jose. We decided to take 101 and later across 46 to partially avoid the heat and duldrum of I5. It made for a little more of an interesting ride. We stopped at the Jack Ranch Cafe next to the James Dean memorial for lunch. The food was pretty good.
We arrived at the DoubleTree around 3pm. We settled in and later went to the Crystal Palace for dinner and show. I'm not much of a country/western music fan but I did find the "Buckaroos" very entertaining. The palace is a museum/shrine to Buck Owens with a lot of memorabilia. The next morning Steve and I were off for the "Advance Riders Course" while Shirley, Jacque and Linda kept 2Q's scheduled duty of manning the District Store. I think it's fair for me to say that neither Steve or I embarassed ourselves at the "on-bike" portion of the class.
Saturday evening was the Rally's Ice Cream social. A lot of members were in spirit and dressed accordingly with the theme of the Roaring 20's. The social has always been the high light of the Rally and it showed with the fun and laughter everyone was having. This was also the time they setup the screen and we were able to view the movie clips that a good number of Chapters had put together. I'll say that there are a lot of creative folks in our association with some pretty refined clips. I suppose that shouldn't be a surprise being so close to tinseltown.
The next morning Rich & Linda with Shirley and me were at class to get our CPR re-certification. Steve and Jacque left early so they can tend to Jacque's Mom. After our CPR class the Sciacquas, Susie and Shirley and I we were off and on the road for home. Later that evening Susie found out she won 1st place at the Bike show competition. They held off the announcement until the closing ceremony dinner. - Alan
A quick breakfast at McD's |
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Mystical tree (?) about 900 ft from where James Dean crashed. |
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"Final Autograph" A speeding ticket prior to his fatal crash. |
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A "Shriner" plane? |
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District Couple of the Year |
A "WolfPack" from the "Wolf Pack" for Qoala. |
After some time with 2W, Qoala is finally back with family. |
A tasty meal on the cheap from Zingo's Cafe. |
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The Crystal Palace |
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An honest to goodness horse corral, including patties. |
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Jacque hawking 50/50 |
Shirley with GWRRA Exec Director Melissa Eason. |
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The Executive Director all wrapped up in her duties. |
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