Recap - Annual Meeting and Mt. Hamilton Run - September 25, 2021
Your Hosts: Simon and Nikki Tildesley
The run up to the Lick Observatory is an annual event that we do every year and is dedicated to our absent friends in memory of the members we have lost over the years. The run has become an annual event as it was one of the first runs the club did when it was formed in 2003.
30 Mini’s met at the Lucky parking lot on McKee Road in San Jose for this awesome drive. As the road is twisting and narrow and we had quite a large group – we made the decision to split it into two groups. One which would be for those who like a more spirited drive and those who wish to take things at a slower pace. I was leading the first group and Pat & Michelle Lewis kindly offered to take the second group. After some social time chatting to newer members and observing our cars – the first group set off with the second group running about 5 mins behind.
As this road has been driven many time before by many of the members – we were well aware of the potential to meet up with many cyclists on the climb up the mountain. Luckily on this occasion – we actually did see as many as we have done in the past. This gave the group opportunities to work the gearbox and the handling on their cars.
Unfortunately the Lick is still closed due to the pandemic – we had to bypass it and head straight down the other side. We were fortunate though to find a pull in to take a few pictures and allow one of our members time to clean up in his car after his poor pooch threw up!!! I don’t think the dog was prepared for how twisty the road was. After a short break I got confirmation that group two were a few mins away – so the first group headed out again.
We continued for another hour driving all the fabulous twisting roads towards the back end of Livermore – again stopping for a short photo opportunity on the valley floor. This is one of the most exciting roads to drive but does have some challenges – but everyone (including those who had not driven the road before) kept up with me and had a great time.
Our final destination on this occasion was East Bay MINI in Pleasanton who were hosting us for our annual meeting and lunch. Dolores and my wife, Nikki, had headed out to East Bay separately to the run to get things set up. On arrival we were guided into some dedicated parking spaces and took our seats for our taco lunch and annual meeting presentation and reports.
My particular thanks got to all the crew at East Bay MINI who once again excelled themselves with their hospitality and especially to Rebekka Murray for her coordination.
After our reports and presentations, the draw was done and we sent everyone home with a little gift of two microfiber cloths and a key ring. All in all – yet another great Mt Hamilton run and a fun drive for all.
Simon & Nikki Tildesley
For more photos from the day, see the albums on Facebook or in this Google Photos album.
CLUB ELECTION RESULTS FOR 2022
President - Simon Tildesley will continue
Vice President - Rick Sanchez
Membership Secretary - Michelle Lewis
Treasurer - Dolores Quintero-Sanchez will continue
Social Media Director - Michael Toibin will continue
Board of Directors
Anne & Dave Sitter
Gordon & Alison Lee
Vickie Casacca
Mick Brown
Christoph Fritsch
Anita Weemaes
Pat Lewis
and the following new board members:
Eddie Vergara
Mike Zampiceni
Tasha Hudick
Paige Lane
RUNS FOR 2022 (dates TBD by the 2022 Officers and Board of Directors shortly and will be posted at that time on our 2022 calendar on our website). We will try to even out the north/south locations and evenly space the day runs between Saturday/Sunday and when overnights take place.
Day Events
Highway 1 Tomales/ Bodega Bay
Monterey County
Napa/Sonoma
Point Reyes/ Marin Peninsula
Mount Uminum/Ulvas Meadow
Apple Hill
Delta (Highway 160) Sacramento Auto Museum
East Bay-Castro Valley-Oakland Niles area
Overnight Events
Central Coast: Paso Robles/ Cambria/San Luis Obispo Back Roads
Big Sur/ San Simeon
Nevada City
Solvang
Other events we usually participate in:
July 4th Parade - Spreckels
All British Car Show - Danville