Ready, Set, Let the Games Begin! - Link to new PTR/TR!

[Luvchefmic]

yes the back roads, I would be going back there again to check it all out see if the vineyards had tours lovely my sister lives very near here http://www.jamesportwines.com/ we used to love going especially in the fall

 

[franandaj]

What a shame about the two cars that had such bad luck. I hope that the one that has broken down can be fit. The theme looks a lot of fun and the scenery on that drive is just stunning.

Corinna

We spoke to the guy who owned the one that broke down in Buellton. He said that he even has the part to fix his car at home, but that is in So Cal. I'm sure his car can be fixed, but the other guys were just going to walk away. Very sad. I'm glad we didn't chance it.

Those back roads look amazing; the kind of scenery I'd love to see when driving. Sounds like you're having a great time with 3D life.

And you must have been tired out....if you're having a nap.

They come up with some nice scenic drives, although what was a little disappointing was that they said it was mix of inland and coastal. We didn't see any actual coastal. However, the inland was very nice and relaxing we enjoyed it.

I was tired! There have only been a handful of occasions where I have taken naps, other than when I have been ill. This was one of a rare few!

yes the back roads, I would be going back there again to check it all out see if the vineyards had tours lovely my sister lives very near here http://www.jamesportwines.com/ we used to love going especially in the fall

Someday we will go to New York and check out the wineries there. I'm sure it's a lovely place!

 

[franandaj]

As we descended to the lobby, here are few shots of the crowd who has gathered for the Happy Hour







I’m not sure if you can see the banners which appeared today as well. There are two in the middle for Pu**y Galore’s Flying School. There was a Drax Industries and a Spectre Octopus, there are a couple others, but we didn’t get that far in the episodes that we watched so I didn’t recognize them. I still want to finish all the episodes someday!



They had set up a second bar tonight which was smart. I spent a lot of time in line last night, there were still lines, but not as bad. They were offering these two themed cocktails, but I just stuck with wine and Fran her margarita, rocks, salt.



As we perused the various spectacles, we ran across this gentleman. If you don’t know, he is a Lincoln Continental, post murder, post crusher. We DID see that one!



And if you’ve seen Goldfinger…



This man fancied himself Pu**y Galore, Goldfingers (alleged) lesbian pilot.



I’m not sure which Russian Villain we have here, but I’m sure he is someone.



And our friend Jon that we met at lunch. He didn’t watch any of the Bond movies, but he found those Yoyos at the Dollar Tree in the parking lot and turned them into earrings! Brilliant!



I’m not sure what Villain he is playing, we didn’t get that far, but the hook for a hand I’m sure gives it away, Jill?



After the cocktail hour was over, we noticed everyone migrating towards the Ballroom area where the meal would be served. Based on the color of the string on your lanyard, you were allowed in to take a seat. We were in the second group (following the VIPs who organized the event), and found a table with some nice folks from the San Francisco Chapter.





They had video screens set up at each end of the room so that we could easily see what was going on.



I found this salad inedible due to the overwhelming flavor of cilantro.



The chicken was quite good. I couldn’t finish it all and unfortunately they won’t give you a doggie bag. Everything was good, but I imagine if I ate the whole plate there must have been about 2000 calories on that plate alone!



Luckily dessert was snack sized. Although I’m sure it packed a ton of calories too, it was a Bananas Foster Tart.



After dinner they played a game show. You’ll be showing your age if you know this show.



They played a clip from the real show when Sean Connery was on it and it was hilarious! Then we went to the live version. A couple of the car club members played the celebrities which were all characters from the Bond movies.



The panel quizzed each one of them.



This last one was supposedly Pu**y Galore.



After this the show was over. They had a leather party going on and I peeked into the room. If you have never experienced a gay leather party, I can’t help you. I looked into the room and could tell that some naughty stuff was probably going to go on in there, but I was tired and ready to go to bed, so we headed back to our room and called it a night.

 

[PrincessInOz]

Great event. Love the James Bond references....naughty and nice.

Food looks great. Sorry you didn't like the cilantro.

 

[Paula Sedley-Burke]

Wow another great update! I love this! I feel like we can all travel with you it's wonderful. Now why aren't you and Fran dressed as M with one of your cats on your lap lol.


That hotel is really nice! Love the lobby! All the effort that the people organising this event have gone to is amazing. How does it get funded it? Do you buy a ticket or does it come from membership? I am so impressed! I love the James Bond theme. I should be ashamed of myself being British but I must confess to not having seen all the films. I loved the new film. Judi Dench is brill as M!

Hope today is fun. I just love this trip report we have nothing like this in the UK. I don't even know what a chapter is. But am guessing it's a club that you belong to?

Lovely photos I like the one of the two of you at the table cutey couple

Very excited about meeting you. I give Jo an update on your trip verbally every night when she gets home every night from work she loves it!

 

[dgbg100106]

I would have tried the drinks... I drink old fashions all the time, one of my go to drinks... But the other would have been worth a try!

I think I need that software that converts speech to text, so I could recite everything I wanted to tell and that would be easier than typing everything up. I always forget too much, you are doing a wonderful job!

 

[jedijill]

That would be Ernst Blofeld who heads the evil SPECTRE.

Jill in CO

 

[Paula Sedley-Burke]

I would have tried the drinks... I drink old fashions all the time, one of my go to drinks... But the other would have been worth a try!

I think I need that software that converts speech to text, so I could recite everything I wanted to tell and that would be easier than typing everything up. I always forget too much, you are doing a wonderful job!

I was wondering what an 'old fashioned' was. Don Draper in the Mad Men series we were watching the other night made one. Now I know!

 

[dgbg100106]

I was wondering what an 'old fashioned' was. Don Draper in the Mad Men series we were watching the other night made one. Now I know!

the better the bourbon the better the drink. You know sometimes there is enough other stuff in a drink to cover up the flavor, no true in an old fashion, you have to start with good bourbon.

 

[Paula Sedley-Burke]

the better the bourbon the better the drink. You know sometimes there is enough other stuff in a drink to cover up the flavor, no true in an old fashion, you have to start with good bourbon.

Sounds sensible. Like cooking right? If seabass is your base ingredient get a decent piece of Seabass. Don't try to disguise it with loads of spices etc. just enhance it a little kind of showing it off. if it's good and cooked well it doesn't actually need much. I get it. Bourbon is your core ingredient

 

[dgbg100106]

Sounds sensible. Like cooking right? If seabass is your base ingredient get a decent piece of Seabass. Don't try to disguise it with loads of spices etc. just enhance it a little kind of showing it off. if it's good and cooked well it doesn't actually need much. I get it. Bourbon is your core ingredient

 

[Pinkocto]

Great updates Alison! Is 007 always the theme or is every year different?

 

[sarahk0204]

Another hooray for Embassy Suites!

We are staying in a Hilton Suites in just 4 days. The breakfast usually costs extra at these, but we got a deal with breakfast and internet included.

My best friend and her DH are car people. They are Buick fans, with a '70 GS and an '87 Grand National. They would love something like this. What a lovely drive!

 

[franandaj]

Great event. Love the James Bond references....naughty and nice.

Food looks great. Sorry you didn't like the cilantro.

That was a really fun night!

Wow another great update! I love this! I feel like we can all travel with you it's wonderful. Now why aren't you and Fran dressed as M with one of your cats on your lap lol.


That hotel is really nice! Love the lobby! All the effort that the people organising this event have gone to is amazing. How does it get funded it? Do you buy a ticket or does it come from membership? I am so impressed! I love the James Bond theme. I should be ashamed of myself being British but I must confess to not having seen all the films. I loved the new film. Judi Dench is brill as M!

Hope today is fun. I just love this trip report we have nothing like this in the UK. I don't even know what a chapter is. But am guessing it's a club that you belong to?

Lovely photos I like the one of the two of you at the table cutey couple

Very excited about meeting you. I give Jo an update on your trip verbally every night when she gets home every night from work she loves it!

The event organizers did a great job. The basic event had a per person charge which included all the Saturday events, around $100pp. There was an extra charge for the dinner Friday night and/or the drive Friday morning. One thing we did discover about this group is that just about everyone in it has money. Makes sense because maintaining cars is not cheap. It seems that we are always finding ourselves in groups of people with means, and we are at the bottom of the heap!

As far as all the props and stuff, these are just things that people in the group probably used their own funds to make just because they love to camp it up. The guy with all the James Bond collectibles let the group use them since he already had them on hand.

A chapter is a subset of an organization which is usually locally based. People came from as far as Seattle and Denver to attend this event but most were from LA, SF or Palm Springs area. I'm glad that you and Jo are enjoying our experiences.

I would have tried the drinks... I drink old fashions all the time, one of my go to drinks... But the other would have been worth a try!

I think I need that software that converts speech to text, so I could recite everything I wanted to tell and that would be easier than typing everything up. I always forget too much, you are doing a wonderful job!

I'm not a big Whiskey drinker and I was afraid with so long of an open bar I would have too much. There are already some gaps in my memory as it is.

My phone has something like that, but knowing my phone it would convert it just a stupidly as it predicts my typing.

That would be Ernst Blofeld who heads the evil SPECTRE.

Jill in CO

OK, I'm not sure we have got that far in watching the movies yet.

Sounds sensible. Like cooking right? If seabass is your base ingredient get a decent piece of Seabass. Don't try to disguise it with loads of spices etc. just enhance it a little kind of showing it off. if it's good and cooked well it doesn't actually need much. I get it. Bourbon is your core ingredient

Kind of like wine, if you wouldn't drink it, don't cook with it.

Great updates Alison! Is 007 always the theme or is every year different?

The theme changes every year. Next year is kind of dumb, I'm not sure what to do with it. 1962.

Another hooray for Embassy Suites!

We are staying in a Hilton Suites in just 4 days. The breakfast usually costs extra at these, but we got a deal with breakfast and internet included.

My best friend and her DH are car people. They are Buick fans, with a '70 GS and an '87 Grand National. They would love something like this. What a lovely drive!

That sounds fun! I'm all ready for another trip! Next one is in 11 days!

 

[PrincessInOz]

That sounds fun! I'm all ready for another trip! Next one is in 11 days!

I love that you're getting out and about. And with your mini-TR's, its making the time to September go really quick. Too quick.

 

[rentayenta]

I just can't read your report before bed; it makes my stomach growl.


What's with the gold mannequin in the bed?

 

[ACDSNY]

Nice update and yes I remember "What's my Line".

 

[franandaj]

I love that you're getting out and about. And with your mini-TR's, its making the time to September go really quick. Too quick.

Ha! I know! We're actually getting out more than I am comfortable with, but this is my XXth reunion. I think you had the same one last year, not sure why you beat me to it, but maybe you moved ahead in your transfer from school to school.

I haven't been to one since the 10th so I'm looking forward to it. Lots of potential shock factor! At the 10th, I was married to a man, so looking forward to showing up with Fran. She's far better than the man I showed up with X amount of years ago!

Although it seems as though it will be a fairly casual event, no dinner, just a gathering at a bar, I have to try and confirm the whole thing, it was all coordinated by facebook.

 

[franandaj]

I just can't read your report before bed; it makes my stomach growl.


What's with the gold mannequin in the bed?

I can't help you with the food porn part, you should know!

Watch the James Bond movie with Goldfinger and you'll get the mannequin....

Nice update and yes I remember "What's my Line".

I'm still trying to remember if i'd seen "what's my line?" But I know I'm old!

 

[Paula Sedley-Burke]

Thanks for explaining about the chapter. Also 100 pp is very good. I know what you mean though taking up a hobby and realising other members are really loaded as we say here ( have lots of cash to spare ) . Trying to keep up is hard without appearing mean!

As I don't drink and Jo drives so doesn't drink when out the amount of times we have had to split a bill with folks that ordered champagne and spirits plus the most expensive item on the menu etc. We had soda's a moderate meal and I feel my whole weekly allowance disappearing fast! But I am always too embarrassed to say anything!

A friend of ours is restoring an old car. It's beautiful. I will ask for a photo. A british Triumph TR6 I think. Not all finished yet but working in progress!

Looking forward to hearing what you are up to on Moonraker today.

Paula x