The idea has been passed around about getting together sometime this month for a meet, greet and possibly a drive. I figure that it's time to start making plans or atleast to guaging the interest in doing something like this.


Simply put, this is what we need to coordinate this effort:

When? - When would a good time be to plan this get together? Is it still possible to organize it for this month? If not, then what possibilities exist for the month of August?

Where? - There's lots of 350Z owners, in lots of locations all around the Pac NW from what I've seen on this forum. Where should we plan on meeting? I guess the answer to this question would also be determined by the answer to the next question.

What? - What is it that we'd like to do? A meet and greet? Lunch? BBQ? Go for a drive? Epic journey? Any and all ideas are welcomed.


So to all the NW 350z faithful, lets get your input. If this summer were to come and go without at least one meeting; it would be a shame.

 

Lemme go first:

When - Saturday, July 23rd or July 30th

Where - Mt St. Helen's Visitor's Center in Castle Rock

What - Driving all the short legs up to the observatory, stopping the Coldwater Ridge visitor's center to get a bite to eat, continuing on to the Observatory and then back. (100 miles round trip)

 

When - any weekend but the 30th of July (family reunion in Oregon)

Where - pretty open but remember, I live about 90 miles from Seattle, so it's a road trip to get to you.

What - more of meet and greet lunch kindof thing where we can have a cadre of Z's all parked together for a little car show.

 

Just shout out if you're interested and/or if you have any suggestions.

 

I just came from st helens yesterday and it is an awesome site and a really easy drive from Seattle. I actually saw the smoke coming from the dome and read in the news today that it can go off at any time. I might go there again maybe on the 30th and then split off to go to Portland for my buddy's b-day. As far as other places to go - today I visited Camano Island State Park and it is a really nice place to go and relax. Pleanty of space for picnic, food and games like volleyball. If someone pulls a jet ski there is a boat luanch there too. There are campsites available on the first come first serve bases and parking is $5 for the whole day. I will try to think of something else also and I am open for suggestions.

 

i would definatly be up for that!!!
just as long as its on a Weekend is all... and decent weather.

 

When I think about it, a whole day's activity might be too much for a lot of folks. We're all busy during the week and usually need the weekends to catch up w/ our lives. Maybe a 1/2 day thing (AM or PM) would be better and require less of a time commitment. It seems that a Saturday is proably the best day to do any activity on so I narrows down our possibilities to the following days:

July 16, 23, 30
Aug 6, 13, 20, 27

What's the feeling here for most people? Is time an issue that we should consider? Would it be better to agree to do something that would only take several hours rather than a whole day?

 

when:
I'm up for any saturday after (and including) the 23rd, I'm getting my new bumper and flywheel/clutch put on and don't really wanna meet before that.

where:
I will go anywhere

what:
spirited driving, meeting for check out hot cars and possible a bite to eat ...

anyone care if my buddy's girl and buddy come along in her bright orange elise ??

 

I'm down for whatever. My weekends tend to be hit or miss, so I'll let you guys plan something and then just try and make it.

Helens is quite a trip to get to...but fantastic once you get there. Not too bad if you're coming from Portland.

 

Won't there be practice days on the 16th of July and possibly other weekends?

 

I'm available most weekends and as long as it's not hundreds of miles from Portland, I'm ok to travel. A few of the Z's around here that I might get to come are mostly available on Sundays.

When? - July 24, July 31, Aug 7, or Aug 14 (all Sundays). The 24th would give us almost 3 weeks which should be enough for people to check work schedules and clear it with the significant other.

Where? - As long as the drive is fun, I can travel. But some dull I-5 straight-shot is too boring for me. Mt Hood or some other curvy destination would be fun. But I realize that we kinda have to keep it reasonable for both WA and OR folks.

What? - I think it would be cool to meet up, check out each other's rides, and chat for a while. So maybe meet up at a restaurant that has a large parking lot for an early lunch? Then a nice caravan to someplace? Or maybe just meet, drive, and then eat.

When my local PDX group gets together we usually meet at a place like TGIF or a mall to chat and look at cars. Then we head inside for snacks and drinks.

 

After going over some of the posts above;
- Yes, it looks like there will be a BEAC practice on the 16th (more info to come soon)
- The SCCA Seattle National Tour will be on the weekend of the 23rd.
- The 30th is HIN

If anyone has any issues w/ the dates mentioned above, say it now. As for me, I can't make the 16th since I will be focaling the BEAC practice. I'd almost suggest that we do a meet & greet at the practice day since there are about 5 BEAC members on this forum that I know of (ie: that makes 15 350Z faithfuls in total), but autoX isn't for everyone so it may not be good for all.

The 23rd is okay w/ me, but I think a few guys on this forum may be attending the National Tour and it may not be a good time to go. If the 23rd is out cuz you'll be attending the National Tour; give a hollar.

As for other people joining us w/o 350Z's. Yeah, the more the merrier. Especially a guy w/ Lotus Elise, right? No limitations, just a cool bunch of people sharing the same interest.

 

At the National Tour on the 23rd.
ALMS is the weekend of 29-31st (although I could always record it, but I had considered doing F&C that weekend).

 

I love the Mt. Hood loop...although it's not super twisty or anything, it's a beautiful drive....Stopping at the Mt. Hood brew pub and then heading down to Full Sail in Hood River later in the day makes for a fun trip.

I'm definitely going to the next AutoX...so any weekend besides that might work. (except this saturday)

There's also a northwest nissans meet coming up, can't remember what weekend...might be the 16th as well. Lots of stuff going on now, since the weather just turned nice.

 

I've never done the Mt. Hood loop. I'm interested in giving it a try. How long is the drive? Are there areas where you can really let loose?

Possible dates right now are:

(Maybe July 23rd)
July 30th
August 6th
August 13th
August 20th
August 27th

PDX Racer, we'll pass on the 23rd if you will make it to this get together. Anyone else planning to got to the National Tour so we can make sure to eliminate that date?

 

St hellens visitor center sounds good i heard its a beautiful/ drive with great condition roads!! besided if it Blows, we wont have anytrouble getting out of there heheh

 

So far, I've only seen one Z entered (mine), so if the rest of you want to get together on the 23rd, go ahead.

However, if you do get together on the 23rd down by St. Helens, Packwood isn't that far away...

 

Just remember that the St. Helens and Mt. Hood loops are gonna be packed with tourists and large, lumbering RV's which will definitely slow down the cruize. You might want to pick a less traveled road.

In any event I'm up for most anything. Me, maxim and rolling can hook up here in PDX-Land and come North if the group decides on something midway between Seattle and here.

 

This is a great thread. Hitting Helen's would be sweet. While it is a bit of a drive, it'd be gorgeous. As long as it's a Saturday and I get about 2 weeks notice, I can clear the day out to go. The 23rd or the 30th look good.

 

Seems like good options 23rd and the 30th are possibilities and it looks like the Mt. St. Helen's drive up to Johnston Ridge is getting some positive feedback.

Some info on Mt St Helens:
http://www.fs.fed.us/gpnf/mshnvm/

If you view the maps you'll notice that 504 goes up to Johnston Ridge. From what I recall, when I did that drive back in May, is that from the intersection of 504 & 505, there isn't a single cross road the entire way up to the observatory. Aside from a few places w/ access to Weyerhouser logging roads and access to scenic spots, it's all clear .

Let's not agree to this as the plan yet. If anyone else has any other ideas, let's hear them. I'm thinking we should finalize a plan sometime next week so everyone can have a good amount of heads-up time and get the 350z faithful (and friends) organized in caravans. Plus it should give us some time to plan accordingly if we do decide to go for a drive.

For now let's see if we can decide on a date first. I would prefer the 30th, just to let the guys going to the National Tour a chance to join us. If you're planning to go to HIN and we decide to do the Mt St. Helen's drive, we could plan on getting together a little earlier, do this drive and get back to Seattle before 6PM to make HIN that night.

Nothing's set in stone right now. The more input and ideas we get out into this discussion the better. Again, shout out the date that works best for you at the very least so we can get a concensus of what the majority wants.