BEVERLY HILLS BUG CRUISE

[MIKE]

An interesting day crusing Beverly Hills ending at the Grove next to Farmers Market.

http://i238.photobucket.com/albums/ff261/LAMLEVY/NBCCRUISE073.jpg

My pics at http://rides.webshots.com/album/568872531WWIZCH

[mygreenbug]

That was fun you guys, thanks for putting it together, i thoroughly enjoyed myself, i loved hearing all the comments and seeing people's reactions as we drove by, hope to see you all real soon :)

[Luke]

Hey, thanks to all for attending the Beverly Hills Hill Billy Bug 2 run.... or whatever it was.

As advertised, it was a 'seat of the pants' day. Hope no one left frustrated at the lack of planning 'cause that was the ..... 'plan'.

Thanks to those who took turns leading. Special thanks to Rossi for providing us a preview of the new SoCal NBC club house, not.

It's too bad the Van Nuys VW visit fell through - we'll redo that part another day. Yeah, and the Greystone Mansion part too.

It was great to see Casey, Wesley and Jim attend again - hope you'll all return for future cruises..... or maybe plan one yourself!

Mike, that picture of the 'line up' is great - it would make a good 'mast head' photo for a web page after being narrowed top-to-bottom. You always do a superb job at recording the goings-on.

When's the next run? Maybe a Christmas lights cruise for December?

- Luke

[BEARJAM]

Hey, thanks to all for attending the Beverly Hills Hill Billy Bug 2 run.... or whatever it was.

As advertised, it was a 'seat of the pants' day. Hope no one left frustrated at the lack of planning 'cause that was the ..... 'plan'.

Thanks to those who took turns leading. Special thanks to Rossi for providing us a preview of the new SoCal NBC club house, not.

It's too bad the Van Nuys VW visit fell through - we'll redo that part another day. Yeah, and the Greystone Mansion part too.

It was great to see Casey, Wesley and Jim attend again - hope you'll all return for future cruises..... or maybe plan one yourself!

Mike, that picture of the 'line up' is great - it would make a good 'mast head' photo for a web page after being narrowed top-to-bottom. You always do a superb job at recording the goings-on.

When's the next run? Maybe a Christmas lights cruise for December?

- Luke


It was a fun time, but I think for a group as large as we ended up being, we need to have SOME sort of plan as far as destinations go so we can meet up if we get separated. It is tough to try to stay together as a group with traffic lights, etc. We always want to have fun, but NEVER at the sake of safety.


Luke,

I think that Marcia was talking about a Christmas Light parade in Palm Springs this year, but due to lack of interest, they have decided to be spectators instead of being in the parade.

[Luke]

Frank:

You are correct; the city traffic was a hinderance in trying to keep everyone together.

I guess this is the reminder of what we have learned several times before. When we exceed about 6 or 7 bugs, city streets create problems with fragmentation.

That is why country and mountain roads are the best alternative. Plus, they are just flat more fun to navigate! Coldwater Canyon Road was fun this time.

Humm... I guess that is why the traffic cops work so well for Toy Jam.

- Luke

[daXbug]

Frank:

You are correct; the city traffic was a hinderance in trying to keep everyone together.

I guess this is the reminder of what we have learned several times before. When we exceed about 6 or 7 bugs, city streets create problems with fragmentation.

That is why country and mountain roads are the best alternative. Plus, they are just flat more fun to navigate! Coldwater Canyon Road was fun this time.

Humm... I guess that is why the traffic cops work so well for Toy Jam.

- Luke


Thanks to whoever put this event on the calendar, you get an "A" for effort. At least it gave the members a chance to get together for brunch. However, as soon as we left Mel's diner and got lost/seperated on the short drive to "Rossi's House", I had a sour feeling of how the remainder of the day was going to turn out.

The idea of different drivers taking the lead to the next destination is a novel concept as long as the destinations are finalized before departure. Otherwise, we end up looking like a frantic 21st Century version of the old Keystone Kops movies. As Frank infered, what may work well for 4 cars exploring an "uncharted" area may NOT work well for 14 cars in the same situation (at least not without Frank's police escorts). Least said, this was a very different type of cruise, let's NOT do it again sometime!

gp

[soozq]

In my defense (since I'm one of the people who put this gtg on the calendar!)
*The 'plan' was always stated loudly and clearly!
'WE ARE ALL PLANNING THIS CRUISE!, so bring some addresses of places you'd like to see or share'.
Luke, Rossi and I put this on the calendar this way because we wanted to get together while Rossi was there and none of us knew the area well enough to plan sight seeing things. We hoped to get people to step up and participate by coming up with things they wanted to see/do that we could search for together.

What happened?
We anticipated only 5-6 bugs, until the day before when they started coming out of the woodwork!
I planned the meet spot/lunch, which everyone made it there - early, even!
Rossi took us to her mansion and was kind enough to let us have a tour.
Jim planned Van Nuys VW (although it, unfortunately, fell through at the last minute)
I wanted to drive through Coldwater Canyon,
GP planned the Greystone Mansion (although, unfortunately, it wasn't reopened as stated!)
Someone wanted to see the Beverly Hills hotel, so with the help of GPS,we made it there, and GP got us all to the park, with a potty stop, even!
Frank offered to take us to the Botox guy's house, unfortunately the GPS took us through a lot of city streets.
Frank suggested the Grove, which gave us an awesome photo op.
So - some of the plans fell through, it didn't turn out the way we may have envisioned, but...we have to look at it as an adventure! (and, a learning experience!)

Lessons learned:
A-most people, in general, are followers and do not want to speak up and 'take the lead'.
B-most people don't plan ahead, and prefer to show up at the last minute
C-people do not visit the website often enough to know about upcoming events
D-getting regular emails telling about upcoming events, or directing people to the website for important information, is the best way to inform members. People are busy, and don't think about checking to see what it going on until the weekend is in sight.

Ideas...What worked in previous years?
1. A monthly e-newsletter
2. Having a meeting, setting up the calendar for the year with events that people can plan/look forward to
3. Those main events are planned from start to finish, avoiding heavy traffic areas.
4. Having little GTGs in between are fun, just to meet for lunch or dinner to keep in touch and brainstorm new events
5. Be prepared for small or large groups.


Anyway, Thanks to everyone who kept a smile on their face and stuck it out! Luke, Casey and I drove up to the fire zone afterwards to see the mobile home park devastation on the 210. Very sad...makes our trials and tribulations of the day seem stupid and frivolous, don't you think?

[Beesel]

I am one of the ones that fell behind at several traffic lights. When there is a cop car in front of you, one has a tendency not to speed. When the traffic light turned green and the cop car did not move, I thought twice about blowing my horn but I did blow my horn at the cop.

I am a very independent person and would have went home had I not found everyone. I have a tendency of not giving up and did not. Luke giving directions when we turned was helpful but I had just caught up when the radio call was made and drove past him. I was too far away to hear the radio calls but when the distance closed, the radio was quiet till Luke made the call. Had I had someones cell phone number, I could have called to find out where we were turning.

I started what is now a YahooGroup of flyers in SoCAL 8.5 years ago. I know what it is like to lead a bunch of airplanes and pilots around. I also know how to follow. I have a Waiver Card that is required by the FAA to fly formation in an air show. My card allows me to LEAD a flight or fly as a wingman. Yes I can lead and am willing to do so but would prefer to just follow. I do not mind being last in the group. I know that my diesel may STINK if you are following me. I hope me being in front of a couple of Verts on Sunday did not stink them out.

It is NICE to know everything in advance but we are all adults and should be able to find our way home without instructions even without a GPS when we get lost from the group.

Being that I was almost lost, all I can say is thanks for putting this together. IMHO, it was very successful even without advance directions.

Splitting up into two or 3 groups led by someone that knew where we were going or in contact with the leader on a different frequency or cell phone could have had all of us show up at the same place but at different times.

BTW, I check the site every day. (or at least I try to)

[BEARJAM]

I think overall it was a fun day...albeit a little frustrating at times. But as they say, "That which doesn't kill you, makes you stronger!"

I wanted to thank all that put this together. As much as I like driving, I really enjoy hanging with everyone too, so even if we meet somewhere...drive a little and hang somewhere else, I am happy. I apologize if I got at all testy on Sunday. I guess the OCD in me craves total organization.

I think Sue is on the right track, and that we do need to get a monthly newsletter going again. That always seemed to keep everyone informed and on track.

Hopefully this forum will also aid in the camaraderie of the club. It's is a great way to stay in touch with what's going on. Unfortunately it seems that many of our members don't know how to "work" the forum. Maybe we need to host a little "Forum 101" sometime?

[soozq]

Luke has a great idea -
A beginning of the year gtg/meeting to plan out the year's events and a workshop/training for the forum. We can also finally have our 'swap' meet where we all bring bug stuff to swap or sell. I know it's not really centrally located, but I am offering my tutoring center as the location for this event. I have 10 computers, all online, as well as wireless internet for those who want to bring their own laptops. We can do a potluck or order pizza, or there are a lot of great restaurants nearby. There's even a bowling alley next door or a putt putt golf across the street for fun afterwards!

[BEARJAM]

I am offering my tutoring center as the location for this event.

I think that is a GREAT idea, and very generous of you, Sue.


(Hmmm... a tutoring center??? What if we misspell something, do we get hit across the hands with a ruler?)

I would vote for Jan 3 or 4. It would be a GREAT way to get the new year started!

[Luke]

If Sue is OK with the date (she has already offered her place), let's make it Sunday January 4th, 2009 (jeez, 2009, unbelievable!). I'm thinking an afternoon gathering for a "Forums Workshop/Social GTG" and maybe a short optional run near the noon hour - before the workshop. Any suggestions. Members could bring photos to put on the site and complete any info they have not recorded. And as Sue suggested we should plan out the 2009 events calendar.

Think about whether you could host an event and what month you'd like. June is probably already taken due to the Roswell event.

Sue is that Sunday clear on your center?

Also, let's not forget the December event. Casey has suggested the Harbor parade of boats on Dec 13th (Sat) as our Christmas time activity. I think this is fine and it is time to 'calendar' both dates.

Note that Marcia has already calendared the Palm Springs light parade as a 'viewer event' for those interested (see calendar).

- Luke

[soozq]

Sounds good!
We can meet for lunch, then drive a scenic route to my center before the meeting...
have a potluck or pizza lunch at the center, then cruise after the meeting...
meet midmorning, then lunch/drive after...
maybe Frank can put up a poll so everyone can vote on the details?

[BEARJAM]

June is probably already taken due to the Roswell event.



And October is always ToyJam.