Bay Area Tour Saturday April 12th - Backroads of Hollister, Sponsered by PCA - All are invited Options

[kenschipper]

I will be leading a PCA tour on Saturday April 12th going out to the Pinnacles behind Hollister. The tour is open to any Porsche owner, (technically for insurance reasons you have to epress an interest in finding out more abour PCA. Not that anyone will really ask.)

Below are details...

Pinnacles Tour Update (Please email me back if you plan on attending - kenschipper@hotmail.com) or leave a message on my cell at 831-262-4222.

I just returned from a pre-tour run to the Pinnacles and I have to say that it is going to be an absolutely beautiful drive. The hills are green, wild flowers are blooming, the oaks are just getting their leaves and the route is going to be a lot of fun. (Side note, may want to rename this the San Andreas Fault run as we cross it approximately 12 times)


Foothills behind Hollister

First off, this will be a picnic tour. Picnic basket, blanket, cheese, crackers, sandwiches, olives, pickles, potato salad, drinks. Our picnic location is at the San Benito Count Historic Park located in the foothills behind Hollister (the Pinnacles has limited facilities and cannot accommodate more than a few cars at their picnic site). For those of you who are late planners, the WindMill Market in San Juan Bautista (immediately across the street from our starting point) just opened a full deli. You will be able to get anything you might want there, just be sure to give yourself a little extra time. There will be picnic tables and large grass areas available along with restrooms and water. Bring an extra dish to share.

Wash and Shine Judging for pre-1975 Vehicles
I know there are a lot of members with pre 1975 Porsches who have not attended many tours recently. The hope is that we will have a large showing from this group. If enough vehicles attend, the plan is to have an informal wash-and-shine judging for pre 1975 vehicles prior to heading out.

The tour itself will start in San Juan Bautista and will follow the general route used by the Bay Area Ferrari and Lamborghini groups. The route runs through the isolated backroads behind Hollister and includes plenty of twists and turns along with three 2+ mile long straights which I believe the exotics use to let their vehicle 'breath' a little.



Hwy 25

Details on the tour.

Costs: $5.00 for the tour, $5.00 for the Pinnacles, $5.00 for the picnic grounds, and as much as you want to spend on beer at Joan and Peters German Restaurant at the end of the run.

Fuel: We will be passing only one gas station on the route. There is no gas available in San Juan Bautista so have 1/4 tank to get you to Tres Pinos where you can fuel up.

Schedule
9:00am Meet in San Juan Bautista
9:30-9:45 Wash and Shine judging
10:00am Start of tour
10:30am Stop at Tres Pinos Catholic Church parking lot (wait for those getting gas)
11:45am Stop at Pinnacles National Monument (restrooms available)
12:30pm Stop at San Benit County Park for picnic lunch
2:00 pm Leave for San Juan Bautista
2:30pm Arrive back in San Juan Bautista for refreshments at Joan and Peters restaurant and beer garden


Route
A detailed route map will be handed out at the start of the tour, the following is an overview.

We will be starting in the San Juan Preschool parking lot which is immediately across the street from the Windmill Market at the south edge of town. (Corner of Hwy 156 and The Alameda, only stoplight in town). From there we head across the San Juan Valley and circle the outskirts of Hollister on our way to Tres Pinos. The roads in this section are slower and narrower and are in moderately good condition. The San Andreas fault will be on your right as we head up Southside Road. After a short break for regrouping Tres Pinos we will head South on Hwy 25. Hwy 25 is in excellent condition with incredible scenery the long straights and twisty sections previously mentioned and normally only minimal traffic. This section of the tour will take us out to the Pinnacles for a short stretch and restroom break. We will be crossing the fault a number of times on this portion of the run.

From there we will head back towards Hollister and our Picnic Lunch.

Following the picnic we will head back via Cienega Rd to San Juan Bautista with the final stop being the German restaurant beer garden.

Hope to see many of you there.

Please email me if you plan to attend so that I can insure we have adequate arrangements at the winery for lunch.

Ken Schipper
kenschipper@hotmail.com