December FIRST SUNDAY DRIVE 12/7/08- DELTA TOUR!!!
Sacramento folks, yes we heard your voices and your time has come!!
For the last FSD of the year, we're going to do a tour of the Delta that includes a great little ferry ride -- this is going to be a fun drive for the smart, be sure to mark your calendars early!
I'll stick this thread to the top as soon as the date draws nearer, but we wanted to let folks know this was in the works well in advance.. especially for a certain couple I know that missed out on one of the runs I posted too late (ahem!)
Yah! That's great news, I can't wait to see Screaming Cow again.. I wonder what the delta ferry is going to look like with a bunch of smart cars on it LOL
FSD December is ready! here's an update from Robert..
An update from SFBA organizer Robert..
Hello Sunday Drivers!
The first Sunday in November found sixteen Mercedes and one smart
(no, Robert, there were 3 of us.. anyhoo..)
back on the roads of the Santa Cruz Mountains. Misty air greeted us as we drove through Big Basin State Park but we managed to avoid the rain yet again. We ended the day with only one "directional failure" and a fabulous lunch in the beer garden of the Alpine Inn in Portola Valley. As fourteen of our drivers took an unplanned shortcut and missed two of the most spectacular roads on the route I will be sure to incorporate parts of this drive in another trip in the area.
(haha, we missed the turn because we were having a blast on that road and decided to keep going until we met up with Skyline.. we were going much faster than the rest of the back so waited for them to catch up ;) )
We end another year of Sundays in December with a fantastic tour through the Sacramento River Delta! Jack Weir has planned a great route that includes two river crossings on old-time cable ferries and a group lunch (no host) in the wonderful old town of Locke. In the afternoon we will be on our own to explore Locke and the other local towns on the Delta. Don't miss this great opportunity to explore the Delta and ring out a great year of drives! Be sure to bring a few bucks for one bridge toll - both of the ferries are free.
Looking forward to 2009 there are several great drives already in the works. In February we will be driving through the Carmel Valley from Carmel to San Juan Bautista. This drive follows a great Mercedes-Benz Club event in Monterey on Saturday, January 31 - so club members are invited to come and make a great weekend with a behind the scenes tour of the Monterey Bay Aquarium, an historic walking tour of Monterey and cocktails and dinner at the Monterey Yacht Club. Special pricing for overnight accommodations have been made at the fabulous Casa Munras in Monterey. Not a [MBCA] club member? This is a great time to join and also think about gift memberships for your friends!
Also in 2009 - look forward to some great drives combined with other club events. As always, we will split our drives between the North Bay, East Bay, South Bay and Peninsula. In April we are planning another two day tour - this time in the Lake County area.
There are a couple of months on the calendar (uh ... OK ... seven) that still need routes planned. If you have enjoyed our drives over the past two years this would be a great time to volunteer to plan a route for the group! Just e-mail [Robert] directly and we can work on the details!
Looking forward to having a great group on the Delta in December! If you can't make it, have a happy and healthy holiday season and we'll see you next year!
Drive safe!
Robert
__________
Robert E. Schilling, President
San Francisco Bay Area Section
Mercedes-Benz Club of America
Antioch to Locke - The Sacramento River Delta
Sunday, December 7, 2008
DIRECTIONS TO THE STARTING POINT: Starbucks Coffee
1896 “A” Street, Antioch
From Highway 4: Take the exit for Lone Tree Way / “A” Street. Turn toward “A” Street. Drive approximately 0.5 miles to find the Starbuck’s on the left.
INFORMATION FOR THE DRIVE This drive is all about the Delta, one of the most important ecological and
scenic areas in California. During our drive, we will cross various bodies of water many times, sometimes on bridges and twice on ferries.
We’ll leave promptly at 10am, return to Hwy 4 and head east. We’ll continue on Hwy 160 across the river at the Antioch bridge and drive along the River Road to Hwy 12. We’ll turn left (west) across the Rio Vista bridge, turning right at the first exit toward the Ryer Island Ferry. That ferry can accommodate 6-8 cars at a time, and will cross Cache Slough (about 200 yards wide). Once on Ryer Island, we’ll drive the levee road past various crops, and then take the smaller cable-powered “J Mack” ferry across Steamboat Slough. Both ferries are free.
Once on Grand Island we’ll drive past Grand Mansion and proceed to the
Sacramento River. We’ll cross several bridges and wind our way on Hwy 160 along the Sacramento to the quaint Chinese town of Locke. We’ll take a rest break in Courtland on the way.
At Locke we’ll park in a small municipal lot and walk along Locke’s Main
Street to our lunch stop, Al The Wops. Al’s is a wonderful place, better
described as a “joint”. Bring some single dollar bills to shoot into the ceiling in the bar. Neckties may be confiscated. Al’s lunch menu is simple, and most entrees are under $10. The food is good, and the beer is cold. A variety of wines are available, as well as cocktails. .
Locke boasts several art galleries and the Dai Loy Museum, documenting the life of those Chinese who came to California’s Delta in the 1800’s
DIRECTIONS FOR THE DRIVE
Our goal for this drive is to stay in a close caravan. The multiple stops where we need to wait for ferries to cross the water should provide ample time to re-group along the way.
1.) Start at Starbucks; turn left on “A” Street to Hwy 4, .5 miles, Drive south to interchange
2.) Turn left onto Hwy 4 on- ramp; travel east to Hwy 160, 3.6 miles, Follow signs to Hwy 160
3.) Proceed across Antioch bridge ($4 toll) to Hwy 12 near Rio Vista, 12.0 miles, We’ll reassemble after the bridge
4.) Turn left and cross the bridge into Rio Vista, to 1st right exit after
the bridge, .8 miles, Sign will say Ryer Island Ferry
5.) At bottom of off-ramp, turn left onto River Rd to Ryer Island Ferry, 2.1 miles, Wait at ferry; 3 minute ride; free
6.) Cross Cache Slough on ferry to Ryer Island, .1 mile, Reassemble after leaving ferry
7.) Turn right on Ryer Avenue to J Mack Ferry, 5.1 miles, Wait at ferry; 3 minute ride; free
8.) After ferry, turn left on Grand Island Road to Hwy 160, 5.0 miles, Note Grand Mansion; no stop
9.) Turn left onto Hwy; cross drawbridge to Drawbridge across Sacto River, 2.1 miles, Follow Hwy 160 signs
10.) Turn left after bridge on Hwy 160 to Courtland, .1 miles, Rest break in Courtland
11.) After break, turn south on Hwy 160 to Locke, 4.9 miles, Old Chinese town
12.) Turn left on Locke Avenue, Municipal Parking lot on left - Park and lock cars.
13.) Walk along Main Street to Al The Wops for Lunch - Ride officially ends
Depending on the number of smarts we have for this drive, we could end up getting our own Ferry (should fit 12-16 smarts LOL!)
See you there!
As always, we will have FRS/GMRS radios tuned to channel 4 subchannel 2 (4-2!) for ongoing banter and notification of any road hazards during the drive.
Chris... if you have that extra walkie talkie.. can I borrow it for the mean time? xD I'm still trying to find mines.. hehehe...
Yeah, no problem, I have four of them now! 2 don't have belt clips, but, the cubby on either side of the steering wheel are great places to stick a radio, wallet, breath mints, small camera, fastrak, gosh what else can people put in those things?
Hi All,
Finally I can make the drive on the 7th!!! Looking forward to meeting you all. I will be in Ladybug(silver and red passion) Hopefully my hubby can find a radio to lone me. He must have at least one in the garage/storage shed we have. I hear the drive and Locke are well worth it
Last edited by tidepool; 11-27-2008 at 09:41 PM.
Reason: spelling
Yeah, no problem, I have four of them now! 2 don't have belt clips, but, the cubby on either side of the steering wheel are great places to stick a radio, wallet, breath mints, small camera, fastrak, gosh what else can people put in those things?
Hmm well mines has a moomoo piggy bank on the right side haha...
I got some new decorations that are x-mas themed that you might be shocked to see on my smart car for the drive... haha...
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