First Sunday Drive - March 1 2009

[starlord]

Wow! We did it again... the FSD snuck up on us. Here's the info from Robert (MBCA/SFBA Section)

Hello Sunday Drivers!

With a short February and a March 1st drive date the March First Sunday snuck up on me - sorry to be a little late getting the details out to you.

The March drive is a great route in the East Bay - starting in Lafayette we'll drive some of the best roads in the Bay Area as well as take in some of the best views of the bay. We start at the Lafayette BART station so be sure to grab a coffee before you arrive.

With the success of our "two day" First Sunday Drive in the Gold Country in May of 2008, we are returning to the weekend format for the first weekend this coming May.

David and Maggie Retherferd have planned a great drive with wonderful stops in and around Lake County and Napa. In addition to enjoying some really wonderful back roads, stops are planned at Brassfield Estate Winery, Jim Fetzer's Ceago Biodynamic gardens, Wildhurst Winery, and the stunning Castello di Amorosa winery in Napa. As always there is no charge to participate in the drive and lunches both days are planned as picnics to reduce overall costs.

There are several options for spending Saturday night in the Clearlake area. The Robinson Rancheria Casino and Resort has offered a group discount (details still pending). The Featherbed Railroad Inn has vintage cabooses converted to charming rooms and the Tallman Hotel in Upper Lake is a beautifully restored classic. There is also a Super 8 in the area. You might want to make reservations soon to insure you're close to our end spot on Saturday - wine tasting on the Ceago's wine tasting deck on the lake in Nice.

Like last year, some enthusiast groups may be using this as an opportunity to gather a collection of specific models as a "mini meet" on the West Coast. If I remember correctly we had over two dozen Pagodas in Gold Country! We are also inviting members of the Sacramento section to join us on this great drive so be sure to come out and meet some new Mercedes owners!

Hope to see you on the 1st!
Drive safe!
Robert
__________
Robert E. Schilling, President
San Francisco Bay Area Section
Mercedes-Benz Club of America

Route info and maps posted to SOCSF.COM (in PDF format) but as always, I will post them here as well..

[starlord]

FIRST SUNDAY DRIVE - SUNDAY, MARCH 1, 2009 - LAFAYETTE TO NILES
Briones Regional Park / Tilden Park / Redwood Regional Park

DEPARTURE @ 10AM - ARRIVE AT LEAST 15 MINUTES PRIOR
Our meeing location for the start of this drive is the parking lot of the Lafayette BART station. There is no coffee available here so you might want to make a quick stop in the town of Lafayette to get a cup and use the restroom before you arrive.

Getting to the start:
From eastbound Highway 24 take the Central Lafayette/Oak Hill exit.
Turn RIGHT and drive 0.1 miles to Mt. Diablo Boulevard.
Turn RIGHT and drive 0.2 miles and turn RIGHT on Happy Valley Road.
Drive under the freeway and make a right into the parking lot of the BART station.

When you arrive look for the blue and white balloons to locate the sign-in sheet.

Our drive will end in the town of Niles - with several options for a no-host lunch. As always, no advance reservations have been made for lunch so just grab some friends and explore your options. This town also has some great antique stores for browsing.

At the end of the drive depart the town of Niles to the north on Niles Boulevard for 3.3 miles.

ROUTE DIRECTIONS (FROM START POINT)
Turn LEFT on Decoto Road which will take you Highway 880.
DEPART BART Station by turning left and driving 0.1 miles
RIGHT on Happy Valley Road and drive 3.9 miles
RIGHT on Bear Creek Road and drive 4.3 miles
LEFT on Alhambra Valley Road and drive 2.7 miles
LEFT on Castro Ranch Road and drive 2.1 miles
LEFT on San Pablo Dam Road and drive 5.3 miles
RIGHT on Wildcat Canyon Road and drive 2.4 miles

RIGHT into parking lot of "Inspiration Point"
• Restrooms are available for this 20 minute stretching stop.

DEPART RIGHT on Wildcat Canyon Road and drive 1.2 miles
LEFT on Shasta Road and drive 0.5 miles.
LEFT on Grizzly Peak and drive 6.3 miles.

LEFT on Skyline Blvd. and drive 5.8 miles
• At mile 5.1 Skyline Blvd takes a hard left at a traffic light

LEFT on Redwood Road and drive 12.1 miles
• Welcome to one of the greatest driving roads in the Bay Area.
You’ve had the opportunity to enjoy some of the best views in
the Bay Area – now just concentrate on the road and enjoy the
drive.

LEFT on Castro Valley Blvd and drive 2.7 miles
• At some point along this stretch the road changes its name to
East Castro Valley Blvd. Do not reset your odometer.

RIGHT on Palo Verde Road and drive 0.2 miles
RIGHT on Palomares Road and drive 9.6 miles
• Another GREAT driving road. Be careful - have fun.

RIGHT on Niles Canyon Road (Route 84) and drive 2.1 miles

CROSS Alvarado Niles Road/Mission Road/Route 238 into the town of
Niles. As you cross under the railroad tracks make a sharp right turn.
As you drive into town there is a large parking lot on the right side of
the street at the Niles train station - we pull in here and park.

Wee! Great run! I've done a similar route with the classic Minis (MOASF) and new MINIs (REME), it will be a blast to do this in the smart car, especially along with the parade of Mercedes 'Garage Queens' as usual, we will probably go at a more spirited pace so please try and group together with your smarties as we will pull near the front and hit the twisties with wild abandon! HA! (uhm, and for those that want to cruise along at a moderate pace, that's cool too.. ;) )