Always Looking For Another

We were invited to participate in the third annual San Marino Motor Classic last Sunday at Lacy Park in San Marino, CA.  Ed and Nora and I left San Diego county early on Sunday and an hour and a half later we were pulling up to the park entrance where we were greeted by an army of volunteers and vectored into the park in a very efficient manner.  It took no time at all to get in, get our participant packet and be photographed!  As we drove around the green several volunteers and other workers recognized and gave thumbs up to the Alfas.  Once we were parked in our designated spot, the designated volunteers showed us the VIP tent where the complementary breakfast was available, where the nearest rest rooms were (real rest rooms with working plumbing, no porta-potties!).  It was very well organized and really made us feel special.  Hope we get invited back next year. San Marino Motor Classic Album

It is the 104th anniversary of the founding of A.L.F.A. and "Drive Your Alfa Day" . I took Margherita out with some of her cousins from Maranello on one of my favorite drives here in San Diego County. The driving group was composed of about 7 Ferraris (including a pristine F40), a couple of Corvettes and a couple of Infinitis.  The route was eastbound on SR76 to Palomar mountain, then a 5000' ascent on the South Grade road where my little Alfa kept pace with the 308 QV ahead of me all the way to the top. We went down the East Grade back to 76 and then a stop at Lake Henshaw for a breather. We then headed for more twisty bits on the Mesa Grande.  Came back down through Ramona and down the hill on the famous Highland Valley Rd. for lunch and debrief at BJ's. The sun was out all day, the roads were relatively clear of slow traffic and it was just the most fun I have ever had in my GTV6. When we pulled into the parking lot of BJ's I called my wrench, Erik, and than

Former Alfa club member Ed Zdvorak has some parts from a 1984 Spider Veloce that he would like to donate to the club or an Alfa owner in need. 1. Alfa air conditioning compressor and system, probable good condition. 2. Alfa 6”X14” steel wheel, excellent 3. Alfa modified exhaust center section with straight through muffler, excellent. 4. Alfa gas tank, no dents or leaks, needs interior coating 5. Bucket seats, excellent light color fabric, fits spider or ?, from 1989 Honda. If you are interested, let me know and I will put you in contact with Ed.

We had a really fun day at the grape stomp, sitting in the shade of an apple tree sipping on a variety of reds and whites (Menghini's own Sauvignon Blanc is excellent on a warm day with food).  Meeting new Alfisti and wanna-be's.

Coronado Speed Fest coming this weekend. It's part of San Diego Fleet Week.  Celebrate and support our military.  Proceeds from the Speed Fest support the military charities in San Diego.  The Alfa Romeo Owners Club of San Diego will have a club corral, stop by and say "Ciao!". Some pictures from last year.

Finally got a weekend away with Jenn. We went to the second annual Desert Classic Concours d'Elegance in Palm Springs. The weekend began with a quick drive out to Palm Desert in Margherita, our GTV6 Balocco. Lunch on El Paseo at Daily Grill. Sitting in the sidewalk patio enjoying a Newcastle, watching the people and the classic cars parade by. Dinner in the evening at a fellow Alfista's home in La Quinta along with Alfa owners from LA, OC and SD. Some excellent wine and fellowship. The next day was spent on the green lawns of the O'Donnell Golf Course.

This last weekend was almost the perfect weekend for a car guy, if you overlook the traffic and the fires in Orange County. It was warm and a bit breezy on the drive up to Tom Hollfelder's collection. There were about 7 cars in convoy from San Diego. We joined up with the LA Alfa group, including a member from Santa Barbara in a gorgeous 85 GTV6. Tiger Racing website.

It's almost time for the new Desert Classic Concours d'Elegance in Palm Springs. It's going to be March 1. Maserati is the featured marque, but the news is that the first Ferrari chassis built as a single seater, Formula 1 race car will be on display for the first time in decades. San Diego Alfisti will be driving up through the coastal mountains to the Palms to Pines Highway and then down to Palm Desert and up SR 111 to the O'Donnell Golf Course . There will be a Car Club Corral so we can pitch our lawn chairs and picnic, if we so desire.

Well, it's off to Philadelphia today for the annual DIA ( http://www.diahome.org ) Electronic Data Management conference and show. A lot of geeks getting together and talking about things like, eCTD and document management systems -- Open Text ( www.opentext.com ) versus Documentum or who did the best implementation and a lot of schmoozing with vendors. Meanwhile, back at the ranch, the AROCSD 2008 Kickoff Meeting is this Wednesday at Filippi's, Mira Mesa (AROCSD.org) . DavidL will be presiding in my absence. Ciao!