Heads up, there. Your humble scribe has a few comments on the
latest Borrego Springs Winter Road Run.
Let’s take them in order:
Thursday, March 3: Vic took
a slightly different route from Garden Grove
this year, which brought us in about 2:00 P.M. It would have been an hour
earlier, but we had to take a detour to find a pharmacy to fill a prescription
(I Know!) We went into the town
(village?) of Borrego Springs and were told “yes, there is a pharmacy here –
it’s in the liquor store.” What good
thinking! Hangover cause and cure in one
handy location. It wasn’t true, of
course, but we were directed to a real pharmacy near the big golf course. Alas, this wasn’t true either; it was a
pickup point for the genuine pharmacy in Ramona. So we headed for the resort – who wants to
live forever?
We checked in and I joined Janis and her
crew at the Registration table where nice, leafy green leis were being handed
out to the Early Bird treasure hunt riders.
What a great idea to identify the riders to the merchants they were to
visit. But Wait!... We later heard that some turkey thought the
leaves were marijuana and took offense!
Lighten up, there! Dinner that
evening was a small party at the Airport restaurant – very good, it was,
too! Lobster special, yum… early to bed.
Friday, March 4: This
morning the weather looked like rain up in Julian, so most riders stayed
below. President Tim, however, gallantly
rode up for a look, saying later “it wasn’t too bad, just about an hour of
heavy rain.” There seems to be a little
excitement on the flat land involving law enforcement, but I’ll leave it to the
eyewitnesses to report. Dinner this
night was at the resort dining room, again a small party, where I was served
the most tender, tasty rib eye steak I’ve had in years. Good for them.
At 9:00
P.M., we met in the hospitality room for the second annual poker
event. It was advertised as a strictly
fun, penny-ante game and that’s what it was.
We had about 16 players, some of whom faded and left before midnight,
which suggests to us that it might be wise to cut the time back for next year. WE would also like a few more players to join
in next year, so practice up! It’s
harmless fun at this level – even play with your kids. I’m told poker has even become popular in
college dorms; at least it keeps them from other pastimes. The lucky winner this year was Sue O’Neill,
and that’s where I had some fun. Sue
left before the chips were all counted, so she didn’t know she won. The next morning at coffee, when I approached
her, she asked who had won. I was so
happy to give her a hug and say “you did.”
She didn’t know what she had won and was quite thrilled when Tim gave
her the prize at the banquet! Footnote –
your correspondent came in second, slightly short of the winner, which was a
huge relief – how uncouth to win one’s own semi-sponsored game!
Saturday, March 5: Today,
the weather was perfect. Just enough
cloud cover to keep down the desert heat for the ride south. A great lunch was had by all at the Cane
Break Community Center,
sponsored by Frank Colver and served by the Ocotillo Wells Volunteer Fire
Department.
The
evening featured banquet night. As
usual, Janis Graber and her crew worked magic on the cavernous banquet
hall. This year the theme came from the
French Polynesian islands, featuring giant Tiki gods glaring down from the
walls, each one bearing the name of a distinguished SoCal Chapter member. Picture this – these 7 foot high Tikis were
hung ceiling to floor – about 30 of them – which meant someone had to climb a 6
foot ladder, secure each one with tape on all sides, then climb down again. Then, of course, they would start to creep
away from the wall, which meant almost until the doors opened to the waiting
crowd. No wonder Ms. Graber keeps that
stunning figure! I’m told that about 140
dinners were served, stretching all facilities and food service to the
maximum. But the cheerful, can-do
attitude of the resort staff never wavered!
Have I forgotten some useless detail?
Guess not – Au revoir, then, and keep smiling!