Firefight911 Posted June 7, 2009 Share Posted June 7, 2009 It all started a while back. Actually a long while back. I used to be a customer of the original founder of this very board, Cay Littell, when I lived in Santa Rosa and was the owner of my first BMW, a 2000 K1200RS in silver/blue. Cary has always been a great person to work with and he always took care of me. Well, nothing has changed. He is still up to his old tricks of taking care of his customers. I was looking to finalize the last bit of my Autocom install on the GT and was in need of one last part. I needed a part #1276 so I could get my cell phone connection complete. With all the issues with US distribution of Autocom since the loss of Top Gear and the, as yet, unannounced new distributorship, parts are becoming a little more scarce than they were and the knowledge tree is missing some limbs. I was fortunate enough, by way of this board, to find what I needed and source it through the only place that had one, Marin BMW. A plan hatched! What better way to get a part and to enjoy some good food, a great day, the remembrance of D-Day, enjoy 300 miles of roadway, and get to ride with my wife? Nope, I couldn't think of one either! Jamie and I set off after meeting up with Steve and Rene (Tubesock) for coffee at their place in El Dorado Hills. They were busy and could not join us, bummer! We just slabbed it down 50 to 80 to 37 to 101 to San Rafael to get there. Those who know Cary, know he has been at his old location for quite some time. Well, as of last week, he has moved up BIG TIME!!! Check out his new store!! Obviously, they are still trying to find the phone book, pens, pencils, and other stuff but they are in business and are very excited to be in their new place. The man His dog, Lola I get my bluetooth dongle and Gary, counter guy extraordinaire, says he'll help me sync it up if I can install it. An offer I couldn't refuse!!!!! I, of course, have everything needed with me so I run out and get the dongle run to the Centech fuse block and get it situated where it needs to be with Jamie's help. After everything is in its proper place, zip tied, and wires cut to length and attached, I go grab Gary. Out he comes and we get it sync'd up within 10 minutes. He runs through it all with me to verify it is correct and to my liking. Top notch!!! After we get everything buttoned back up, Gary runs off back to work and Jamie and I head across the parking lot to Seafood Peddler, home of really good food!!!! We each have a bowl of Clam Chowder and split an order of Fish and Chips. Yum!!! No pic of the fish as we ate it right quick once it got there. While we were there, this beautiful 31 foot sail boat docks up and comes to shore for their own lunch. Ahhhh, the life!!!! And, yes, Marin BMW is across the parking lot from Seafood Peddler and this coastal waterway is on the back patio of the restaurant. How convenient! See! The "sign" for Seafood Peddler in the parking lot adjacent to BMW with our bikes in the foreground. After lunch, we headed back home via 101 to 37 through the Napa Valley, over Trinity Road/the Oakville Grade, through Angwin, Pope Valley, around Lake Berryessa, into Davis, and then back home. What a blast!! TONS of curves, and corners, and fun roads. Here's my SPOT track log for the route we took. LINKY Of course, airplanes require a stop!! Here's the dam just past Lake Berryessa. Lots of beautiful scenery. The birds were awe inspiring to watch as they danced in the winds and thermals. They almost never had to flap their wings. It was a joy to watch. Vroooommmm!!!!!!!!!! Hotie!!!!! The cell phone works perfectly. I got and made a call and it was amazing how clear the communication was. An amazing day with my wife. Here's to Rene's father as this would have been his birthday and to the remembrance of this special day, D-Day. Lest we forget . . . Link to comment
Motorrad4fun Posted June 7, 2009 Share Posted June 7, 2009 Great read, as always. I wished I could just hop an the bike and make it down to Marin in a day. I used to live out that way, and me and the wife miss it a lot. Link to comment
Francois_Dumas Posted June 7, 2009 Share Posted June 7, 2009 Wonderful! Thanks for the aircraft piccies !! Link to comment
tallman Posted June 7, 2009 Share Posted June 7, 2009 Phil, nice update. One correction, before Danny does it, "hottie" has two "t"'s in it \unlike Putz which only has one. Link to comment
AdventurePoser Posted June 7, 2009 Share Posted June 7, 2009 Enjoyable read, particularly liked the close up of the P-40... Cheers, Steve PS-the blue tooth connection was a never ending source of frustration to me. Could never get the phone to stay connected to the dongle...I ended up returning the whole mess to the shop! Link to comment
1MPH Posted June 7, 2009 Share Posted June 7, 2009 Nice write up and photos. Thanks for taking the time to post. Glad you had a nice lunch. My wife and I have lunch there quite a bit. Link to comment
skinny_tom (aka boney) Posted June 7, 2009 Share Posted June 7, 2009 Sorry I missed you guys. Looks like fun. Next time stop and go for a ride in any of those planes. I see them overhead often. Link to comment
Firefight911 Posted June 7, 2009 Author Share Posted June 7, 2009 Sorry I missed you guys. Looks like fun. Next time stop and go for a ride in any of those planes. I see them overhead often. But they are sooooooo slowwwwwwwwwwwww - LINKY Link to comment
Huzband Posted June 7, 2009 Share Posted June 7, 2009 That's a nice tale, but I'm left wonderin'. Why didn't you get a red bike? Link to comment
skinny_tom (aka boney) Posted June 8, 2009 Share Posted June 8, 2009 Sorry I missed you guys. Looks like fun. Next time stop and go for a ride in any of those planes. I see them overhead often. But they are sooooooo slowwwwwwwwwwwww - LINKY Airplanes are much like motorcycles; some are faster than others, but they're all fun. Link to comment
Marty Hill Posted June 8, 2009 Share Posted June 8, 2009 Airplanes are much like motorcycles; some are faster than others, but they're all fun. Tom, you nailed that one. Love the twin biz plane and the open cockpit Tiger. Got to go play the lotto...I miss flying. Link to comment
Bill_Walker Posted June 8, 2009 Share Posted June 8, 2009 Great ride and tale, Phil. I'd like to offer a slight hijack from the small world department. Funny you should post this picture: From the inside, that very plane looks like this: My father, a former pilot, helps out this operation on the weekends as a way to keep busy and involved with planes. He got my daughter and I a free ride when we went up there on a post-high school graduation road trip. Chris Prevost, the owner, just recently finished restoring the rare, dual-control P-40 in your other photo. You can check it out at Vintage Aircraft Co.. Also see photos of the rebuild. Link to comment
Bill_Walker Posted June 8, 2009 Share Posted June 8, 2009 Great ride and tale, Phil. I'd like to offer a slight hijack from the small world department. Funny you should post this picture: From the inside, that very plane looks like this: My father, a former pilot, helps out this operation on the weekends as a way to keep busy and involved with planes. He got my daughter and I a free ride when we went up there on a post-high school graduation road trip. Chris Prevost, the owner, just recently finished restoring the rare, dual-control P-40 shown in your other picture. You can check it out at Vintage Aircraft Co.. Also see photos of the rebuild. Link to comment
hANNAbONE Posted June 8, 2009 Share Posted June 8, 2009 vERY vERY wORTHY..!good post.,! Link to comment
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.