Okanagan Valley Miata Club archive
July 2008

Pete's Peachland Post-Pool Patio Party and Potluck (and a quick meeting too)
- Saturday, July 26 (RSVP required, see below)

The pool has been turned into a patio, and although we haven't quite forgiven Pete, the July pool party tradition continues. Our usual monthly meeting and social moves to the weekend and is followed by a potluck barbecue. The event will be held Saturday July 26 at Pete's place, --------------------- in Peachland. See directions below or click here for a map. All OVMC members are encouraged to come! The meeting starts at 4:30 sharp, and the party starts at 5:30. You don't have to come to the meeting to attend the party.

Please e-mail Pete at --------------- if you are coming so that the proper quantities of BBQ supplies can be acquired.

BBQ / Pot Luck:
Hamburgers, Bison Burgers, Veggie Burgers, Turkey Wieners, buns and condiments will be provided. Please bring a salad or dessert.

Drinks:
Soft drinks will be provided. Bring any other libations that you may wish to consume (BYOB). Coffee will be provided around dessert time.

Directions:
At Peachland's only traffic signal on Highway 97, turn up Princeton Avenue (a right turn if you are coming from Kelowna, or a left turn if you are coming from Penticton). Head up Princeton Avenue for 3.5 kilometres. Turn right on Forest Hill Drive, go 100 feet, then turn right again onto Thompson Drive and look for ----- on the right side. You can park in the driveway or on the street. Go through the carport and down to the pool area. Now print off these directions... cause you just know you're going to get lost if you don't!

Explore Oregon 2008 - July 25-27 Join the Willamette Valley Miata Club for another great weekend of fun, as they return to the Beautiful Oregon Coast and Florence, Oregon. The fun will start with registration and a welcome reception on Friday evening. Saturday will be a full of fun with several awesome drives, and there will be free time on Saturday to do some exploring on your own. Saturday evening there will be a dinner banquet with some great door prizes and raffle items. You could even win a trip to the Miata Performance Driving School at Thunder Hill Raceway! After breakfast on Sunday there will be a drive a little farther south along the coast to beautiful Shore Acres Park and Sunset Bay. For more information or to register, visit the Willamette Valley Miata Club website at http://oregonmx5.com/

CRMC Show & Shine - July 6 The Canadian Rockies Miata Club of Calgary is hosting it's 2nd annual Show and Shine event on July 6 in the Western Parking lot of McMahon Stadium in Calgary, and has extended an invitation to members of the Okanagan Miata Club to participate. This date is the opening weekend of the Calgary Stampede so it's an opportune time to visit the city. The CRMC is hosting the event at no charge to the participants but we would request that each attendee bring along a non perishable food item that will be donated to the food bank. If you are interested, contact the CRMC through their website at: http://www.rockies-miata.org/crmc/

How not to park June 30, 2008 The driver of this Mazda Miata in in Stewartstown, Pa. thought she had set the emergency brake. But her wayward red convertible nonetheless rolled downhill, crashed through a fence and plunged into her neighbours' in-ground pool. The car was removed from the pool the same day. The photo was snapped by the neighbour Ashley Campasino.

Sun Run announcement

Posted June 25, 2008

After eight years hosting the Sun Run, Okanagan Valley Miata Club members have decided at this time to focus our energy and attention on new and exciting club events. As a result the membership passed a motion at the June 18 meeting that there will be no 2009 Sun Run. As for 2010 and beyond, we felt it would be better to discuss the matter and gauge the feelings of members after we see how the club evolves over the next year. We have therefore not made any commitments concerning future Sun Runs, but as part of the motion we will revisit the matter at the appropriate time.

There was a great deal of discussion, but the main reason for this decision was that the OVMC has been organizing fewer and fewer club events in recent years, and we want to try to reverse this trend. Our members simply want more events, not only for the fun of driving, but for the opportunity to spend time with friends and get to know our many new members. The Sun Run currently occupies nearly all our time and attention, and we believe that by removing the year-long effort required to organize such a major event, we will instead be able to channel those resources into organizing better and more frequent club events. We believe this change will be a positive and exciting step forward for the OVMC.

Over the past eight years we have had the opportunity to meet many wonderful people and forge many lasting friendships, and we hope this will continue. As our club events lead us to back roads around the Pacific Northwest, we hope there will be opportunities for other Miata clubs to join us on some of our OVMC adventures, and likewise we would welcome opportunities to participate in events hosted by others clubs. The OVMC has on occasion worked with other Miata clubs to organize joint ventures, and we hope that trend will continue as well.

A big thank-you to all Sun Run attendees over the years for helping make the Sun Run such an overwhelming success. We hope to see you all again soon.

Club Run and Picnic - Sunday, June 22

If you're up for a drive and picnic this Sunday please meet in the parking lot fronting the highway outside the Tim Horton's / Wendy's in Westbank (NOT the new Tim Horton's by Home Depot) at 9:30 am. We will confer about a route and head south by 9:45 sharp.
Please pack yourself a lunch and we will find a nice picnic spot along the way to stop and eat.
For our southern members wishing to meet us on route, please meet the group at the Kettle Valley Pub parking lot (on Highway 97 just as you enter Penticton) at 10:30 am.

Sun Run Wrap-Up Pizza Party meeting - June 18 (RSVP required, see below)

It will be a road trip for the southerners as the annual Sun Run Wrap-Up Pizza Party meeting will be held at Jim and Kathleen's, ---------------- in Vernon. Click here for a map.
The pizza is courtesy of the OVMC as a pat on the back for putting on another great Sun Run. This is not just for Sun Run organizers or volunteers though. All members are welcome, so come by for a few slices any time after 6:00. The meeting will begin about 7:00, or whenever we're all full.
We hope to have a good turnout for this meeting as we will be setting the stage for future OVMC events.
We need to determine how much food we will need, so please RSVP to Jim at -------------- or call him at --------------.

Directions to Jim & Kathleen's house (print them now before you forget!):
From Highway 97 in Vernon, turn onto 48th Avenue (Vernon Toyota dealer is on this corner). From Kelowna turn right, from Salmon Arm turn left, from Lumby you can pretend you are from Kelowna just this once. Set your odometer to zero here.
Km 0.0 - Follow 48th Avenue through all the lights and straight up the hill. Do not turn (unless the road curves).
Km 1.7 - 48th Avenue will become Silver Star Road after you cross this last set of lights at Pleasant Valley Road. Butcher Boys grocery is on the left. KEEP GOING STRAIGHT up Silver Star Road.
Km 2.3 - Pass Jim's old house, Mission Hill Printers sign on left. KEEP GOING STRAIGHT.
Km 4.2 - Pass BX Elementary School on right. KEEP GOING STRAIGHT.
Km 6.6 - Pass Phoenix Drive (rock fountain) on left. KEEP GOING STRAIGHT.
Km 7.4 - Pass Tillicum Road on right. KEEP GOING STRAIGHT.
Start to slow down here. Keddleston Road sign is hard to see in advance.
Km 8.0 - Keddleston Road, TURN LEFT.
Km 9.2 - "Y" intersection, TURN LEFT (staying on Keddleston).
Km 9.5 - Clearview Road, TURN LEFT.
Km 9.8 - Look for MIATA sign and TURN LEFT into the driveway. Head up the driveway and around the house. Park, pat the dog and eat.