SACRAMENTO AREA MIATA OWNERS ASSOCIATION! DECEMBER, 2009

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Club Apparel notice from Jeanne George:

At the December meeting I will be closing out our current inventory. There will be some bargains for holiday gift giving. This year I was able to purchase $4200 worth of items for the sale price of $2424. I purchased 284 items and only 24 remain in stock.

At the end of the year, the m a n u f a c t u r e r w i l l b e offering discounts and free shipping. If there is something you are interested in, contact me to place a pending order. Often the sales are offered for one day only.

MiataTudes

ROBIN’S NEST - ROBIN GEORGEIt’s been a great year and an even greater one is coming!! We have a major milestone for SAMOA in 2010. Our 20th Anniversary gathering is coming up in October. A major event for our club and one you don’t want to miss. Reservations will be open at the beginning of 2010. And saying that brings me to more important things. As you all know, we just had our annual club Christmas party and everyone really enjoyed themselves. Not only did we have good food and drink, we also had good friends. With these fine people, with the welcome assistance from many of our members, they continue to surprise us with more of the exciting events and trips and club parties that we enjoy participating in, through every month of the coming year. What more could you ask for? But wait, there’s more!! We have our annual business meeting on the 10th of December. This will be a fun meeting. We have awards to hand out, people to talk about, and officers to elect for the upcoming year. We are fortunate to have a group of members who are stepping forward again to guide our club into its 20th year. Continue to give them your support. I would also like to take this opportunity to personally thank all the people that helped make our clubs’ ‘2009’ year such a successful and active year. Based on the activities and difficulties of organizations of our kind in Northern California we are blessed. But that blessing is due to you the members. The Board of Officers and a multitude of other members provided their time and suggestions to make the Sacramento Area Miata Owners Association such a great and fun organization. These fine people, with the welcome assistance from many of our members, will continue to surprise us with more of the exciting events and trips and club parties that we enjoy participating in, through every month of the coming year.

On a lighter side, if you didn’t go to last month’s general meeting, you missed my ode to 50’s and 60’s icon Soupy Sales. Jack Parker looked like he won the lottery when his name was drawn. He got the opportunity to perform Soupy Sales’ moniker, “the pie in the face”. And since this was my tribute I volunteered the face. It was fun and no one was injured. Thank you Soupy for your humor and lessons in life. Check out Mark Brook’s video of this event on our blog. http://sacareamiata.blogspot.com/ there has been close to 400 views since the event.

Be sure to scroll down the main page of our web site to the bottom. Tire Rack has offered 6% of any transaction a club member makes through this link to the club. Participation in this program is strictly up to you and by all means do your research for the best deal.

Hope to see all of you at December’s meeting.

This time of the year is a good time to check out your Miata and make sure it’s ‘Ready 2 Roll’ on short notice because you know how we are, we’ll be going on a trip or a short drive before you know it.

SACRAMENTO AREA MIATA OWNERS ASSOCIATION! DECEMBER, 2009

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HALLOWEEN IN VIRGINIA CITY - JEANNE GEORGEWhile the November newsletter was being prepared, a group of 20 SAMOA members were headed to the Edith Palmer Inn located in Virginia City. The group of 11 cars was lead by Pam and Randy Hunt. Their route allowed them to take in a scenic drive, numerous passes, and enjoy the nice weather and fall colors.

Due to my foot injury and still on crutches, Robin and I took the direct route in our truck and planned to meet them there. As we were driving through Carson City, I happened to be looking out the window and saw the SAMOA group stopped in the parking lot of a grocery store. They had just finished loading up on food, drink, and reading supplies. We joined for a short part of the drive, but they were headed to a nice Miata canyon road with plenty of twists and turns. I was in no condition for that adventure, so we took a short cut. We checked in and Robin unloaded the truck. Leaving me to unpack, Robin grabbed a beer and his camera and was sitting on the porch as the group arrived.

After they checked into their rooms the group headed for the porch of our building. The abundance of beer and wine reflected that the group was settling in for the evening. Soon 2 people from the Reno Miata Club joined us. After an hour the group disbursed to

naps, sight seeing, shopping and Church; leaving

Robin behind to his beer, book and Satellite radio.

Later the group, dressed in costumes, met in the suite where the food was abundant. Pam handed out ballots to select costume winners. Robin and Mike stepped up to their leadership roles and began counting ballots. Pam presented awards for 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place in 4 different categories. Once again the group divided. Some took a ghost train ride, others walked to town and roamed the bars. Robin and I headed for the parlor and listened to music as he watched his home television on his computer; such technology. Meanwhile upstairs, Ellen and Margie were watching the World Series. For us four, bedtime was before the end of the ball game. Guess it was all the excitement.

The late returnee of the group was Sharon and Graeme, well after 2 am and intentionally setting off his car alarm to announce their return.

The next day we were all treated to a great breakfast by the owners of the Inn and then headed out in several directions. It was a great adventure thanks to the efforts of Pam and Randy.

SACRAMENTO AREA MIATA OWNERS ASSOCIATION! DECEMBER, 2009

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HALLOWEEN IN VIRGINIA CITY - PAM HUNTThe trip started out at Mel & Faye’s in Jackson for a hearty breakfast so we would survive the long journey ahead. We took Hwy 88 across Carson Pass into Hope Valley. There was some snow along the side of the road but everyone kept the tops down anyway. We took a Miata short cut over the Kingsbury Grade and into the Stateline area at Tahoe. We had beautiful weather and beautiful views of the lake along Hwy 50. We cruised over Spooner Summit and into Carson City where we stopped at Raleys to pick up goodies for our evening party. Our planned route was changed to make a detour for the Nevada Day parade. We found our way back onto Hwy 50 to Dayton and then onto the Six Mile Canyon Road where there were some remaining colors on the cottonwoods in the canyon along with one County Sheriff patrol unit. We were closely watched, but he didn’t give us a ticket so he was OK.

We finally arrived at Edith Palmer’s B&B where we proceeded to take over all three buildings. After u n p a c k i n g t h e c a r s , a f e w refreshments were enjoyed on the front Porch of the B&B - a party “primer” of sorts. It was a beautiful sunny afternoon and we all enjoyed sitting in the sun and relaxing after our hard drive.

Some of us wandered off to check out the town and shops. We stopped at the leather goods store where the proprietor lady was dressed western style with a holster and gun and everything, we remarked that the gun looked so real. Later, we were a bit shocked when she told us it was real and it was a .38 and we assumed is was loaded.

The wooden sidewalks were crowded with people getting set for the costume parade. Adults, kids, cats, & dogs all dressed up and ready to march in the parade at 5:00 pm. There were some very interesting costumes. Anyway, back to the B&B

t o p r e p a r e t h e g o o d i e s a n d refreshments – of which there were plenty. People started ducking out to get “in-costume” some were fast, some made their grand entrances a little later, some much later. Pictures on the web site will show the variety and creativity. We had characters from the Lord of the Rings, Sonny and Cher, a beautiful Chinese Lady and her humble servant, Mr. & Mrs. Lampshade, a gangster and his moll, a flapper escorted by John Wayne, a respectable business-man with his one “Ho(e)” stable, Mr. & Mrs. Scarecrow, a beautiful purple witch, a tourist and others we couldn’t identify. The Lampshade couple were very nice, said they where smiling for the pictures, but no one could tell.

We had a few trick-or-treaters at the party house. Apparently, there is a tradition in the town that trick-or-treaters can also hit all the bars for treats. After the B&B party wound down a bit, a few took off for town to cruise the bars and casinos but the slots were reported to be very tight. We heard rumors that the V&T Railroad was running the ghost train and a group of us couldn’t resist. We caught the last one – well after 9:00 pm. There were story tellers, a guitar player, and a simulated train robbery. We think we went near Carson City, but we really could not tell as it was very dark, despite the almost full moon.

Back in town, the streets and sidewalks were a little quieter with action shifting into the bars with bands. The Washoe Club had the best band in town. We saw some very interesting action outside on Main Street. In most towns, things like that would have been illegal, but hey, what goes in Virginia City stays in Virgina City.

Everyone was up surprisingly early in the morning looking for coffee. The B&B served us a wonderful breakfast in a building called the Cider House in a very nicely fixed up dining area. After breakfast we were

trying to not leave too much of a cleaning burden for the B&B staff by cleaning up the remains from the previous nights party. Several trash bags were loaded and taken down to the dumpster. The first two went down with no problems. When the last bag was taken down, dumpster was opened and there, lying on top of the other trash, were the heads of the Lampshade couple!

Part of the group decided to take the return trip via the Mt. Rose highway, Kings Beach, Tahoe City, and down the west shore of Tahoe. There was virtually no traffic on the North Shore so we had a leisurely drive, for Miatas at least, in the beautiful fall weather. We had lunch at Camp Richardson with very nice view of the lake where we watched a salvage effort on a sailboat that had broken l o o s e f r o m i t s m o o r i n g s a n d grounded right in front of the restaurant.

Off on the last leg of the trip home via Luther Pass, Hope Valley, and back over Carson Pass. Please say a prayer for Mr. & Mrs. Lampshade, may they rest in peace - after trash pickup day.

SACRAMENTO AREA MIATA OWNERS ASSOCIATION! DECEMBER, 2009

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HANGOVER RUN - JANUARY 2 - JEANNE GEORGEMark your calendar and plan to join Robin and me for the traditional first run of the New Year. We have not determined our route as yet but once we decide we will post additional information to the web site.

Welcome to our Newest Members Staven NobleKevin Overholt and Alison Martschinske

Memberships Expiring December 1 Myers, Cece

Memberships renewed during NovemberGary DunneGenny and Bob Paauwe

SAMOA stats124 Memberships, 202 members, 131 Miatas

TREASURE TROVE - JEANNE GEORGE

LAST MINUTE TAX DEDUCTIONS (IE DECEMBER BIRTHDAYS) - RON PETRICHHappy Christmas season birthday to the following members…

Margaret Counter Dec 15th

Clay Cowan Dec 6th

Phil Csik Dec 7th

Gary Dunne Dec 16th

Stanley Eldridge, Jr. Dec 16th

Rita Houghton Dec 27th

Aaron Long Dec 7th

Neal Mackey Dec 1st

Jackie McClure Dec 2nd

Larry Moeller Dec 14th

Donna nelson Dec 18th

John Shepherd Dec 3rd

John Souza Dec 2nd

Ron Zander Dec 7th

And last but not least, a member who snuck in at the last minute…

Jesse Young Dec 31st

SACRAMENTO AREA MIATA OWNERS ASSOCIATION! DECEMBER, 2009

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TEN BEST CARS FOR 2009 - ADI DAMANIATIME Magazine put the 2000-2009 decade as “the one from hell”. And I agree totally for reasons that you all know. Car & Driver magazine, on the other hand, named our beloved Mazda Miata as one of the ten best cars for 2009. The reason for the latter selection are not hard to fathom. The Miata offers the most bang for the buck and puts a smile on the face of its drivers. What is more important is the fact that the car’s price makes it affordable to anyone who earns an honest wage in the U.S. It is the MG TF of our time!The Miata is undoubtedly the world’s most popular sportscar. Hardly a week-end goes by when the car is not seen racing on some track or the other in the country. It may not be the fastest, but possibly the one with one of the best road-holding and a center of gravity that is only slightly higher than a Corvette.The 6-speed gearbox is a gem. Parvin will testify to this fact as she has been driving me around for the last 6 months. I always smile as I peek a sideways glance as she goes through the gears with a gloved right hand in absolute Swiss watch-like precision. One of our favorite run is to go down highway 16 from Woodland to Williams, dine at Luigi Cairo’s restaurant and then make a hi-speed dash back to Woodland on I-5 (Which is basically the SAMOA Hangover Run without any hangover of course).The surgically precise steering wheel has also been lauded by C&D. Notice how quickly the Miata will stray off the road if you even momentarily shift your eyes from the road to admire the passing scenery or in our case a flock of egrets on county road 98. The car’s reflexes are termed “feline” by one car enthusiast.The first and second generation Miata engine is a work horse, but I still have to take my hat off to the DOHC engine of my 1991 Honda Prelude which was much smoother. But we love our Miata “Blue Belle” despite the arrival of the $300,000 Alfa Romeo roadster with a Maserati V-8 in the engine bay. Of that car I will write in the New Year! Happy New Year and New Decade everyone! May be another MazdaSpeed M X - 5 i s i n o u r

future……

CARE PACKAGE PROGRAM UPDATE - MIKE DELAURENTISThe Care package program is alive and well. We continue sending out two packages a month and thank you for all of your generous donations in kind and cash. As long as we’re in Iraq and Afghanistan, and as long as the club agrees to do this, we’ll keep it up.

Here is an email I received from a recent recipient – a CA Army Reserve Lt. Colonel from Tracy, CA.

Dear Mr. DeLaurentis and other club members who sent the package, Thank you all for putting together and sending the care package to me. I appreciate the support and I am happy that there are so many out there that support us and our mission out here. I enjoyed the items you sent and gave some of the food and candy to some of the Iraqi children out here that have more need than I. Once again thank you for the gesture appreciate all the support from the Sacramento region. Sincerely, Robert Mattey

SACRAMENTO AREA MIATA OWNERS ASSOCIATION! DECEMBER, 2009

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SAMOA TEDDY BEAR RUN - JEANNE GEORGEOn November 14th, Jack Parker hosted his 9th Annual collection of Teddy Bears and toys for the Children’s Receiving Home of Sacramento. This year Jack ar ranged to have SAMOA members meet and then drop off the gifts at the Home.

At the starting point, 36 members, 5 guests and 4 dogs arrived to participate in this worth while project. Out in the parking lot 22 Miatas and 2 OTM vehicles were gathered. People milled around in

the cold with warm beverages in hand and visited with each other. Soon the instructions were given and Jack, Robin and I headed to the Home to get things ready. Bob Bacon released small groups of cars so as not to disrupt traffic near the drop off point. Robin took photos of the arriving cars as Jack and two helpers from the Home accepted the donations. By the time the last car came through the line, 3 large bins of toys and bears and been presented. The representatives of the Receiving Home gave Jack and Robin their grateful thank you for the members’ donations.

After dropping off their toys, members were to head to Auburn individually a n d w e w o u l d r e g r o u p a t t h e McDonalds. Jack, Robin and I headed out to the second meeting location. After a short break, Jack led the group towards Foresthill then down the canyon towards Cool. At this point, we saw the back of the group fall

apart. We w e r e s w e e p , and from the bridge w e s a w p a r t o f the group make the t u r n t o w a r d s t h e C a n y o n and part m i s s e d the turn. Bicycle riders on

the side of the road were pointing and yelling to the drivers to turn towards the canyon. This is why t h e c l u b o f f e r s r a d i o s t o participants. We h a d n o r a d i o contact with the wayward travelers since no one took a r a d i o a n d obviously didn’t f o l l o w t h e directions. The one car that had a r ad io , ve r i f i ed with us about the turn then headed to catch the main group. Since it

w a s u n s a f e to attempt to catch up to the wayward drivers, Robin and I waited for the owners of the 6 lost vehicles to f igure out the directions were not matching the road. Finally they returned and we directed the lost sheep to Cool, where the others were waiting. Then it was off to Georgetown. At Georgetown the group parked down the center of town and took advantage of a great photo op. We ended the run with lunch at Mel’s Diner in Placerville. Some of the group decide to take advantage of the great weather and headed to Apple Hill.

We thank Jack for a great drive. We also thank the people who attended this event and those that brought toys to the November meeting who were not able to attend the run.

SACRAMENTO AREA MIATA OWNERS ASSOCIATION! DECEMBER, 2009

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THANK YOU, MARK BROOKS - JEANNE GEORGE

I would like to take this opportunity to Thank Mark for the great job he did on the SAMOA newsletter in 2008 and 2009. Due to personal obligations (someone has those?) Mark has decided to relinquish this fun project.

Much has gone on behind the scenes that you as members are not aware of. Each month he put up with trying to get someone, anyone to send him articles. He often had to send more than one reminder to Officers to wake them up. Fortunately for the club, Mark’s interest in cars and photography helped filled the pages. Mark worked tirelessly on the project and often way into the late night. Although, he admits it was his own fault for procrastinating. One especially challenged month, after many hours of cut, paste and set up, man’s faithful companion decided to reward him with a jump on his lap. Not happy to just be held, the dog decided to “dance” on the keyboard and wiped out that month’s entire newsletter. Not sure who growled the loudest after that incident. I think the dog was banned from the room when Mark worked on later newsletters.

Mark will be handing the reins over to Michelle Thomas, a new member who joined SAMOA this year. She has already finagled her husband Wayne into helping her. As we approach the New Year, how about each member of SAMOA (we have 206 right now) plan to write just one article during 2010? It could be your reflection of an event, a monthly meeting, something about your Miata, or a personal drive or trip you have taken.

Thanks again, Mark; I hope you enjoy your extra time.