Who is going to the Porsche Parade, San Diego 6/30-7/8/07?

[Grady Clay]

Who is going to the Porsche Parade, San Diego 6/30-7/8/07?

I am.

It might be fun to caravan over the Rockies, tour our friends in the LA area, try our hand at Mulhulland and meet. We could host our friends from east of Denver and more.

Parades are a good excuse for Porsche owners to get together and BS. You don’t have to be entered to attend the Concourse or just hang out. The parking lot is the best place to be. Breakfast in the coffee shop is a close second.

If you want to enter, there is space available (probably because the on-line registration is somewhat cumbersome for sots like me.) http://www.pca.org/
After you register, the hotel http://www.towncountry.com/ is $134/night ($120+tx).

For perspective the costs are about;
Parade, meals, etc - $460
Parade Hotel - $1326
Goodie store, other meals, bar tab - $1700
Travel, gas, etc. - $2500.
Total about $6K over about two weeks.
Porsche fun – priceless.

One thing to remember at a Parade is few know each other. It is an absolute requirement to ask people to see their car, strike up a conversation, etc. Wearing Porsche related clothing and a name tag (even if homemade) help. I suspect there will be many Pelican shirts and hats.

Best,
Grady

[Jim727]

Grady -

I'm signed up. Was at the '77 Parade, and San Diego Region did a fantastic job (almost as good as you did at Snowmass). Really looking forward to it.

Pretty crazy time - Audi hired us to do some photography for them. Got to meet some of the Porsche family. Did my first rally. Sea World was a complete blast.

That first rally was insane. I had never been on one before and was "nudged" into being a navigator (the "nudge-er" decided a pilot had to make a good rally navigator) for a great guy who was a Formula Atlantic driver. He had a '67 911S with gears and tires -- and an odometer error of over 30%. We were nuts lost most of the time but had great fun catching up!

Think you underestimated the bar tab, though....

Jim

[Facey]

I am trying to fit it into my schedule. I got a few summer exams, and i need to make sure it is AFTER them.

i really wanted to go last year (portland) but my engine was about 2 weeks late.

i am also looking for someone to drive down with...as its a real trip from Victoria.

[Quicksilver]

I got real busy at work and forgot to mail out the registration...

I wasn't going to stay at the hotel because it is only about 1-1/2 hour drive from home, but I figured that the Auto-X, beach party, and dinner on the Midway would be fun.

Oh well...

[Grady Clay]

Wayne,

I just signed upthis morning. Give it a try. Even if you get on the wait list, you probably will get in. If not, come anyway.

Best,
Grady

[450knotOffice]

I've thought about it too and will probably attend for a day or two. I live only about 1 1/2 hours away myself. My wife and I are trying to figure out how the two of us can bring three Porsches.

I've got to admit, when I looked at the itinerary they sent me a week or so ago, it looked kind of...um...boring. I'm sure it wouldn't be, but the way they described it didn't make it seem very interesting. For example, my car is not, and never will be, a Concours car, so it won't be entered in that event. The "rally(s)" sound boring to me. The banquets, in my mind, seem as if they would be stiff, stuffy affairs where few people, except for the PCA officers, know each other, and Concours winners can talk about how their car won this or that class. Ugh!

Maybe I'm wrong here. Somebody please re-educate me if I am. Honestly though, what Grady said about the Parking lot gathering sounds like the most fun to me.

[Mad Mike]

I am going. though only for 2 nights. Doing the AX on the 4th and getting out of town on the 5th. Having lived in SD for a while, the 4th at the beach is the most insane day of the year. Glad we are going to be at a Stadium parking lot.

We are trailering the car over from Phoenix. Looking forward to it!

Mike

[JTO]

I'll be there. If all goes well, I will be debuting my freshly backdated Carrera.

I plan to arrive at the Town and Country Sunday. I'll be caravaning down with ael911 (Andrew) from LA. He'll be in the 1975 Silver Anniv. Coupe.

Hope to meet some of you and put faces to names.
Troy

[dsfnctn]

The Parade is Boring. Now if it had auto cross, club race DE and swap meet now that is what im talking about. as for the stuffy dress up dinners

[Wickd89]

I agree with Scott sounds very boring although most people seem to agree that it is a great time. Seeing tons of Pcars from around the country would probably be the best part...

Scott,
Maybe we are spoiled because we already attend so many Socal events (track days, canyon runs, Coffee & Cars, etc) that this just seems like the same old thing.... Visiting San Diego is a short drive for us so it does not feel that exotic.

I rather spend $6K and fly over to Europe and rent a Porsche. Planning on going to Switzerland for the summer so I will likely cross over to Germany and rent a Pcar for a few hours to rifle through the Autobahn a little.

[Grady Clay]

Scott, Luis,

A Porsche Parade sorta has to be all things to all people.
Just look at the ’07 SD schedule:

Saturday
Check-in
Welcome tent

Sunday
Check-in
Hospitality opens
Welcome Tent
Goodie Store opens
Welcome Party

Monday
Concours
Art Show Judging
Rally School
Concours Banquet

Tuesday
TSD & Gimmick Rally
Ice Cream Social
RC Cars
Zone Challenge
Beach Party/Dinner

Wednesday
Autocross
Kids Autocross
Sea World Party

Thursday
Volunteer Brunch
Technical & Historical Quiz
Victory Banquet – USS Midway

End of Official Parade

Friday – Sunday
Cayenne Off-Road Experience
Autocross Grudge Match
Driving tours.

(The parking lot the weekend prior is the place to be.)

SO, where and what to add?
There is an autocross already. Note that there is a 1-day autoX the post Parade weekend.

A 1-2 day DE would be fun. It should be hosted by a Region not involved in the Parade. Perhaps the weekend before or after the Parade week.

A Swap Meet would be great, perhaps in the DE parking lot.

Time and volunteer energy is a major constraint when considering a Parade and schedule. All of us know how much work it is to put on a single event. Try that for a week+! You can’t ask too much of volunteers and none of us want to afford professional staff.

Cost is another factor. A Parade entry is very inexpensive, the meals are the largest part. Note that my Parade entry and meals are 1/3 the cost of the hotel. The reason is it is staffed by volunteers. The modest profit from the Goodie Store also helps offset the costs. I wouldn’t want a swap meet to detract from that.

Another issue is participant’s time. A Parade is designed to be a one-week family event. Of course us die-hards make it a lot more. It is also designed to allow participation from coast-to-coast and all of North America. The drive from Nova Scotia or Boston to San Diego is considerable. That is why the weekends prior and post are optional.

One thing that has diminished at Parades are Tech Sessions. The internet fills that need now. Chuck Stoddard’s sessions were always packed. Bruce Anderson, I and others would spend every spare moment discussing what he does in Excellence and I do here. Still, having Factory engineers in a session with Q&A is priceless.


SO, would you like to organize a DE the weekend of June 30 – July 1? What would be a good venue? What Region could host and staff it? It can be done.

I wonder - - - in some future year, how would a Club Race be received if held the weekend prior or post Parade?


“…as for the stuffy dress up dinners….”
I’ll speculate I wear long pants only twice – well, maybe never.

You are correct, it is meeting all those interesting people who share our passion.


Best,
Grady

[JTO]

It would be nice to organize a Pelican drive kinda associated with the Parade. Those of us from out of California would like a chance to meet those we correspond with so often.
just a thought,
Troy

[450knotOffice]

My region (Orange County) doesn't seem to ever do DE's so they are out as organizers, however it seems that the Santa Barbara region has done a few. I wonder if they could/would organize a DE - maybe at Fontana.