They turned it into a cowboy bar a few years ago, I hope it's back to being an Irish Pub.:yesnod: Steve
OK, So... I'm sittin here drinkin with a gentleman named Jack, waitin for the next 12 hours to pass. The car's loaded, not me....yet. And I was thinkin, how the hell did anyone ever travel any distance, planning to stay for 5 days and 4 nights, in an Austin Cooper S. Those folks were true pioneers I'd say! Ahhhhh, thank God and BMW for progress, preservation and resurrection. Cheers and see y'all at AMVIV. :beer
Ya know, Steve, that's why I keep my Big Red Truck. It's hell ta drive the MINI wearin my boots and hat. Most'll tell ya, I don't miss many cowboy bars... :lol:
Bags packed loading the cooler up in the morning and heading out. I'll be leaving from Lemoore this year so I'll see you either on the way or in Vegas. Be safe and we'll be on the radio.
[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HVACzcZ9dHU]YouTube - Minis cruise the strip May 2011‏[/ame] Cruising the strip
Thanks everyone! I had such a great time..We are a Great Club. Left at 8:10 and pulled in at 2:45. Made great time and no traffic Can't wait to see you all so we can talk about it all. I'm still in an AMVIV state of mind. Cheers Rob.
Made it home - no tickets, lots of bugs - thanks everyone for making this a great time AMVIV rocks!:beer
Well the last of the Fresno contingency finally made it home. Our flight was delayed due to our plane having mechanical issues earlier in the day. Then, just as we were taking off, and I really mean taking off, the pilot aborted our take off. We made it up to 80 knots and then the light came on telling the pilot that one of our engines was overheating. So they aborted the takeoff and took us back to the gate so that the mechanics could check things out. We were deplaned and waited while they tinkered with everything. (I know this detail because the pilot announced it over the speaker system. Can you say TMI...too much information.) They took it out and revved up the engines and then came back to the gate and told us to get back on the plane. "Do you feel lucky, well do you?" Heck we were in Vegas, roll the dice! The told us that the mechanics could not find anything so it must have been an anomaly. I for one would have liked a second opinion. They pushed us off from the gate, and not too gently I might add, and then it was back out to the runway to give "her" a real test. We took off both engines revved up and finally left the ground after what seemed like a really long time. Then as we were climbing the pilot seemed to throttle back a bit and then power up again. Since I have never taken off from Vegas before, I cannot tell you if this is normal, but it seemed a bit odd. Anyway, after we got up to cruising altitude, the beverage and snack service began. Those of us in the back saw what happened next but those in front did not so I am sure it did not help to calm already stressed nerves. Several beverage cans fell off the serving cart and hit the cabin floor with several loud thuds and began rolling down the aisle. Rather funny in the back of the plane, not so funny if you did not know what was happening like the folks in the front of the plane. Probably thought that we lost a wing and some of the landing gear. We landed in Fresno, not the best landing I have ever experienced and then to top it off, the luggage took forever and the luggage carousel seemed to be having its own issues. We finally landed at 11:40 PM compared to the 8:30 PM that had been the original plan. We all discussed driving next year or maybe we will just rent a Party Bus to take us to Vegas! We can have it wrapped to look like a MINI. Anyway, good to be back home.
Had an awesome time at AMVIV with all of you Mid Caler's. Thanks for the fun weekend. Happy Motoring!!! Shelly :beer
Here are some photos: [ame="http://www.flickr.com/photos/63201163@N03/sets/72157626666570701/"]Amviv8 -2011 - a set on Flickr[/ame] Kyle's I have to give him some props, he drove it all the way from OC... (Unlike some other guy i know) Tom and I on the Mountain Kyle's MINI again Badass Countryman... someone offered to buy this on the spot from him too.
Had a great weekend. Bitzie & Kiki, one of the highlights of our trip was hangin' out with you guy! Good summary on our saga coming home. Still though, would've rather flown & hung around than drove the +7.5 hours to the 'no. Even if it meant we came home with +7 stories about how crappy (& ready for the boneyard) the plane was. We slept in until 11am & then went to work at 1pm. Rob, you're right -- still in an AMVIV state-o-mind! Dr.Steve, it was nice seeing you in a social MINI element. Shelly, it was great seeing you have so much fun. Chief & Suzie -- you guys are awesome. JIMINNI, .....oh yeah, still zero for nine AMVIVs. Maybe when you're 50 you can come to one. :lol:
Kiki and All , Glad you got back to Fresno safely. That was real frustrating for you folks !!! My family & I had the adventure of staying up all night at Salt Lake City Airport last Aug. when no hotel rms avail because of convention in town. Summer thunderstorms delayed our connecting flight from Kansas C., so we missed the afternoon flight from SLC to Fres. Luckily, we got out of SLC the next morn at 8:30. Made it to Fres.OK. All night sleeping on floor in SLC Airp. was a slumber party gone wrong !! They gave us meal vouchers. I hope next yrs AMVIV goes better for you guys !
I'm missing a lot of AMVIV right about now. No: cocktails at 9:30am; Star Wars 'Droid Hunt' slot machine at 11am; monster kobe burger for lunch; bumbling around looking for the MINI gang.....how many more days til the next AMVIV?
Hi, we wanted to fly down but I could not get the time off. Probably a good thing Lynn is a pilot and a mechanic and he would have been out there trying to vamp up the engines..hehe. So Joe you go to Las Vegas but no show at the bbq day to say hi? Ok bye for now you all.
Zoey and the gang party on in Vegas [ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x0bWMHciPsI]YouTube - Amviv 8 Las Vegas 2011 Party Night‏[/ame]