The California Roadsters were honored to be invited to the 2007 Gathering, an inaugural event hosted by the San Luis Roadsters, held in SLO from May 18-20. This was the 15th year our club has made the run to SLO and it was the consensus that it was one of the best ever, replacing the former static car show in the park with a well planned run.  Dick Roseberry used the word "Outstanding", with very little room for improvement.  This was the first year of the new format, after not offering an event last year; which didn't keep us from getting together last year with the Bay Area Roadsters and enjoying a very good weekend organized by Steve Moal (check out "2006 SLO."

          The 2007 Gathering was a year of first for the CR's.  It was the first time we stopped at Joe and Laurie Scanlin's Ventura beach house for lunch on the way up to SLO on Thursday; first run having more members (23) than any other roadster club including the LA Boys; first run for Steve Kelly and for our newest roadster members (Jeff Bates, Ken Thurm, Jim St. Martin and Greg Rawls); first time having our very own LA County Sheriff's Swat Team member (Bernie's son-in-law Mike) riding shotgun; first time visiting Windfall Farms, the largest thoroughbred horse ranch west of Kentucky; first time stopping golf play at Avila Beach golf club to eat a little lunch; first time in a long time having Pres. Tom and Sue Schauppner back in their beautifully reconfigured/painted '32 roadster (ala Tony Correia, the celebrity painter); first time buying our roadster buddies from SLO and BAR a thank you dinner and first time having better weather in SLO than at home.

          We always go up a day early to take in the Thursday night farmer's market in downtown SLO.  We used the two prong approach again this year, with a group from So. OC meeting at Don and Patty Prieto's shop in Torrance, including: Tom and Susan Schauppner, Chet and Ruby Norris, Jeff and Judi Bates, Jim and Ann St. Martin, Mark Byer hauling Terry Terrel and Greg Rawls who met up with his girlfriend Marcia in SLO. We  were met at Don's by Bernie Couch and his son-in-law Mike and Steve Kelly.  

          Members from the northern OC route included: Dick and Barbara Roseberry, Tony and Karin Correia, Mike and Collen Greene, Jerry and Judy Kugel, Ken and Tina Thurm, Ralph and Mary Suchy, Duane McKinney, Hank Adams and Ray Wilcox. Phill Whetstone and his driver Keith just managed to make lunch at Joe and Laurie Scanlin's beach house in Ventura, which was a first we would like to make a regular event.  Max and Sue Jamiesson came down from Carmel Valley and meet the ensembled group at the Peachtree Thursday afternoon.  

          The only disappointments were losing our club caterers, Jon and Midge Kennedy -  off racing the Peking to Paris Rally and Gary Herman who planned to make his first ever SLO run in his recently completed roadster, but made the mistake of going with an Art Carr tranny, which failed and is no surprise since I lost mine several years prior on the RR run to Fremont.

          The only planned events by SLO Roadsters for the long weekend, were a welcome pizza party on Friday night; a lunch on the golf course @ Avila Beach Golf Club on Friday and the run to Windfall Farms, Paso Robles on Saturday.