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Rain? I've lived in Seattle my whole life. The weather has changed. Seems more like Cali weather now. Lack of enthusiasm makes it tough on Corvetteless guys like me that just want to lay eyes on a C3. I'm down here now at Rod Run in Long Beach hoping to bag a few. No rain in sight. It was 84 degrees yesterday. Predicted to be 85 degrees today.
I've lived in Seattle my whole life as well, except for a 2 year stint in LA, and I can confidently say the two are nothing alike. My point is Seattle has an average of about 150 days of sunshine per year. Austin: 300, LA: 284, Denver: 245, Phoenix: 300, Dallas: 234, etc etc. We have nearly half the number of sunny days as SoCal. Even SanFran has 260 days average, 110 more than seattle! That is why car clubs, motorcycle clubs, and other weather-influenced activities tend to flourish there and not here. I still love it here (politics aside), which is why I chose to stay, just answering the corvette vs luxury cars question. People, often including myself, save the corvette for nice days and bring out the luxury cars for bad/mediocre weather - which is the majority of the year.
The local group was pretty active for lunches and wrenching a few years back but I kind of shifted to other interests and I'm just getting back to my C5...which has had a rough couple of years.
I'm always interested in helping with projects, and always willing to grab lunch. Longer cruises and "events" really aren't much of my thing.
I have gotten used to not being in the center of the activities and traveling south to a lot of events. Not popular for hardly anyone in Seattle to drive for 1 1/2 - 1 3/4hours to do much smaller cars and coffee or a meet to the extreme PNW area. As the total of participants is less than a giant Metropolis of Seattle and Portland but it does makes it all more personal and less stressful to enjoy. I've learned to support others who have many different types of rides nearby.
I wanted to jump in on this for a minute. I don't check the forum nearly as much as I used to, a few years ago. Main reason is that I usually tried to check it on my iPad but there are so many ads now that it would load the page very, very, slowly, and usually freeze up after looking at just a couple of posts. Not anyone's fault that's reading this thread. But it is really frustrating. We just bought a new laptop that seems to be able to handle the web site ok. So far.
Another reason is that for the PNW section, almost everything is taking place in the Seattle area. I'm closer to Portland, and pre-covid there were a few posts about events, or questions, in this area. I would be interested in supporting/attending Seattle area events, but it's a 3 hour drive, in traffic, just to get to a starting point. So...I have to filter what's going on with my family schedule, weather, and cost.
We lived in the Houston area before we moved out here 5 years ago. In Houston we were members of a large Corvette Club, 200 +/- members. We would get 30+ cars on weekend runs. We lived on the far southeast edge of Houston, so it usually took an hour to get to the meeting spot, then drive for 3-4 hours to a place to eat. Then the, at a minimum, 3 hour drive home. Still fun. There were about 7 - 8 runs scheduled per year. A couple of them being overnight to San Antonio and/or Fredericksburg.
We looked into a club in Vancouver, WA, and were about to join when covid shutdowns hit. We still haven't gone back. Maybe we should?
One last comment. When I was looking for a C7 a few years ago, I had trouble finding one that I wanted on the west coast. When I checked Autotrader for Houston and Dallas I found 10 available there for every one out here. "Here" being San Diego to Blaine. I bought plane tickets to go to Texas to get a car when one popped up in Bellevue. Slightly higher price, in Bellevue, but the cost to pick up a car in Texas and driving it back made it a better deal. Point is, there just aren't as many Corvettes out here (at that time.)
Anyway, the points made in previous posts are all valid. But please keep posting events. Thanks.
Late jump-on, but I didn’t own my ‘69 coupe until after the last post was made…I’m in a suburb of Boise (Treasure Valley). I joined the regional NCRS chapter, which includes the PNW, in order to meet more local enthusiasts. I presume most of you PNW members are in Washington/Oregon, but from looking at the NCRS membership roster, there are many Treasure Valley members as well. Anyone else here from Idaho?
Around Thanksgiving, my sons attended a Boise State football game, and saw not one but two early C3s after the game (below). I often see other Corvettes (newer) driving around as well. Idaho also used to issue special Corvette plates, so there’s been a strong enthusiast presence for a while.
My car isn’t going to win any judging awards, but I am looking forward to local NCRS meets (which are apparently often and informal here) and parking in the “Sportsmens” area. We also have a car show at our local July 4 weekend “fun days” that I’m planning on participating in. I’m from LA but am not willing to keep or drive my car there because of the awful drivers and crime. So, my intent is to drive my car on my local Idaho roads as often as I can. Even though the temperature hasn’t hit 40 yet, the sun is out and the roads are dry, so I’m going to remove the car cover and fire up my Shark!
Being somewhat new to the PNW, I find the climate!.. is mainly MY reason for the lack of enthusiasm for a driving "get together" up here... Getting a C5 all wet and dirty!..but Biggest thing.. Being concerned about some rain brain idiot sliding into the back of the C5 on wet pavement!... When it's raining in LA you don't drive your C5 for fear of "The Other Guy" sliding into your *** end!.. They could "total" you for heaven sakes!".. One with a Corvette wisely dose not venture out onto a LA freeway in the rain.😒..Makes me wonder if I'm treating C5 unfairly a mainly fair weather ride. 🤔
I'm always interested but do need to open this part of the forum more often to check. I recall one or two cruises originating here on the forum and one got nearly 30 Corvettes together!! As said by F4, it seems most of the cruises are well North of here so I'm looking at a long cruise just to get to the cruise. I think we should get into the habit of posting ANY little trip we are taking with our cars and see who shows up. Just name a starting point and time and general description of the route. While we are here as well, seems most cars and coffee meets are so dang early....lol.....a late afternoon/early evening one suits me better!
Thanks for the reply and opinion. Being a beer/wine run id hope people use good judgment and know its an overnight cruise lol but I took your advice and titled it overnight 😅
Perhaps people don't want anything to do with drinking... Times are a changing Bunkey.
The weather in the NW is a limiting factor. You can plan the best event and then it gets rained out, or in the summer it may be 100 degrees.
There are so many outdoor activities here that it is hard to decide on the weekend, car show, car racing, hiking, mountain bike, running, photography, RC airplanes, Oregon coast, mountains etc.
Keep trying !! I appreciate all of your efforts. My C8 will be here in a couple of months, and we plan to hit every car show, cruise, and event we can find this summer.
What's an interesting route to Reno?.. and what is BiL..?
BiL is my brother from another mother; brother in law
After 12 trips my favorite way is the 5 to Shasta Lake(actually Weed) and then head east on 89 to 44 into Susanville then 395 into Reno. Going thru the Redwoods with the top down is always fun
You can go more northern easterly by going thru Bend Or. and Klamath Falls but the Two lane traffic, logging trucks and swarms of bugs don’t make it as much fun
09-18-2022, 01:45 AM
