Hello Jaguar Owners Club Members, you missed a great time in the Southern Sierra, Sequoia National Park and the town of Three Rivers. The weather was perfect, and the company was brilliant. There were 40+ Jaguar Club enthusiastic from the Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Sacramento Clubs in attendance. The Lazy J Motel was our host and official event center. Our Club started the annual retreat to the Sequoias back in the mid 1980’s when Bernie Mesco and myself visited the Sequoia Park on a holiday weekend. We immediately fell in love with the area and the town of Three Rivers with its quaint shops, fresh air, snow feed river, terrific eateries and the Sequoia forest. Dorothy (Prez) and Howard Smith (hubby) organized the San Fran group with over 30+ members and their Jaguars leaving from Gilroy and arriving in the late afternoon.
The JOC members assembled at Magic Mountain at 0930 and left promptly at 1000 at a merry clip (70-75mph) all the way to Visalia.
We did stop off in Tulare for lunch at the BLACK BEAR DINER which proved to be very tasty indeed.
The Lazy J is a charming 1950’s motel right on the river and in the past, many a BBQ dinner was served on the grass areas and volleyball was the order of the day. Our weather this time was more FALL like with cool 70ish temps and blue skies. We had a terrific dinner at the GATEWAY Restaurant overlooking the river and we all made merry that night! The next morning, after breakfast, the troops gathered and made their way up the road to the Sequoia Park, the temp was a brisk 50’, clear, fresh air. Some folks packed lunches, others made for the lodge and civilized meals. I decided to stay at the Motel and relax and watch the ducks, walk around the lake, steak ‘n eggs for breakfast, a drive into Exeter for shopping and viewing the murals that Exeter is famous for. The antique stores were great with some real bargains and neat stuff to ogle. Saturday night was our BIG dinner and because of the threat of rain from the North we decided to move the event indoors at the caterer’s kitchen. It was cozy, but everyone fit just right, though a few of us chose to sit outside where the air was fresh and cool, no rain, yet just a sprinkle or two.
The Ranch Hand Café put out a terrific spread of TRI-TIP STEAK AND PULLED PORK, with the best BBQ beans I have ever tasted, there was seconds and thirds all around, with a big chocolate chip cookie, homemade, to finish up the meal. There was also all varieties of wines and brews that washed down the Q. Everyone had a terrific time and wanted to comeback in a couple of years. Our club was a bit thin on the participants, but our members are very busy and there were several cancellations at the last minute, too bad, the weekend turned out to be a blast and good new friends were made. I look forward to next year and the International Jaguar Festival in Santa Barbara November 2018, the San Fran Group are coming in force to attend and to help. Let’s get motivated JOCLA, it’s time for touring, weekend jaunts, and driving events!
Cheers, Mark Mayuga, 1st VP