What started out as an idea last winter between Bob Webb and myself as a day ride around Clear Lake and stopping somewhere on the Lake for lunch kinda' blossomed out into this boat ride. While looking in the internet for eating places along Clear Lake, I came across the Clear Lake Queen, a stern wheeler riverboat type offering lunch and dinner cruises on the Lake. We agreed this just might be fun. So a few phone calls later I got us a reservation on the CLQ for a lunch cruise on the Saturday before Mothers day. There's conditions, gotta' have a minimum of twenty people to book the boat. The lunch cruise is $25 per person so if we collected the money in advance then we know you are committed. Word goes out and at the February club meeting we get seventeen paid entrants. First weekend in March, Bob and I take a ride up to the CLQ to check out the route and timing. There we meet up with Roberta Welter, make the deposit and get the seventeen tickets with a promise there will be more. Now, where are we going to get the three more people we promised? I guess word trickled out about this cruise and we started getting inquiries about it. Bob got a couple of letters, with money, in the mail requesting tickets and I'm getting e-mails and phone calls.

There's a group of retired bikers that meet weekly for breakfast that Brew, Jim Kramlich, Bob Lahn and myself join. I brought a couple of flyers one morning and some of them showed an interest in going. Next thing I know I'm phoning over to Clear Lake ordering more tickets. One of our retirees, Myron Babb from Diamond Springs, requested ten tickets. Thank you Myron.

We now have people coming from all over to our cruise, Grass Valley, Nevada City, Placerville, Diamond Springs, Fresno, Sunnyvale, Petaluma, Fairfield, Lincoln, Vacaville, Sacramento, Citrus Heights, Rocklin, Rancho Cordova, Roseville, Santa Rosa, Tracy, and places I don't know.

Saturday Morning, The Day! Weather forecasters a couple of days before had mentioned the "R" word…..Never…..Not on Our Ride….. We had arranged for two meeting points. The Harley Shop in Vacaville and the junction of highways 16 and 20. That one was for the riders coming from Grass Valley and other points east.

Jo and I meet with Bob and Shirley, George and Sue, Janice and James, his son Chris and his Girl friend, Roger and Shirley Allen, Lee House, and Roger Vardabedian in Vacaville. We leave there at ten after eight with Jo and I leading the pack, Bob and Shirley doing tailgunner and George and Sue running sweep in their pick-up. We head up Hwy 505 to Hwy 16, very light traffic, turn off on 16 and head for the Capay Valley. We meet Jim Kramlich in Esparto and head northwest. Traffic is moderate with all the cagers going to the casino. Once pass the casino we pretty much have the road to ourselves. The weather and the road through the Capay Valley are in perfect form, keeping our speed moderate to enjoy the scenery and fresh air of the valley. Once into the Cache Creek Canyon, there are enough windy twisties to make the road interesting without terrifying our passengers too much. A little more than an hour later, we make it to the 16 / 20 junction and there is the other group waiting on us. Or should I say GROUP. There is a whole bunch of people and bikes waiting there. There we grab a ten minute break, stretch the parts, and meet the others.

Bob and I give them the head-m-up sign, we mount up and head west on hwy 20. Jo and I are still in front of this very long two-wheeled train with Bob and Shirley on the tail-gun and two more four wheelers running sweep with George and Sue. In less than an hour of great weather and roads along the shoreline of Clear Lake later we're pulling into the Lucerne Harbor Park and there's Uncle Ray sitting at a park bench waiting for his brood to show up. We get parked, unwound, legs stretched, clothes changed and head for the boat, docked right there at the park.

By an earlier arrangement, we have the whole first deck lounge reserved for us. There're waitresses taking drink and lunch orders. We have a choice of four lunch items, paddy melt, French dip, soup and turkey sandwich or a chef's salad. We pull out from the dock right at eleven and head out for open seas or is it lake. Lunch is served and after we eat, we head out for the open decks where we can enjoy the mild seventy degree weather and a leasurely ten knot cruise around the lake. It's over all too soon as we are pulling in to the dock at one in the afternoon. There we say our thank yous to Roberta and Harvey for their hospitality and disembark.

Back at the bikes we're figuring out who's going where. Some of us are heading back to Cache Creek for a little gaming and we're off. Back down 20 to 16 and to the casino. About two-dozen of us make it to the casino with another group not too far behind. A couple of hours on the slot machines some of us are thinking dinner. Bob and Shirley, Jo and I head for the buffet. We get seated and here comes Roger and Shirley Allen with their son Troy and his wife Lisa. We get the waitress to seat them next to us. After dinner we head for home, still perfect weather. It turned out to be the perfect day.

We had forty-two people on that ride and cruise and I believe that's the largest turn out this club has had for a single event. Along with Bob and Shirley and Jo and myself, we had the following club members attending. Richard and Mary Mack, Jim Kramlich, Ray and Betty Walls and her triplet sisters Rita and Clare Menezes, Roger and Shirley Allen and their son Troy and his wife Lisa, George and Sue Rogers, Mary Jo Brubaker, Don and Doris Brubaker and her friend Sue Springfield, Lee house, and Janice Davies and James Murray and his son Chris and his girlfriend.

We would also like to welcome and thank the following guests for coming along. Bruce and Connie Lane, John Harrison, Bob and Ruth Hilstad, Myron and Myrna Babb, Dale and Patty Dryer, Will and Missie Jones, Brian and Darci Prall, Dennis and Barbara Ditloff, and Roger Vartabedian. If I've missed someone, I apologize for that.

I believe a good time was had by all as I saw nothing but smiles on everybody faces. Bob and I are already conspiring to do this again next year and maybe even make this an annual event. All in favor, signify by saying aye.

Trip Pictures

Click HERE for pictures of the campout.

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