01/27/2019 Mystery Lunch Run Hosted by Teresa & Simon Bleeker

Hosted by Teresa & Simon Bleeker

No – They Didn’t Wear Their Santa Clothes!

It was a historical trip.

It Was a Mysterious Trip!

Mystery Lunch Run

January 27, 2019

Simon and Terry Bleeker treated us to what they had titled the “Historical/Haunted MLR” and also described as a loooong run (one of Jim Sommars’ favorite kind) to start off the new year of 2019. They had 35 cars send in RSVPs and someone counted 35 cars at Kohl’s at one point, so let’s agree that it was a healthy sized group of 35 cars and 60-70 COTV folks.

We had a real mix of old and new, guest and member. Don Sforzini brought along his BRAND NEW orange ZR-1 and his son, Brent, drove the not very old yellow C7R. That way there was room for Brent’s wife, Andrea, and their son Nick. So, a whole Sforzini Corvette Club of its own! Thank heavens Ronette Garduno takes time to provide us with the names of the many guests she and Captain Norm bring along. This time we had Swan, Eric and Darrel (so we had Darrel and Daryl and no Larry!) Mickey Diehl had her friend and frequent co-pilot Ellen along for the ride. Lana Jenkin brought along a familiar face, her friend Cathy, although she tried to fool us by having Cathy wear Keith’s name tag. Bill Watson brought his own designated driver, their oldest son, Wayne. Our newest new members, Joe and Barbie Orsini, were there with their beautiful 2005 blue convertible.

The first section of the run was the “historic” part. We paraded along Butterfield Stage to Murrieta Hot Springs to Winchester Rd/Hwy 79, through the actual little old part of Winchester, and onto 74 W into what used to be Romoland but is now part of Menifee. The old barn used to house the Motte Romo Farms produce market but now contains a mid-sized car collection, where we got to visit a 1931 Cadillac originally owned and restored by our own member, Bob Wells. There is also a very interesting exhibit of the history of the area and its agricultural beginnings in the upstairs section for those who might want to pay a return visit.

After a short break for coffee and donuts and a visit to the facilities, we all saddled up again and headed out for the longer drive to our lunch destination. Trying to keep 35 cars together on a straight road is difficult enough, but this route took us the “scenic” way through Perris and Lake Elsinore and we had to stop often to gather up the strays. Somewhere along this part, we lost some of the group, who decided that they had experienced enough fun for one day. We ended up at lunch with not quite 35 cars. As you might guess when Lake Elsinore comes into the conversation, we headed up and over the dreaded Ortega Highway to San Juan Capistrano. There is always a lot of Sunday traffic – sports cars and motorcycles abound and of course, today we added a bunch of Corvettes into the mix. As Glenn Crowther commented when we were finally at lunch, the drive was spectacular as the recent rains have made the hillsides very green. If you missed the ride you missed COTV’s sighting of the new mid-engine C8. Well, we think it was a C8 ,as it was heavily camouflaged.

Our lunch destination was El Adobe de Capistrano on Camino Capistrano. The “haunted” part of the run was some of the history behind the restaurant and many COTV members checked out the small prison area, which is now used for a wine cellar. Terry had arranged for 3 lunch choices: a huge hamburger with all the fixings; a combination plate of enchilada and taco; or huevos rancheros. After a lot of food and plenty of conversation, the group split up to head home however they wanted. Some even chose to stay in San Juan for a pleasant Sunday walk around.

Thanks to Terry and Simon for a great start to the new year! Bravo!

Pics from Teresa & Simon