BMW is celebrating its 100th birthday in 2016 with a great number of events worldwide. The main events in North America will occur in Monterey, California during Car Week and Ocktoberfest.  The drive, outlined below, from Timberline Lodge on Mt. Hood in Oregon down to Sonoma, California is part of a national BMW caravan called “The Roads to Monterey 2016.”

This is a great way to get yourself and your BMW to Car Week and Ocktoberfest. Goetz Pfafflin, president of the BMW Vintage & Classic CCA, is arranging the portion of the drive from Colorado to Monterey, including the nights in Monterey during Car Week. We will hook up with Goetz and his group in Sonoma.

The Pacific Northwest (PNW) portion of “The Roads to Monterey 2016” will officially begin August 12, 2016 at Timberline Lodge. This drive will be both beautiful and fun. Due to the small size of some of the venues, the number of cars on the PNW route is presently being capped at 17. Below you will find the itinerary as it now stands. No major changes are expected over the next year in the routes or lodging venues.

For Crater Lake Lodge, the ability to make reservations for August 2016 begins on August 1, 2015 and cannot be group booked. Therefore we are getting the registration for the PNW drive started so you will be able to book the Lodge on August 1st. As you will see below, the dates, routes, and lodging have already been established for the trip. The rooms at Crater Lake will most likely sell out quickly, so instructions on how to reserve your room August 1st, are found below.

Itinerary

August 12, 2016

Timberline Lodge on Mount Hood for reception at 1730 and dinner at 1815.

Spend the night at the Lodge. We have made group reservations for the evening meal and lodging.

August 13,2016

Breakfast at Timberline Lodge. On your own.

Leave the Lodge at 0930 and head towards Crater Lake, through the Cascade Range, with lunch at a location TBD.

Then drive to Crater Lake and the Crater Lake Lodge. Arrive mid-afternoon for some individual sightseeing. We will do a group drive around Crater Lake at sunset, approximately 8 to 9 PM.

****** The RESERVATION for Crater Lake Lodge IS TO BE DONE BY YOU. This reservation WILL NOT be made for the group. You should make the reservation on August 1, 2015. Call 888-774-2728, or register online. For the best views from your room we recommend you ask for a lake view on the second or third floor. Cancellations can be made up to 2 days prior to your arrival (8/13/2016), so there is no financial risk for reserving a room early. Again, this Lodge will fill quickly so we strongly advice you to call on the first day of August. There are only 71 rooms. At the same time RESERVE YOUR DINNER table for around 6 PM if you plan to do the drive. A third party vender can put you on their waiting list for a Crater Lake Lodge reservation BEFORE AUGUST 1st, but they charge 10%, and they cannot reserve your room before August 1st. THEIR NUMBER is 406-552-1704.

August 14, 2016:

Breakfast at Crater Lake Lodge. On your own.

Leave the Lodge at 0900 and head south for Medford, OR.

Lunch in Ashland, OR around noon at a TBD location.

Dinner in Arcata, CA at the Folie Douce restaurant at 1800. Arranged for the group.

Spend the night at the Bayshore Inn, Eureka, CA. Arranged for the group.

August 15, 2016:

Breakfast is buffet style at Bayshore Inn. Included in cost of the room.

Leave for Mendocino at 0900 down Hwy 101 and over to Hwy 1.

Lunch at a location TBD along the coast.

Arrive in Mendocino around 1430 and spend the night at the Little River Inn. Individual site seeing followed by a group reception at 1800 then dinner at the Little River Inn. Arranged for the group.

August 16, 2016:

Breakfast at the Little River Inn at 0830. Prearranged.

Leave Mendocino at approximately 1100 going towards Sonoma.

Lunch at a location TBD.

Arrive in Sonoma around midafternoon and meet up with Goetz Pfafflin and the other BMWs. We’ll go as a group to the private Smith’s Vintage BMW Collection that evening.

Spend the night in Sonoma per arrangements made by Goetz (all lodging through Monterey Car Week is prearranged by Goetz Pfafflin. I have travelled with Goetz and his trips are first rate. See below for some details. The full package will be sent to you by mid August.)

August 17, 2016:

Drive to Monterey with the entire group, which is now approximately 40-45 cars.

Stay in a prearranged hotel per Goetz.

August 18, 2016:

On your own!  Enjoy the cars, Carmel-By-The-Sea, and Monterey.

August 19, 2016:

Legends of the Autobahn. Some of our cars will most likely be in this.

August 20, 2016:

Rolex Monterey Motorsports Reunion at Laguna Seca with the BMW CCA corral.  Car Auction.

August 21, 2016:

Laguna Seca Reunion continues.

Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance in the afternoon.

August 22, 2016:

Group drive down to Big Sur and possibly to Hearst Castle.

August 22-27, 2016:

Lodging and registration for Ocktoberfest is to be done on your own.  This is not part of the “Roads to Monterey 2016.”

What You Need to do Now

If you want to go with us on “The Roads to Monterey 2016” PNW drive, all you have to do is drive a BMW car or motorcycle and be a current member of the BMW CCA.

Please send the following information to Erik Swensson at Erik.SwenssonZ8@yahoo.com or 4820 High Heaven Road, McMinnville Oregon, 97128:

• Your name
• Passenger’s name (if applicable)
• Address
• Cell phone number
• Email address
• Model and year of the BMW you will be driving

Erik can also be reached at 971-241-2614.

You will also need to issue a check to Erik for $100 as a down payment. Because of the limited number of places (presently 17 cars) this will secure your spot.

The drive is on a “first come, first served” basis. As you can see from the itinerary, not all of the places at this time have been confirmed and so I cannot give you an exact cost of the first leg of the trip. It will probably be about $350/car/day with another $75/passenger per day. I should have the cost known by the middle of August 2015 and will provide you that information. In April or May 2016, I will send you a bill for the remainder of the cost of the trip, along with a detailed itinerary and routes. Because group bookings, especially meals, are often not cancellable after 60 or 90 days prior to the arrival date, there will be a date after which the monies paid will not be refundable. This will be explained in detail at the time the bill in the spring of 2016 is sent to you. Up until that time, if you cancel, you will get $50 of your $100 down payment refunded.

Edy and I look forward to a great time on “The Roads to Monterey 2016” with all of you.