7/7/07 Cruise to Tail of the Dragon

[slngsht]

Dean, welcome to the forum.

 

 

 

As far as I'm concerned, this is a dead issue. All are welcome here and at the event, and based on everything I've heard, everybody is OK with it.

 

 

 

That said, go to the General section and post up some pics of your ride

 

 

 

BTW, where in Virginia are you?

[Al N.]

Dean-

 

 

 

I apologize if I have offended anyone in the bona-fide Lotus community

 

or within Lotus Limited.

 

 

 

I reviewed my posts here and don't see too much that I would consider

 

"ugly":

 

 

 

"I haven't reached out to the Lotus Limited folks directly because of the

 

potential snob factor I sense I may receive, and don't really intend to

 

reach out to them any time soon. I think the Seven crowd among them

 

will find us one way or another. (That said, I am indeed a relatively recent

 

member of LL.)"

 

 

 

Note my use of "potential" and "sense". Other members of the Se7ens

 

community have set me straight on this already, and right quick.

 

 

 

Thanks for your input. Keep the faith.

 

 

 

-Al

 

 

 

P.S. Serious bonus points for your use of "balkanization". smileys/smiley2.gif[/img] </p>

[Al N.]

X-POST FROM usa@se7ens.net:

 

 

 

Regarding 7-7-7, I want people to understand that there are a bazillion great drives within spitting distance of the Dragon, and some others a little more distant. And in between all the "official" drives and meals, we should all hit as many as possible. George H. even proposed a "Asheville and back" blat for those who crave a little interstate pace. I personally would love to visit a town called Sylva that from my guidebook looks incredibly quaint. And I'm sure our group drive on the Cherohola will include a lunch in Tellico Plains.

 

 

 

What else. Not much besides the fact that I would love to see Keith Tanner and the Locost contingent represented, as well as having at least one Series 1 owner officially commit to the event so we have the lineage display locked up. Anyone? Anyone? Dean G. can you forgive me?

[DeanG]

I am located in Newport News, VA.

 

 

 

The 7 is not quite photogenic yet, although nose is getting shiny as I find I polish it when I want to work on the car and can’t think of anything more productive to do. At the moment the 7 needs a bunch of work before it will be safe to drive. I did get my Lotus fix by taking a spin in our M100.

[slngsht]

I am located in Newport News, VA.

 

 

 

The 7 is not quite photogenic yet, although nose is getting shiny as I find I polish it when I want to work on the car and can’t think of anything more productive to do. At the moment the 7 needs a bunch of work before it will be safe to drive. I did get my Lotus fix by taking a spin in our M100.

 

 

 

Next time I come down that way, I'll send you an email before hand. I used to come down alot since my brother lived at VB, but not so much anymore.

[solder_guy]

I see that there are 33 car/drivers planning to attend as of today (Aug 8th). It would be helpful if you added another column which lists those who plan to tow their cars and those who wish to drive.

 

 

 

Rob Mitchell

 

 

[slngsht]

Rob, we are collecting that info.

 

 

 

I don't see any harm in showing it, but when we collected the info, the field wasn't marked as one we would publicly show.

 

 

 

I will be sending out a note in a little bit, asking for some more info from the people who registered, like how many people they are bringing (to help with meal planning). At that time, I'll also ask if anyone has any objection to displaying that field.

 

 

 

Are you going to attend?

 

 

 

-Mazda

[solder_guy]

Are you going to attend?

 

 

 

Plan toooo.

 

 

 

Rob Mitchell

 

 

[slngsht]

Sign up if you haven't already. Tapoco is already filled up. There are not many lodging choices that are super close (numbers are listed on the registration page)

[powderbrake]

Tapoco was filled up so I registered at the Fontana Resort. They said they had room for the trailer near the Lodge. looking forward to the trip.

[DeanG]

A modest proposal - It might be a good idea to hold an informal information sharing and planning session for the 7/7/7 event at LOG. There will certainly be a bunch of 7ish cars in attendance (at least it always seems there too many nice cars to pick from when voting at the concours) and even more 7 enthusiasts/owners.

[slngsht]

A modest proposal - It might be a good idea to hold an informal information sharing and planning session for the 7/7/7 event at LOG. There will certainly be a bunch of 7ish cars in attendance (at least it always seems there too many nice cars to pick from when voting at the concours) and even more 7 enthusiasts/owners.

 

 

 

Hi Dean,

 

I won't be there (since I don't own a Lotus) and I don't think Al will either, but there are quite a few Lotus 7s on the reservation list. I look forward to any ideas you guys come back with after LOG (the same with suggestions from anybody attending the 7/7/7 event), and if you manage to snag a few more Lotus 7s to join us, that'd be awesome.

 

Thanks.

[Al N.]

Fontana now MORE aware of our event.

 

 

 

Folks. Apparently a few people were asking for Toni Crisp at Fontana (as we directed on the reg page) this week, and she told them she didn't know anything about it.

 

 

 

The deal is I had spoken with and corresponded with Toni back in July, but had not officially blocked out rooms as I didn't know if we'd even need them (and nothing is worse than people who say they're going to need 25 rooms and then bailing!). I was and still am planning on going to NC in Nov, and was going to meet with Toni then.

 

 

 

When I heard today that some folks had reached out Toni and there was some confusion, I called her right away. We have revised the registration page accordingly...you are now supposed to merely mention the Sevens event and don't worry about speaking specifically to Toni.

 

 

 

Sorry for any inconvenience this may have caused folks.

[Al N.]

Update on 7-7-7.

 

 

 

Mazda and I met up this past weekend to go over odds and ends for the Tail of the Dragon Event.

 

 

 

In an effort to make it the event that attendees have in mind, we will be sending an email with some questions (or a link to questionnaire) to current registrants. We want to know stuff like:

 

 

 

• How many people are you bringing? Will you be bringing non-driving spouse and/or kids? (so we can possibly plan for non-car activities and day trips, and perhaps even baby sitting...note that Mazda and I have small children and as of now are planning to bring them)

 

 

 

• What hotel are you booked into and which nights (so we can plan in transit times for our full group events)

 

 

 

• What sorts of souvenirs would you want included in your registration fee or a la carte (not everyone may want a t-shirt, etc.)

 

 

 

And so on. If you are a registrant, please be on the lookout for this email the first week of Sept. The questionnaire may seem on the long side, but your answers will help mold the event into something that people will really enjoy.

 

 

 

Additionally, Mazda and I spoke about the registration fee. As I noted earlier, there will be some sort of fee to cover insurance, some printing fees (not everyone will enjoy downloading and printing a 5 meg route map PDF), and possibly some labor (locals to help with day of activities so the organizers can also have fun with the rest of the gang) but we'll keep this minimal.

 

 

 

Right now we are thinking about including the group meals in this reg fee (for 1 adult), with a la carte meal pricing for additional family members.

 

 

 

Again, we welcome your input. Post here or write to Mazda and I directly. Also, Mazda and I fully intend to visit the Dragon in November to sort other issues out and meet with the semi-local Seveners who have raised their hands to volunteer help. We should be able to sort out all fees by the end of November and will post them here and on the reg page.

 

 

 

Oh, finally, note that Mazda and I are shooting for a May 7, 2007 registration deadline so that we have 2 months to finalize the attendee welcome packs, souvenirs, etc. Of course, we will allow people to register after the deadline and even at the event itself (if you can find lodging remotely close by at that point), but they may not get the official t-shirt or whatever until after the event is over.

 

 

 

That's all for now!

 

 

[Al N.]

BUT WAIT, THERE'S MORE (X-POST FROM USA-REQUEST@SE7ENS.NET)

 

 

 

----

 

 

 

Regarding 777, we think it would be interesting and fun to have a dyno and/or scales on hand. After all, who doesn't want to know how much they're putting out at the wheels?

 

 

 

So, while we will do our research into semi-local places that may want to come out the Dragon, I put this out to you all too. If you know of or have either of this devices, please chime in.

 

 

 

Note that we are VERY open to a dealer or shop sponsoring this partially (could charge a reasonable per car fee) or in whole. You would of course, get plenty of marketing exposure.

 

 

 

Also, if any of the dealers with lists of people who are "interested but not yet owners", feel free to tell them about the 7-7-7 event as there will be cars of virtually every type on hand to check out. Dealers/Mfgs may also want to consider offering test drives to people who sign up for them in advance.

 

 

 

 

[slngsht]

I'm looking forward to putting the little beast on the dyno http://www.usa7s.com/aspnetforum/images/emoticons/smile5.gif hopefully the rear will hold - if I haven't upgraded by then.

[stevet]

Something for the ladies perhaps - or even those of us planning to

drive down to the 777 weekend... my wife went down to meet some

girlfriends for a 50th bash at a Spa near Bryson City recently. The

place was pretty rustic but the treatments were excellent in her view

(and she knows a bit about this stuff). They also ate at a very good

restaurant in Nantahala called Ralia's where all the veggies were home

grown, but you need to supply yoar own booze. Also, if you stop in

Nantahala it's well worth getting some local sausage - fabulous.

 

 

 

Details for the Spa;

 

 

 

 

 

Aleen Whyte

 

Contact Lakeview at Fontana at:

 

171 Lakeview Lodge Dr. -

Bryson City, NC 28713

 

Phone: 800.742.6492

 

Email: >info@lakeviewatfontana.com

 

>http://www.lakeviewnc.com/

 

 

 

 

 

[slngsht]

Steve, Excellent. Thanks for the input. I'm sure Gail will appreciate this http://www.usa7s.com/aspnetforum/images/emoticons/yesnod.gif

[BillMarcy P]

The Spa sounds wonderful to me, too!  Marcy

[Al N.]

I had a very good conversation with a premier mobile dyno outfit today. They have not finalized their 2007 calendar yet, but seemed very interested in our event as it is something out of the ordinary.

 

 

 

Additionally, I've been corresponding with various media sources regarding our event and got a nice email today from a publication you all have heard of...still too far off to commit, but they want us to keep in touch.