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NEWSLETTER | September 2018

TRIPZ SEZ by Leah Clark

Sign ups are here! As trips coordinator, I've been working hard all summer to set up some really great ski trips for the club. First let's talk about the fly-aways. Beaver Creek is our first trip (January 24-29), which will be led by past co-presidents, Carmen and Gary Jahns. It will be a 4-day trip staying in some really great condos. What's great about the condos? We were able to secure a deal that should eliminate any sharing of beds by non-couples. Yay! In addition we are flying on Southwest airlines, which doesn't charge for baggage, giving us a world-class ski trip at an affordable price. Carmen and Gary will be organizing a visit to Vail while there, so Actioneers will have an incredible skiing experience. Sign ups started THIS WEEK at the Action general meeting.

The next fly-away is a new one for Action: five days at Revelstoke in eastern British Columbia, Canada (March 7-13). This trip will be led by Tom Sekreta and Annette Behrman, who are great trip leaders. We will fly from San Diego through Seattle to Kelowna, then bus to the town of Revelstoke where we will be staying in a hotel. There is shuttle service to the mountain, which is known for its incredible snow and is part of the Ikon pass. I'm super excited for this trip! Since it's in March you have plenty of time to get your passport in order! Sign ups will be at the October general meeting.

We are also doing a mini-fly away this year to Lake Tahoe (March 21-25), led by our own Action president, Roger Hiltpold. He has secured an amazing home rental on Lake Tahoe and will be coordinating shuttles to Alpine Meadows and Squaw Valley, both also on the Ikon pass. This should be a really special trip for a small group, and you can sign up at the October general meeting.

Of course Action's Mammoth trips are a huge part of our ski season. This year as usual we have four trips planned, using a combination of hotels and condos. In addition, we are using a new bus company that has brand new super-sleek buses with lots of storage, which should make that long drive a little bit more comfortable. For the first Mammoth trip (January 10-13) we will be staying at the Sierra Nevada Inn, a hotel right behind Rafters bar. Since it is a hotel-based trip, again, there will be no non-couple sharing of beds. Yay again! This trip will be led by Suzanne Rogers and Cindy Luchetti, and will let us know how the hotel model works.

Our second Mammoth trip is the now famous 4-day Super Bowl trip (January 31 - February 4) led by Annette Behrman and her husband Michael Witschke. If you haven't been on one of Annette's Super Bowl trips you should definitely consider this one! We will be staying at the Chateau Sans Nom, whose condos provide a great venue for watching the game.

The third Mammoth trip (February 21-24) will be led by Anne Branson and John Pierce, and we will be staying at Mammoth Ski and Racquet Club where Anne owns a condo and where we also got a great deal. With 4-5 people per condo, we should be able to accommodate everyone who wants it in their own bed. Yay one more time! This complex is on the shuttle line, one stop away from Canyon Lodge, or a short ride away from the Village in the other direction. Even though the condo complex is on a hill, Anne knows the ins-and-outs and will make sure most uphill walking is avoided.

Finally, for our last Mammoth trip (April 4-7) we will be back at the Sierra Nevada Inn. This trip will be led by "The Toms", Tom Sekreta and Tom Sullivan, and these guys lead a fun trip! Sign ups for all Mammoth trips will be at the October general meeting.

I hope you enjoy our 2019 ski schedule!

Thanks,

Leah

Trips Coordinator

DON'T MISS OUT ON THIS CLUB FAVORITE WINE TRIP

ACTION VOLUNTEERS
SAN DIEGO RESCUE MISSION — BACK TO SCHOOL DRIVE

As in prior years, Action Board members led another charity effort, which became a wonderful success. This year we selected the San Diego Rescue Mission to contribute to their “Back to School” backpacks and supplies drive. The San Diego Rescue Mission has been serving less fortunate men, women and children in San Diego since 1955. Please see their website for further volunteer opportunities: http://www.sdrescue.org/

With help from our website’s communication tools orchestrated by Anne Branson, Action members came out in large numbers at our annual BBQ at the park on August 1^st and at the happy hour on August 28^th at the Carmel Valley Doubletree Mosaic bar & grill. We ended up collecting over 40 backpacks and a ton of supplies for less fortunate K-12 kids. This effort was completed in one month and clearly reflects the giving nature of our membership base.

Special gratitude goes out to all Actioneers for helping us achieve this awesome feat!

See you on the slopes,

Roger Hiltpold

President – Action Ski & Snowboard Club

Upcoming Activities

Laguna Mountain Camping Trip

About a month before this year’s Laguna camping trip I found out that I had a (can’t miss) family event the first day of the trip. Our campsite was booked and I had several signups. I couldn’t postpone the trip, so kindly,Tom Waltersagreed to drive my truck with all of the camping equipment, and set up camp, with the help ofTom Sullivan. Then the two of them cooked a delicious meal — grilled teriyaki chicken, burgers, rice, plus a green salad prepared by the “always helpful” Barb Perkins, for the lucky campers.

Thanks to Anna Marie Sorriso for booking the campsite a year in advance, we were able to move from Burnt Rancheria Campground, where we've stayed for years, down Sunrise Highway, to the highly desirable El Prado Big Sage group campsite. Located in a beautiful shady forest with our own parking lot, bathroom, and several picnic tables, our secluded campsite turned out to be perfect for our group.

In addition to repeat campers Anna Marie, Barb, the two Tom’s,Pat Klaasen,Chris Polta,Urszula Orlinska,Martha Way, andTom Sekreta,we had some newbies, includingMike & Eileen Sanford,Ed Offstein&Ellen Locke,Raheleh Dilmaghani ,Linda Locke, andRichard Kuntz.

Saturday morning, I drove up early and managed to arrive in time for a tasty breakfast of bacon, sausage, and Eggs Florentine (prepared as always by the two Tom’s) along with toast and coffee. Anna Marie led part of the group on a hike on the infamous Pacific Crest Trail east of Sunrise Highway on the rim overlooking the Anza Borrego Desert to Oasis Spring.

Meanwhile Tom Sekreta, Barb, Urszula, and I decided to hike the Big Laguna Trail west of the camp on a pleasant three hour walk that meandered between the beautiful Laguna Meadow and an oak and pine forest which provided us “much needed” shade. In the meadow, considering all of the hot weather this Summer, I was surprised to see a good sized pond (Laguna Lake on the map) that provided water for a few cows we encountered grazing along the trail.

Saturday afternoon the two Tom’s, Mike, and I decided to drive into Julian to explore. We stopped at theNickel Beer Companyfor a beer and then drove through town and continued out Farmer Road and drove by theVolcan Mountain WineryandMenghini Winerywhich both look like they are worth a future visit. On the way back we stopped by theJulian Beer Companyin town and sampled their beers too. This is a nice place to visit with a good beer selection and what looks like a pretty good food menu also. Another place to keep in mind for the next time in town; maybe the October Apple Harvest?

We got back to camp just in time for Happy Hour (yeah it was that kind of weekend!) where Tom Sekreta served as bar tender and made some tasty margaritas for everyone. After a dinner of grilled steak, crab-stuffed salmon, plus green bean creole, and salad followed by apple pie, we spent a second pleasant night under clear skies, around the campfire listening to Tom Sekreta’s playlist. It was another enjoyable Action camping trip and thanks to all who helped make it a success!

John Thomas

Wine Tasting Trip to Ramona

On Saturday, Aug. 18th, a select group of wine tasters boarded a Limo Mini-Bus in Poway and drove 30 minutes to our first of three wineries that we had pre-selected. The seats around the outer edge of the small bus let everyone see and talk to each other during the trip. Our relatively short trip saved on the overall cost and let us do more tasting. Rob, our driver from San Diego Brewery Tours, did a great job in getting us around Ramona.We learned that there are now 36 active wineries in the Ramona area — not all of these have tasting rooms open to the public.

Our first stop at the Turtle Rock Ridge Winery was as educational as it was delicious. As with all the small, family wineries on this trip, the person pouring the wine had a lot to do with several of the other operations at the winery. Vineyard Grant James was our farthest east visit; they have a beautiful outdoor patio and great wines to try. The fantastic tasting room at Chuparosa Vineyards had some of our favorite wines. It’s always interesting when the vintner pouring your wine is pointing to the 3 rows of grape vines out the window where the wine originated and discussing the specifics of making the wine and building the tasting room. That doesn’t happen at the big Temecula wineries.

We kept on schedule, got back to Poway on time and had a great pool party at Co-leader Denise Lidell’s beautiful new house and pool

just down the street from our bus meet-up location.

Rick Cole