Springtime In The Smokies - Meet Report

[svxter]

Well the first Springtime in the Smokies meet is now past. From my point of view, it was a success, and I hope everyone who came had as much fun as I did.

At various points, we had 15 different cars participating, although not all at the same time.

The kick-off event was the Friday night reception. Everyone drove up en masse from the hotel. Shortly before 8:00, someone knocked on the door, and when we went to answer, were greeted by the awesome sight of a line of SVXs pulling in to park. I have to say that it was most impressive. It was really great to finally meet everyone in person, and be able to put a face with an internet handle. In addition to everyone who hangs out on this site, we had two local cars - Jerry fro Sevierville, and Ren and June from Cookeville, which is about 100 miles W of here. The weather cooperated beautifully, and we were able to go out on the deck and carry on outside. We were also priviledged to have the first viewing of the SVX model. John brought the prototype, complete with moon roof and little tiny windshield wipers. It's a great model. If you haven't got your name on the list, do it while you still can.

We also had another model, this one in honor of aredubjay's being accused of SVX spamming. I'll let him explain, if he will :)

And, though it pains me to do so, I must confess that KY won the KY/TN taste off. Blanton's was the clear favorite. I must go have a conversation with the folks in Lynchburg. Folks also got to try the Talisker's single malt, courtesy of montypython, and compare it with a bit of Laphroaig. Thanks to both Colin and Randy for their contribution.

Saturday, we drove to Clingman's Dome, in the Smokey Mountain National Park, and here providence surely smiled upon us. Jerry was able to provide some local intelligence - it appears that this was also the weekend of the annual Rod Run in Pigeon Forge, so the planned route resembled a parking lot, rather than a road. Jerry was able to steer us on a back route which not only avoided the traffic jam, but was much more beautiful and interesting a drive. We stopped at the Sugarlands Visitor Center, for a photo op, then began our assault on Clingman's Dome. I'm glad to say that everyone negotiated the climb sucessfully.

From there, we made the run into Harriman, where we were treated to a cookout put on by Tim Duff, owner and general manager of Earl Duff Subaru, who drives a blue 96 LSi. Unfortunately, he couldn't join us for the drive, but he and several of the staff stayed around for the afternoon to do the cooking and get things ready. Randy won an LL Bean tote for the highest mileage car, Colin won for driving the fartherest distance, and Ren won for the best appearance. Everyone got a T-shirt and Subaru koozy. I want thank Tim, his family and staff for helping make the meet a success. If you're in the E. TN region, and need anything Subaru, it's the only place to go, for my money. Even if you're not in TN, give them a call. They'll be delighted to ship SVX parts.

continued

[svxter]

After the cookout, everyone returned to Oak Ridge, and some of us met later for conversation in the Garden Plaza lounge. On Sunday, a few of us (Aredubjay, immortal_suby & myself, plus spouses) wound up the meet with brunch, before officially bringing the meet to an end. I know Abbie and I had a great time, and I hope everyone else did, too.

Thanks again to everyone who helped make it such a great weekend. Special thanks to John (john19688) for bringing his digital video camera, and recording a bunch of video. He's going to edit it down into a little Quicktime movie, and post it here soon. Special thanks also to Don (SVXPhile) and Barry, for being the official still photographers. Look for pictures from them soon.

Be sure to mark your calendar for next year - we'll shoot for 30 cars.

Attendees (at one point or another)

Colin & Irene (montypython) - Wisconsin
Randy & Shari (aredubjay) - Kentucky
Jerry & Roni (svxxx26) - W. Virginia
Don (SVXphile) & Barry W. Virginia, E. TN
Huck & Carol - Kentucky
Ron (tsutsuhund) - Maryland
Matt & Kim (immortal_suby) - South Carolina (They each brought an SVX!)
John (john19688) - North Carolina
Plus local owners - we have enough for a TN mini-meet!
Rita & Mack
Ren & June -
Jerry - (hope to see Jerry on the Network soon!) P.S. Thanks for guiding us around Pigeon Forge
Jim(fjm57) & Barb -
The Earl Duff Subaru folks.

Looking forward to next year.

[SVXphile]

Back home safely by 5PM, after dropping Barry off in Johnson City. A super-size thanks to Bill and Abbie for organizing such a great meet. Barry was loading some of his digital pics into the computer this afternoon, and I am sure we can get them on Yahoo soon. I have never posted pics here so I may need some directions from someone. Will be looking for everyone to check in after a safe trip home. More later....Don:)

[Aredubjay]

We also had another model, this one in honor of aredubjay's being accused of SVX spamming. I'll let him explain, if he will

Ah yes. The "SpamSVX" was a wonderful addition to the festivities -- complete with parsely garnish, I might add. :) Not to mention Colin's (montypython) contribution of Monty Python's "Spam" song. Did we mention the initiation of some to Tuvan "Throat Singing." As for the "Spamming" accusation, it came from Paul (Rev_Hard) who was simply jealous that he could not catch me in the amount of posts -- I really am not a "spammer." However, I have posted an excellent recipe for "Spam Parmesean" -- you can find it by using our "Search Function" :). Bill's next sculpture in Spam is reputed to be a "bust" of "Spamala Anderson." :D

[SVXphile]

<Bill's next sculpture in Spam is reputed to be a "bust" of "Spamala Anderson." >

If it would meat with everyone's approval,
maybe he could do a Spam Whale....that would be a Treet!
:rolleyes:
Don

[Aredubjay]

A tastefully done likeness of Treet Williams would also be nice as would be a patriotic image of Uncle Spam. So, should we declare this our latest SVX Meat: Spamtime in the Smokehouse?

[SVXphile]

A few pictures have been posted on the Yahoo clubsite.The Smoky Mountain "meat" Aredub has refered to is one of the featured pics. Hopefully I can get some posted here in the next day or so. Enjoy!:)
Don

[Aredubjay]

Don, tell Barry he did an excellent job! That little Minolta puts out some fantastic pics! If you don't think he'd mind, I'll capture the "family" pic and put names on them, so everyone can see their fellow SVXers and put names with faces. Again, fantastic job, and, I'm looking forward to more, especially your pics which were taken "the old fashioned way." Perhaps, I'll get that roll of Snowshoe pics developed this week. :)

[svxter]

Don

Thanks for the pictures. I'm looking forward to seeing the rest of them. Thanks also for reminding me that photo finishers will also put things on disk for you. I've been fretting over not having a digital camera. I'll have to dust off the Minolta and take some pictures to put in my briefcase.

Again, many thanks to you & Barry for documenting the meet.

[SVXphile]

Thanks for the kind words. Barry's camera is a Nikon Coolpix 880 I believe (might have the number wrong) and it is an EXCELLENT camera in all respects. The sharpness, exposure, and focusing are first-rate and though it IS expensive, I would highly recommend it.
I am still trying to get the money together to get my Georgia trip pictures from the developer, so it may be awhile before I can post my "old fashioned" 35mm pics of the meet. They will have a hard time beating any of Barry's shots. We met in the 8th grade back in Bluff City and shared an interest in photography, sports cars, and science that we never lost. By the end of the meet, he was really feeling like one of the gang; thanks to everyone for making a him feel right at home. (he did own an Austin Healey and MGB once!)

More later...
Don:)

[SVXphile]

<If you don't think he'd mind>

Of course he wouldn't mind. Go for it!

Don:)

[svxter]

Well, Don, as far as I'm concerned, Barry is most certainly and surely "one of the gang." He just happens to be one without an SVX, that's all.

[Aredubjay]

My bad. I thought, at the reception, you'd said it was a Minolta. Of course I was hearing through ears that were tainted with the effects of Mr's Daniels and Blanton, with a touch of the Isle of Skye -- The Pipes, Lad. Can ya hear 'em? Again, great job on the pics. So, is Barry looking for a "weird windowed coupe" now?:D

[immortal_suby]

:D
Great meet - Extra thanks to svxter and Earl Duff subaru for their efforts to keep us all happy.

I finally get to put voices in my head to go with the written words here. Great to meet all of you nuts in person.

Thanks to John for the CD, Earl Duff's for the cool loot, and Svxter for the hospitality and planning.

Pics in my briefcase - not super clear because I tried to keep the filesize small for us modem users

[montypython]

I've posted pictures of the Smoky's meet in my Locker.

[montypython]

I'm finally able to post to the board :)
Since we got back from the Smoky's meet I've been away on business and for some reason when I tried to post using my laptop I got an "insufficient storage" message. Oh Well.
Anyway we arrived back home at about 5:00pm Monday after a leisurely drive back. Sorry we missed you all for breakfast but we got an early start and drove via Nashville and then spent some time in the Land Between the Lakes just south of Paducah. It was interesting to see what you colonials have to do to control the rivers.
We spent Sunday night somewhere between Paducah and Mount Vernon before driving home on Monday.
By the way, the CLEAR winner of the whisky taste off was Talisker, although I might be accused of being a touch biased.
Thanks to everyone for making it a great weekend, especially to Bill and Abbie for taking the time to organize the meet and for the hospitality on Friday evening.

Total miles driven - 1,787
Best gas mileage - 27.1
Worst gas mileage - 22.82
Overall gas mileage - 25.57

Cost of gas to Tennessee and back - $125.88
A bottle of Talisker to kick Jack's and Blanton's butt - $38
Oil change with Mobil 1 after the trip - $30.50
A weekend with fellow SVX'ers - Priceless

[svxxx26]

Colin, it was great meeting you and your wife. You guys have a very beautiful SVX also.

It was nice to have someone around that could appreciate our vanity plate, too!:)

[Aredubjay]

<<A bottle of Talisker to kick Jack's and Blanton's butt >>

Ahem! Only if you like the taste of seaweed. Seaweed! Can you believe it?!?!?! Seaweed!


"Spam, spam, spam, spam, spam, spam, spam, spam, spam! I don't like spam!!!"

[svxistentialist]

Originally posted by Aredubjay
<<A bottle of Talisker to kick Jack's and Blanton's butt >>

Ahem! Only if you like the taste of seaweed. Seaweed! Can you believe it?!?!?! Seaweed!



Randy
Laphraoig is the king of the seaweed/iodine genre, not Talisker, but these west coast[of Scotland!] whiskies have serious medicine in their water.
Stick with Lagavulin, it doesn't get any better.

Tell me about Blanton's. Who makes it? Is it a product of a big distillery group? Is it as good as Jim Beam? I am intrigued.

Joe:)
PS: Customs control allowing, mail me a bottle, I will send you a bottle of Powers Special Reserve 12 years old. Can do??

[svxter]

Gee, Joe, since we tasted both Laphraoig and Taliskers, I guess we shouldn't have to worry about goiter for a bit, since we've gotten our dose of iodine :). You know, of course, that this means everyone will expect to see a certain Irishman, Lagavulin in hand, at the 10th anniversary meet. :D

Colin - glad to know you & Irene are home safely. It was a real pleasure to meet you, and all the other SVX folks. I'm surely looking forward to the next time.

PS. Thanks for the pictures, and the Spam song. Priceless, indeed.

[Aredubjay]

Joe,
Below, is the link to Blanton's website -- much more info than you wanted to know, I'm sure.

I find Blanton's to be far superior to Beam, though I've never had the "small batch" Beam, so, I wouldn't be comparing "apples to apples."

I am partial to the Wild Turkey line of products, though, I also find Blantons, as a "sippin' whiskey" to be superior to the Turkey products, including their "Rare Breed" which is their single barrell offering.



http://www.blantonsbourbon.com/home_page.htm

[svxistentialist]

Thanks Randy

I am checking this out.

Joe

[John19688]

Here is the final cut I ended up with after editing 30 minutes of video:

http://homepage.mac.com/johnrowe/

I hope you enjoy it.

-John

[immortal_suby]

John,
That was awesome.
I want more!!

Thanks again for the CD - I hope you put the movie on the next one.

[Aredubjay]

John, if you'll excuse my EXTREME candor, that just kicks ever-lovin' ass!!! And I'm not a Willie Nelson fan, by any means, but . . . dang, I don't know if you could've found a better cut of music! Kudos and many thanks. Since I decided not to go back to the Yahoo club, I couldn't remember if I listed you when talking about people when I returned. It's been bothering me. If I left you out, my deepest apologies. It's just that you were so darned quiet :D. The video, however is thunderous. Thanks again. Excellent!!!

[svxistentialist]

Originally posted by svxter
Gee, Joe, since we tasted both Laphraoig and Taliskers, I guess we shouldn't have to worry about goiter for a bit, since we've gotten our dose of iodine :). You know, of course, that this means everyone will expect to see a certain Irishman, Lagavulin in hand, at the 10th anniversary meet. :D

Colin - glad to know you & Irene are home safely. It was a real pleasure to meet you, and all the other SVX folks. I'm surely looking forward to the next time.

PS. Thanks for the pictures, and the Spam song. Priceless, indeed.

Bill

I wouln't expect any of you multi-posting individuals to succomb to rusting of the voicebox or any other speech related ailments, but keep takin' the medicine, with or without the iodine.

Yeah, and if I can make the meet, you can count on the bottle.

Joe:D

[jscorse]

John,
What format is that in? I get only up to the People part then it stops! Wow! Wow! Wow I love what I see. We need this to advertise the meets!!!! I'd like to be able to see the whole thing. Quicktime seems to be having problems on my machine.

I love what I see so far. Can you post this on your SVX site as a standalone file?

- Jeff

[svxter]

John

I'm speechless ( a rare condition for me :)). The video is absolutely fantastic. Thank you, thank you, thank you.

[svxistentialist]

Originally posted by Aredubjay
Joe,
Below, is the link to Blanton's website -- much more info than you wanted to know, I'm sure.

I find Blanton's to be far superior to Beam, though I've never had the "small batch" Beam, so, I wouldn't be comparing "apples to apples."

I am partial to the Wild Turkey line of products, though, I also find Blantons, as a "sippin' whiskey" to be superior to the Turkey products, including their "Rare Breed" which is their single barrell offering.



http://www.blantonsbourbon.com/home_page.htm

Randy,
Just got a reply from the UK distributor, the email address on their site was wrong, I had to Google to get the proper one. I can not believe the price he quotes. See below:

<<However, in the mean time if you want to have Blanton's, I might be able to arrange you a delivery for you in Ireland. The minimum order is 6 bottles due to the transportation costs involved.

Blanton's has two qualities, the Original which is GB£55 a bottle and the Gold which is GB£75 a bottle. I send you attached the picture of both.

The Gold is 51.5% alcohol, but fantastic and with a bit of water it has incredible bouquet. Almost cognac like. Connoisseurs prefer the Gold. The Original, 46.5% alcohol, is a very nice, less refined, more wood and power, and more Bourbon like.>>

These prices are seriously expensive. The Original translates to over £70 Irish, which is approx $79. The Gold comes to £96 Irish, which converts to about $108. While I appreciate it is probably a premium product, I would be expecting a price about half this or less. Is it this price in Kentucky, or has sombody got their marketing wires crossed?

Joe

[Aredubjay]

Joe, I paid approximately 52.00 USD for the bottle I took with me to Tennessee. It was not the "Gold." It can be had for less (35-40 USD from some of the online vendors). So, I suppose prices, with transport and such are in line.

By the same token, I am sometimes surprised at the price of Scotch, here. Though the Taliskers seemed reasonable at (I believe) around 35.00, according to Colin, I shiver at paying around that price for something called "Sheep Dip." Some of the "rarer" Scotches reach the 150.00 range . . . and up.

I'm sure that much of Blanton's cost is tied up in its extravagant packaging. One opens the box to find an embroidered brown velvet bag with gold draw chords. From out of the bag sprouts the custom stopper: a sculptured jockey atop a thoroughbred in full run. The base of the stopper is sealed onto the neck of the bottle with gold sealing wax from which two small gold tabs protrude for easy removal of the wax. Peel off the bag and find a faceted orb of a bottle. The label is simplistic: script type on parchment. But, what makes the label unique are the blanks. There are blanks for "dump date" "proof" when "dumped" and others. These blanks are filled in by hand with a brown ink "flair" pen and signed by the master distiller who did the "dumping." All in all, the packaging is as beautiful as the flavor of the bourbon.

Now, if you'll excuse me, after that description, I'm going to need a julip.

[eddycat2000]

I was in a likker store awhile back and while standing in line I took a look in the glass case they had there. Anyone heard of Louis 14th cognac? I hadn't either, the price tag was 1100+dollars per bottle, but you did get two cool looking shot glasses and a neat stroage case for that price.:rolleyes:

[svxistentialist]

Originally posted by Aredubjay
Joe, I paid approximately 52.00 USD for the bottle I took with me to Tennessee. It was not the "Gold." It can be had for less (35-40 USD from some of the online vendors). So, I suppose prices, with transport and such are in line.

By the same token, I am sometimes surprised at the price of Scotch, here. Though the Taliskers seemed reasonable at (I believe) around 35.00, according to Colin, I shiver at paying around that price for something called "Sheep Dip." Some of the "rarer" Scotches reach the 150.00 range . . . and up.


Now, if you'll excuse me, after that description, I'm going to need a julip.

I am surprised and a little appalled at the price range you are quoting here. I have a rule of thumb, or for whiskey, should it be rule of finger?, here, that I will resist paying premium prices if the distlillers are taking a jump at me and presuming on my good nature.

A decent bottle of Powers is £15 about $17. In terms of taste and worth, it is not possible IMHO to make a whiskey twice as good, certainly not three times as good. I pay about £35 for Lagavulin, which I currently think is about the best on the planet. Bottom line, £35 to £40 is about my limit. Not because I can't afford to pay more, but because I feel the markup on the premium is too high to pay, the marketeers are being too greedy, and should be left with the product.

Shipping charges to the States are going to be the same for the cheapest bottle of Scotch you can buy, so why should shipping for Blanton's to England or Ireland be higher for a premium product, or, for that matter, the cost of it be borne by the customer? No, No, methinks I smell a rat here.

You make a great point about the costly packageing. Totally OTT. Same trend here, and it indicates these high priced tipples are most often given for presents or for corporate presentation. Damn pity. You could almost buy the stuff for drinking if it wasn't for all the fools with money prepared to shell out for packaging.

Reserve me a bottle of the $40 vintage. It will be cheaper for me to travel over for the 10th Anniversary meet and drink it in Indiana than to have it shipped here. {Don't tell Larry I said that!}

Joe:)

[Aredubjay]

As a matter of fact, I have heard of Louis XVI Cognac. I'm damn sure glad that I got sick on Cognac once and I don't drink it any more. Yikes!

My business partner and I had gone to pick up some "requested perks" for one of our clients at a very large liquor store in Nashville, TN. Our client, knowing my partner was not too "wine savvy" had asked him to pick up (among other things) a small bottle of Chateau Lafitte Rothschild, vintage 1972. We walked into the liquor store and my partner headed for the wine aisle. I told him he would not find this particular wine amongst the Gallos and Blue Nuns, that, he'd better ask the manager. The manager smiled, widely and led us to the back of the store where he opened the wrought iron enclosure. Lo and behold, sitting just inside the gate was an entire magnum of Lafitte Rothschild '72. My partner looked at the price tag on the bottle. "Seventeen dollars? That's not bad." He chirped. The look on his face was priceless when I said, "move the decimal two spaces to the right." Needless to say, we did not take that bottle back with us. Neither did we order the standard "fifth" sized bottle (which would take a week) for the suggested price of 280.00. We managed to exit with a latter vintage Rothschild and a latter vintage Margeaux for about 180.00 -- this was in 1986.

[svxistentialist]

Originally posted by eddycat2000
I was in a likker store awhile back and while standing in line I took a look in the glass case they had there. Anyone heard of Louis 14th cognac? I hadn't either, the price tag was 1100+dollars per bottle, but you did get two cool looking shot glasses and a neat stroage case for that price.:rolleyes:

I have'nt heard of this Louis 14th eddy, but he sounds out of my league. Not a big fan of brandy, although I am partial to Bisquit from time to time.

Surprised they give you two shot glasses. At 1100 bucks, you might be drinking it on your own.

Got a quote today from the UK agency repairing 4EAT boxes, $2500. Warranty 12/12K. What do you think? Could it be done for less? It will cost me much more overall, I have to ship to Glasgow, pay for fitment, add price for extra cooler, and want it filled with Redline fully synthetic Hi Temp, which he says is very expensive, and they only ever put it in BMW boxes. Go figure.

Joe

[Aredubjay]

<<Reserve me a bottle of the $40 vintage. It will be cheaper for me to travel over for the 10th Anniversary meet and drink it in Indiana than to have it shipped here. {Don't tell Larry I said that!} >>

Joe, if you make it over for the 10th Anniversary meet, I'll have a bottle of the $40 vintage waiting for you . . . as a welcoming gift. Even cheaper than you thought, eh? :)

[svxistentialist]

Originally posted by Aredubjay
<<Reserve me a bottle of the $40 vintage. It will be cheaper for me to travel over for the 10th Anniversary meet and drink it in Indiana than to have it shipped here. {Don't tell Larry I said that!} >>

Joe, if you make it over for the 10th Anniversary meet, I'll have a bottle of the $40 vintage waiting for you . . . as a welcoming gift. Even cheaper than you thought, eh? :)

If I can make it, you got a deal. And I won't be empty handed either.

Which UK member did you say is going? Is he/she bringing a car?

Might be fun.

Joe

[Aredubjay]

Originally posted by svxistentialist


If I can make it, you got a deal. And I won't be empty handed either.

Which UK member did you say is going? Is he/she bringing a car?

Might be fun.

Joe

Joe,
M30SVX (though I haven't heard from him in a while) is coming over, but, without the SVX I'm afraid. :( After the meet he's heading down to New Orleans. I'm-a reckon he gonna sample some o' dat fine cajun cookin'. Mmmmmmm, mmmmm, I guar-on-tee! Perhaps you guys can catch a two-fer on a BCA-SST :D

[Aredubjay]

Oh, and Joe -- great song at the title of your post. I have it on 45. Left over from my DeeJay days. :)

[huck369]

I attended this meet (Was my first meet) ....how did I not post in this thread?...