NorCal GOATs Summer Hooters Cruise

Wake-up on a Saturday and drive… Sounds good.
Drive from a Hooters… to Hooters… to Hooters… What more do I need to say!

Total Distance: 142 miles

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The Dublin Hooters is only down the street from my house, but I couldn’t pass-up a chance to go for a cruise with the NorCal GOATs. I was originally going to meet a few of the guys at the Dublin Hooters and drive down to the Campbell Hooters, but then I was exposed to this…

Patterson Pass Rd. is one of my favorite drives, with great curves and views… but it is also one lane and heavily traveled commute times (often in the opposite direction I’m trying to drive), so I tend to avoid it. But knowing that there was going to be a train of GTOs going through, I had to be on-board!

I made the drive to Sonics in Tracy, taking Altamont Pass Rd rather than I-580E (just to spice things up a little). It was very reminiscent of the early morning train chasing in the RX-7 with my father. The group gathered (along with a cool little green grasshopper) and then headed-out towards Patterson Pass.

It was really great having someone to lead the group that knows the road. As we were approaching various areas we would receive notes over the radio about turns and speeds… it was almost like having a navigator in the passenger’s seat calling out rally directions (3 left, 100, tightens). With the knowledge that the road ahead was clear of on-coming traffic, I was able to let the G8 hang-out a little more than I would otherwise… and it really shined. This was by far the fastest I’ve ever done Patterson Pass, and at no time did I ever feel concern. We stopped at ‘The Top of the World’ for some photos before continuing on to the Dublin hooters.

Pulling into the parking lot at Dublin Hooters we were met by another bunch of GTOs. So far it was a really great showing, especially for a pre-cruise!

T-Shirts and keychains were distributed and people regrouped for the drive to the Campbell Hooters. The drive to Campbell was not very exciting (all freeway stuff), but the radio chatter was great as always. Despite the lack-luster roads, there just isn’t anything like driving with a group of other cars… especially ones with the power to get-up-and-go when there are breaks in traffic (or some slow person decided to sit in the fast lane for miles-on-end). It didn’t take long for the group to reach Campbell.

There was a great showing of cars (at least 16 GTOs and 3 G8s). There was the typical show-and-tell session with people popping their hoods and talking about mods, etc. It is really cool to hang with people who all have a similar interest, and to see how each person does things just a little different. I was able to show-off the dead GPS in my dash and everything!

After lunch we re-grouped for the cruise. While we were waiting for a few more people to show-up some of the Hooters girls were kind enough to come out and pose with the cars. Being ‘the professional’ I was requested to take some photos, and I was happy to oblige.

Once the last few stragglers showed-up for the cruise we headed out towards Calaveras Rd. Having a bunch of cars was great, but it also resulted in several people getting left behind or missing exits on the freeways. We even had to pull-over for a while to regroup… The line of cars was quite impressive though.

Calaveras Rd. had some oncoming traffic, so resulted in a slow drive, but it was a nice chance to look out at the reservoir. I also realized that I don’t like being at the back of the pack… you tend to get all bunched-up and there is little room for ‘spirited’ driving.

The group deviated from the planned route once reaching Sunol, and a few people got lost on the freeway trying to make various exits, but eventually everyone made it to Dublin and to the Hooters. There was not much of a meeting at the last Hooters of the day (people were all Hooters-ed out by that point). I stayed around for a little, but after getting no service from the establishment, I decided to go home.

Like all meets, it was great to see everyone. It was nice to not be the only G8 in the pack… hopefully at the upcoming G8 meet we will rival the GTOs in numbers.