2018 MAY AAAC Run

GULLY DRIVES TO LUNCH SUNDAY 22ND APRIL 2018

Once again it started out a great day and didn’t disappoint. We were in good company for our Sunday run on the 22nd of April 2018, and the sun was shining from go to the end, making a perfect weather day for us.

Sam our guest speaker is meeting us in our private function room for lunch, and I will talk about that shortly.
The Mannix and Floors Direct car parks on Saints road Salisbury were empty and a good starting point for us. Our members were arriving early and many were already there when we arrived just after 10-00am. Our President Shane Conry and his wife were driving their HR Holden to give it a run. We had two visitors, one in another HR Holden the other in a Morris Minor. Tracy and Phil were in a Triumph sports car, and there was a mixture of modern and historic cars for our run today.

 So far all was going to plan, quite soon we travelled through some of the Golden Groves outer complex. Now that these parts of our suburbs have filled up over the years, they can look so different for those who last came here twenty or more years ago. Often driving somewhere different makes a change, but this part of the run was quick to fade behind us. After a short time we turned onto One Tree Hill road and soon to where some pretty country views would be seen. Still surprising though we were not very far away from the suburbs or a local town. How green and pretty it was, as there has been so little rainfall this year.

We were moving at a gentle leisurely pace throughout this shortened run, with very little other traffic around.

Today there were few steep hills to climb, but Snake gully just ahead, is a steep downhill drive with some twisty corners there, and later on the way up too. The very old road is narrow but safe enough, as long as your brakes don’t fail down the narrow gully. Scenery is good all through here, even a koala crossed in front of us then stopped to watch our group go by. A little further on the Gawler One Tree Hill road we were close to half way from Gawler as we turned back towards our lunch venue.

The whole run today had taken less than an hour, which seemed to be welcomed by some. It was good news for those who
had to drive well over an hour to get to our start point. The three page run sheet had worked well, with no one saying they had lost their way.

From the responses coming back, we knew the day was enjoyed by pretty much everyone who went. There were 48 of us
today for this outing

 We arrived at the Eureka Hotel for lunch before 11-30 am. The hotel car park at the rear main entrance is huge, with plenty of room for our cars close to the entrance doors. There was no need for a parking marshal today as it was covered in the run sheet.

 Our group was a private function and our room was large, but still close to the veggie salad bar, the soup, and soft serve ice cream. Our food was being brought to our tables in a reasonable time after ordering.

Our guest speaker, Sam spoke to us about electricity today, about the different type of solar batteries and how long they last. Similarly about solar panels and the big difference in quality and their effective life.
 Our president Shane Conry thanked Sam for his talk today, he thanked Carly and myself for doing the run.

 Conclusion. This outing did not break the bank, the soup, Desert, and extras were included in the meal price. It was affordable at $8-00 for a meal with a senior’s card. It was indoors, and didn’t matter what the weather was like.
We were thankful to Adam the Manager, from the Eureka Hotel for making the setup as he said he would.
 The run was promoted as an all-weather event, with the long range for-cast showing rain there for a while, but then it keep having little changes, but after all on the day it was 30 degree ish and perfect.
 Carly and I always try to have a later start where we can, this considers those coming from the other side of town. The 10-15 meeting time, and leaving at 10-30 seem to work well again today.

By Malcolm and Carly Goldsworthy.