by Jim Messineo

It was a rally that was organized when no rally was planned. During the Sept. meeting there was no one willing to sponsor the rally - this can't happen - tradition requires that the UBSCC have a Halloween Rally. So, at the last minute Kim, Ian, and Myself said we would take on the project.

After a few phone calls, we put forth a plan of attack. I did a discovery quest, driving through parts of Sac. The theory was to make an easy but fun route. We decided that driving our LBC's through town would allow them to be seen by the general public and give us exposure. The Towe, the city cemetery, Old Sac, and a pumpkin patch were on the route. Once completed Kim & Ian did the re-check. It was decided the cemetery, although cool, would cause problems so it was deleted, and a route through Davis was inserted. All seemed to be in place, all errors corrected (!) and we were ready.

We met at Miller Park and, after a game of break the balloon and pick your gourd, the first car left. The turn out was good - about a dozen LBC's and some other strange non-British vehicles showed up (hey, we are not fussy, all vehicles are welcome). The drive took those costumed members into the Towe Museum to seek answers to some of life's pressing questions as well as take a gander at Towe's "stuff". A rather bumpy ride through Old Sac allowed those pedestrians to see and realize that the Queen's Iron still rules.

Into Davis, where Kim, dressed as, well, she said she was a ballerina, we were concerned that "standing" on a street corner, across from a church on a Sunday dressed as a "by the hour" (you get my drift) ballerina, might cause the Davis police to check out her qualifications & type of dance she did - hummmm. Lucky Halloween was the next day. Kim was out first check point, and required fellow members to try their luck on one of England's own traditional sports, no, not drinking in the pub but darts. Once they accomplished that, it was off to the pumpkin patch. A simple turn from Hwy 80 onto Mace seemed to cause some drivers a minor problem. I don't understand, it was easy as pie to me (in fact, one navigator took things so literal that she "coerced" her driver to continue past the Mace Blvd. exit looking for a Mace St. I think when they hit Vacaville she realized that, OK it might have said Mace St but it really meant Mace Blvd. It's good to listen and agree with your navigator, no matter what the consequences). Arriving at the pumpkin patch, each group was required to test their skills at Le Pumpkin Grande Prix course. One person drove/steered a tricycle while the other provided the power. Through a difficult course which required tremendous driving skills, each group placed their lives on the line to shave seconds off their time in order to win - something. It was fun to do and more fun to watch.

The finish was at Redrum (the old Murder Burger) back in Davis. We got the outside eating area all to ourselves which was nice. The only problem we ran into was Redrum - the staff didn't seem to care about much. The wait for food ran about an hour or more! They didn't seem to mind, so they couldn't understand why we were kind of "antsy" awaiting for food. Unbelievable - but being LBC owners, we are well versed in waiting - waiting for the LBC to start, waiting for the other member's LBC to start, hey, we're just a patient group.

Awards were handed out - the Costanzo's won, Someone claimed they cheated - not Jerry. Best costume was won by Pirate David Yamamoto and his "parrot". Hey, we had a great time. Sure things went wrong, sure some of the directions were "off" but that's the fun of doing these things. Don't be afraid, just do it and enjoy yourself.

Click on the photos to see a larger image.

Photos by Kim Mercer