Valley Knights & Valley Grilles ride to Volcano 

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    On June 19th, approximately 25 guests and members of the Valley Knights Motorcycle Club and the Valley Grilles Classic Car Club met for breakfast at Merlino's on Folsom Blvd, Sacramento for a casual Father's Day to begin their jointly hosted overnight run to Volcano's historic St George Hotel. The orange freezes flowed as the club members and their guests ate a leisurely breakfast and showed off their chromed beauties and admired others (and their engines, too!)

    After breakfast and the first of many introductions, the groups rode through Historic Folsom with Tom and Mikey directing traffic with their motorcycles to keep the group in formation. They were greatly aided by Steve and Athena, Steve's dog, who rode in a specially made trailer hitched to the bike. The group drove on to more rural roads past the rolling hills of El Dorado and Rescue. The weather was perfect for riding, and many of the men rode their bikes in short sleeves and took the tops down on their convertibles. The sun was warm and the breeze rushing past was cool, and the foothill scenery was surprisingly lush and beautiful. The group made a coffee break in historic Placerville where they began to swap road stories and make new friends while they checked out the coffee shop's enormous glory hole. Some even posed and took pictures.

    The caravan then headed for lunch at a 50's café in Plymouth by way of Hwy 49. The scenic highway calmly curved through the landscape with trees on one side and rolling hills on the other, dramatically punctuated with brief panoramas of tree covered slopes past great canyons. There they met more club members and guests and talked with their mouths full of chili dogs and cherry Cokes.

    The ride then went through the lively historic main streets of Amador, Sutterville, Jackson, and finally Volcano, where the group eagerly checked out what the famous St George Hotel had to offer. There was boisterous joking and a sassy bartenderess pouring drinks in the rustic country bar. There were the quaintly furnished hotel rooms complete with period furniture and beds with antique quilts. There was also a lush backyard garden with patio tables, plenty of chairs, and bar service for laid back conversations.

    Others checked out the old-fashioned main street and the town's rustic park. A group from Reno then arrived and joined the rest for a banquet dinner from the hotel's award winning kitchen. This was followed by a brief awards presentation and cheesecake and strawberries. Among other awards, The Batmobile Award went to Chris' gray Imperial; The Matching Drip Pan Award for a pink Metropolitan with an equally pink oil catcher; and the coveted Most Makes Up For The Lack Of Class Of It's Owner Award which went to Bruce's convertible Mercedes.

    After dinner, the group broke up into smaller groups in the bar, backyard, and balcony for more conversations and card games. The comradely lasted long into the night, long after the groups leisurely watched the sun go down and watched the stars come out as they shared stories about grand road trips, past lives and past loves. Two by two, the couples said goodnight and retired to their rooms for a romantic night in a vintage foothills getaway.

    A surprisingly tasty continental breakfast greeted the group the next morning as the group packed up and said goodbye to our favorite bartender. With the help of a tack, a deck of playing cards and Kelly's talented wrist, the Valley Knights left a dollar bill and calling card tacked to the bar's wood ceiling. The group then began one last scenic drive on Fiddletown Rd through the Shenadoah valley vineyards with its whitewashed country fences.

    At a gas stop halfway to Shingle Springs, the Mercedes refused to start. Several car club members suspected vapor lock and patiently tried to cool the hot engine to no avail. After a half hour of idle conversation, someone suggested maybe the gas gauge was faulty. Maybe the car just needed gas. Several men pushed the car alongside a pump and watched as the car drank up $20 in gas. After a few tries, the car started up with cheers from the rest of the group. Bruce could be heard over the din insisting the car had simply cooled and un-vapor locked itself in that time.

    The caravan proceeded down Pleasant Valley Rd towards Red's for a farewell lunch of BBQ ribs and steaks. To make up for his mechanical offence, Bruce bought a round of drinks. The house specialty, Gold Cadillacs, were smooth and deceivingly potent, and were great for the hot day. The ribs were juicy and smoky, and we continued to joke as we licked our fingers and drank.

    Lunch ended far too soon, and the group was soon bidding farewell to one another with hugs, and phone numbers. The group made their separate ways back home waving from the cars and bikes as each took their respective offramps home.   

Gerard Wing

VKMC Road Captain