Windsor to Petaluma: the Long Way to a Great Picnic

Another fantastic morning – not too hot and not too cool – greeted 33 Porsches carrying 60 picnickers in Windsor on Saturday May 22nd. This ‘Porsche Picnic Pronto’ was our first mask-optional gathering since March of 2020 and everyone was excited to be together! We had a number of brand-new members as well as seasoned veterans, and a few four-door Porsches as well as the usual two-door suspects.

We broke up into two groups and made our way east towards Calistoga on Mark West Springs Road and Petrified Forest Road. It is always a little tricky when there are left turns and stop lights to stick together, but our groups tightened up pretty well along Highway 128/29 south towards Napa. Special thanks to my co-lead Vern Rogers and our two sweepers, Kurt Fischer and Rick Duste. The first part of our tour was more like a parade than a sprint but with the spring foliage out and the undeniable cuteness of downtown St. Helena, it was both beautiful and fun.

Once off of 29 onto Oakville Grade and then down south on Dry Creek Road, the tour hit its stride with 9 miles of twisties that bring out the best in our cars. After a ‘biobreak’ at Alston Park in Napa, we headed back north onto Redwood Road and then up over the Mayacamas Mountains on Trinity Road down into the town of Glen Ellen. The road conditions kept everyone on their best behavior; the irony of a sign on Trinity that said “rough road” in the exact spot where it finally became perfect payment was lost on no one.

The final leg brought us the back way into Petaluma along Bennett Valley, Sonoma Mountain, Pressley, and Adobe Roads, completing an 86 mile tour by converging into Lucchesi Park. Our reserved picnic area was being staked out by longtime member extraordinaire Jerry Gladstone and his wife Marcia, making the transition from drive to picnic seamless.

It was so much fun to watch new friends being made at our BYO picnic event, and really underscored what I love most about this club: meeting people from all walks of life who enjoy a spirited backroads drive in a wonderful environment in amazing vehicles, and then, talking about doing it again next time. I hope you will come join us.