REPORT, PICS and MEMORIES of the SAN DIEGO MLPA CARAVAN

[nunyabizness1]

Link to the thread in Bloodydecks where you can see this post: http://www.bloodydecks.com/forums/ma...a-caravan.html

What a fantastic day! I arrived at South Shores Boat Launch about 8:15 to find a couple of BDers already in the parking lot getting setup and ready for the big day! First pic was of Otto with the sign he worked hard on the night before…



Prepping the vehicles and trailers with banners and signs, getting ready! It was SWELTERING HOT out there and no breeze while we got setup. Right before leaving for the caravan, a police car showed up and circled the parking lot checking us out. We were behaving so they never stopped us from what we were doing.

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Good wife lending a helping hand…




Korine saw this very cool looking spider from afar. She liked it cuz it’s a redhead like her! I have no idea how she spotted it but I got a close-up…



Pre-Caravan meeting. Instructions given and info on the upcoming mtg. on Sept. 10th in LA. Be there! Last chance for public comments on proposed maps!






Random Caravan Tour Pics:






Mikeylikesit lead the caravan tour, we never did get a total count of how many vehicles and trailers were involved. We had to pull over a few times until those who got stuck at a traffic light could catch up. At one point, we had a fire truck rush past us so we had to pull over to the side. All-in-all it was a pretty smooth ride! We were honking our horns along the way and captured the attention of many!

It was very cool to go down Harbor Drive and Harbor Island. We went to the end of Harbor Island, around the loop and on to Shelter Island. Going around the loop was fun because we got to see the caravan coming up the road from the other side and we were all honking and waving at each other and taking pictures! I was tossing flyers and stickers out to those on the sidewalks while driving and I’d stop and get out of the car at lights to get pics of the caravan behind me! Then we headed over to Shelter Island.


We stopped up the traffic on Shelter Island's Boat Launch Ramp. We had 2 lanes wide of cars and were wrapped around the building!






We found this chick trying to hitch a ride... Ali picked her up!




Me and my car and kayak:




I received a call from Channel 10 news that they wanted to see where we were and interview and film us. We were at Shelter Island and asked them to meet us at Dana Landing. We made our way over to Dana Landing, honking the horns along the way and stopped at the landing for our TV debut and interviews. I got interviewed first and then Mikeylikesit went next. We got back on the road as we were filmed in 2 lanes leaving the landing! Headed back to South Shores for a BBQ! (Well, for some of us, we had a little side tour. Our caravan broke up due to traffic lights and whoever was leading our pack at the time ended up making a wrong turn into Seaworld’s parking lot!

There was no room to turn around so the kind lady at the gate allowed us to go thru without paying the parking fee! Classic looks on the faces of the parking lot attendants!
I got this souvenir shot of the Journey to Atlantis ride in the distance and Ali’s boat in front of me:



Back to South Shores for our BBQ. Here are random pics at the BBQ event…




Sherm and Carl



Taryn’s dad Troy was talking about girls dating boys and Taryn didn’t want to hear it!



We had a visit from one of the Power Rangers…



There was NO shortage of food! We had pizza, cheese and crackers, chips and salsa and tons of drinks. The Hook (John) brought a grill and started the cooking… various people brought burgers, hotdogs, fried dodo, grilled tuna, and tri-tip… and there was watermelon! Mmmm mmm! Val (Opielikesit) made some fantastic Tuna Jalapeno poppers! They were a HUGE hit!











I tried so many times to get a pic of Bigfish69’s daughter but she was camera shy! Finally snuck a couple in!

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Summary of the day… we had an incredible turnout and a successful event! Great people! Fun caravan ride! Yes, I’d like to do it again! So many people to thank behind the scenes and out in the forefront! Chuck aka PoolMan who was not even able to be here today went through a great deal to obtain donations for the auction on BD to raise money for costs of printing banners, stickers and flyers.

Thanks to Ali, for donating funds from BD to offset the costs where we were short of funds. He went through a lot of trouble to get everything printed and delievered to all 3 locations for simultaneous events in Los Angeles, Orange County and San Diego. He put up with my many emails and PM’s during organization of this event and got the message posted on the home page of BD and emailed to all BDers about this event. YOU ROCK! Mikeylikesit helped with a great deal of the planning and organization, leading the caravan and being a spokesperson to the media! Fantastic job! Mooningu – Dave, helped behind the scenes with ideas, posts, and he and his wife made a bunch of signs for those who needed them today. Clay, thanks for all you did to help with printing and work done behind the scenes. Thank you to those who were “advisors” to me during this planning process and shall remain nameless. Your advice and support was invaluable!

Bank Robber – Dean, and BakerStreet2 - Bobby were a HUGE help in coordinating the LA and OC caravans! They took a lot of time out of their schedules to make these events happen at their locations and sought people out when they were worried that they may not have enough participation! Thank you very much!

Some of you know that this past week was a very, very tough week for me as my mom was diagnosed with cancer and is gravely ill. It’s been probably the toughest week of my life but many of you called and checked on me and offered help along the way. For that I am very grateful and touched by your kindness. Thank you.

And now for the final pictures of the day…

Manage the closures or you deal with “This Guy”:




Yes, the MLPA is coming, but we need to all jump in and participate! Make it to the last meeting where you have a chance to give your public comments and provide input on which of the 3 final proposals best fits YOUR needs! Your participation and attendance is CRUCIAL!!!

These Rallys are all to raise awareness for the LAST PUBLIC MLPA MEETING on September 10, 2009 at 8:00 am. IF YOU ONLY DO ONE THING for the MLPA battle, PLEASE BE AT THIS MEETING.

Sheraton Gateway Los Angeles
6101 W. Century Boulevard
Los Angeles, CA 90045

[DESTROYER]

THANK YOU! BUMMED THAT I HAD TO WORK TODAY AND COULDN'T JOIN IN FOR THE SUPPORT. KEEP UP THE GOOD WORK.

Matt Moyer

[Holy Mackerel]

Nice work!

[LipYanker]

Awesome! How do I get an MLPA bumpersticker like the ones they had?

[Rob929]

Looks like a lot of effort/ organization went into all of this, great job!

Saw it on the news too, which was great to see "our side" get some much needed attention. Looking forward to helping carry all that momentum and energy to the meeting.. See you all there

[kurt]

Great job! Big thanks to all those who participated.

[tylerdurden]

Looks great. I had to miss it because I was out of town and not fishing . Good to see we got something together that seems effective.

[aftahour]

wow that looks great.

[newguy01]

sorry i was not there to make it ia on a diferent cotinent right now and missing all this meetings hope there is still fshing left when i get back from deployment next year keep the fight going guys i am with you all the way even when i am stuck on the big grey ship to protect everyone else..

[Tman]

Way to go Maggie and BD'ers...

[tylerdurden]

Now lets keep that good feeling going by showing up September 10th. Rallying on the streets is great, but we have to keep it up at the meeting.

We don't want to farm this one