Even many SoCal natives don't realize that the Santa Monica Pier is the western most terminus of Route 66. If you followed Route 66 starting in Chicago, to the end of the highway in the west, you would be going down this ramp onto the Santa Monica pier...
Janki, thanks for the pics of the Airport Club/Marina Palace. Every time I head into Seal I think how cool it'd be if that club still stood there. Here's a recent shot of Will Glover, rhythm guitarist of the Pyramids, with the Airport Club foundations in the back ground.
Hello, (since Easter is upon us...) In our neck of the woods in Long Beach, there were a lot of car clubs, but for us teenagers, it did not work out unless your dad was a member. So, since high school was important for all of us, we drove our cars to school, the drive- in restaurant, the movies, and cruised the avenues for fun times. We did not belong to a car club, but our high school clubs were gathering points for the teenagers, boys and girls in their own clubs. They were the social focus at the time. One of the clubs had been in Long Beach since 1909 and had prominent local, businessmen as former members. When ever these clubs went to the local teenage hangouts, it was a car show in the parking lot. Afterwards, the local drive in restaurant lots were the places to be seen. Once in a while cruises to other drive in restaurants in our cars was like a caravan of cars. Finally, on Easter Vacation, (Spring Break, today) it was the longer drive to Newport Beach and Balboa for the annual cruise around. One spring, we put on over 300+ miles going from the Los Angeles/Hollywood hot spots down the Coast, through the LA County beach areas, through our own cruise spots in Long Beach, and finally, down to Balboa for “Bal Week,” as the nickname surfaced. Jnaki Back in those high school days it was Easter Vacation because Easter Sunday was at the beginning or end of the school holiday break. Then, as being politically correct came into being, the breaks moved away from the actual Easter Sunday. Colleges started early in March and continued on until the end of April. In recent times, spring break for high school districts has also distanced themselves from the religious connection to Easter Sunday. To each his own… But... These clubs were the old high school clubs with the most hot rod cars. So, in 1961, all Long Beach high schools banned those clubs from recognition on campus. They could still gather on campus, but no insignias, jackets, sweatshirts, etc. was to be worn on campus. This applied to boys as well as girl’s clubs. Now, they were called “off campus social clubs.” The “on campus” clubs remained associated with the schools and were mentioned in the newspaper publicity writings. It was hard to showcase a hot rod in the school newspaper without mentioning your club, but, from 1961 on, no mention of those clubs was allowed. The local drive-in restaurants always had boys and girls wearing their club insignia T-shirts/sweatshirts imprinted with the club name on the back. Their were all colors shown as each club wanted to stand out from the rest. It was a tradition for the hot rodders to “look cool,” driving around with their sweatshirts in their cars everywhere they went. The odd thing was, the older you got and moved on with your life, a new generation of hot rod enthusiasts from the local high schools arrived with their club sweatshirts and associations. Pretty soon, that drive-in plus your own sweatshirts were distant memories of good times for all.
I can't remember if I posted this but my grandmother was Venice high class of '39. I used to take her to the reunion by LAX, she did talk about going to Lick pier to the Aragon ballroom.
Hey LBCD, Nice action photos. You are lucky to have to drive up to that area of Central Cal after each of the vacations for the college kid (yours). My son really liked that SLO campus, but decided on UCSB for his 4 years. On the weekends, those hot rods and trucks are in abundance because of the climate and surroundings. Going south on highway 101, SLO was one of those places that was the last oceanview area before that long swerve into the inland route to Santa Barbara. I will forever remember that San Luis Bay Drive overpass going south on the 101 Freeway. I had left San Jose State College at 2:30 am for the fast drive back to Long Beach for the summer vacation. I was on record time blasting through the empty freeway, way above the posted speed limit. Just before I hit the overpass going south, it was under 2 hours of driving. The record from San Jose to Santa Barbara was just under 4 hours. So, I was ready to claim the top spot. A lot of the So Cal guys and girls had this “unofficial timed race” record among the kids going back and forth, before and after the holidays. But, mostly before. Who the heck wants to get back to school in record time? Ha! Santa Barbara was chosen because it was the last post before the big split of the 101 freeway going toward San Fernando Valley or the LA Coastal Route 1 southward. So, the Northern Santa Barbara city limit sign was the finish line. Jnaki Well, at the time of the passing of the last SLO overpass, I did not see any Highway Patrol units sitting on the southbound downward on ramp, so I kept on going past. But, this sneaky guy was at the bottom of the on ramp at San Luis Bay Drive. He was partially hidden by some tall bushes. For the 2 years of this unofficial race at San Jose, most (95%) of the Highway Patrol units sat on the upper sloping on ramp for a better sight of speeders. This sneaky guy was so low and level with the southbound freeway that it was hard to see him. By the time I saw him, he had just pulled onto the freeway and by then I was down to 70 from 95. He had to accelerate to get to me, so he really did not know how fast I was going. But, one red, 65 El Camino with a surfboard sticking out of the back on an empty freeway just looked fast. When asked how fast I was going, he gave me the standard …over the speed limit answer. When he asked me how fast I thought I was going, I said around 70, maybe 75. We settled on 70 and it cost me $20, later. But, the record was just lost… When I was at my Long Beach house, I got a letter stating that I needed to go to the local DMV for an evaluation of my driver’s license. Somehow, with this last ticket of 70 mph in a 65 zone, it gave me 3 tickets within a year and I now had restrictions placed on my license. Of all things, ticket number 1 was a northbound 67 mph in a 65 zone (that was really bad and I was ready to fight it in court) in San Luis Obispo going back to school after the winter break. (ticket #2 was a 27 in a 25 mph school zone, radar) I learned a lesson from the DMV: I was a good college boy for the next 4 years of driving. No records north or south from San Jose…But, after two years in San Jose, I finished college at LBSC near the Long Beach Marina. No need for speed runs, it was only 7-8 miles one way, depending on which route was the best. OR... an additional 10+ relaxing miles if I wanted to see the ocean and have some great food in Belmont Shore on the way home.
LBCD, That is odd that your photos show an XXXXX in your post of April 16, post #272, but if I hit the reply button, they show up while I am typing. When I hit post, your photos disappear again. My reply to the original post did the same thing...Very odd...so folks, if you want to see some great photos, hit reply on LBCD's original post. that works for me. MODERATOR...CHECK IT OUT. THOSE ACTION PHOTOS ARE VERY COOL FOR EVERYONE TO SEE, NORMALLY. Jnaki
Hello, A lot has been written about the shop tours in the So Cal areas. That is a cool concept as everyone likes looking at cars and how they were built. Those shops have become part of the So Cal visits when those big time hot rod events show up yearly. Every area of So Cal had their share of hot rod shops and they were the gathering places of the locals for a wealth of knowledge for the early hot rodders. We knew of a few back in the early days of hot rodding near our Long Beach home. We were lucky to have lived in an area alive with hot rods and drag racers. There were: Mickey Thompson’s shop, Joe Maillard’s shop, and the Clay Smith Cams shop, all within a short bicycle ride from our house and of course, a few miles toward downtown, the original Reath Automotive Shop on 10th and Cherry. Those were the places to go and visit from 1958-65. Our weekly stops at Mickey Thompson’s Shop was for our Drag News addiction, shop talk and to check out what was going on in the back work spaces. That shop always had something going on in the back. The other two were so close that it took about 8 minutes by bicycle. The visits were fun because of just going over there to see who’s race car was being built or modified. But the place that was the most fun was Reath Automotive. In their original, corner shop on 10th St, they had a ton of parts and Joe Reath was a giant walking encyclopedia of information. As busy as he was with the business, he would talk to just about anyone, even a couple of teenagers just getting started in drag racing. His list of clients/sponsors included all of the top local racers in the area. But what we liked and wanted was to be on that growing list. Of course, once we got started, our race car parts and speed equipment came from Reath. He would dish out much information and offer great deals on speed parts. You could not help it, but to buy that part for your build. Once they moved to the huge corner lot in Signal Hill, it became a show case of what a speed shop showroom should look like, including a myriad of parts on display and a lot of people milling about. Now, the facility was able to handle the tons of people coming by to purchase stuff or just visit a well known race car prep/retail store. Jnaki There were other hot rod/speed shops all over Long Beach back in those days. But, there was a little place about two miles from our house on the Westside. It was where we happen to be when we saw a nice 283 with 6 Strombergs on a stand. It was near the “parts section” of this small shop. For all of this time, we cannot remember the name of that small shop. No signs, no on site parking, no separate work space and real parts department, etc. It was a “word of mouth” kind of place. The area was a mixture of old homes and small businesses, with an oil rig or two pumping. This place had the look of a backyard garage that was now a full fledged speed shop for the local racers. There were two small garage work spaces, one was the so called, parts department and the other the build shop. It was hard to tell, except for the few parts hanging on the walls and under the small counter. But, the floor was immaculate, even in the engine building area nearby the entrance. The 283 SBC was a display motor and the 6 Strombergs were just sitting on top. But, our friend, who ran the shop said that he could make a super deal for us on that 283. He ran off a list of what was inside and what it would take to make it go faster. The owner was a wealth of knowledge and consequently a great salesman, since we bought that motor as our first big purchase. He told us how he would set up this motor when we were bolting everything together in our garage. He even sold us a 3 speed LaSalle transmission with a bell housing adapter for the Chevy motor. Now, we were on our way. This backyard shop was not like those other big name shops, but the friendliness and willingness to help us, the small hot rod enthusiast, was what made the shop/people a great place to be. The example they set was our first foray into the speed shop era. From that first time of many visits, we decided that we could also start a business out of our converted garage, building engines and selling parts to our friends. The name? Precision Racing Engines, Long Beach,CA HEmlock 60457 (phone)…so our business cards said so on one side. It was a thriving business for us and it allowed extra income for our own custom stuff. But, it was mostly custom parts for our friends. instead of driving to all of the shops to find a part, they would call us and a deal was made. We did not advertise anywhere, it was just word of mouth advertising and of course, our cars. Later on, even when we were out of drag racing after the accident, we tried to keep the small business going…but it was disheartening looking at an empty garage, except for tools. Also, my mom kept asking why men kept knocking on the front door of the house asking for some precision racing something or other…(we had never told her that we had started a small business in the back garage.) Finally, those guys stopped coming when we put out a sign that said that… “Due to circumstances beyond our control, Precision Racing Engines is now closed.” We also notified the local speed equipment association that we were closed. (early SEMA)
My first trip to LA after graduating high school in 1959, was to Petersen Publishing at 5959 Hollywood Blvd. The building was an old grocery store with a big parking lot in back. The lobby had a giant polar bear Pete had shot with a pistol in Alaska next to the receptionist's desk. BTW, the receptionist was Sonny Francisco, Don's wife. The parking lot was like a mini car show. There was an old pepper tree next to a single car garage with a chain fall! Look at some early issues of HOT ROD and you can spot the tree in some of the engine swap features. Like jnaki's post talking about how friendly the speed equipment guys were, the magazine types were also ready to shoot the bull at the drop of a wrench. One of the things I find interesting is the utter rejection of mail order parts by the traditionalists here on the HAMB. Yet, the magazines like HOT ROD, CAR CRAFT, POP HOT ROD and R&C existed with the revenue generated by ads from Edelbrock, Weber, Offenhauser, Joe Reath and a host of other SoCal manufacturers. After the ban on tobacco advertising on TV and radio, the car books were flooded with cigarette company ads and later on, beer ads. Speed equipment manufacturers were no longer the prime revenue source for the car books. My, how the times have changed.
Hey Guys, Those magazine guys are a class by themselves, especially guys like Tex Smith and at another mag, my old favorite, Jim Clark. They were a wealth of information, let alone always adding/subtracting to your well written stories and eliminating your favorite, well composed photos...ha! Nice find on the display photo, LBCD... But did you notice that the Polar Bear is well over 9 feet? The Bronco is at least 6 feet, the wooden shack is at least the standard 8 feet at the peak, and the divider walls are the standard 7-8 ft in height. So, that dang Polar Bear is at least 9', maybe taller. That is impressive to say the least. Jnaki Yes, Denis, we did order a lot of stuff via mail order back in those days if the local shops did not have them in stock. Reath Auto had ads, their shop was always loaded with stuff we happen to need or want to buy. But, if they were out somewhere in those ads, were the "must have" items we could get from someone. The stories on cars and tech were great, the classified section was wonderful, and the ads were always enticing to us teenagers, even though our pockets were a little empty.
When Petersen bought the building at LaCienega and Sunset, staffers had to put stickies on the stuff at 5959 so the movers knew where it was to go. Someone put a ninth floor sticky on the polar bear. Movers had to use special cable spreaders and put the bear on top of the elevator car. When the bear was finally on the ninth floor, there was cable grease on the fur and Pete was livid. The cost to clean it in place was considerable! The culprit(s) never were identified, but there were some pretty reliable sources that pointed to a cartoonist.
Hey LBCD, Back when we were little kids, we all saw polar bears in the movies and at the zoo. But to see one in person was pretty amazing. In our hot rod neighborhood of Bixby Knolls in Long Beach, there was this cool hang out called Ken’s Burgers. It was on Long Beach Blvd and it attracted a lot of hot rodders from the local areas. If the famous Grissinger’s Drive-In was packed, most came over here to socialize and get less expensive, but tastier burgers and fries. The lot was huge and of course, the back wall parking spaces were the best for viewing and to be seen from the busy thoroughfare of the boulevard. If your car was parked on the back row, it was seen by everyone…that was important for the teenage ego. This place did a tremendous amount of business because of the teenage hot rodders, car loads of teenagers from the high school dances, football games, etc. But, across the parking lot was a sedate brick restaurant still owned by the same family. It was an upscale establishment for family dining. We knew of the place, because when any family wanted a nice family get together or celebration, Ken’s Restaurant was the place. But, Levis, white t shirts and Chukka boots were not appropriate dress for this place. At least, a button down shirt, nice pants, and shoes were the correct dress for family dinners/parties, here. We used to go to the entrance/lobby to see this giant brown bear stuffed and standing tall for all to see. It was huge. But, we got the stink eye from the waiters and maitre‘d/hostess, so we stayed outside in the Ken’s Burger parking lot. But, one day, the bear was gone and replaced by a standing tall, white polar bear with a mean growl look on his/her face. It was so much taller than my friend who was 6’3 inches tall. Now, everyone was fascinated with this new addition every time a dinner was on the menu. We did disregard the stink eye looks and stood in front in awe. This was real and in person. Those zoo bears were far away and even though they stood up to beg for food, they were not as impressive as this tall white polar bear with a mean look on his face. Ken's Restaurant polar bear Jnaki That Peterson Polar Bear is impressive as it towers over all of the display items, but, here is a story on the brown bear from Long Beach Wilson High School you might like. Truth about Wilson High bear remains fuzzy By Tim Grobaty, columnist Long Beach Press Telegram POSTED: 01/24/11, 12:01 AM PST | BEAR SAGA TURNS WILD: In our continuing saga about the Wilson High School bear, the plot thickens - or, rather, the plot turns into some sort of stone soup, with people tossing in different ingredients almost hourly around here. The bare bones of the story is the bear came from the late Ken McConnell, a local restaurateur who owned a string of drive-ins, a breakfast place called Ken's Pancake Parade and, eventually, simply, Ken's Restaurant, on Long Beach Boulevard in Bixby Knolls. Ken and his wife, Louise, shot a couple of bears on a hunting trip to Alaska. One was a polar bear, which we can all agree would be white, and the other was a slightly smaller brown bear, which would almost undeniably be brown in color. The bears were kept at Ken's Restaurant. The story we've always heard and, to be sheepishly honest, the story we've helped to spread, never had a brown bear, as such, in it. We recalled, as a youngster, seeing a polar bear in the display window in front of Ken's, and we'd heard that Ken donated the bear to Wilson High, home of the Bruins, which the school accepted and had dyed to a more bruin-y brown. Then, we received an e-mail from Cathy Brewster, a Jordan High alum and Northtowner who said that her friends "all knew there were two bears; one white and one brown" that were alternately displayed at Ken's, and that Wilson probably got the brown one. And that made sense to us. Why dye a white bear brown if there's already a brown bear suited up? A story in the Press-Telegram in 1962 backed up Brewster's recollection. Our restaurant man, Tedd Thomey, reported that Ken and his wife had shot a brown bear as well as a polar bear. Melanie Mayasich came next, with a note that her mom was cashier and hostess for Ken's in the early '70s, shortly after Ken had sold the biz, and she recalled that the new owner kept the "white" bear, but not the other. Next, we get a long and movie-ready story from Al Taylor, one of Wilson High's many retired principals, from the late 1990s, who says he heard the saga from the late Ed Eveland, who was with the Long Beach Unified School District for 50 years, including many at Wilson, where he was principal in the early 1980s. Taylor sent the story, "The Real Story of Ken's Polar Bear," along with a note saying "attached is a real and true story as related by Ed Eveland to me and several other honest-to-goodness reliable folks associated with the polar bear history." According to Taylor/Eveland - well, it's a real long story that included a couple of assistant principals driving a nonstreet-legal truck uptown to Ken's to pick up the polar bear and driving back, going around Signal Hill to avoid that city's cops, and straightaway to a beauty shop on Seventh Street, whose owner, says Taylor/Eveland, had been long miffed at the school's baseball team for launching over-the-fence shots that continually broke the beauty shop's windows, so Eveland threw the salon the bear-dyeing job as a way of making amends. Local trivia champ and wise guy John D. Wilson, yet another Wilson grad, writes, "It occurs to me that any competent zoologist should be able to tell the difference between a dyed polar bear and a brown bear, but where's the fun in that?" Fun-killer, competent zoologist and former 5th District councilman Les Robbins comes in next with a definitive-sounding message that the bear on display at Wilson is, "I can tell you with 100 percent certainty, a Kodiak Island brown bear that Ken shot and ultimately donated to Wilson. Brown bears and polar bears, colors aside, don't look anything alike," says Robbins. "Dyeing a polar bear brown, that's a good one!" We can agree - possibly - that the bear has been involved with, or subjected to, various indignities, tragedies and celebrations over its 30-plus years at Wilson. Janie Matt recalls a surfing-themed membership drive for the Wilson PTA in the late 1980s, when her children attended the school. "I sewed a gigantic pair of board shorts for him to wear, we propped up a longboard in there with him and he greeted the students for about a month as a `surfer bear,"' she remembers. Eveland/Taylor accuse Bruin legends Klaus Barth, Jim Arquilla, Jim Ferguson and Jim Lineberger of repeatedly unlocking the bear's plexiglas home and placing fake bear droppings on the floor. They also noted the bear was set on fire, presumably by a Moore League rival, in the the early '90s - "the fire department saved the day," says Taylor, "but the smell of burnt fur lasted for weeks."
I know it's everywhere, but that first pic is what I think of when I hear "hot rod"...Southern California, cruising the coast, open top hotrod. Nice!!
Hey LBCD, You are welcome... That was pure coincidence about your post on the Wilson Bruin stuffed bear. I was researching Ken's Drive-in with the adjoining restaurant and came across that particular story about the bear. Of course, the author is a popular writer from the Long Beach Press Telegram. It fell right into a story that followed the previous post. I am coming up empty handed on any photos of Ken's Drive-in, though. It always looked like an old McDonalds with some arches. Jnaki But it was a very popular spot to just eat great food and hang out for all hours of the night. That place made lots of money on the hot rodders and the car loads of girls that also hung out there. That family restaurant was the place to go for families and yes, we did dress up when we had to go there. (and the wait staff still gave us the stink eye...even though we were dressed up like all of the other patrons.)
May 23, 2017 Hey LBCD or traveling HAMB folks, The Monterey County Coastal Highway 1 just had a massive landslide. One of many over the years…but, due to the last fire, rain storms this one will be closed for a long time until the repairs can be made. For the HAMB travelers visiting the big events in So Cal and Northern Cal, this is one road you do not want to drive until it is officially open. It may be awhile. Jnaki From abc10.com: One of the iconic drives in the world is on Highway 1, along the California Coast between Carmel and Morro Bay. The road hugs the coast and you have ocean views the entire time. There are loads of camping spots, hiking spots and posh hotels along the way. Massive fires last summer and record rain, in some cases 1000 percent of normal have taken their toll on the area and there are major closures. The newest closure is just south of Gorda, one of the only places to get gas along the road. There is a closure south of that area near Ragged Point and two closures to the north. There is one near Lucia, and another South of Big Sur to replace the Pfeiffer bridge. In short, for a number of reasons, the area is essentially shut off for the main scenic portion most people associate with the road. There are various timelines for reopening sections of the road but the newest closure might keep that day trip of the road in its full length a year away or longer. The newest slide is just massive and certainly there will be further studies for hillside stability in the near future that may have pre-emptive closures. The Big Sur coastline is one of the true jewels of California and the world, and it just can't catch a break this year. http://www.abc10.com/news/local/cal...g-sur-could-take-a-year-to-clean-up/442188572
Hey LBCD, It was a good thing you did not go up or down the Coast Highway 1 because of the landslide closure. California grew about a couple of acres dirt coastal property. Nice photos of your trip up to the Bay Area. That SF area is close to our hearts. Anytime my mom used to catch me doing some damage to the yard or house as a little kid, I always heard the standard: "I don't know who you are..." So my answer was "I am George from San Francisco." Ha! My wife and I have gone to the Bay Area numerous times on those long coastal trips and fast returns inland on the north-south freeways. Of course, SF had the June gloom and while you were gone, So Cal was packed in coastal fog and misty June gloom. But, for the visitors coming to So Cal, it isn't always like that. Since So Cal is so large and there are so many things and attractions to see, driving to those places was an experience in itself. But, if you keep the time watch during the week, driving gets you from point A to B in your hot rod, family car, or cruiser. (7-9 am stay off the any freeway, 3 pm-6 pm stay off any freeway, the Toll Roads save up to 30 minutes+ of driving during rush hour and normal driving. On Sat/Sun times, it is usually OK, except for the late afternoon on Sunday (coming home from anywhere,) traffic) There were plenty of “things” to do in So Cal back in the 60’s, besides the car shows, peace marches, protests and love-in parties. The drive to these events was fairly easy as the traffic wasn’t as bad as it is today. The Lighthouse in Hermosa Beach featured the best in LA Jazz Scene in a cool, dark environment, just steps from the ocean. (3 Sounds, Gene Harris, Mose Allison, Dave Brubeck, Etc.) Just up the coast at the Santa Monica Civic Auditorium, there were rock concerts for Buffalo Springfield, Spirit, Doors, Iron Butterfly, Cream, Etc. Even downtown Los Angeles got into the act with the famous concerts, Jimi Hendrix, Doors, etc, at the Shrine Auditorium. That auditorium is still being used today for various events. If you have ever been to the LA Sports Arena, you will know where the nose bleed seats were/are. We went there for a 1967 Lakers playoff game. My wife and I (girlfriend at the time) got the only tickets we could afford and sat in the ultimate nose bleed seats using binoculars. Even then, they looked small. Finally in the 2nd half, we walked down several sections just above the court in some empty seats for the rest of the evening. ORIGINAL TICKET STUBS FROM 1960’S (my wife saves everything) Our 1965 El Camino: front row parking for the 1968 Jimi Hendrix Concert The all-time, outstanding concert was at the Shrine Auditorium with Jimi Hendrix in our own private balcony box, with the performers just 25 feet away. Are You Experienced? We had some connections for this concert and were treated like royalty being led to the private box/balcony just off the stage. The special tickets allowed us to have front row parking, just steps from the front doors. One for the books was the May 5, 1968 final performance of Buffalo Springfield (the famous breakup came right after this concert), the last one ever at the Long Beach Arena. It was a stand up and rock for the whole event. Jnaki The final sojourn was to the epic movie, 2001: A Space Odyssey in Hollywood. Our 1965 El Camino (and later, our 40 Ford Sedan Delivery) saw plenty of So Cal miles on all of the classic journeys during these formidable years. My wife kept these mementos from those years a long time ago. But, it just seems like it was yesterday in our minds and memories. Oh, to have those physical bodies with the 2017 brains and knowledge…what a fun combo that would be, along with that cool red 1965 El Camino cruising around So Cal, again. The 40 Ford Sedan Delivery wouldn't be too bad to have it again, today, either.
Hello, FOR THE OUT OF TOWNERS COMING TO THE BIG AUTO EVENTS: GNRS, LARS, GOOD GUYS events: They each have their own traffic problems. Check out these websites for great traffic reports. All of these sites are phone accessible if you are running a data package or have access to wifi. http://www.i5highway.com/i-5-traffic/laguna_niguel.html an excellent website for updated traffic info…fairly accurate. It can be opened to show all of So Cal. https://www.waze.com/livemap updated incidents from drivers https://cad.chp.ca.gov/traffic.aspx type in your area Going down I-5 south to Del Mar for the any Good Guys events calls for patience. After Los Angeles and the OC, San Clemente has freeway construction/slow traffic that will last until at least 2018, both northern and southern directions. At almost any day or hour, the Encinitas area is down to 40 or less as you approach the Del Mar Fairgrounds exit. We have found out that going south around 9 am is by far the easiest and has less traffic on the I-5. The OC area to San Diego Harbor takes approximately 1 hour. The toll roads in Orange County cost money, but saves valuable time and traffic in the congested areas, plus the scenery is outstanding. (a throwback to the 1960 freeway driving) Check your radar devices as there are CHP sneakers in a lot of blind spots. Yes, they have CHP patrol Ford Explorers in action and they are fairly easy to see, but there are blind spots and hills where they just love to sit with their radar guns. Why are they patrolling the toll roads? That is a great question… There are less cars and giving them tickets is easier than on the I-5 freeway with a million cars all going 75-80 mph. Unless you are an idiot traffic, in/out weaver, most cars get ignored going that fast, as they all are flowing together.
1961 Amphicar Hello, One of the surprises that I saw during my walk around this auto museum last Friday was the sight of this cool, baby blue Amphicar behind the ropes in one section of the showroom. Instantly, it brought back flashes of the Summer of 1962 on Alamitos Bay in Long Beach. Since we lived within a few miles from the bay and ocean, there were plenty of things to do in Long Beach. One of my friends somehow got his hands on one of these in 1962. They were on the market in 1961 and were mainly used on lakes and smooth bays in and around the whole USA. We had access to Alamitos Bay in Long Beach and it had a sandy driveway to the bay waters from the main highway. No ocean currents or waves, so this bay was perfect for this unusual car/boat. No, we never had the urge to go out of the main channel into the ocean currents and weather in this odd car/boat. The incoming ocean swells within the main outlet channel to the ocean was not kind to the front of this Amphicar. It was downright scary. There was a portion of the sandy shoreline being used as a launching spot for small trailers and rollers to put the rowing/sailing dinghies in the water. But, it was perfect for driving this Amphicar right into the bay. When we did it the first time, it seemed like the Amphicar was going to nose dive right down to the bottom. Slow entry into the water was the call of the day. But, once on the smooth, flat bay waters, the Amphicar moved quite well. Two big teenagers cruising around the whole Alamitos Bay in this funky looking boat/car was a sight to see. It was weird because the water was so close to the top of the door and was easily touched while moving around the bay. On the road, it sounded like a British sports car. Jnaki We took it out several more times during that summer, but opted for more exciting sailing in an 18ft. Malibu Outrigger boat on the bay and ocean. As avid hot rodders, we still could not get over how those doors sealed and kept the water from entering. (Something about double sealed doors with double locks was mentioned.) The steering wheel turned the front wheels like normal cars. In the water, those two wheels acted as the rudders for steering, like a moving boat. It was strange. On the Malibu Outrigger, you steered from the back rudder. This was driving with a car steering wheel. Unlike a normal sailboat, the front wheels acted as the rudders. It was not a speed boat, but just a way to putt putt around waving at people.
Hey Guys, Trying to get that old "cruising/hot rod days" feeling back? Bixby Knolls tried it for many years with the birth of the "Cacklefests" and car shows in Long Beach. That was very cool, but ended too soon. The whole major, cross street, intersection of the area was shut down to traffic and the cackle race cars came out in droves. It was a sight to see the event in the day and especially at night with the flames of Nitromethane filling the air. To paraphrase an excerpt from a famous movie... "I love the smell of Nitromethane in the evening." Today, if you want to spend some time looking at some cool cars and trucks, come on down to Escondido in North San Diego County. The latest (is on Friday night) of “Cruising Grand” is put on by the City of Escondido. (Static car displays, cruising down the main drag, show and shine, etc.) It is located just south of the huge Camp Pendleton Marine Base. The whole cruising experience, including several bands is offered. All Model T's, Model A's, and Early Fords V8s are invited and showcased. This particular weekend was set up as a final Prowlers of San Diego event, culminating with the last picnic on Sunday, June 25 at Grape Day Park, Escondido. Jnaki It is a busy weekend in So Cal, with 7 events going on Friday, the 23rd, 19 on the Saturday, the 24th, 20 events on Sunday, the 25th, including swap meets and displays all over . Thanks socalcarculture.com CRUSING GRAND, ESCONDIDO sample:
That car appeared at a LARS open house at So Cal years back and had been restored. Loved it, also I think the current owner had built a clone to drive and enjoy.
google photos Hello, Here are some past photos of the Cruising Grand event in Escondido. All sorts of cars, people, music, food, displays, etc. Get there early as the restaurants fill up fast. Jnaki
Hey Guys, Get a close up of a bunch of hot rods from one of the oldest clubs in the USA, if not the oldest. (The Prowlers from San Diego.) They will be lined up for the cruise down Grand and set up nearby on display. Not too far away from Central OC or even Long Beach. Plus, if the weather holds, it will be a great cruise in the warm evening, 70's t-shirt weather. Jnaki Your own "Friday Night Lights..."
2017 Price Automobilia Museum Hey LBCD, Brother and sister in one post. Great photos of your trip to Lake Tahoe. Very envious of your trip. We used to do that same driving trip many times, a long time ago. The Highway 395 all the way up and Highway 1 back down. Then things changed and it was fly to those pristine, Mexico beaches, yearly, for a while. Now, it is back to planning another drive up to Lake Tahoe and Nor Cal again. Things and time change in one’s life, but beauty always lures you back… Jnaki It seems like every year, it was driving a different car up there and back, as it was mostly summers. (Sometimes, it was spring.) But, thinking all the way back to a couple of teenagers in a 1963 VW Bug with skis tied to the back rack, going through Donner Pass in a snowstorm during a winter break. Then my dad renting this nice place for a big, family reunion one summer was the peak in lodging for us. Lake Tahoe is always a draw for us. But, it was the great drive in the myriad of cars from So Cal that made the trip. Those empty highways always give you plenty of room for thought and acceleration. Thanks for bringing back some good old memories. South Shore From the Heavenly Valley Tram
I was born in Reno and one of my early memories was going to Lake Tahoe. The two things I always remember was being car sick and my dad having to pull over several times due to the car over heating. Went to a wedding in Tahoe City last summer and I drove the motorhome and my wife drove her Porsche. We lucked out and got a spot at the state campground and had million dollar views for $9 a night!
Hey LBCD, Even as small as the actual Lake Tahoe is compared to the big So Cal metropolis areas, I remember many hot rods driving around, back in those days. It might be because it is on the border of Nevada and California. The south shore draws a lot of people from both sides of the Stateline. The massive amounts of pine tree lined streets made for many photographic opportunities. From the 60's to the 70's, the same style of hot rods were all over the place. Plus it is only a 200 mile drive from the SF Bay Area and only 120 miles from Sacramento. A days drive at the least, draws the whole bay area hot rod contingent to this pristine area. For all of us in So Cal, a long, 9 hour+ drive does it every time. Jnaki Animals, 1965 said it best: "We gotta get out of this place If it's the last thing we ever do. We gotta get out of this place, 'Cause girl, there's a better life for me and you."
1963 Hello, In doing some research on the 1963 version of the famed, Chizzler, I ran across this cool photo taken in Palos Verdes. We had filmed the original Chizzler at Riverside in 1959. It was a visiting FED from Chicago and a record setter back then… This newer version with a different chassis was just as powerful and sleek, still using the famous up swept exhaust pipes. The backdrop for the photo was an interesting So Cal event. Back in 1961, the freighter, Dominator, ran aground on the West Coast, right in the middle of Palos Verdes. At Lunada Bay, the freighter created So Cal’s next tourist site. The cliffs were inundated with people from all over the world. Lunada Bay From the Lunada Bay Association archives: Photo By Robert J. Boser EditorASC (Own work) [CC-BY-SA-3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)], via Wikimedia Commons The Greek freighter S.S. Dominator ran aground near Lunada Bay (just below Rocky Point) in 1961. It was carrying over 10,000 tons of wheat and beef from the Pacific Northwest. The ship was traveling close to the coast in dense fog, as the crew was preparing for a fuel stop in Los Angeles Harbor the ship was caught in the rocky reefs along the Palos Verdes coastline. After several attempts to return the ship to sea, it was abandoned and heavy surf drove the ship further into the rocks. In the years following the wreck, the local lobster population fed on the leftover grain. A 1962 LA Times article “Shipwreck Is Headache to Palos Verdes People”, documents how the rotting meat was eventually set on fire to eliminate the spoiled meat odor that permeated the entire peninsula. The ship has slowly been breaking up and melting away as the wreckage shifts between the rocks along the coast for the past 50+ years, very little remains visible above the water. Today it is a popular shoreline hike (as long as you are able to navigate the steep cliffs) during low tide. The wreckage underwater is also popular with area divers. South Bay News: The local authorities had their hands full with the aftermath caused by the Dominator’s destruction for many years. During the following decades the ship continued to break apart, scattering and littering its decaying rusty debris along the coast and out along the ocean’s floor. The ship was host to many partying daredevil locals during the ‘60s and ‘70s, adding to its lore and legend. Jnaki But, it also made the So Cal surfers hungry for waves. Lunada Bay already had good waves, but this wrecked freighter was ripe for setting up some tasty rides. (Like a new point break surf spot.) Without the wrecked freighter, the spot was a great place to surf, but with this new intrusion, the vibe was not fun. This part of the coastline is exposed to the west and north. During the winter months, the waves and swells ravish anything in sight. With the freighter locked into the beach, it was a zoo, so we never went back. YOU TUBE ARCHIVES:
The Dominator wreck of 1961, I was there at the age of 4 years old!!! The family loaded up the '57 Ford wagon and hauled us up to a field in Palos Verdes and we walked through weeds until we got to the edge of the cliff and sure enough there was a ship, still with its boilers going, just a short distance from the cliffs. IIRC there were a lot of people who did the same pilgrimage as we did. This was an incredible sight to behold for a kid of 4-years old. I can say I was part of the experience.
The Jalopy Journal
