Tours

www.sdmodelaclub.com

MODEL A RESTORERS CLUB OF SAN DIEGO INC.

TOURS

Read about it in the Quail Call. Check the calendar for Parade and Tour dates.

Again this year, the membership will volunteer to plan and lead a tour each month. There are a few months still available. Bud would like to hear from you

if you have any ideas. For the latest information on upcoming tours check the most recent issue of the Quail Call.

UPCOMING TOURS: Several tours are in the planning stages including a joint tour with the Harbor Area MARC/MAFCA and Capistrano

Valley A’s, a return overnight trip to Idyllwild, and a joint tour with the Palomar A’s. We have also been invited to participate in a display with the

San Diego Antique Airplane Association at Gillespie Field on February 20^thand we may include a short tour with that event. Look for details soon and

sign-up at the club business meeting on February 12 or contact Roger.

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JANUARY'S TOUR: After a week when rain, wind, and generally nasty weather caused a rain-out of the first tour of 2010, 40 members in 23 Model A’s

cashed in a Rain Check and participated in a “Follow-the-Leader” tour on January 30^th. The weather cooperated; the sun was bright and the streets were dry

for our excursion. Starting from the IHop parking lot in Mission Valley, we headed south, up Texas Street then drove through San Diego neighborhoods that

were young when our cars were new. We traveled through University Heights, Normal Heights, Kensington, and Talmadge before heading west along “The

Boulevard” (El Cajon Blvd.) and Washington Street through Hillcrest. All along the way we were greeted by smiling and waving residents, families, shoppers

and outdoor diners, many of whom were taking pictures with cameras and cell phones.

The group made its way, without any incidents, to Liberty Station, the

historic Naval Training Center in Point Loma. We assembled for photos alongside the famous USS Recruit (aka USS Goes Nowhere) and then headed for

lunch. Thanks to all for making this a fun event and such a successful first tour of the year!

2009 PAST TOURS:

Wonderful, Wacky tour: Sunday November 22

On a sunny Sunday morning seventeen Model A’s converged on Gene & Barbara Amy’s home in Santee to view his extensive bottle collection and hear tales of the digs.

Barbara shared her quilting projects.

Steve & Ladd Graham brought their car out for the first time so everyone had to check it out: it is great and ready to go! After filling ourselves with muffins,

cinnamon rolls and donut holes, the group meandered over to Peggy Dalby’s home in Scripps Ranch. Walter Faust spent HOURS concocting the chili which was

quickly consumed along with the corn bread muffins. We all sat outside enjoying food and friendship while savoring San Diego sunshine.

For those with a sweet tooth, there was one more stop on our tour. We headed to Pacific Beach to Ralph & Joyce Schuler’s home. They have a lovely view

of San Diego bay and the skyline. Some members were glued to the football game and others sat outside munching on home-made desserts and enjoying the view.

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Idyllwild tour: October 23-25

It was Friday morning when Model A’s and moderns lined up for an outing that everyone was looking forward to. We started out in small groups at different

ocations headed to Santa Ysabel and Dudley’s Bakery where we ate lunch and joined up as one group. Then we headed down the road, stopping in Warner

Springs where we met Dave and Jeanine Lowe and immediately had a lot of smiling faces out admiring our cars. Back on the road, we made one more stop at

DQ for ice cream before continuing on up the hill to Idyllwild.

What a gorgeous weekend we had in the mountains. Who knew it would be in the 70’s in late October! The skies were soooo blue and the mountains majestic

with the golden leaves of the oaks trees scattered in among the pines. Upon arrival, we all got settled in our “rustic” lodging. JoBeth tried out the hammock and got

more than she bargained for with an extra thrill from the ride it provided. We all gathered for snacks on the back porch of the Silver Pines Lodge where we could view

the beautifully landscaped grounds including Koi in a large pond with waterfalls. The Lodge dog, Ella, an English bulldog, made sure we got to know her well. We all

pitched in to grill food for the evening meal and after a delicious potluck, we gathered near the fireplace in the Lodge Room for a celebration of Arlyn’s Birthday with a

“This is Your Life” presentation, his opening of birthday cards and serving of birthday cake.

Saturday saw us off to the Idyllwild Nature Center. Sitting outside on a beautiful morning, we listened to a speaker tell us how to identify acorns and how early-day

Indians ground the acorns into flour. We even got to sample muffins made from acorn flour. Then we saw a demonstration on how to make Indian pots from clay.

After a walk to the top of the hill to view the valley and the surrounding mountains, we headed back to the village where Dave Sohr conducted a class on carving a

Model A design in a pumpkin. (The finished pumpkins made a great display lit up and lined in a row on a table in the Lodge Room.) Late in the afternoon we all headed

to the Historical Society Museum for a trip back in time, with a pictorial presentation by Bob Smith on what it was like in Idyllwild back in the era of Model A’s. Dave

and Penny took a drive up to Inspiration Point for pictures of the sunset while many of us repeated the same routine of Friday – snacks, grilling, followed by another

delicious potluck dinner (and boy did we eat well both nights!). Then it was an evening of Halloween games; frog jumping, beanbag throw into a pumpkin, straw with

M&M competition and pantyhose/potato race. But the highlight of the evening was the judging of the homemade Halloween masks. We had three fantastic masks by

Valarie, Rich and JoBeth with JoBeth winning with her mask made out of aluminum cans.

Sunday morning the group headed back home, stopping at DQ for ice cream and Dudley’s for bread. As you can probably tell, we all had a great time traveling in 11

Model A’s and 3 moderns for a total of 28 folks. It was an awesome trip, with awesome people! As with any Model A tour, it wasn’t just the destination, it was the

journey and the people that made it special!

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INTERNATIONAL MODEL "A" DAY: The International Model A Ford Day went well. Approximately 60 people and 33 cars participated in the event. The day was picture perfect, from the meeting place at the Visitor Center on Mission Bay and throughout the day. Having the cars parked at the Bali Hai on Shelter Island provided interest for many people in the area. There was a wonderful Continental Breakfast hosted by the Bali Hai and many of us took advantage of the tours of the facility. Thanks to the efforts of many who got the cars arranged and everyone in place for the group photos, the photo op on Harbor Island at Tom Ham’s went well . There were people who came by to be impressed by the large number of Model A’s. The Bahia on Mission Bay provided parking for all the cars, a fine cafe for lunch and a great grass area for our picnic. An added bonus was getting aboard the William B Evans, a large paddle wheeler. To our surprise a Bay tour on the William B was available, a wonderful way to end a great Tour with friends honoring an incredible car, the Ford Model A.

The entire weekend went well. Friday morning we had 6 cars participate in an opportunity to appear with Dave Stall, the Car Guy, at the KUSI News station. Dave Sohr, Ray Beardsley, Gregg Mann, Paul Winchester, Tom Allingham & Bud Swartwood made the early morning drive that proved to be a successful venture. When we arrived at the Bahia a lady came out form the cafe and was so pleased we were there. She had seen the program and came in from East County with her family in response to having watched the TV program the previous morning. Patty Winchester provided a flyer that gave a brief history of the Model A. Many of the general public who came to see the cars liked having the handout available.

We do have a good Club. So many members participated with several additional participants not yet members but likely to make the plunge in the near future.

Mission tour: On August 29, 2009 Paul and Patty Winchester lead, twenty Model A’s and two moderns along with 36 people from the IHOP Mission Valley parking lot on a tour of early San Diego History. Patty briefed us on why this tour was chosen, “The reason Paul and I chose this tour is because I am a native San Diegan with family roots here, all the way back to at least 1838. San Diego was still part of Mexico then. Every stop today has San Diego History, and my family history associated with it.” Our first stop was at the Mission San Diego De Alcala, on San Diego Mission road. We were given an educational tour of the Church and archeological dig at the ruins of the early buildings. The first Mission here was burned to the ground and the Priest killed by upset local Natives. After being rebuilt and used as a Mission until it was decommissioned after Mexico broke away from Spain 1821 and by the Decree of Secularization in 1834. In 1850 when California became part of the United States it was occupied by the U.S. Army, the church building was used for stables. In 1862 President Abraham Lincoln signed papers gaving the nearly destroyed Mission property back to the Catholic Church. The property has been continuously rebuilt and improved upon since that time. Patty told us that her father’s, mother’s, grandparents, Jesse and Perfecta Ames were married at the Mission San Diego de Alcala in April 1838. And her Father’s grandfather was born at the Mission in May of 1853.

From the Mission we drove to the site of the old Presidio, where San Diego Department Store magnate George Marston built a Museum in 1929 to save the few historical relicts from the Presidio days. We were given an informative slide show about the history of the Presidio and old town. We were then given the opportunity to climb the seventy five stairs to the tower, where we all got a fantastic view of the San Diego bay and Mission Valley areas. Patty told of her family connections to this area as well by saying “In 1846 we were at war with Mexico. The Californios (Mexicans) occupied the Presidio and the Americans held San Diego (old town). My ancestor Jesse Julian Ames helped the Americans hold off the Californios in their attacks against San Diego.” “Family stories tell of my GG Grandfather planting Pepper trees in the old town and Presidio area. I like to think some of these trees here, may be from some that he planted.” After walking back down the steep hill to the parking lot we headed off in search of Pioneer Park-Calvary Cemetery, our next stop.

Calvary Cemetery is on Washington Place and Randolph St. in Mission Hills. Paul brought us up to date on the connection of this location and our tour, by stating, “Jesse Julian Ames and his wife Perfecta are buried here, along with some of their children and friends from that time. He was first buried in the little El Campo Santo Cemetery in Old Town in 1866, then he was moved here after his wife died in 1890.” “In 1970 the Mission Hills residents wanted to expand the park here, so the city bulldozed all the grave markers down, the graves were not moved.” “The few markers you see here were saved for historical purposes, about 600 were dumped into a ravine near Mt. Hope Cemetery where they lay for 18 years, then they were covered with dirt. Only 13 have been recovered. Some other markers were found in neighborhood back yards and down the canyon below the park.” All in all, a sad day for history. “Maybe someone in the City, knew that Jesse had been a San Diego City Trustee President from 1853 to 1859, or he would have been dumped in that ravine too.” Leaving this chapter of history behind us we began the final leg of our journey down the hill to Old Town and lunch.

Patty had arraigned for a parking lot behind the old Caltrans office to be closed to the public so we could all have a parking spot. This worked out well as parking on a Saturday afternoon in the summer can be a problem here. After parking the cars Paul thanked everyone for coming and was in such a rush to go get lunch he neglected to have Patty give her final talk about how old town fits into our tour, my apologies Patty. Here is what she would have said, “Old Town San Diego is where many of my early family lived and had businesses. I still have family living here in old town.” “I visited my grandmother often here. When I was a little girl of about five, one of my memories is walking with my grandmother from her house on Harney St. to “Ramona’s Marriage Place”, which is now the central park.” “I also remember walking across the street from my grandmother’s home to her neighbor Hazel’s house. I went through the front hedges, to the side yard and entered through the kitchen. To a five year old, Hazel seemed to be a very old woman. She let me come into the kitchen where she gave me cookies but would not let me into the parlor, which I could see from the kitchen. The room was dark and I could see a long dark stairway to the upper floor.” “Hazel would not let any of us kids go any farther than the kitchen, we were frightened to disobey her. Now years later, I have discovered that her house has been moved to behind the Whaley house, and for a period of time it was marketed as a haunted house. Since then it has been many retail businesses. Today it stands as the Pendelton House.” “Have a good time here in old town, there is a lot to see and lots of good food. And remember, if this was the 1800’s my family would be here to welcome you to town.” The group then separated looking for a favorite place for lunch, with many ending up at El Fandango.

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June Tour to the Wieghorst Western Days was a lot of fun. We had the opportunity to display our cars on TV with Dave Scott on KUSI Channel 9, even had a “typical Model A engine” shown on the local airwaves. There was a nice turnout for both the display on Saturday and the actual tour on Sunday. It is always nice to see the interest in the Model A when on display. We do have a great Club and some very fine cars. Thanks to all who continue to participate.

3rd Annual Hubley Derby in Murrieta, Ca. The San Diego club did very well this year with Roxy winning 3rd place, Gene Amy taking 2nd place and the Club car won 1st place in the Charity race. Once again this event was well attended by clubs through-out Southern Ca. and plans are in the works for next year.

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All Ford Picnic at Simpson's Nursery in Jamul was held on Saturday, May 9th. The event provided a fun day with cars representing various clubs including the Horseless Carriage, Early Fords, and of course the Model A’s. Ron Peterson did a great job. I am sure this traditional get together will become an annual spring event again.

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Victorian Charm and Fuzz Tour, April 26, 2009: We met at Coco’s on Lake Murrary Blvd. at 8:15 AM and left about 8:35 AM headed for Newell and Gladene Booth’s Victorian home a 5602 Adams Avenue. The house called the Quartermass/Stensrud House was built in 1907 on the corner of Fairmount Avenue and University and was later moved to the Adams Avenue site. After donuts and juice and a tour of the house, we left at about 10:30 AM for the San Diego Police Museum in the old library building on College Avenue. Retired officer Rick Carlson gave some history of the museum and then invited us to look around at the various exhibits. Gina Muir, a volunteer made sure everyone got a booklet entitled To Protect and Serve: A History of the San Diego Police Department and Its Chiefs. After our visit to the museum we headed east down El Cajon Blvd. to the Wrangler Bar-b-que Pit where we had lunch. We got home close to 2:00PM. Everyone seemed pleased with the tour and said they had a good time. We had twenty-eight people, fourteen Model A’s, and Bill and Eunice Canedo came in their modern car.

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Laughlin Meet, Laughlin Nv. : April 2-5, 2009 Nine Model A's left early Thursday morning only to have a road side seminar in Escondido, Ed's truck was having an electrical problem, he called for a tow and then head out again in a modern. Just up the road Karen's car wanted a little attention so the water pump froze up and the guys were determined to change it out on the side of the road, which they did successfully. We were finally on the road again just a little behind schedule, Valarie's car overheated on the first real grade and needed a big drink of water, Dave's car lost its coil wire at the rest stop on I-10. This was discovered only after the ladies had pushed him up and down the parking lot. From then on the trip was problem free. We had lunch in Yucca Valley because of the time, gassed up in 29 Palms and arrived in Laughlin at 6:30 PM. That was a eleven and a half hour trip. Friday morning Paul's car had a flat tire, so there was a delay before going over to Oatman. The BBQ at Camp Davis was fabulous again this year with BBQ ribs, bean, potato salad, roll and strawberry shortcake. Yummy! It had been a rather cold and windy day but the winds died down for the BBQ. A group of nine A's from Palomar and Temecula Valley had headed out that day for the Grand Canyon Cavern, they didn't make it back in time for the BBQ because they were caught in a snow storm. Saturday morning the gymkhana events started with a bull's-eye game, a bean bag toss and a new tetter totter game. Yes, we had to drive up onto ramps and try to balance the car. It was rather nerve racking but fun. The people choice car judging was going on at the same time. At 11 am we headed inside for the Hubley races and getting out of the wind made watching the races much more enjoyable. The San Diego club was well represented in this event, winning both first and third place. With our own Director participating in the fashion show many members were there to see what he had up his sleeve. Let's just say there may be a recall election after his Mechanic coat, shoes, and pants were removed leaving him standing on stage with an original wool swim suit. He won best of show and in the men division too. Way to go Dave! The banquet was well attended, the trophies were exceptional this year, Penny and Bill Corson won in the hubley races, Dave won for his fashions, Paul won for coming the furthers, Karen won the hard luck trophy, Ed was a raffle prize winner and several members won door prizes and table decorations. The departure time was 7 am Sunday morning with everyone gassed up and ready to go. Oops one last check of the oil revealed water in Val's oil yet again. Terry's car came off the trailer and hers went up. The return trip was fairly uneventful till we crossed those rail road tracks in Amboy were Sue had an electrical problem but all that was needed was some electrical tape. All arrived back in San Diego safe and sound and we'll do it again next year, so plan on joining us. You'll have a good time.

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Orange County Pancake Breakfast: March 29, 2009 A group of eight Model A's toured north to Orange County on Saturday morning the 28th, we stopped along the way for lunch and a parking lot seminar to change out a carburetor in one of the cars. Then we meandered on up the road to the Best Western Hotel. Where we were joined by more members some in A's and some in moderns. The group met in the parking lot for Happy Hour before heading over to Chili Peppers for dinner. After dinner a group of San Diego and Palomar member visited in the parking lot all that was missing was the! fire pit. Sunday morning we were joined by even more members at Hart park for yet another great Pancake Breakfast. Over 250 Model A's were there. Two groups headed home one right after the breakfast was over and the other group a little later. A few members were lucky winners of some of the many raffle prizes again this year.

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MARCH TOUR TO PALM SPRINGS: Rich & JoBeth did a fantastic job planning the overnight trip to Palm Springs, and the weather couldn't have been better. Thirteen Model A's and three moderns made the trip to the desert floor. The group gathered at Keith's for an early morning departure that took us south on the 79 in Temecula to Aguanga where we picked up the 371 through Anza the onto the 74 into Palm Springs. We spend a few miles playing tag with a motorcycle club also heading down to the desert. The quick stop at the view point was awe inspiring both looking up, down and out across the desert valley. Once we arrived in Palm Springs we stopped for lunch before heading over to the Air Museum at the Airport. We were given guided tours through this wonder facility, a must see for any World War II buff. The Doral Palm Springs Resort was our sleeping spot, once everyone was checked in and settled, we gathered for Or'doeuvres. Everyone headed out for dinner at various spots in the area, and we regrouped at 9 am Sunday morning to head to the Tramway. While the non tram group gathered at Jean Anderson's desert home, the rest of the group headed up the hill to the tram. Wow, what a view! We found ourselves in snow and cooler temperatures but not as cold as we had expected. A couple of hours later the two groups meet for lunch before heading home. The trip to and from was rather uneventful as far as road side seminars, Paul Winchester did a couple of quick stops on the way there. Sorry no pictures he was behind the camera cars, but he and Gene Amy did make a trip to Pep Boys once we arrived, more on that at a later date. Roger Phillips car didn't want to leave the warm sunny desert and refused to start Sunday morning, but a group of "mechanics" worked together to get it going again. What a great weekend in the sun!

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February Tour: What a great February tour after a couple of soggy weekends, it was nice to get the cars out on the road again. The picnic at Mission Bay with friends was most enjoyable. Visiting the sights at the Cabrillo Monument was a fine reminder that we live in a very special place. The Club was well represented, there were 16 Model A’s and 4 moderns. Roxy bought along a new friend, flat Stanley, a paper cut out, this is a school project for a second grader. Many pictures where taken of Stanley through out the day, he was even seen driving the Model A. These pictures will then be returned to the 2nd grader and his classmates. What a fantastic way to share our hobby with the youth of today. Ralph & Joyce Schuler had their roadster out, on its very first tour.

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January Tour: The first tour of 2009 is history. There were 23 Model A vehicles, 46 participants and 3 modern vehicles. It was fun to become more familiar with Olaf Wieghorst, visit his home and go through the Wieghorst Museum in El Cajon. Bob Hattrup and his crew did an outstanding job on
our behalf. From there we had lunch and were treated to the generous hospitality of Lee & Kathy at Simpson’s Nursery in Jamul. It was a beautiful day spent with others who share their interest in the Model A.

New Members Ron & Joyce Engen's 1st Tour