Tours

Again this year, the membership will volunteer to plan and lead a tour each month. There are a few months still available.

Sunday Nov. 16, will beour last tour of the year. Since no one had signed up, several member have thrown out some ideas, this is what we have so far. Karen Wittkop offered her home, Reen Kotas said he would bring the Hubley track out of retirement so that we can see how the newly constructed club Hubley runs. You can’t have a tour without food and Sue Kotas has a recipe for homemade root beer. Valarie will lead a short tour on back roads and cook up some BBQ Beef for sandwiches. So dust off your Hubley and if you don’t have one maybe someone has an extra one to loan out. Bring along a side dish that goes with BBQ beef sandwiches, and a chair to sit in. We’ll depart from the Target parking lot 350 Broadway in El Cajon at 9:00 am. We’ll travel some back roads before going to Karen’s where we’ll race the Hubleys, then enjoy a potluck lunch with friends. Please sign up at the Nov. meeting or call Valarie @ 858-278-6317 so we have enough BBQ beef for everyone. COME JOIN THE FUN! ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- PAST TOURS:

The Vista Engine tour on Oct. 26th, could have been called the fog tour. Ten Model A’s and one modern headed west and then north to find the fog, but the view on N. Torrey Pines Rd. was breathtaking as we descended into a world of white, eventually we drove out the other side back into the sun. It was awesome, this was my first time driving the A through thick fog. Most of us arrived, but a few missed the turn and took an additional mini tour. We regrouped and were then joined by a few more members who came in moderns. It had been about five years since the club has attended and this event has grown. Tractors, tractors and more tractors, new buildings and lots of engines to entertain everyone. Many of us enjoyed the tractor games, and the parade before heading home. Jean Anderson provided us with a road side seminar, once the condenser was changed out, we were on the road again.

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Sunday September 28 Magical Mystery tour led by the Weckman: What a pleasant surprise! The tour went off with 19 Model A's and a modern. Another A joined us later. We began in clear skies and than found the good old marine layer sitting on us for most of the rest of the tour. The participants were given route sheets which include directions and questions about things they saw along the way. The tour directors were impressed with the knowledge of some members for there were a few questions that required knowledge of sports and the location of entities that were no longer in business. We were also impressed with their creativity when it came to finding their way when their directions were not clear. I won't go as far as to say that the directions were wrong for I do have a reputation to uphold. We made two rest stops along the way; the second one for games provided by the Stelzers, Ray Beardslee and the Weckmans. No, Ray did not bring along his infamous wrong way vehicle. We were impressed with the skills of the participants. Two prizes were awarded to the top point getters. Jerry and Maureen Kelly and Walter and Roxy Faust tied for the top prize and walked away with great prizes.
The tour ended at The Spice Rack Restaurant where we enjoyed good food and great service.

Saturday, August 9th: Only Yesterday Tour led by Ron Peterson: Fourteen “A’s” and two moderns left Keith’s, heading for Sorrento Valley for the classic car restoration facility known as “Only Yesterday”. We were joined by another “A” once there. What a place, if you haven’t been there you missed out on a fabulous car collection. The car that lead off the Pebble Beach car show this year was there, it had been disassembled, polished piece by piece and reassembled. It was like looking into a mirror (50-60 man hours of labor just to polish the car). We toured their showroom, back storage area, the mechanical shop and the paint shop. Rich & JoBeth’s car is now sporting new pin stripping and we all got to watch the process. The members attending made donations totaling over $100, which will benefit a school in down town San Diego. Once everyone had their fill, we headed to the Studio Diner on Ruffin Rd. We enjoyed our lunch on the back patio and then everyone headed for home. Thanks to Ron & Joyce Peterson for a great tour.

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WOW! What a day, the first INTERNATIONAL MODEL “A” DAY WAS A HUGE SUCCESS: The San Diego club did their part. It started off with a live promotional appearance on the KUSI morning news on July 18. Many thanks to the members who got up early, we had 13 cars, JudyJo Beardslee, Rich Phillips and the Biebers were a few that were seen on TV. A few of the guys went back and were featured on the 10 am hour with Ray Beardslee, Dave Sohr, Bud Swartwood represented the club well on the second round of interviews promoting the July 26 Festivities. Ed Woodruff was featured in the Wheel section of the July 26th Union Tribune, promoting the Model A hobby and the International Model A Day.

On Saturday July 26, 11 car left El Cajon and heading for the Pine Valley Parade, adding two more cars along the way. Following the parade they headed down the mountain to Viejas and did a tour around the reservations, with a pit stop at the outlet mall. After stretching our legs we headed to Drew Ford by way of old highway 80. 12 to 15 Model A’s had already assembled and by the time all had arrived we were over 35 strong, we overflowed the allotted parking space. All the extra publicity brought out lot of members as well as some past members like Bill Spaulding and Wayne Ferguson a member from the 70’s that now lives in northern Ca. Drew Ford was very accommodating even bringing out a flat bed truck so that the camera buffs could get those perfect shots. Quite a few a people stopped by to check out the cars, one guy has a chassis for sale, we’re working on him to keep it original and join the club. Lunch at Marietta was great and that was just the first half of the day. Around 2 pm the group moved on down El Cajon Blvd to the San Diego Collection were the club treated everyone to Root Beer Floats, while we enjoyed Chuck Zimmer, collection of cars and much more. A special thanks to Danny for arranging our KUSI appearance, Ed Woodruff for the article in the paper, Penny Smiley and Dave for organizing the whole day (Drew Ford, Marietta’s, and San Diego Collections) and a special thanks to the Machado family serving up the Root Beer Floats.

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2nd Annual Hubley Derby Day : The 2nd Annual Hubley Derby Day in Murrieta was again a big success, 72 hubleys and even more people gather on one of the HOTTEST May days. Six Model A’s and 1 modern toured north only going onto the freeway for about 1 mile from Pomerado Rd to Center City Pkwy. We were joined by two more moderns and were delighted to find the Community Center had air conditioning. Reen Kotas secretly spent his last year second place winning car but it didn’t fair as well this year. I think all of the San Diego Hubleys at least made it into the second race. Ron Peterson did go home with the Hardluck trophy for the day, his little hubley pick-up truck just didn’t want to stay in its own lane, and yes we have pictures. A 50/50 drawing and lunch rounded out the days activities before we all headed home this time freeway only.

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April tour lead by the Kernan's: 24 Model's A and several moderns met at the information center on Mission Bay just off interstate 5. The Kernan's provided donuts and coffee before we headed out, under beautiful sunny skies. Ray handed out to every car their directions and questions that had to be answered along the way. A navigator was very important on this tour. We passed the Hilton Hotel and the first questions had most of us stumped. Along the way to the Cabrillo Monument some of the questions got easier. We stopped at the information center and a few people could be seen looking in some of the books for the mystery answers. Back on the road we headed towards downtown, and the embarcadero at Seaport Village we made a U-turn and headed back toward Pt. Loma. Harry & Marlene Whalen provided a road side seminar just a few blocks from the Kernans. After replacing a few parts, we were back on the road again. We enjoyed a wonderful lunch, gorgeous view and our questionnaires were graded. Now it was time to give out the correct answers and award the prizes. First prize to the Allingham's, Second prize to don & Joan Minnick, and last prize to Gene Amy one of the few without a navigator.

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Wow, Laughlin again: Paul & Laura Abbott lead 8 Model A's on the road and 3 more were trailered to Laughlin on April 3. We also had 2 moderns that drove over. A very good turn out for the San Diego Club. Ed Woodruff started out with a little excitement, trying to drive the 15 north in morning rush hour, with no brakes. The clevis pin had fallen out somewhere just north of Denny's. A repair was made at our first gas stop in Temecula and from there the rest of the trip was text book. We did run into past members Bob & Julenne Gyde while stopped at Amboy. They were on their way back to San Diego for their daughters wedding, they now live in Colorado. The weather was just right, with only a little wind in the desert area. Most of the group made the trip to Outman on Friday morning, and met up again for the Bar-B-Que held down by the river at Davis Camp. Saturday there was the People Choice car judging, the Gymkhana events, Hubley races and the running board swap meet. The temperature was a little warm so we were glad to head back to the hotel and casino for the air conditioning. Penny and Dave took part in the Fashion Show on Saturday afternoon winning the people's choice award. Gerry & Burnette Hill's car won the Don Laughlin award for the best over all. Ed Woodruff's truck won in the commercial category. Karen Wittkop took home a third place hubley award. Ron Peterson and Valarie Basham both won in the gymkhana events and Paul & Laura Abbott traveled the furthest. Many of the members received door prizes and Valarie won a water pump in the raffle. The club had a great time and future plans for the Laughlin meets are up in the air at this time. The return trip home was uneventful until Valarie drove over the railroad tracks, outside of Amboy, and the coil wire fell out. With a little duct tape we were back on the road. Bill Corson wasn't feeling to well during the trip home. Read about his untold story in the May Quail Call...

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Orange County Pancake Breakfast Tour: Not deterred by cloudy skies the Saturday group going to the pancake breakfast left with 5 Model A's and 2 more joining us at the rest stop up past Oceanside. We made good time and had a safe trip up to Los Angeles, not always an easy task considering the traffic and crazy drivers. Ron Peterson provided our first road side seminar just a few blocks from our first stop for lunch. With a little bit of a Mickey Mouse fix it on his car and lunch behind us, we preceded to a private tour at Phil's garage in Santa Fe Springs. What a really nice collection, of Stutz, Minis, MG's, 1933 Rolls Royce, touring cars, and some vintage motorcycles (I had to pry Rich away from the 1913 Indian). We split up and headed to the hotels. Some took the scenic route suggested by Phil, while other chose the freeway to our hotels. Before dinner we enjoyed a little wine and cheese, then off for some delicious Mexican food. We finished off the evening, gathered by our rooms with some good conversion and brownies. The weather was starting to be worrisome however, with a little ocean mist just before we turned in. We awoke to the sound of drip, drip, drip. Darn it, it wasn't raining, but all our A's were wet. On to the Pancake breakfast which didn't disappoint or keep many from attending. If you were brave enough to come despite the Sunday weather forecast our President graciously paid for breakfast if you were wearing your blue jacket. Thanks Dave! After we checked out all the Models A's and other cars on display we sat down in anticipation of the raffle. Our club was very lucky this year and won many of the raffle prizes. Kathy, Steve and Lad Graham came away with most wins. And Ed Woodruff was the big winner of four cast iron brake drums.

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FEBRUARY BACK COUNTRY TOUR: Wow, what a beautiful sight. Twenty-five Model As winding their way along a great Model A road, Highway 94, on a sunny Winter's day. It seems that most were anxious to escape their cold, wet neighborhoods and see some green back country. The first stop was in Dulzura at a tiny quit shop, old farm equipment and the local Cafe which is over 100 years old and displays equally old guns, egg beaters, license plates, etc.

We proceeded to Potrero County Park, where we convinced the park host that we were all seniors, and enjoyed the facilities. Timing was great as we arrived at Campo Train Depot before the train blew the whistle and pulled out. Roger Challberg, President of the Mountain Empire Historical Society, met us and gave the history of the Train System in the area, a tour of the Train Museum and the Truck Museum. We didn't get to see the Stone Museum. John, tour co-leader, and Steve Greifzu, a park host for two years at Lake Morena County Park, worked to have the enclosed pavillion setup for our lunch. John served Sloppy Joes, Bush beans, potato salad, marinated vegetable salad, chips, celery and carrot sticks with drinks, plus cookies and fruit for desert. Everyone was starved as it was after one or maybe because of the fresh country air. Nearly 60 people were served including some park rangers. Miles go to Arlyn & Nayola Bieber, Ross & Nancy Henderson, Walter & Roxi Faust, Ray Beardslee, Chuck Faust & guest, Valerie Basham, Jimm & Sharon Kiklis, Bud & Judy Swartwood, Ed Woodruff & Peggy Dalby, Bill Corson, Ron Peterson, John & Dianne Frazee, Rich & JoBeth Stelzer, Paul & Laura Abbott, Ric & Billie Bonnoront, Gene Amy, Duane Ludtke, Karen Wittkop, Don & Joan Minnick, Rich & Denise Philllips, Karl & Jane Wehrle, Don Thefeld with two sons & grandson, Joe Ambrose & guest, & your tour leaders. Special thanks go to Adam Castleberry for transporting food and Jordan Roberts as Safety Engineer. Aaron Coronado, the County Park Ranger, wants to plan another event soon and publicize it in the Park literature. It was a great crowd and all enjoyed. THANKS.

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JANUARY PALA MINE TOUR: Under blue skies and with Charger Fever in the air, 16 Model A and two moderns headed north to the Pala area on Sunday January 20. Dave did a great job of keeping us off the freeways and even planned a potty stop along the way. A few members missed the turn into the Gem Mine but after a short delay and a couple of U-tours, everyone arrived. We paid for our buckets of dirt and started searching for our treasurers in the rough. Everyone seemed to find something but nothing that would make any of us world famous or wealthy. With the Charger game pending, some people headed for home and others make their way over to the Pala Casino were the game was being played on a large screen. Everyone found someplace to eat, watched the game or put a few coins in the machines. It was a fantastic tour, good friends, food and an O.K. game.