T TOUR IN SAN DIEGO - Epilogue

All home and accounted for, great trip, all the T’s performed beautifully.   We put about 265 miles on our T, and about 900 on the Bronco.  T gets about 15 mpg, Bronc pulling the trailer  gets about 10 – 12 depending on which way the wind is blowing. 

Now here is the mind blower, returning home one week to the day after we set out, they are still hauling tomatoes up interstate 5.  Only this time we counted empty trucks heading south instead of full trucks heading north.   By the turnoff to 152, we had 221 double trailer empty tomato trucks heading south.  So somewhere in northern CA, there is an awful lot of canned tomatoes or catsup or ???     Must be another steady stream of trucks hauling the products out of the processing plant.    Absolutely amazing!!

See on the road.

T TOUR IN SAN DIEGO – Day 7

Our final day, 60 miles.  Today we went over the Coronado Bridge, what a structure!!        Felt like we were in an airplane looking down at the Harbor. Poked around in a tidepool,,,, those rocks were covered with oysters.  Tried to get someone to build a fire for fried oysters, but,,,,,,   no luck.  Did find a trophy, however.  It was caught in an oyster and that oyster really did not want to open up and let it go.  Peder gave it a little whack and we got it loose. It was an old fishing lure. Isn’t it amazing the things that amaze old people in old cars????    Hey, look, the saltworks are still alive and well in San Diego.

   Lunch on the marina green,,,,,  And then back through downtown San Diego for the final time,,,,,   One last ice cream stop,,,,   And our weary band of travelers have put the T’s asleep for the trek home.  All our T’s alive and well, surviving the hills, redlights, stop signs, launching pad dipsidoos and (at times) insane traffic of San Diego.    Finished off with the obligatory final banquet, these ladies were quite fashionable for the occasion.   Our gang from Santa Clara is at the two foreground tables.     And so tomorrow at oh dark thirty, we head for home.    Goodnite, Mrs. Calabash, where ever you are…   (You realize young folks have never heard anyone say that?    If you have heard it, you definitely qualify for a senior discount.)

T TOUR IN SAN DIEGO – Day 6

 

The tour turned inland today, into the highlands east of San Diego.  First stop at the first mission in CA,,,,,

Then off to a nature preserve, and then to Lakeside, site of first automobile racetrack in the USA way back in 1906. It was a dirt oval around the lake.  Oval is gone, but the lake is still there.  Nice park and good place for a little generator maintenance, (dirty commutator).   And then more climbing up into the eastern mountains to the Viejas Casino for lunch and trying our luck.   Ohhhh, too bad.   But you must remember, they are in the business of taking your money, not giving you theirs. One exception, Pat Bratt made $15!!

Good lord, somebody mentioned that we have been touring for 4 days and haven’t found ice cream yet.   This was immediately rectified…. Days total miles was 71,  and everybody still running just fine.  Those T’s are tough, we did have a killer long low band hill today, but they all came through.   Tonight we had dinner at the 94th Aero Squadron.  Do we look a little stuffed in this picture???/ And when we got back to the hotel after dinner, we nearly lost Maria to the Attack of the Giant Spiders!!!!! He is back and nested on the Jorgensen trailer. Only one day left, goodnite all……

T TOUR IN SAN DIEGO – Day 5

Attack of the Giant Spiders or,,,,,

ERNIE HAS BEEN FRAMED!!!!

This morning, our cars were covered with cobwebs (some more than others) and one giant spider.   Except for one car, and that was Ernies.  This was very suspicious and one might jump to the conclusion that Ernie was the culprit.  But we astute thinker types decided that it was obviously a frame job, and the true culprit was yet to be found. Meneely’s car seemed to be especially hard hit and that’s were the giant spider was found.

Hmmmm, minimal webs on these two,  verrry interestink,,,,,,,

And off we went to the Midway Aircraft Carrier Museum in downtown San Diego.  And since we were going shipboard today, it was declared to be Hawaiian Day.  So a flowered shirt to wear or be labeled as a square. And add a hat or two to match the ocean blue,,,, (Sorry, Becky!!)

Oooooooh, that is a big ship!!!

The group scattered to the winds once aboard, lots to see.

After lunch on the fantail, we bid the Midway adieu,,,,,

And headed on to,,,,,,

Great for the guys, through that doorway on a dead run, but you know what the ladies did? 

Yup, you guessed it, sat in the shade of a Mach 3 SR-71 Blackbird.  Boy, did they miss it.   Today, 24 miles,  took all day,  and everybody pooped.  

Okay, miscellaneous,,,,,,, how do you like Bill’s hidden toolbox?

And we don’t have these in our area of the woods,,,,,

Nite all,,,,,,,

T TOUR IN SAN DIEGO – Day 4

The total mileage was less today, just 44 miles, but it took all day.  And Maria designated today as Western Day, so we all trotted out our horsey clothes, some a little more horsey than others. First stop was Old Town San Diego. Great mix of old Victorians and Spanish style structures. Visited the Mormon Battalion Museum, and Bill became a Mormon Battalion Volunteer. (If you never heard of the Mormon Battalion, like me, look it up, very interesting.)

Great Mexican lunch,,,,, After lunch, we drove up to the Mt. Soledad War Memorial for fallen veterans.  Then a visit to Point Loma Lighthouse, forgot to take any pictures, the vistas were so vast, I forgot to even take the camera out. Finished the day off at a BBQ hosted by Ernie Roeder’s daughter, Cindy, and her husband, Jim, who live here in San Diego.  We had a little toast, “Here’s to you, Lucy”.  You Model T folks know who we mean, don’t you?  

We even had a little song fest. Ed played his guitar and we sang along.  So we only covered 44 miles, but we sure covered a lot of bases today.  And tomorrow, we all become swabbies.

  And by the way, Troed, THE SNAKE LIVES!!!!!!

T TOUR IN SAN DIEGO – Day 3

Today was beach day.   Headed west, turned right at the Pacific Ocean and looked for friendly beaches.   Found a couple right off.  The first one we just did a quick look,,,,,,
 

But at the next one, we went to wet our toes, the guys anyway. 

Visited a craftsman museum, saw a lot of remarkable miniatures of aircraft engines, steam engines, hit and miss engines, some of these miniature aircraft engines take 3000 hours to build a working scale engine. Overall diameter of this engine is about 15 inches.
 

On the way back, we encountered blobs of water falling from the sky, imagine that!!!  So it’s true, other than where we live, it actually rains sometimes.
 

Anyway, got back and found we had won the grand prize for the day!! Nice ford signs for me, cookie cutters and more for Pat.  100 cookie cutters!!!!


At days end, the group ended up on the patio for refreshments, got a rare altogether picture.    

So, 81 miles today, up and down the coast highway.   All the T’s doing okay.

T TOUR IN SAN DIEGO – Day 2

Punched through LA on Sunday morning to the tour hotel in San Diego.  140 miles of rough as a cob freeway that traffic wise looked pretty much like this. Four lanes each way, filled with cars all going like hell.   Where are you people all going???????   Shouldn’t you be home in bed or in church this morning????

How rough?   Rough enough to shake off a lift bar on Ray’s trailer.  Fortunately, he had a safety strap on it.

The ladies were duly impressed,,,,,

Anyway, we are at the T Tour hotel.  Archers and Jorgensens arrived late this afternoon, so our club has 7 cars here. 

It is trailer city out back,,,,,

Bill Bratt unveiled his new speedster,,,,,,,

Had a welcome party this evening, and we are now ready to tour.   ZZZZZZZ,,,,,,,,