California Dreamin' - Day 5

May 2, 2019, 68 miles.  Foggy morning to start, lifting as we drove, becoming a beautiful day at the beach.   More of those crowded country roads down here.

So pretty, mustard on the left, marijuana on the right.   Got that distinctive skunk smell.

Little leg stretch and roadside chit chat....

Up and over a bunch of mountains and we come down to the sea,,,,

Jalama Beach is a really nice beach,  except you really need to watch out for the tar on a hot day, very sticky.   I managed to put my foot on a 6" glob before I figured out what those black blobs were.   Thought for a while I was in for a new pair of shoes,,,,

Fortunately the big blobs were pretty localized and the rest of the beach was quite enjoyable....

Wondered about these nice signs though,,,,,

Hamburgers at the Jalama Beach café and leisurely returned via the same back road to Buellton.  This evening,  scrounged up a bocce ball game.   The only person who knew the rules was Peder,  who won over Bob 21  to 17.   Is that a conflict of interest?

Went to put the car away and found a sea snake,,,,      aarrrggggh.   

The beat goes on,,,,,,,

California Dreamin' - Day 4

May 1, 2019.  36 miles.  This little critter appeared on our car this morning.

This was a free day, model T's scattered to the winds.   Our little group elected to go back to Lompoc and see more of the murals.  Although some bad actors kept photobombing.....

This one was fearsome,,,,

This mural here was completed in one day,,,,

Now this mural here, about temperance, not so sure about the ladies.

 Our next destination was the ostrich farm, Pat got to feed the ostriches.  

After that we strolled the streets of Solvang, enjoyed the shops, did not buy anything.   Later, this vehicle showed up in our hotel parking lot.   It is a land speed record holder, driver is Danny Thompson, son of Mickey Thompson.   448 mph,  what a machine,,,,

After talking for an hour, we helped put it to bed for the night....

This evening, tri-tip in the  park,  loved the salad,,,,

 And all the trimmings,,,

That's all folks,,,,,,,,,

California Dreamin' - Day 3

Tuesday, April 30, 2019.   No rain today, just overcast.  The Model T group stirs early, tweaking, polishing, checking and scouting. 

Finding critters,,,  like spiders,,,,

Snakes,,,,,,,

Could one of these be the culprit????

On our way, rush hour in Buellton,,,,

Drove thru an area of beautiful horse farms and wineries to Los Olivos, stopped at Mattei's Tavern from the 1800's.

Pat loved the wisteria,,,,

Good shot of all the T's,,,

Strolled the main drag of Los Olivos, and then engaged in a favorite small town activity,  sitting on the corner, waiting for something to go by.

High  traffic roads,,,, lots of wildflowers, oak trees particularly beautiful with new bright green foliage.

Look what we found in Los Alamos,,,,

My sewing machine expert at work,,,,an Oct. 11, 1911 Singer with a long shuttle bobbin.

Hmmm,  this eventually led to a quilt store,,,,  with instructions,,,

Patio lunch at Charlies in Los Alamos,,,,

Everywhere we go, the mustard is beautiful, alongside the road, on the hillsides, it is hard to show it in a picture, but we had to stop by this stand of 6 foot mustard..

Finished off the day with a visit to the Mendenhall Museum here in Buellton,  has to be one of the world's premier collections of petroliana.  Model T's all drove in and packed the yard area.

End of day 3,,,,    stay tuned.

California Dreamin' - Day 2

4/29/2019    120 miles.  Raindrops and sunshine, mustard and vineyards, strawberries and snow peas.  Today we drove thru such a variety of countryside, mountains separated by flat plains full of agriculture.  And roads with no traffic jams.

Picked up our snacks to go,,

Spittin' rain, folks in open cars really bundled up,,,

Or even more bundled up,,,,,

Those of us with tops, less bundling required,,,

Mustard in bloom everywhere, beside the road, on the sides of the mountains, really pretty,,,

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Vast fields of snow peas, strawberries and cabbages and unidentifiables.  The fields we drove thru had thousands of workers, I grabbed this quick picture on the fly.

Our destination for the day, Oceano Dunes State Beach.

 

Our group (Santa Clara) had to get the full experience, so down the beach we went, 6 little T's all in a row, for miles I might add.  My thought, as long as the cars in front of me don't get stuck, I will keep going,  despite the voice I kept hearing, "I think we should turn around, this is scary!!"

 

 

 

The sand was packed down pretty hard, not bad at all,  but the state does groom it for the vehicle traffic.   David led the group, I was third.   Eventually we came to the end of the hardpack sand and I saw David sink in.  I immediately tried for a U-turn with the following result,,,,

 

 

 

 

The second victim of the soft sand,,,,, a little deeper, more people required....

 

 

Our fearless leader was stuck so deep, we couldn't push him out by hand, so a quad driver volunteered for a tow,,,   

 

 

 

That didn't work, so a big gun arrived,,,, 4wd and a big engine,,   no problem,,,

 

 

 

 

Freed from the sand, our intrepid group of beachbums went off to find lunch.  Where else but a vintage railcar diner?

 

 

 

 

 Good burgers, fast and reasonable,   happy group.

 

 

 

 

 

 Rest of day was uneventful,  no major problems, just don't ask me about Lost in Lompoc...  Gps vs iphone vs map vs local advice,,,,,,  We found a coin wash to wash the salt off  the cars, and a little parking lot maintenance was conducted.    I'm sure the stories will get bigger later......