R W Burgess Posted September 24, 2007 Share Posted September 24, 2007 AACA Western Tour-Santa Rosa, California Well guys, we arrived in San Francisco’s airport Saturday after a long 5 ½ hour trip non-stop trip. The convenience of the bus trolley that took us the balance of the 59 miles to the Flamingo Hotel, our host hotel, can not be over emphasized for any tourist lost in California as we would have been. At once, all of us notice the strange looking plant life. I point out to Mike the familiar ice plant I had found so fascinating back in 1967. We also saw the colorful housing in that area as we traveled by bus along the ocean front, where all of the young people were surfing. Of course they were in wet suits as the air temperature was only 65 degrees on this day. It took the rest of the night to recuperate from the jet lag.Sunday It’s been in the upper 70’s today and we managed to make a great day out of the Charles Shultz Museum and Research Center. Some of Mr. Schultz’s earliest works were on display along with his reconstructed drawing studio, complete with many signed pictures from Presidents, foreign dignitaries, and people in the know from around the world. Mr. Schultz was a quiet man, happiest at his drawing board, the one he brought with him from his home in Minnesota. This museum was very user friendly and everyone associated with it were very knowledgeable about the man. We ate our lunch, or was it supper, at the Redwood Empire Ice Arena, the arena built by Mr. Schultz. Our meal was eaten one table away from the “reserved table” of Mr. Schultz. He spend many of his meals at this table where he could watch people come and go or watch the skaters inside the ice skating rink. Well, it’s 4:30 their time and...... I don’t know what time it is at home. I told Gloria I’m going to just get a banana split next door and call it a night!! Wayne Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
R W Burgess Posted September 24, 2007 Author Share Posted September 24, 2007 Monday,Today was registration day, but we'll also have a bar-b-que tonight.We met up with Dave Chiotti today. Dave is AACA Vice President of Development and Support. Mike and I helped him move some of his "small car fleet" over to the hotel. I also checked out Dave and Marilyn goodies at their home in Santa Rosa. The train pictures looks like I got caught speeding again(the little red car caught by the cop, Is that MC Hinson? ). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
R W Burgess Posted September 24, 2007 Author Share Posted September 24, 2007 Some of Dave's cars. Mike says he likes the big '55 Caddy!Wayne Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
R W Burgess Posted September 24, 2007 Author Share Posted September 24, 2007 The picture of Dave Chiotti's Studebaker above shows the advanced laid back window design. Also, did you notice how much the front end looks like a Cord? Past AACA President Jim and Sharon Raines got to drive this beauty for the week.Wayne Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MCHinson Posted September 25, 2007 Share Posted September 25, 2007 Wayne... Can't be me. I drive an unmarked car.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
R W Burgess Posted September 25, 2007 Author Share Posted September 25, 2007 MC, didn't think that cruiser would run that far west anyway. Did I tell you about the bar-b-que??? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
R W Burgess Posted September 25, 2007 Author Share Posted September 25, 2007 My life is complete. I met my first hippy since 1967. I almost asked her to prove it with a look at her "vintage tatoo", but thought better of it. By the way, she is a member of the Redwood Empire Region! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ron Green Posted September 25, 2007 Share Posted September 25, 2007 Wayne, thanks for posting as it sounds like a great tour with a lot of interesting sites, now tell us about the hospitality room. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
R W Burgess Posted September 25, 2007 Author Share Posted September 25, 2007 Ron, first, let me say that Barbara Hollingsworth (pictured above) and I were really having fun with each other. After thinking over my post last night, it may not have sounded like that. Dave Berg came by and wanted to know if she still had her hippy wagon!???? Ron, the hospitality suite (sure glad you spelled that word Ron, I got hung up on the i's, l's, and, t's ) will open for the first time this morning, and then we'll probably "swing" tonight. We're to have a little mystery tour today. My son, Mike was asked to co-pilot for a lady that's driving a 60's? Roller (Rolls Royce)today. I also want to thank Alan ? for bringing over a guitar for Mike to play. He was starting to get withdrawal symtoms. Criminy, here it is 9:54 am, and the sun isn't even up. Going touring guys....later,Wayne Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
R W Burgess Posted September 26, 2007 Author Share Posted September 26, 2007 Tuesday, Traveling the country side west of Santa Rosa today. It was a treasure hunt of sorts as we had to fill-in-the-blanks of different sites throughout the day........Like pic 1, what's on the ceiling of the Washoe House? ..Like pic 2, got the time?..Like pic 3, cool country side Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
R W Burgess Posted September 26, 2007 Author Share Posted September 26, 2007 We lunched at Occidental, Ca at the Union Hotel built in 1879. Pic 1..following Eric Marsh of China Grove, NC in Dave Chiotti's beautiful little Buick convertible. Eric and I spent the day following each other at one time or another throughout the day. While looking for those elusive mystery items, either he or I would have to "turnaround" more than once going over "old ground". I figure that with the day's milage being about 70 miles, that Eric and I certainly doubled that. Dave Chiotti said he wanted us to exercize his car collection. We held up our end Dave!Pic 2..Does this bar at Union Hotel look 128 years old?Pic 3...Closeup of signs! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
R W Burgess Posted September 26, 2007 Author Share Posted September 26, 2007 Pic 1..A beautiful Simplex behind the Union Hotel.Pic 2..parking lot of the winery! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
R W Burgess Posted September 26, 2007 Author Share Posted September 26, 2007 One shot of the hills above Santa Rosa. This picture doesn't really do justice to the view up there. The roads were very steep and narrow, the houses rather large and I'm sure expensive. The fellows back in Occidental were quoting acreage at about $500,000 up for less than a acre. Is this what the East Coast has coming?Mike helped soothe nerves with some guitar picking at the hospitality suite later this evening. He also met a new friend from Stuttgart, Germany who recognized a few of Mike's songs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom M Posted September 26, 2007 Share Posted September 26, 2007 Wayner,Looks like you are having a wonderful time out there. Thanks for sharing the pictures for us worker bees to drool over. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
R W Burgess Posted September 26, 2007 Author Share Posted September 26, 2007 No problem Tom. The weather is wonderful, the friendship even better. Hitting the road again in a few!!!W. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ron Green Posted September 27, 2007 Share Posted September 27, 2007 Ok Wayne what are we up to today, inquiring mines want to know! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
R W Burgess Posted September 27, 2007 Author Share Posted September 27, 2007 Not so loud Ron!! Stayed up late last night at the bar with some new friends from Sonora, Ca. Sang a few songs, looked around, friends were gone, and my watch said 3:00am Virginia time....Ouch.My phone rang at 5:10 this morning...darn trucks! We had a big day yesterday, traveling through the eastern Sonoma County country side. We were mostly together starting with the early cars....pic 1I want to also say that West Peterson's "I don't have an FN button!" finally got me. My "N" button fell off this week on this laptop. COOL!..... NOTWayne Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
R W Burgess Posted September 27, 2007 Author Share Posted September 27, 2007 Following the different cars overland was fun. We were on some of the worst roads I've seen on this trip. We're poking along trying to keep out fenders on, and this 4X4 diesel Ford blows by 3 of us in a row....tires more off the ground than on. W. PS, sorry about the finger print on the Lincoln, Barry! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
R W Burgess Posted September 27, 2007 Author Share Posted September 27, 2007 I want you fellows to try this photo technique on your next tour....pic 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
R W Burgess Posted September 27, 2007 Author Share Posted September 27, 2007 pic 1..What a view. I knew we'd get to the ocean eventually. We're still up on a hill at this point. Oh, we had to miss two sheep on the way through the farming coutry(couNty..darn N). pic 2...Our first view of the harbor surrounding Bodega Bay, really pretty...surf pictures coming up arouNd the corner/hill.pic 3..The cliffs and Japan...that way!! pic 4..Belva Baltzar, Mike's first ride of the week, in her 1959 Rolls Royce LWB. You'll also notice a painter in the background. Ok, maybe he was an artist, but he was painting. Also asked him if he did porches to see if I could get a rise out of him! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
R W Burgess Posted September 27, 2007 Author Share Posted September 27, 2007 pic 1..After viewing the bluffs/cliffs, I left a little early to stop and take some pictures of the cars going by.pic 2..Almost left out this picture of a beautiful '33 Packard Sedan (hope that's right) owned by Paul Williams of Sonoma, CA.pic 3..More cars coming off the cliff... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
R W Burgess Posted September 27, 2007 Author Share Posted September 27, 2007 pic 1..Trying to get the perfect picture of "my" '55 Caddy, thanks David Chiotti. pic 2..Redwood City? Actually Guerneville (I think).We had traveled along the coast on route 1 making about 1000 turns, left and right, left and right, until we started inot the Redwood Areas. Wild, dead grass and countryside into the lushest greenery you've ever seen.pic 3..Our lunchstop, Bud Chenoweth's Chenoweth Grove, a private ranch in the redwoods that caters to parties and weddings (1 a week, woah!!). This picture showed the narrow confines of running my caddy between the "big trees". Someone mentioned to me that the Caddy's fenders looked awful close to those trees. I answered that it was ok, "They're Dave's fenders, not mine!" Dave Chiotti was my gracious host and he took my teasing very well. pic 4..Chow time in the quiet woods Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
novaman Posted September 27, 2007 Share Posted September 27, 2007 Wayne, thanks for the updates. I'm pretty decent at the through the windsheild, over the should, "driving shooting", and the "dog's head out the window" shots. Being the webmaster and newsleter editor and being single requires learning to take the moving shots. Also, fun working with the GPS on the laptop while driving too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ron Green Posted September 27, 2007 Share Posted September 27, 2007 Looks like a lot of fun including the hospitality suite. Thanks again for posting, keeping us up to date and reminding me that I am stuck at work. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
West Peterson Posted September 27, 2007 Share Posted September 27, 2007 <div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: R W Burgess</div><div class="ubbcode-body">I want to also say that West Peterson's "I don't have an FN button!" finally got me. My "N" button fell off this week on this laptop. COOL!..... NOT</div></div>Hey! I represent that remark!! After three years of doing Antique Automobile, I still don't have an FN button!! Nice photos and report, Mr. W. Congratulations. You've just secured a job as roving reporter for Antique Automobile. Would love to play cat and mouse with you on a tour some day. Ask Earl about his "fun" following me in my Packard on the last day of the Glidden Tour. We got the cob webs out of his Buick. Surprisingly, we gave a Model A a good run for his money, too. (Earl said it must have been "juiced.") Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
R W Burgess Posted September 28, 2007 Author Share Posted September 28, 2007 West, the 1913 Simplex on this tour that I mentioned earlier was following me again today. I cornered the owner, William Balduff, long enough today to find that his "rear only" brakes had been "updated". The wife, Marilyn, siad this is because William likes to drive fast. This car is very capable of running 70-80 miles an hour down the road. No wonder he was following me so easily in the Caddy! Well, my family's all dressed up, my hair is combed, my ears are clean, on the outside anyway, and we're all ready to wrap up the week with a wonderful banquet. I'll be adding today's pictures tomorrow morning, if I'm sober(Don't have to drive tomorrow! Wayne Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
novaman Posted September 29, 2007 Share Posted September 29, 2007 8:24 pm Wayne time. still no pics. Must still be hungover. Anyone else out there seen him? Don't forget to check under the lampshades! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
R W Burgess Posted September 29, 2007 Author Share Posted September 29, 2007 Geez, can you guys give me a break! Admittedly, I got in at 1:00am CA. time this morning, but was still able to get up in time to help Dave Chiotti move one of his fleet back to a repair shop (Ok, here it comes!!!)owned by Rick Sanguinetti, another Redwood Region member. Rick owns the green and tan '54 Olds, you may see in some pictures. And yes, it was the Caddy I was driving, but there were no bent fenders, blown tires, or "what's that clicking noise!" problems.We've been busy today, had to get a rental(Dave wouldn't sell me the Caddy)first before driving south. Does anyone have a Chevy Trailblazer? Does it wander all over the road, as if it's waving it's "fish tail"? This suv is brand new, like 35 miles when I picked it up, had to even remove the plastic off the seats. The floor mats are still in the plastic bag in the back seat. I wasn't impressed.Ok, drove down across the Golden Gate, through San Francisco, further south and pulled off at San Jose for lunch. The town is beautiful, nothing like I remember, with 100 foot tall palm trees lining both sides of the streets downtown. We ate lunch at an Italian restaurant, the kind that has the Italian bread with the olive oil on the "side". Mike and I showed our rednakedness by smelling the oil, then just eating the bread, something like a cat smells the food, but, "Nope, ain't touching that!" We're now at Santa Cruz, CA for the night, about to eat at a fancy seafood restaurant (Crows Nest) on the Santa Cruz Harbor. I pulled my socks off and found that I have just enough cash for one last really good meal! Bear with me, I'll post more pictures of our last day on the yesterday's tour tonight. Gotta run!Wayne Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
novaman Posted September 29, 2007 Share Posted September 29, 2007 Wayne, we thought you were <span style="font-weight: bold">falling down </span>on the job . After all you're the offical tour reporter for this tour and good reporter shares the news quickly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
R W Burgess Posted September 29, 2007 Author Share Posted September 29, 2007 Sorry, I'm late David, just got back from dinner on the ocean front.....$63.00 for the 3 of us. Stand by!Wayne Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
R W Burgess Posted September 29, 2007 Author Share Posted September 29, 2007 Thursday, last day of tour...pic 1..We leave a little late today at 9:00 am heading up the hills to Sonoma, CA.pic 2..As we traveled north, I caught up with Frank and Diana Kilpatrick of Sonora in their very nice 1938 Pontiac business coupe. Of course, you can see the everpresent Simplex up ahead. We spotted a 6-8 point buck deer in the vineyard, but I couldn't get a good shot of him (with the camera guys! ), without stopping and having Jim and Sharon Raines run me over from behind in Dave's 1939 Studebaker. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
R W Burgess Posted September 29, 2007 Author Share Posted September 29, 2007 continuing tour...pic 1..We had a little bottleneck on the way as everyone slowed to check out the old Chrysler on the side of the road.pic 2..Toscano Hotel (I hope that's right), built 1850's. The whole town square was from the early 1800's as Sonoma was an early stage stop in those days. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
R W Burgess Posted September 29, 2007 Author Share Posted September 29, 2007 pic 1..Sonoma Barracks built in 1836 by General M.G. Vallejo. pic 2..City Hall in the center of the square, built in 1908.pic 3..Patti Dearmin and friends enjoying lunch in Sonoma. AACA President, Dave Berg, eating with Jim and Sharon Raines in the background. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
R W Burgess Posted September 29, 2007 Author Share Posted September 29, 2007 OK, this is car related. The wife's in a dress shop, you see. I managed to hold her purchases down to a few bars of special "smelly" soap. So, I'm looking around and notice the changing room below. Yep, it's one of our car show tents, redesigned to be a beach changing room. It folds up into a small "trunk sized" carrying bag. You've see them!? Yes, but in a dress shop. The lady said they leave the top off as it gets too hot inside the building. It was getting a little warm in that dress shop too, about then. Yep, that's the truth and the whole truth, so help my Corvette. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
R W Burgess Posted September 29, 2007 Author Share Posted September 29, 2007 pic 1..Closing banquet time guys! Our President Dave Berg was telling everyone of the changes in store for all members next year, including new incentives for new members to join the AACA. Everyone enjoys Dave's stories.pic 2..Probably the only time Mike would ever have a picture with 3 Directors at one time. Touring in the AACA is probably the best time to catch our Directors not always on the go. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
R W Burgess Posted September 29, 2007 Author Share Posted September 29, 2007 some banquet pictures....Picture 2..My family was honored to be sitting at the same table as past AACA President, Lloyd and Jane Riggs from Walnut Creek, CA. (picture with Dave Chiotti in background). Lloyd was president in 1993. Mrs Riggs related that it was a lot of work that year, but very enjoyable to look back on. I've heard that statement a lot from past presidential families.Wayne Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
R W Burgess Posted September 29, 2007 Author Share Posted September 29, 2007 Golden Gate Bridge, Yep, we're headed back south again. I want to make one statement about this picture. How many cars do you think those plastic center pylons would keep on the right side of the road, here in the east. Chaos, complete chaos I tell you! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
R W Burgess Posted September 29, 2007 Author Share Posted September 29, 2007 Pictures from the David Chiotti Collection! pic 1..A beautiful shot of the Packard pulling the hill.pic 2..One of Dave's "backyard pets". I'd title this one "BUSTED"! The masked villain doesn't look as dangerous in the daylight. Darn, how did I let this happen!!! pic 3..Someone took a picture of the photographer taking pictures of the group traveling downhill.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
R W Burgess Posted September 29, 2007 Author Share Posted September 29, 2007 TOUR CHAIRMAN!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lincolnlover36 Posted September 30, 2007 Share Posted September 30, 2007 I got quite a kick out of your accounts! Good job! (Kind of irrelevant, but David Chiotti's my grandpa...) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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