California Dreaming!

[R W Burgess]

I have always had a soft spot in my heart for my friends from Northern California, having attended many meets and tours there. The Redwood Empire Region always shows us a good time. 

 

Worrying about my friends the last few weeks I decided to call out there. I woke up my “Hippie Girlfriend” (It’s a long story) this morning to check on my friends in Santa Rosa Ca. It was 10 am at my house, so no problem…wait, there is? Oh, 6 am her time. Whoops.

 

I was really concerned after reading all of this bad news out there. She told me that they have evacuated the towns of Healdsburg, Windsor, all the way to Bodega Bay, my favorite ocean front town. Sad.

 

Santa Rosa had 747’s dropping suppressants yesterday. Winds weren’t too bad then though. She sleeps in her clothes just in case. Gas is sparse, stores are empty, no power or gas for homes. They are getting lots of help from other fire stations around the counties, but also other states.

 

She also told me that AACA’s favorite hotel, The Flamingo Hotel, has changed hands and is being renovated. I always have a lot of fun in that hotel. I cannot wait to see my many friends out there the next time that they are able to have an event.

 

Please keep them in your prayers.

 

Wayne

[jeff_a]

Hi Wayne...I still remember the excellent writing you did on that 2007 Sonoma Tour, the Hippie Girlfriend, and the visit to the restoration shop in Murphys, CA. I was just reading it last week and mentioning it to someone else. Sorry to hear they are getting hammered just a year after the fire near Chico and Paradise, CA that they got. A woman I went to high school with showed me a photo of her house in Paradise. All that's left is a slab foundation, a chimney, and a nice wood stove.

Edited October 31, 2019 by jeff_a (see edit history)

[R W Burgess]

Yes, it's pretty bad out there. I heard yesterday that the Reagan Museum was saved. They had a unique plan using goats to eat and keep the undergrowth down, what a novel idea? 😁

 

Hopefully the State will get a handle on this to prevent this in the future.

 

Take Care,

Wayne

[ply33]

2 hours ago, R W Burgess said:

. . . They had a unique plan using goats to eat and keep the undergrowth down, what a novel idea? 😁

. . .

 

Not unique at all, at least in the southern part of the SF Bay area where I lived until recently. It has been standard practice for years to use goats to control brush in areas near buildings, etc. At least is was in Sunnyvale at their "SMART Center" (the old dump now used as a recycling and transfer center) and I recall seeing goats on the hill sides in spring and early summer in other parts of the "South Bay".

 

That said, I haven't seen it happening around where I now live in Southern California. So maybe it is a unique plan if you do it in So. Calif.

[edinmass]

Wayne, last Wednesday I was eating lunch in Guysersville Ca, where the Kincade fire started about five hours after we left town in the Model J we had on the tour. We drove north through the Redwoods and stopped in Monticeto Ca for the night. At 4am I woke up from jet lag, saw the fire reports and we headed south a first light......watching thr reports in real time on my tablet as we approached the area. We drove 126 and 101 through heavy, heavy smoke for 30 miles, about half a mile away from the flames. The area is burned up severely, and either you were lucky, or wiped out. Not much rhyme or reason on what made it and what didn’t. Before the fire we were discussing how we wouldn’t want to be there in the event of a fire.......less than 12 hours later we saw it first hand. Photo below shows us driving the 101 just north of Windsor..........eyes were burning, we were coughing and wheezing, and it wasn’t much of a joy ride. We realized how lucky we were/are to be able to get around the area before everything shut down. The photo doesn’t accurately depict how bad the conditions were. Ever seen the 101 with no traffic on it? Neither have I ......and this was rush hour.......... that’s not sky your seeing.......twenty miles back it was blue and clear.....that’s all smoke blocking out the sun, making it look like dusk was approaching.

Edited October 31, 2019 by edinmass (see edit history)

[mike brady]

Ed,  Is that the Rollston ?

[edinmass]

Yes, JN-565. We have 1700 miles on it since pulling it out of the barn.........not bad considering it was all put on in less than 10 days driving. 

Edited November 1, 2019 by edinmass (see edit history)

[R W Burgess]

Thanks Ed, love those photos, pretty part of the state.