Destination 55 - Day Two Report

Gotta jet here pretty soon... but HERE'S THE LINK to the D-23 re-cap for Day Two. Today is the big Scavenger Hunt... Marcus and I are the TEAM PYEWACKET - anybody know the "key" to that reference? (Note: It's two-fold.)

Kelly, Brooks and the Kidz fly in tonight, and I move over to the Ramada Inn. We also have a SPECIAL SURPRISE in store for Tomorrow... Ya'll come back, ya hear...

"Never squat while wearing your spurs!" Will Rogers

Disneyland, Disneyland & MORE Disneyland

Wow! JC dropped me off Thursday (after a visit to the Grand Californian for a snack and refreshment, then a tour trough Downtown Disney, and more refreshment at The ESPN Zone) at the Disneyland Hotel, where I'm staying for the weekend events.

And I've been up to my eyeballs in Disneyland, Walt Disney, Mousekateers, Imagineers & Disney Legends ever since. From 8:00am to 10:00pm. (OK, so we cut out on the Music portion) last night and ran over to California Adventure to take in the WONDERFUL WORLD OF COLOR show (Note about the Video - compared to the "real thing" this half hour video only rates about a "3" in quality, you just can't duplicate the vibrant colors they produce, and the amazing choreography of lights, sound and water are pretty amazing. That being said, the video does give a pretty good idea of the show, so if you want to be surprised, probably best not to watch it), and then made a banzi run over to Disneyland to catch the second FANTASMIC show. Whew, a bit of a hustle, but worth it.

So - back to yesterday... fortunately, the wonderful D-23 Folks at Disney already have a GREAT summary of the entire day posted on their Blog, so just CLICK HERE to get the full report AND photos.

I will make one comment though, at the close of the Imagineer's portion, host Marty Sklar had the following to say... "Disneyland is NOT a place to "escape" it is a place to "relive." A place to relax and remember when you could feel safe, in a clean environment, and feel comfortable talking to a stranger, and enjoy life and be happy!" And he's right. It only bears out a philosophy I've held for just about my entire Adult life, "If the WORLD were run like Disneyland, we'd all be better off!"

"To all who come to this happy place: - Welcome - Disneyland is your land. Here age relives fond memories of the past ... and here youth may savor the challenge and promise of the future. Disneyland is dedicated to the ideals, the dreams, and the hard facts that have created America ... with the hope that it will be a source of joy and inspiration to all the world." Walter E. Disney July 17, 1955

End of Summer & SMOOTH Ride

No... doggone it, it's not my new ride. Well we made it to mid-week without too much of interest. Ran a bunch of errands, made a visit to ALPINE VILLAGE to hook-up with a couple of old High School pals, Fred Benham & Craig Hanna, along with JC, to drink some beer and decide on next year's 45th Class reunion (which we did).

But this afternoon we had a chance for an unexpected treat - we were invited to check out Daryl Shaar's 49 Chevy Fleetline custom car.

What a beaut - more than I can adequately describe, so hopefully the photos here will tell enough of the story.

Named the SCARLET HARLOT, this crimson beauty is on her way to Long Beach for the annual custom car show there. Now, here's the kicker - Daryl and his wife Jan, DROVE this machine from Carson City Nevada!

And on another note... my Dear Friend from Chicago, Emilie Barry sent me a heads-up e-mail reminding me that today was not only the "end of Summer" but the Autumnal Equinox as well, and the interesting side note that the Moon (which would rise opposite the setting sun today) was at it's closest to the earth in 26 years... well, had to catch that, and as you can see - I did.

"If in the process of winning you have lost the respect of your competitors you have won nothing." -- Paul Elvstrom

Ron's Rendevous Round-up

I left you yesterday as we were heading to the Hospitality Tent, dinner and car watching. Well dinner was pulled pork sandwiches, sliced potatoes and salad. Budweiser & Coke products along with bottled water were the bevereges, pretty much all you wanted. A side note of interest (at least to some) was they had the best Porta-Potties I've ever encountered. Carpeted, framed artwork on the walls, porcelin urinal AND flusing toilet, faux granite counter top and hand sink w/ hot & cold water, big mirror, and believe it or not, AIR-CONDITIONED!

Be sure to click on the COLORED links to learn more about anything of interest.

As the sun set the Crusin' Parade was in full swing, open headers, Oldies music and Cars under lights. We were joined early by Paul Peterson (notable for his many years on the Donna Reed show. He and JC had met many years ago, and have become Friends. He is now active as an advocate for child actors and always has a good number of celebrity stories to share. An interesting one this trip was about Jay North (Dennis the Menace) who is now a corrections officer in Florida.

Later in the evening - JC had gone off on a Golf Cart to get up close and personal when a reporter and camerman from San Bernadino local TV IEMG Ch.3 stopped by and wanted to do an interview - so Franci joined Paul and wound up doing about 20 minutes. Ya just never know what's gonna happen at these events.

Saturday we had an early call, as JC was introducing Dave McClelland the MC for the induction ceremony. The group of inductees was an interesting one, and as each was introduced a 3 minute video was played in which they told some of their accomplishments and background as to their selection. It was one of the better formats I've seen for this type of event. If you've any interest, click here >>> Crusin' Hall of Fame to learn more about WHO and WHAT.

Out in front of the California Theater (which has just been completely refurbished and is a classic old theater house complete with balcony seating) they had parked several cars from the Peterson Museum, Jim Wagener's THE JUDGE GTO, Hurst's 2010 Dodge Challenger Hemi Series 5 SRT8, and Boyd Cottington's ALUMABODY Million dollar roadster... I've pictures of them in the collection linked below.l


After the Hall of Fame induction ceremony we cruised over to the Hospitality Tent for breakfast burritos (scrambled eggs and churrizo). I managed to get a pretty good sampling of the cars making the rounds. I've posted them on my WEBSHOTS site, all you have to do is click the link here>>>>> Route 66 Photos Mind you, I'm not a photographer, so other than a few, they're not particularly great, but you'll get a good idea of the wide range of vehicles to be seen.

The evening capped off with a real treat, we were given tickets to see Frankie Avalon, also at the California Theater. I have to tell you the show was good, and Frankie's still got his own hair and coincidentally he was celebrating his 70th Birthday. His youngest Son (he's the Father of 8 children, his oldest is 46) is his drummer, and his lead guitarist is Phil Everly's son...

Sunday was simply returning "home" to Hermosa, just in time to catch the NASCAR race. Ahhh, life is good!


"If you live right, things happen right!" -- Walter Elias Disney

Lake Not So Woebegone

This morning we had a light breakfast at the hotel then out and about to get our credentials for the weekend. KTLA Ch.5 was doing live broadcasting and we caught the tail end of that. One of the first "not so normal" cars we saw was this Nash Rambler that was more engine than car...

Not much was going on today so we took off for Lake Arrowhead, did a little driving around in the mountains, stopped at the Lake Arrowhead Resort for a beverage and to enjoy the view of the Lake. Then it was down to Alpine Village for lunch at Woody's Boathouse, right on the Lake. The theme there is Chris Craft all the way, including Booths placed in the stern section of the classic motorboats. They have a great Soup and Salad bar, besides a full menu and complete bar. The level of the lake was way up from last year, so that's a good sign.

After lunch we stopped to visit with a fairly familiar looking fellow...

We needed to get back to SanBerdo to meet friend's of Jay & Franci'; Gary & Paula Weber, who were joining us for the Rendezvous. Gary's another "car nut" and owns a classic Woody (not being shown this weekend) and I'd originally met them at a Long Beach Grand Prix several years ago. After getting them checked into the Hotel, we headed down to the Hospitality tent for some car watching and dinner. I'll follow up this post with photos...

"If you hear a voice within you say 'you cannot paint,' then by all means paint, and that voice will be silenced." -- Vincent Van Gogh

Headin' Outta Towne...

Well, we're off to the Route 66 Rendezvous in San Bernadino. Big doin's out there, they close of 2 miles of downtown San Bernadino and over 1,000 Classic Cars, Trucks and assorted other vehicles cruise around town, many with open headers, and bring the show to you! Among this year's headliners are Frankie Avalon, Paul Peterson of the Donna Reed Show fame, and Football Ledgend Jerry Rice.

Got an early start today with Mango (the Painter) showing up at 7:30am to start on the Media Room, we had to take JC's car in to get the brakes done before our trip and then JC and I made a trip to Lowes to pick up Horse Tails, a couple small Palms and 120 lbs of planting mix, Francie had to teach and then go shopping, Nick (all purpose Handyman) arrived to finish spreading and leveling the Truck load of dirt Manual moved on Wednesday. Then Franci had to teach some more this evening and JC had to get his car washed while I ran a few errands and shortly we'll be off to load the car (it looks like 6 people are going for a week...), pick-up Franci and head on our way to the lovely Econo Lodge.

Friday is check-in day and give things a the once-over, primarily to find the Hospitality "tent" which is really a whole street corner with a couple of tents, chairs, couches, food tables and of course the Bar! Saturday morning is the CRUSIN' HALL of FAME Induction Ceremony, and JC will be introducing the event's MC, David McClelland, the "voice" of the NHRA. I'll have more on that later this weekend. Also joining us for the weekend will be Black & Jim Bell - Bass player and Lead Guitar with GLASS (Ya'll know GLASS right?)

Sunday's a lazy day, JC & Franci are heading to a birthday for a 90 year old Friend, and I'll be getting a ride back to Hermosa as it'll be time to check on Stoopy & Vinnie (the Cats).

Good Friend Sandy Saemann is out of the Hospital (I know, you didn't even know he was in did you) after back surgery, and is doing well - working on his latest project, to open a small food restraunt in Manhattan Beach, HOTDOGGERS. (More on that when it's appropriate). His younger Brother Rob and wife Katie left yesterday for Italy, and a family visit (on Katie's side) in Sicily.

"I don't know the key to success, but the key to failure is trying to please everybody." - Bill Cosby

So Long Salem... Hello LA!

Well Monday was my last day in Oregon, and it turned into a pretty darned good one. Had a lazy morning at Kris' and then took a drive up towards Portland, and decided to check out McMenamins, in Edgefield and I gotta tell ya, it was quite a treat. Originally built in 1911 as the County POOR HOUSE, it was a pretty impressive estate. At one time it also served as a sanatorium and currently boasts a 100+ room Hotel, a Brewery, Winery AND Distillery! Talk about one stop shopping... Kris sampled some wine, then we went for a "snack" and had Greek Pizza and I had the Brewer's Sampler of 7 tasty Ales and Beers. Good fun - I think on a future visit to Oregon it'll have to include a stay there, and a chance to take in the Spa.

After that it was over to Cousin Sherry's for a brief visit before heading to SALTY'S on the Columbia river with Sherry, her husband Joe and his Mom visiting from Texas, along with another Cousin, Linda Elaine and her husband John. Linda will be heading to Maui to meet her Mom (Aunt Elaine) and Sister Cece the end of the month. Dinner was a treat as was the terrific sunset. Spent the night at the La Quinta Inn and Kris dropped me off at PDX this morning and it was off to LAX - where JC picked me up. Clear skies and warm weather greeted me upon arrival, so things look promising.

Got this little tid-bit from Son Carl. A nice little article about his car in Mustang Monthly - check it out. A little side note - Carl's got himself a job working for Shelby American... kind of a dream come true for a Mustang owner... he even got his car "signed" by Mr. Shelby himself last week... Ahhh, Boyz and their Toyz!

And speaking of Cars... I'd like to make a little plug for my Friend Sam Kaskanian, and Sam's Autoland. You can (and if you would PLEASE do) vote for Sam for BEST Auto-Body Shop in LA. CLICK-HERE to visit the voting site. Sam is gracious enough to host a Hospitality Suite every year at the Long Beach Grand Prix, but more importantly, several years ago, after Mom & Dad had a little "incident" with their car, Sam's Guy's fixed it up one afternoon, just like new! You can also catch JC Agajanian in some of the clips from the TV show, "Best of LA" Check it out and please make a vote, as Sam can use it this year... appreciate your support.

Well - Jay tells me we're "off to Home Depot" to get some paint. They're remodeling the "game room" downstairs and evidently the dry-wall guy is finishing up today and the painter starts tomorrow... gotta go, see ya bye...

"Good people do not need laws to tell them to act responsibly, while bad people will find a way around the laws." - Plato

Lazy Daze

Well, what looked to be miserable weather never materialized - it's been great. So far this has been a VERY relaxing and not so taxing trip. Haven't seen so much as a drop of rain, although a bit chilly at night day time temps have been in the 70's so ya can't complain about that, and we haven't been chasing around too much. I've been able to help out with a few chores "around the house" which has been fine (mowed the lawns, washed the outside windows, changed a few light bulbs and vacuumed). Kris has her house up for sale, so there's plenty to do. And along the way we've managed to go out for Sushi (with Son Jonathan and his girl friend Nadia), took a tour of South Salem (whoo hoo...), had lunch at a great little Mexican/Salvadorian place near the Riverwalk - downtown, and a "late night" venture last night, that ended up at Applebee's for a little food and beverage. Besides that, we've been lazing around watching movies, which has been just fine. Caught an old classic Hitchcock movie yesterday, CHARADE, with Cary Grant & Audry Hepburn...

Today, AFTER CHURCH, we're going to Orchard Heights for their "famous" Sunday Brunch. Then, with the weather being so great a drive in the country seems in order - to go see "the trees!" Who knows where we'll wind up... but that's the point isn't it? Tomorrow we're heading up to Portland to meet with Cousin Sherry and her Husband Joe, for dinner at SALTY'S, then we're staying the night in Portland, near the Airport as I head down to LA on Tuesday. More later...

"The trouble with being punctual is that nobody's there to appreciate it." - Franklin P. Jones

Toto - we're not in Kansas any more...

Nope, if it's Thursday it must be Oregon... Yep, next big trip has started. Left Maui yesterday, Sunny, 78 degrees - arrived Portland last night, raining & 59 degrees when Kris picked me up. Well, OK, to be fair it wasn't raining, but it had been. And actually, so far today it's not too bad, no sun but at least there's been no rain so far.

So, let's back track a bit, and let me up-date you on the weekend's activities. For those of you who may not know, Labor Day Weekend has for the past 20+ years been the occasion of the Oahu Yacht Clubs (Waikiki, Hawaii, and Kaneoe) to have a Race over to Maui on Friday, followed up by an Offshore series on Saturday, here in Lahaina, with a Return to Oahu race on Monday morning.

I had been invited to help out on the Race Committee, which had only been slightly influenced by the fact that the Committee boat was being provided by Kent & Jennette Knowley, COCKTAILS & DREAMS a VERY nice little power boat. Anyway, after a mis-guided start (on my part) at Mala Wharf, I caught a ride with Lars & Marty on the Mark Boat down to the Harbor, where I joined Dan O'Hanlon our PRO, the intrepid & versatile Thumper and the rest of the crew, just in time to get fuel.

Suffice to say, a good time was had by all... we got in two Races, with 16 boats in all, including LYC's very own SNICKERS, who sailed respectably with substitute Helmsman Casey. The overall winner wound up being HEARTBEAT, a bright yellow, tricked out 47 footer owned by long time Friend of LYC Ed McDowell and driven by his Son James (James holds the Vic Maui ET record of 9 Days, 2 Hours, 8 Minutes, 27 Seconds aboard GRAND ILLUSION.

And now Sunday (drum roll please...) was the SOFTBALL GAME, and for reasons which I'm not totally sure of, I was designated as Umpire. This simple team sport has been contested by these two groups for what to many of us seems like "forever," and you'd think it'd be a great way for friendly rivals to have some fun on a Sunday afternoon... NOT! It winds up being a match of their ringers against our "ringers" and their youth against our "seasoned" veterans. I won't delve into the history more than that, other than to say the two horses asses on the Trophy say a lot about the Game.

LYC Won 14 to 3 (or something like that) and I can honestly say I managed to make un-favorable calls for both teams! It was with little difficulty that two kegs of beer managed to be consumed with little difficulty and everyone was able to get their fill of traditional Hot Dogs, beans, and Maui Potato Chips. Following the game everyone headed back to the Yacht Club for a lively afternoon.

I on the other hand, headed to the other side, to pick up Mom for our afternoon excursion. I wound up getting there earlier than anticipated and so had some time to answer her latest collection of questions, computer issues, and "mysteries" that needed solving... And with that little head start so to speak, we had time to pick-up a lei, and stop by the Veteran's Cemetery, so Mom could visit and put the fresh lei in place. Along the way up-country we were treated to a brilliant Rainbow, which is always a treat.

From there we went to Brooks & Kelly's in Pukalani and met up with the Family. Kelly's taking care of a couple of horses, and we went to "feed the horses" and for the Kids to have a swim. I got a haircut for the trip (Kelly of course insisting, and me capitulating) and she managed to give Mom a trim as well.

We gathered some fresh flowers so Mom could have a bouquet, and then we were off to Makawao Steakhouse for dinner. I would be remiss if I did not give "Mom's" report... First she had a visit to the salad bar of which the Beets got rave reviews. She decided on "a pork chop" because she wasn't all that hungry... Much to her surprise, the chop was colossal, she barely ate 1/3 of it, but had no trouble with the scalloped potatoes or fresh bread that accompanied it.

Kelly and I each had the petite fillet and salad bar, Brooks the all you can eat salad bar, Grayson a hamburger and Maddison a pizza. We all left quite satisfied. And so I took Mom home and headed back to Lahaina as Monday was dedicated to packing and getting ready to go, AND to tell the truth, after that weekend, I was beat!

"Those people who think they know everything are a great annoyance to those of us who do." - Isacc Asimov

Here's a little dose of "cute"...

OK - so I've made you look at the ugly Vulture long enough... here's a "cutesy" shot of little Miss Hailey in her Nurses Glasses...

Well, things are picking up, and it's gonna be a whirlwind from here on I suspect... I'll do my best to keep up and keep you informed. Yesterday was Computer Helper day, assisting Kathy Taylor with "portability" while she's on vacation the next couple weeks. She and Hubby Steve are headed to New York and points East, then back to the High Desert in California for a spell before returning to Maui. Kathy's the volunteer coordinator for the big SBS Golf Tournament out at Kapalua next January (used to be the Mercedes Championship, for years) - if you're a Golf Fan at all and gonna be in the neighborhood (here on Maui) it's a great way to participate. I hear this year entry to the Galleries WILL BE FREE! You heard it hear first.



Then it was off to Office Max to pick up a new printer for Friend Joanie (at Thumper's request) and then to her place in Lahaina to set it up. Mission accomplished. Then dropped off some pieces from my Art Collection as donation items for this years LYC Cancer Tournament Charity Auction on September 26th. ENTRY FORMS AVAILABLE AT THE CLUB - You do not need to be a Member to play. See the August Tale of the Whale for more info...



Today started out with me on the Computer and that got old real quick, so I finished up what I was in the middle of (organizing my Video collection...) and noticed that Marcia was gone and the driveway was clear, so decided to wash the old Marquis so it'd be clean before I left, besides, taking Mom on a little trip up to see Kelly and the Kidz on Sunday, and she can see where Kelly is Horse (spelled correctly) sitting, then to Makawao Steak House for a nice dinner.

After washing the car and overheating a bit, I decided that was all the excuse I needed for a swim, so headed off for the pool, and as always found it to be a very relaxing and therapeutic choice.


Headed back home to attend to some bill paying and getting my affairs in order for my trip, then headed off for a walk into town (and the Yacht Club) to see what was in store for Friday night, with all the Oahu boats in town. Which brings me to tomorrow. Since I've volunteered to assist with the Race Committee (it's much easier than racing...) I'll be heading down to Mala Wharf in the morning to meet Kent Knowley, Dan O'Hanlon and the "others" and expect to spend the day on the water. Always fun, and if the Good Lord's willing, I'll report on that tomorrow, possibly with pictures.


Sunday is our Annual LYC vs. OAHU Yacht Clubs Softball Tournament, which LYC has won 26 of the last 27 games, if you can believe that. Yours truly will be the Umpire for the Game (again, easier than playing...) so you can expect a report on that... though not before Monday afternoon, which will be my "get ready, get set" day. Tuesday is for leftovers and whatever I forgot to do or didn't get done, and then at 4:00pm I have a Membership Meeting at the Yacht Club (we've 5 new prospects this Month) and then over to Amanda's to spend the night, with her taking me to the Airport on Wednesday. And that, as we say... is it for now!


"Learning by experience often is painful- and the more it hurts, the more you learn." - Ralph Banks