Day 61 – Thursday:
August 15, 2013, miles ridden today: 166.0
Some 24-hours it’s been!
So today’s blog will be more
lengthy than those of late…
Myself, I’m experiencing
the psychological transition between my road warrior mode to what lies before
me. Being with Ken and Greg, now meeting up with my kayaking friends Pat and
Jay, I’ll probably feel the void of not experiencing the unknown paths, not
knowing where I’ll lie at the end of each day, however challenged by the
excitement of rejoining those I love and miss so dearly. I’m so close to home
now, I’m excited, can’t wait to see Winnie.
While hanging around for
Ken & Greg yesterday I was catching up on things, one of which was reading
Jay B’s Travelogue of his journey with Minnie (the ’31 Model A). A truly
amazing and wonderful journey he had with the Model A club, his meeting old
& new friends and acquaintances across America. He and Minnie, nearing the
completion of a 12,000-mile Model A Tour of the Lincoln Highway and return
through Canada are on the final approach into Cambria, CA. During his journey
he came so close (20-miles) to my home in Massachusetts, I wish I had known this
so that my daughter and son-in-law could have had the opportunity to meet him.
He would have gotten along fine with Dave: Cars! and Woodworking! Both artistic
individuals, and of course my wonderful outgoing (wonder where she gets that from?) daughter Monique would match his
“talkability”.
I discovered the Jay was
less than 24-hours behind me, and visiting the same sites I had on my journey
south from Washington, Oregon, into California. I left him an email and he
responded – we’ll hook up in the Monterey Area Thursday.
As previously mentioned,
I meet up with Ken H. and Greg W. late yesterday afternoon at Starbuck’s. It
appears they both had a fantastic ride up from Seal Beach, CA. Leaving at 6:00
A, they rode to Santa Barbara for breakfast then up the coast into Monterey, CA
by 4:45 PM. Unfortunately Greg had business obligations he had to be in LA for
on Friday, so he was going to reverse directions and ride home himself. He’s in
the midst of preparing a long ride back to Oklahoma in September, so this trip
was his shakedown run for the forthcoming the trip. He’s a real nice guy and we
will get together again down the road.
So after a fine
complimentary breakfast, Ken and I decided to give the Cambria Hostel a try for
tonight’s lodging; this after my relating my experiences to date with this form
of lodging. He’s adventurous and willing to try new things… Leaving Salinas, the
three of us rode back to Carmel where Greg will continue south and Ken and I
would seek the Tour d’Elegance Events until we hear from Jay B. Along the way
we turned off Route 68 onto a twisting G20 that takes you to Carmel Valley Road
(G16). We stopped along G20, parked the bikes illegally and waited for the cars
to pass by. They did not disappoint, hopefully I captured (I wish I had my Nikon SLR at this time, oh well) the elegance of
these fine machines and the excitement we experienced seeing them driven on the
road vs. being statically displayed in a museum.
Arriving at Carmel, we
fueled up and then the phone rang. It was Jay & Minnie; Ken and I agreed to
meet them in Moss Landing. While bidding Greg goodbye, we found a young
photographer at the gas station that obliged us “Old-Guys”, who rule, with some snapshots. Greg
headed south into the fog, Ken and I to the north for lunch with Jay.
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| Ken, George, and Greg |
Upon our arrival at the
Whole Enchilada Restaurant at Moss Landing we found Jay heavily engaged in
conversation with another traveler wanting to know more about Minnie’s
Adventures. Other curious individuals, including the staff and customers
queried Jay about he and Minnie during our meal. You can just imagine how
fatigued he must be, not only wrestling an 82-year old automobile on this
12,000-mile trek, but also satisfying the relentless inquisitions throughout
the journey. Ken and I witnessed only a sample of what it was like for him,
kind of neat watching him enthusiastically providing each answers to their questions;
but Jay looks extremely road-weary.
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| George & Jay w/Minnie |
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| Ken w/Minnie |
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| Poor Minnie loosing Bodily Fluids |
For Minnie, she’s the
come back kid! Eighty-Two years of roaming this earth (she’s been to I believe 13 countries and Australia) she could use
some Geriatric Depends to contain her hemorrhaging rear main oil seal. She had
a Starboard side list; when we mentioned it to Jay he opened the Rumble Seat to
enlighten us why. Not only did he stuff a Model A engine block in there, he
included crankshaft, camshaft, and whatever else one could imagine a well
prepared adventurer would carry to keep this old girl going. This car is “FORD
TOUGH”!
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| Engine Block & Misc. |
During dinner Jay asked
us our plans and when he heard us say we’re Hostelling in Cambria tonight, he
said no way and invited both Ken and I to stay at his and Pat’s home. We
agreed, but begged him to check with Pat first; you got to remember he’s been
away from home 8-weeks. So after our fantastic Shrimp & Avocado Soup, we
all headed south, but due to an oil-saturated clutch Jay decided to take Route
101 south in lieu of the Big-Sur US-1 scenic tour. Ken and I only stopped 4
times along our ride via US-1, however Jay and Minnie beat us to Cambria by
15-minutes.
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| Bixby Bridge - George & Ken |
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| Folks from Calabasas, CA |
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| Really Neat |
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| Wildlife |
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| Maria & Modo She from Austria, he from Germany (of Turkish Decent) they had just hiked from Sykes Hot Springs above Big Sur Station |
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| Who's Happy to See Each Other? |
Jay & Pat pulled out
the hospitality carpet; Ken is never going Hostelling with me now! Jay is quite
the artist in many mediums, and it was a real treat to share with him his many
creations. Tomorrow I’ll elaborate on the sculpture he said he’s most proud of,
one that really affected me in a most reflective way. Till then, hope you enjoy
today’s pictures.
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| Pat w/Don & Lee's Chicken |
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