More Car Shows...and some Musings Thereon...

Three more Car Shows...Three different experiences. 

This seems to have been the Year of Car Shows, and mostly, they have been a lot of fun. The last three ran the gamut from well-oiled machine-like operation to first-timer-gallant-effort. 

First up, our old standby, the Old Town Monrovia Car Show, put on by the "Street Rods Forever" club. They've been at this for over 30 years and it's run as well as any show can be. Line up at O'Dark-Thirty, roll in efficiently, park, set up, kickback and enjoy the adulation of the masses. It's a BIG show with some 200 cars (not as many as in years past...one year it was closer to 400 cars!). 

Since it's so local for us, we've done it a number of times, off and on. It's a good show to guage the changes in the Car Hobby. 

Time was that the Street Rods Forever club had very strict rules on membership. The members had to have a FULLY COMPLETED Street Rod (something American and before WWII and nicely modified). No primer, no Muscle Cars, a real purist Hot Rod Club. 

Now, few of the members (and entrants) have "proper" Street Rods! As the membership has aged, the guys who grew up lusting for a Bucket-T or a Flathead Deuce have "moved on" (as it were) and to attract members, they've clearly opened things up to Tri-5 Chevies and Muscle Cars. The Street Rod guys were the Teens of the '50s, the newere guys grew up lusting for GTOs, Chevelles, and Mustangs. 

The shows all reflect this shift. Fewer Street Rods or Lead Sleds (chopped '49 Mercurys and such) and more and more Chevelles and GTOs. Tri-5 Chevies ('55,'56,'57 Chevies with Big Block Chevy engines) are now all the rage along with Camaros and Mustangs. 

Frankly, it makes for rather homoginized shows...row upon row of the same stuff. Showing up with a Foriegn Car of any kind has always made one the outlier (is that word now over worked??) and even more now. Showing up with a bright yellow Citroen Wagon with "Stuff" on it is pretty shocking to one and all. 

This year, the Yellow Submarine was shocking enough to WIN A TROPHY FOR BEST IMPORT! No kidding! 

We're always surprised when we win something. The Citroen (and the Triumph) are so odd that organizers just don't know what to do. 

What's always fun is the interactions with the punters. Lots of "my dad/uncle/neighbor/dad-of-a-friend had one", lots of weird guesses about what it is (for the Citroen, it's "Saab, Opel, or Volvo"...for the TR its "MG or Cobra--of all things"). 

I get to go into "Lecture Mode" all day, explainging how the Citroen's suspension works, how it sat in the desert for 30 years and our latest 2800 mile road trip ("In THAT? REALLY??"), and the other amazingly advanced features (inboard disc brakes? aluminum hemi-head?). Oh, and the tail-lights and 3rd Brake Light "story."

Its always fun and more people stop to chat and take pictures than at almost all the other cars.  

Next up was the new-kid-on-the-block...A fledging show at Monrovia High School. This one had a few teething problems (only 2 weeks after the BIG Old Town Monrovia Show--so only 25 cars showed up, they charged admission for the spectators--we only spotted 5 or 6 punters all day, they weren't there early enough for the set up--they didn't understand how car show people work, and they let everyone park anywhere in a huge parking lot--that spread out the cars too much and made the show look pretty skimpy).

Still, they were very earnest and happy to see all the cars and people, and have high hopes for the future. I hope it works out and they covered their costs! At least (I'm assuming) they didn't have to pay for the venue!

Oh, and we won "Best Imported Car"...again! 

Now, on to the 3rd show. This was in Old Town LaVerne and in most ways, mirrored the Old Town Monrovia show. Lots of Muscle Cars, Mustangs/Camaros/Tri-5s and a smattering of other Stuff. Because all week the news kept telling us it was going to rain all day the day of the show, the attendance was WAY down. "Only" 150 or so cars. 

The big difference here was that they offered "VIP Parking"--for an extra $40! It was already $50 to enter (sadly standard these days!) and we weren't about to sucker into that! The VIPs got to park on the main drag of Old Town, us peasants down in front of the Fire/Police Station, a good couple of blocks away from the main action. Kinda sucked. 

As the day wore on, more and more people discovered that the skys weren't going to open up and drench us (WHEW!) and punters abounded. All friendly and (of course amused-bemused-confused) by the Yellow Submarine. This time, the biggest attention getter was the "Worst In Show" award we proudly displayed (as we did at the other shows!) and we had to explaind that it was, indeed, a REAL award. 

Naturally, the same questions about the car from a constant stream of people. A few long conversations, the expected gasps at our bravery in driving 2800 miles last August, and lots of head scratching at the Yellow Oddity before them. 

This was also a well run show, but not by a Car Club. Seems the organizers have a business running car shows. They plugged their show in Brea next month...a lot and they did the judging. Sort of. Now, here I'm gonna vent a bit. First, NO, we don't expect medals, plaques, or trophies. The Citroen and TR aren't pristine examples of Automotive Art. Far from it, some (well many) would say. That's fine with us. We enjoy our cars, drive them as they were meant to be driven and have fun. We enjoy interacting with the crowds. 

What bugged me here (and at the Montrose show back in July) was that the judges seemed to make only a cursory look at most of the cars. Not just ours, but most of them. To me, it seemed they had a predisposed idea of what was going to win recognition and just didn't bother with the rest. Case in point: Next us was a REALLY nice '63 Falcon. Just a lovely car. No, not the most popular car ever, it had a stock Ford 6 cylinder engine and stock upholstery. No massive big block, no fancy seats. And it was appliance white...just like most Falcons of the day. It didn't, as far as I could tell, get a glance. 

Now, look...if I'm paying $50 to show my car, at least do me the courtest of coming by EVERY entrant and aknowledge them! Both Monrovia shows, the Concours d'LeMons, and other big time shows do this. Even if all you do is nod to the owners and smile, maybe thank them for being there (the show we've been to in Burbank, ALL the club members lined up at the exit and waved and thanked the participants as they left--same thing with the Best of France and Italy) it's just a courtesy and will ensure good feelings and a wish to return. 

The other beef was that they gave out FORTY(40!) "Best in Show" awards! How can 40 cars be "best?" No categories, just 40 plaques handed out (most were to those who paid the VIP fee...hmmmm?). It was almost like AYSO (everybody wins...so nobody reall wins) was runnning things. 

So, Car Shows run a gamut of possibilities. We'll still go to a few every year, we enjoy hanging out. However, we enjoy driving to distant places even more. That is, after all, what Road Trippin' is all about! 

All Car Shows Great and Small--The Rest of the Road Trip

 So, we got to Olympia just fine, and spent the week or so there with Mom, my sister Sue and her hubby Rog. The usual relaxing time. Except for the leaky gas tank sending unit in the Citroen. 

Just before we left, I finally got around to installing a new sender, thinking, "GORSH! After how many years of driving around, using the trip odometer to tell me when to refuel (under 200 miles was both safe and convenient for pee breaks) I'd have a WORKING GAS GUAGE!". Yeah, right. Damn thing developed a leak AND despite bending the float arm, either read a half-tank when it was full, or full tank until it had about 3 gallons to go, then, WHOOSH--almost empty. 

Anyway, after driving up, stopping for gas sooner and only filling the tank partway, we managed just fine and didn't have to smell gas fumes (too much--the windows were mostly open anyway). Once up there, however I was determined to fix the sucker. This is where my Dad's Work Bench came into play. 

See, he was of the old school...300 old glass jars full of a vast variety of screws, nuts, bolts, nails, and stuff...all neatly sorted. Among them, an old Helman's Mayo jar with a metal lid JUST THE SAME DIAMETER AS THE PLATE FOR THE SENDING UNIT! Drill three holes in the right places, screw it down with the gasket, and Bob's your uncle, an unleaking tank! (It's still on the car, by the way...). 

Our next Big Adventure was a neat little car show in a small town south of Olympia...Onalaska. Why go to a small town car show? Two reasons. Pam Lafayette and her hubby Joel live there. We've know Pam for yonks (back when she was a Lady Bus Driver at Embree's--she's gonna KILL me for that remark...long story). AND it was to benefit the local volunteer fire department. Those that know us will know that Marianne's Dad was a founder of the Sierra Madre Volunteer FD. We even brought along his SMFD car badge. I found this show quite by chance. What was great is that usually, we only see Pam and Joel for either a lunch or breakfast meet, lasting only a couple of hours. This time we got to spend a whole day with them. 

The show was a lot of fun, about 200 cars of the usual ilk, proper Fireman Breakfast of bisquits and gravy, and really friendly people who were shocked and perplexed by the Yellow Submarine. Pam and Joel had their VW Hippie Bus (painted by an unknown Berkley artist back in the '70s no less) and that garnered some shaking heads as well. Our friends, Pat and Renee stopped by on their way to Monterey (Renee you may remember, was the curator of the LeMay Museum in Tacoma). They also knew Pam from our bus driving days, so it was a great little reunion.

Who remembers this trick to stop vapor lock?

I think I sold several hudred of those Weber carb set ups for Datsuns back in my BAP/Geon days.

Voted for Hoover...TWICE...and look what it got him! GOP hasn't changed much. 

Lovely Packard Clipper...One family owners! 

Fire Trucks! 

On Tuesday, we headed back and our Date With Destiny. The weather promised REALLY hot temps, so departure time was O'Dark. Not even O'Dark-Thirty! Grants Pass and the reliable Knights Inn and Laughing Clam were, as always, a delight, but DAMN, when we got there just after noon, it was already 100 out. We were hot and sweaty and tired, so showered and napped. We got up and headed for an early dinner, about 4pm. AND IT WAS 106!!!  When we left the Clam, it was 109! Weird place...temps hit the high much later in the day than in SoCal. No onshore flow to push the smog to Fontana and cool things down. 

Another early rising and over the Siskyou's (no problems, the Yellow Sub made it's stately way up and over just fine) and lunch with Bill Morgan and his lady, Dannielle in Williams. We had intended to eat at Louis Cairo's Steak House in Williams...but the place burned down a couple of weeks earlier! So, second choice was the always good Granzella's. We ate in the bar area with dozens of taxidermined eyes glaring at us. NOT a place for vegans! Not just deer heads, but buffalo, antelope, and even polar bears. Yeah, I know...different time. The food, however was great...how about a Blue Cheese, cherry tomato, fresh basil, garlic pizza? OOOH, yes please! 

One reason we met up with Bill and Dannie was for Bill to give Marianne her grandmother's old rocking chair. Long story about how he came to have it, but he'd noticed that on our last visit to Clearlake, Marianne really loved that chair. So, after taking measurements in advance, we knew it would easily fit in the back of the Citroen's cavernous way-back. 

Our digs in Williams (same temperature weirdness) at the Stage Stop Inn was OK. The people were nice, but the place was a bit tired.  

Off again in the wee small hours, this time to Watsonville. That meant driving through the East Bay Traffic just at the beginning of rush hour and in the dark. What a frickin' nightmare. Now, I'm a hardened vet of LA Traffic. But these Frisco Clowns scare the hell out of me. They make LA drivers seem wonderfully polite by comparison! 

We hit Gilroy about 9am and went to the local Target. Marianne had miscounted some of her meds and we'd called her doc to set up a pick up there. Easy-Peasy...no, the pharmacy didn't open until 10. SO, off to the Garlic Shoppe (of course) for some goodies. Sadly, their Garlic-Blue Cheese Butter is no longer available, but they DO still have the garlic/horseradish spread, garlic chips (no, these are not potato chips w/garlic powder, they are WHOLE GARLIC CLOVES FRIED UP LIKE POTATO CHIPS!!!), and Garlic Dude Dust (a combo of garlic powder and other spices that makes one of THE best rubs for tri-tip or sprinkling on anything!). 

From there, drugs picked up, we headed for Watsonville and our digs for three nights so we could have fun at Monterey Car Week. On the way, friend Tom (who'd told us about the cinnamon roll place in Acacia, OR) suggested that we stop in the little town of Freedom and hit the Freedom Meat Locker for lunch stuff. OH DAMN WAS THIS GOOD! 

This is a SERIOUS butcher shop. I guess their meat in tubular form is outstanding, but we couldn't be sure it would stay frozen until we got home, so we opted for a couple of cold roast beef and cheddar sandwiches on something called a "Dutch Crunch Roll." Think a bread like you'd have for a sub sandwich, but crust like a proper pretzel (minus the salt hunks). REALLY good, and with the Garlic Dude Horseradish/Garlic spread we'd just picked up...

The Rodeway Inn in Watsonville is, very tired. It's also in an odd place. NOTHING around it. It's in a semi-industrial area. BUT it'd booked it through Hotels.com in March and when I booked it, seems their programs didn't take into account Monterey Car Week when EVERY hotel, motel, and flophouse triples (at least) their prices. $345 TOTAL for all 3 nights! They DID ding us for "early check in" (I'd never had THAT happen before--grrr). Still, a bargain when you consider that the 2nd worst Motel 6 in the world at Salinas gets $425/night! We schlepped all our stuff (including the rocking chair) into the room, had a nap, and went for dinner. Now, Watsonville isn't the cultural landmark that Monterey is. It's mostly a working class/farm worker town. But DAMN, we had THE best meal of the trip there. Place called "The Fish House Grill"

The place looks kinda average, but WOW...How about roasted head of garlic for a starter, followed by honest-to-god BOULLIABAISE! No kidding! An outstanding meal! 

The food and service was excellent, the ambience was relaxed but classy. There were also two families there with smaller kids. Oh No! I can hear you say...BUT...these kids were exceptionally well behaved! That put me in mind of experiences we had with our own kids when they were small and we'd go out to eat. Now, I don't want to brag (much) but we tried hard not to inflict our kids on other diners. We'd always tell them that the better behaved they were, the more often we could go out to nice places. To us, every restaurant was NOT Chuckie Cheese or McD! A few times, people actually complimented them for their nice behavior. So, when we finished, we paid that experience forward and went to each table and complimented them on their well behaved children. The families were a bit shocked, the kids embarassed, but all were pleased. 

Now, on to the Big Day...Back in 2020 we'd tried to do Monterey but we all know how THAT went...This time, we entered the Concours d'LeMons. Yes, the Car Show equivilant of the DooDah Parade. A stain on the proud escucuion of every Concours d'Elegance ever. Especially Pebble Beach. 

We were classed in the "Unmitigated Gaul" category (other groups included Rue Britannia, Needlessly Complex Italian, Swedish Meatballs, Soul Sucking Japanese Appliance, and Self-Satisfied German Krautwagons...as well as a break down of American Rust Belt cars) and parked with another Citroen Wagon and a Peugot. 

I have to tell you that this was THE most fun we'd ever had at a car show! Set at the city hall of the little town of Seaside, just north of Monterey (you may recall the town, it was hit heavily by last winter's storms and didn't get a lot of help from the State until news reports focussed some attention on their plight...this isn't a well-off community, it's where people who work in Monterey or Carmel live because they can't afford any place else...but I digress) it was just the right size for the couple of hundred orphan cars to show off their, uh, attributes?

We're talkin' Vegas, Azteks, rusted out hulks with 6" of rats' nests and poo. Weird, wonderful, odd, POS cars. There's lots of YouTube video, look for Concours d'LeMons. We were interviewed by several of them, and even the local TV news crew wanted to talk to us! 

Both the entrants and the crowd were the friendliest we'd ever run into. People were crowed around the Yellow Submarine all day, asking me and Marianne all the usual questions, staring slack-jawed as we told them we were on the way home from our 2800 mile road trip, wanting to know about the famous Citroen Suspension, and wanting selfies with both of us. Marianne was much bemused by that (I don't know why, she's FAR better looking than I am).  We had several people we knew show up. The aforementioned Pat and Renee, the Wilburns from Cambria, people we'd done the old Iron Bottom with, and several others. 

Lillt Lancia

AW, not we KNOW a TR3 is NOT a Lemon! 

Even the spectators were...odd...

Finally, the Head Gasket and another judge (decked out in sashes that proclaimed "Bribes Accepted") came over to check us out. Now, one of the "traditons" of LeMons is The Bribe. We of course had our wine and cheese and crackers set out, but we added a seperate, secret bribe. Given the year (1969) and Beatles Theme, I quietly offered M. Head Gasket a couple of the jar lids from my Dad's shop (get it? LIDS?) and a baggie of "oregano." Yes, it was really oregano. I'd almost added some dried banana peel, but... 

The judges were cracking up about all the extra touches we'd added to the Citroen. The Mike Andrews Eiffel Tower tail lights, the Starry Night headliner, the periscope, the Beatles Action Figures, the (as they later put it) SCREAMNG yellow paint. They were also astounded by our Road Trip tales.  

Then, it happened. M. Head G. came up to us with a little paper, saying we were to get an award. Then he explained that they'd announce when to drive the car to get in line for the awards. Just like Pebble Beach, we'd drive to the awards and everyone would clap and laugh at us. Cool. 

Then came the kicker. He told us "when you get in line, let all the other cars go ahead of you. You come up last..." In car show parlance, that only means one thing...

At Pebble Beach, the winner is showered in confetti...at Le'Mons? It's Silly String. 

Yes, Constant Reader, we have reached the pinnacle of the Car World...WE ARE WORST IN SHOW AT THE CONCOURS D'LEMONS! 

As the official LeMons website https://24hoursoflemons.com/2023-california-concours-dlemons-photos-winners/?mc_cid=b1f5f32ad8&mc_eid=7d0e6c10d6 put it: 

"It isn’t easy to win the coveted “Worst of Show” award at the Concours d’Lemons, but it wasn’t hard to see why Stephen McCarthy and his 1969 Citroen DS21 Safari Wagon took “top” honors. The French oddity was painted a shocking shade of yellow, festooned with stickers, Beatles figurines and a homemade periscope resembling the Beatles “Yellow Submarine” cartoon. Stephen and his wife wore Sgt. Pepper’s costumes and offered French themed snacks as bribes to the celebrity judges while Beatles tunes wafted from the speakers in the car . To top it off they arrived at the Concours d’Lemons as part of 2000 mile road trip up and down the length of the west coast of the United States. For putting in all that hard work to have a good time, they easily won the hearts of the judges and took home “Worst of Show” honors."

Well, I'll be dipped! 

And the story doesn't end there. The next day, we went down to Laguna Seca Raceway for the Hill Climb. Yes, BACKWARDS from start/finish and UP the famous Corkscrew!! We spent the morning there but only about 15 cars participated, so, we left to find lunch in Monterey. While there, though, an odd thing happened. I spotted a woman in a San Francisco SCCA Region Flagger's Jacket. I was wearing my Cal Club Flagger's jacket, so I went up to her..."That jacket looks about as old as mine does!" "Yes," she replied..."It was my grandfathers." Talk about feeling ANCIENT! 

To put a coda on the whole trip, we were parked at the wharf in Montrerey (excellent place called the Sandbar & Grill--the avocado/shrimp melt was fantastic!)...

...and FOUR people came up to us, saying "Hey! We saw you on the news! Congratulations! Can we take a picture of you?" I'll bet you dollars to donuts that the guy who won Pebble Beach will NEVER have that happen to him!