I'm finally doing it! Taking the 66 Mustang on a Hot Rod Power Tour. Now, it is the Hot Rod Power Tour West, not the big one in June, but it is a first step. This Tour will start in Pomona, CA and end in Chandler, AZ 5 days later. Tomorrow I leave and I have 2.5 days to drive 20 hours to Pomona. Woo Hoo!!!!
Oct 4
Left Woodinville at 6:00 am. Wanted to get at least 50% of the 20 hour drive done the first day so the rest could be split into the next two days.
This was the weather from Seattle to Eugene. Pretty miserable. By the time I made it to Grants Pass it was sunny and beautiful.
The only other picture I have of this day is my dinner.
Oct 5
Today’s drive was from Redding to Bakersfield. I will be honest, Bakersfield was not a target of my drive. I figured I would eat, sleep and be on my way. Boy was I surprised. I ate dinner in my room and then went out for a walk.
I found this place. Buck Owens Crystal Palace. Turns out Buck Owens is from Bakersfield and was quite a successful country singer. He came back to Bakersfield and opened this place up. It is a restaurant with live music from local artists. As you would expect, the decor is country.
I went in and had a seat at the bar.
Met a very nice server who explained the history of the place to me. I didn’t catch her name.
This car used to be owned by Elvis Presley. As the story goes, Elvis lost it in a poker game and Buck Owens ended up with it. It was his daily driver for many years. It is a Pontiac (I don’t remember the model).
When I first arrived there was a couple performing. They were definitely good. But the second (main) act was fabulous!
Very good music and sound. The dance floor was filled immediately with people line dancing, dancing in couples, children up to senior citizens were dancing. I think watching the children have so much fun dancing was the best. I really wish I could post videos on this blog as that would really convey the fun that was occurring. But unfortunately Blogger is not letting me post videos or pictures through their website. (The pictures here are being posted through a labor intensive process unfortunately).
October 6
Arrived in Pomona, the starting city, this morning. Found a coffee place on Google and decided to try it.
Test
The latte and blueberry muffin were good. I talked to the young man who was helping me and told me story of why I was there. We had a fun conversation about cars et al.
Went to the event center as they were allowing people to pick up their credentials a day early. Finally, for the first time, I was one of the cool kids with my 66 Mustang. Don’t get me wrong, doing the other two HRPT was amazing with the 2014 Mustang convertible, but there is something special driving a classic car.
