travels with the ‘78 ce2

[dodger tom]

mostly stationary friday.

did go to san fernando brewing for refreshments and dinner.

tacos mi amor makes amazing quesabirria tacos. i ate my first there coupla years ago.

and they’re still the best.
_________________
1978 Champaign Edition 2 Westfalia
Would never find the time to keep up another classic air-cooled.

[richparker]

I always try the wings if they are on the menu when we go out. I musta ate 5 dozen when we were in Cali on our trip. Maybe I should start taking pics of them and rating them. Spent 5 years of my life living in Buffalo, I’m a pretty good wing judge.
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’71 Westy build
Adventure thread
’65 Deluxe Build

[ALLWAGONS]

You are a brave soul! I drive thrugh there EVERYDAY with FEAR!

_________________
I'd be UNSTOPPABLE if not for Law Enforcement and PHYSICS.

I recycle old cars and parts, other than when I rot, that's as Green as I am going to get.

Thanks to my Tesla driving neighbors, I feel more relaxed driving my SUBURBAN and old VW's.

Everything sounds good on paper!

[Shonandb]

[dodger tom]

time to head home.

but first a slight detour north on reseda boulevard.

headed for the hills.

to reseda point for a look down on the Valley.

then, south on reseda toward us 101 for the return trip.

this being california there was traffic.

that didn't last long.

through the west end of the Valley.

through the green hills.

i've always loved the name of this road.

under the wallis annenberg wildlife crossing, under construction since 2022.

it will be the largest such crossing in the world. designed to help reduce the number of mountain lions, deer, and other wildlife killed crossing the freeway it has begun to receive its covering of soil, specially crafted to mimic the local terrain. the plants are growing at local nurseries, and the seeds are collected and waiting. research has identified the correct fungus with which to properly inoculate the soil. "hyperlocal mycorrhizal fungi" according to the la times. the crossing is scheduled to be completed sometime next year.

stopped for some refreshment and sustenance and time with a friend.

we were there a few years ago.

down the conejo grade.

bye phil!

after google maps led me to the von's bakery in ventura instead of made west brewing the detour took me on telephone road. this being california there was a windbreak of eucalyptus trees and an orchard (in this case lemons).

along the coast with fog hugging the water.

past the sheer coastal cliffs.

la conchita experiences landslides from time to time.

and, the sun set as we wended our way west toward home. through santa barbara.

turning onto ca 154.

over san marcos pass, and through the los alamos valley.

thanks for coming.
_________________
1978 Champaign Edition 2 Westfalia
Would never find the time to keep up another classic air-cooled.

[KTPhil]

Great drive!
So many familiar and great views!

That wildlife crossing... I'm all in favor, with so many mountain lions being killed lately crossing freeways. One thing... I picture them just on either side, out of sight, on lawn chairs having a beer as all the other prey wildlife crosses... "you take this one, Bob, I'm getting full."

Camarillo grade... heading north as you were, at the truck scales (on the right), look up at the ridgeline on the left, and you can see the clear profile of a Mohawk Indian. Must have really freaked out the local natives (mostly Chumash) who looked up to see it! This was their trail between Conejo Valley and the Camarillo/Oxnard plain.

The drive over San Marcos Pass is always a treat! I always stop at the Bradbury Dam overlook on Cachuma Lake. Restrooms (but often filthy!).

Thanks for sharing!
_________________
Current Fleet:
- '71 Fastback
- '69 Westfalia
Retired:
- '67 Beetle
- '65 Beetle (x2)
- '65 Bus
- '71 Squareback

[dodger tom]

i love la

this weekend’s trip to my hometown neighborhood is one of the last i’ll be making.

i was down to help carl clean out his dad ‘s garage in preparation to selling the house. one of the last trips because i’ll be down again in late may to bury mr h next to mrs h. maybe another time before that to help with clean up.

thought i’d take this opportunity to pay tribute to my hometown. not the neighborhood i grew up in, reseda, but the whole thing. los angeles. i love la.

you can be anything there. you can find anything there, too. kinda like new york, new york, except that city’s all vertical, while la is horizontal. it’s all sprawled all along the great pacific ocean, through the hills and valleys, and even over the mountains and into the desert to the north.

china town,…..

…..little tokyo,…..

…..olvera street (the original downtown),…..

…..as well as others (e.g., little ethiopia, little armenia, k-town, etc.) that i didn’t have time to visit. la just goes on and on, all spread out like seeds blown in on the santa ana winds.

a crazy patchwork quilt of a town with neighborhoods, families, and individuals creating their own pieces, blocks, and units. it would be impossible to showcase the whole thing, as any big city is too much for one trip. la is even more so, cause, after all, we invented and perfected sprawl. we love it!

but using randy newman’s song and video, i love la,…..

(file photo)

…..will help provide a quick overview. no big nasty redhead in the ce2’s passenger seat. more’s the pity.

“cruising down imperial highway…..”

starts at the ocean and runs west-to-east through the city proper, as do two of the other four streets he names. curiously, he names no north-south streets like sepulveda boulevard, van nuys boulevard, crenshaw boulevard, la brea! we love it!

it runs along the south side of lax and past the remnants of la’s aerospace industry…..

…..and through watts in south central la. coupla blocks north is watts towers.

this example of art brut was built by sabato rodia between 1921 and 1954. the tallest tower is 99.5-feet tall.

the video shows lots of photos of different places in la, as well as lots of shots of women in bikinis. “ain’t nothing like ‘em nowhere.” there are even three shots of disneyland with “look at that mountain” showing disneyland’s matterhorn, an example of randy’s tongue-in-cheek humor. course, disneyland’s in anaheim, 35 miles southeast of la, which is not la despite arte moreno renaming his team los angeles angels of anaheim in a pathetic attempt to get angelino’s to root for his american league team.

go dodgers! we love it!

randy begins his geographic description of la with four regions.

“from the south bay…..”

the area south of the airport, lax. it’s a mix of beach cities,…..

…..which we visited on a previous trip, and inland areas like torrance, which is home to a business you’re all familiar with.

and, just down the block.

stopped for refreshment at monkish brewing.

tucked in by strangers. american ipa. 6.5% abv. medium gold. clear. peaches n cream flavor, but in a good way. light bitterness hits late. lingers lightly. better than it sounds.

“…..to the Valley…..”

randy means, of course the san fernando valley. not the san gabriel, antelope, conejo, santa clarita, or other la-area valleys. he means the Valley.

the movie san andreas begins along what is meant to be mulholland drive on the Valley’s south rim. a shot of the Valley…..

(file photo)
…..is actually the lockyer valley in australia. movie magic. we love it! when i was growing up the Valley had about half million people with lots of open space. farms and orchards even. now it’s one-point-eight million, and it’s almost wall-to-wall developed. but, it is beautiful.

many people know of the Valley through moon unit’s “Valley girl” song.

the sherman oaks galleria was ground zero for Valley girls.

there are green spaces with one of the biggest being behind the sepulveda damn.

it doesn’t really damn up the la river. rather, it was built in 1941 by the us army corps of engineers to control winter flooding. it is now home to the 2,000-acre sepulveda basin recreation area, which has three golf courses, a japanese garden, a velodrome, lake balboa, a portion of the la river allowed to return to its natural state (most of it was paved during the army corps’ flood-control efforts of 1938 to 1960), a wildlife reserve, and more.

…..”from the west side…..”

randy’s a westside kid, and other than the toney residential areas such as brentwood or belair, there’s nothing more westside than westwood village.

the fox theatre,…..

…..unfortunately boarded up during recent hard times for movies.

i spent a lot of time here when i attended ucla.

go bruins! we love it!

…..”to the east side…..”

which, in la means east la. boyle heights is home to el tepeyac café.

founded in 1942 it is known for its massive manuel’s special and hollenbeck burritos. so large you could almost live in one.

there are nice old residential areas,…..

…..and nice old storefronts.

randy shifts his geographic descriptions of la to naming streets.

“…..century boulevard…..”

starts (or ends depending on which way you’re traveling) at lax.

“…..victory boulevard…..”

a mid-Valley street of mixed residential and commercial areas. on the north side of the sepulveda basin recreation area, behind the trees, is an abandoned nike anti-missile missile base from the cold war.

there were several around the Valley, including one in chatsworth. another of its claims to fame, xevin. throughout elementary, junior high, and high school we regularly had to climb under our desks and cover our heads (or go into the hall and face the lockers) to practice for a nuclear attack from the soviets. in october 1962 (seventh grade for me) the principal called us into the chapel to tell us that in the event of an attack they’d keep us there until our parents came to get us. she told us they had anti-radioactive jelly to smear on us. very reassuring.

at the corner of victory and reseda is reseda park.

i almost learned to swim there.

“santa monica boulevard…..”

one-and-a-half blocks south in century city is the nakatomi plaza building from die hard, my favorite christmas movie.

actually 2121 avenue of the stars, it doesn’t look as though it needs a shitload of screen doors.

“…..sixth street!”
downtown la.

on the way there we pass frank gehry-designed walt disney concert hall.

cole’s french dip disputes philippe’s claim to be the home of the french dip sandwich.

well, that’s la based on randy newman’s anthem. only a snapshot, of course. there are so many other things to see and places to go. it is in no way a perfect place. but, we love it!
_________________
1978 Champaign Edition 2 Westfalia
Would never find the time to keep up another classic air-cooled.

[KTPhil]

Great L.A. history discussions, thank you! So different from the imagery spread about it in the media and movies.

[dodger tom]

headed on the penultimate trip “home.”

carl’s down to truck his folks’ stuff up to coloma. i’ll be there to help load.

mustard is in bloom.

as are other wild flowers.

if this is california, there must be beeves.

stopped in buellton to see the boarded-up pea soup andersons. after 100 years they shut down. not sure it’ll ever reopen.

that’s hap-pea and pea-wee on the sign.

no sign of robbie though.

headed toward solvang

.
a dutch-themed town. er, danish-themed town. (thanks to kentabq for the correction.)

and, just outside is the “old mission santa inés,” the 19th of the 21 alta california missions.

which is actually the new mission santa inés, since the original mission, built in 1804, fell down in the earthquake of 1812. they finished the rebuild in 1817.

it was the site of the origin of the chumash revolt of 1824 when the folks-here-first heard the spaniards intended to kill them.

if this is California, there must be agriculture.

continued on ca 246 into the santa ynez valley,…..

…..and back onto our usual route.

off ca 154 into santa barbara,…..

onto ca 192…..

…..along the foothills at the base of the santa ynez mountains…..

to the old mission santa barbara.

established in 1786, it was the tenth alta california mission. it is known as the queen of the missions. captain pablo de la portillo set out from there to find and force the return of the chumash who had revolted in 1824.

there was a nice working tour-bus splitty in a off-limits parking area.

finished our mission tour in ventura at the mission basilica san buenaventura.

it was the ninth alta california mission established in 1782. it burned down in 1793, and wasn’t rebuilt until 1812. the argentine pirate hippolyte de bouchard arrived in 1818 to pillage the mission, but the friars grabbed their goods, and headed for the hills.

the mural celebrates the 150-year history of the city, beginning with its incorporation in 1866.

relaxed at the usual spot in camarillo, institution ale co.

before heading into the Valley, where, of course, there was traffic.

_________________
1978 Champaign Edition 2 Westfalia
Would never find the time to keep up another classic air-cooled.

[Shonandb]

Great pics as always Tom. Looks pretty warm there already. How's the Bus running?
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*******************************
76 Westy with a 2.5L Subaru SOHC + Vanagon (010) Automatic Transaxle
Build & Trip Thread: https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=758760
Previous 1973 Panel Bus:
Click to view image

[dodger tom]

thanks, db. bus has never run better. haven’t tuned it up, or done anything engine other than change the oil n filter and replace the valve-cover gaskets in so long i can't remember. course, it’s sprung coupla new oil leaks, and the cam-gear rattle is getting a bit louder, so my engine-work-free-time is probably coming to an end.

and, yes. it’s 80 here in reseda.

fahrenheit.
_________________
1978 Champaign Edition 2 Westfalia
Would never find the time to keep up another classic air-cooled.

[Abscate]

Thanks for having us along. Hope to catch you out West this year.
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🇺🇸 🇺🇸 🇺🇸 🇺🇸 🇺🇸 🇺🇸 🇺🇸 🍊 🍊 🍊

[KentABQ]

Looks like you had another nice road trip.
Stop by Albuquerque when you're on the Route 66 anniversary tour!

One minor correction though...
Solvang is Danish themed.
The Dutch had New Amsterdam, later renamed as Manhattan.

Being a Nielsen myself, I couldn't let Solvang be thought of as Dutch.
Back in the olden days of the Solvang White Pages, the Nielsens filled in about 20% of the whole book.
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-Kent-
1976 Riviera, 1.8l FI chrome yellow VAN - "Chloe"

"I must say, how can you be in a bad mood driving this vehicle full of vibrant color.
Cars of today are so bland in comparison. It's like driving a celebration!" ---WildIdea

Bus ownership via emoticons:
---williamM

[dodger tom]

[dodger tom]

bus was stationary the past two days.

i’d been seeing tons of commercials for burgers. whetted my appetite. so, i stopped at a place i’d never been to.

grass-fed beef.

it was tasty.

then i met ktphil for a beer at pedals and pints in thousand oaks.

stopped later at a regular spot, and saw this beauty.

the owner said except for the cancer (which didn’t really show up in the photo), it was in great shape. i said many people call that patina.

headed into the sunset and home.

thanks for coming.
_________________
1978 Champaign Edition 2 Westfalia
Would never find the time to keep up another classic air-cooled.

[KTPhil]

Nice to meet you, Tom, after missing a connection at BBB.
Hope to see you camping soon, or for another beer!
And keep those cool travelogues coming!
_________________
Current Fleet:
- '71 Fastback
- '69 Westfalia
Retired:
- '67 Beetle
- '65 Beetle (x2)
- '65 Bus
- '71 Squareback

[Xevin]