ANOTHER GREAT TIME HAS FLOWN BY!

It is July 4th in Santa Rosa CA.Where have the days gone again?My high school classmate,Elliot Daum,and his wife,Linda left for Shelter Cove yesterday.They left us their house.Marie and I are really enjoying our stay here.We have met Elliot's and Linda's close friends,Mike & Twyla Chase,and have enjoyed their company for the past two days.Mike is a professional photographer specializing in cars and motorcycles.He ask to shoot the woodie.The results is a car that I can't believe I own;much less helped build.Gene Rutherford and Bruce Fair will be very proud of their work when they see these pictures.We also reconnected with Gary and Terry O'Connor.Our cross country companions live here,and it was great to see them again.Gary and I messed around with the electric fan trying to improve it's cooling efficiency.Only time will tell if the modifications we made resulted in lower temperatures.Santa Rosa is a very Nor-Cal town.The vineyard covered vistas,blue skies,rolling golden hills make you feel as if you are on the set of a TV sitcom.We went to Bodega Bay.The Alfred Hitchcock movie "The Birds" was filmed there.All the places in the film seem just as if the film was still being shot.That was one spooky movie,and the town at dusk still has that haunting quality about it.Mike shot some sunset/dusk shots that are really pretty.I can't say enough about what a joy it was to spend time with Elliot and Linda.Elliot and I were the new guys at Landon,our high school,so we bonded because of that common denominator.That was 1964.A real friend is always comfortable.Elliot is as comfortable as any human being could possibly be.Marie and I had never met Linda.It was like we had known her for a long time.A real fun,vivacious person.She works too hard!Shelter Cove is their get away from the hustle and stress of being a Superior Court Judge and an extremely busy divorce attorney respectively.We would have loved to accept their invitation to accompany them north to the cove,but I'm happy to know our schedule dictated they get away together without us.I promise there will be other Shelter Cove moments.As always,travel ends up to be about people and not places.We have been blessed with an over abundance of warm,caring,welcoming people on this half-finished journey.WE THANK THEM ALL FOR OPENING THEIR HEARTS TO MARIE AND I!!!

WHERE DID THE DAYS GO?

We sit here at the Santa Cruz Ranch RV Park on 6/28,and it was one week ago that I made my last entry.Woodies on the Wharf concluded yesterday,and it was day full of fun and happiness.Terry and Gary O'Connor,Nance and Mark Hunter,Wayne and MaryJane Yada,and Marie and I had an incredible day of recognition from the Santa Cruz Woodie Club for our cross country drive.To spend a day with over 180 wooden automobiles and their enthusiastic owners exceeded any expectations we had projected.The tens of thousands of spectators that came out to enjoy our cars and ask questions and take photos was very gratifying.The last time I was in Santa Cruz(SC) was with Tommy Bolus, my traveling surf buddy from Folly Beach,SC,and we scored Steamer Lane at 6-8'for 4 days.That was in the early 90's.This trip,so far,the surf has been nonexistent.Today,sunday,we are on our own and we hung out all morning after exercising.We went into SC for a lunch and walk.When we got back to the car a local surfer,Pete Drake, was admiring it.He suggested we drive past Steamer Lane to Mitchell Cove and look up his old wood shop teacher,Mr.Mitchell;reputable the first woodie owner in SC.We did,and much to our delight we were invited in for a glass of excellent wine and home cooked bacon.He and his wife,Ruth,were delightfully creative; having both been life long Santa Cruzin's,they were able to talk story about SC' surfing history.Al had lived in their house his entire life.A house filled with memorabilia and charm.He gave me some wood working repair tips for my car.He showed me his 51 Ford woodie project,and gave me a one of a kind Mitchell Cove T-shirt.The cove was named after him by his surfing students way back in the 60's.What a cool late afternoon visit with surfing lore,and two incredibly nice people.A wonderful way to end to end our day.LIFE IS GOOD FOR MARIE AND I!