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Big Sur's magnificent Keyhole Rock lights up
California coast in early January. (Image source: travelcaffeine.com)
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Ah, it's good to take a few Dazes away from
Thy Keyboard, Whale' at least posting Somme-thun' on Ye BLOB', what Thy late
Awntie Harriet Christened I-T; nee No Fenders, after enjoying the weekend
listening to the Rolex 24, which naturally made me think of the recently
departed Dan Gurney..
And if Y'all have been reading this Blob
Fantastica! Since the beginning 'O year, then Yuhs know I went to California
and All points in-between with Tacoma Bureau Chief Mary Ellen as Thy Chauffer
in the Silkmobile with Pixie-the-Wonderdog WUF-WUF! And Silk - whose car it is;
Hya!
As Silk, who many asked us if He's part Great
Dane? And the more I talk 'bout him, I think of Marmaduke! Having likened Silk to
Ah Snappin`' Turtle every time I tried eating various meals upon going thru the
Drive-Thru, as he tried sticking his snout over my shoulder between the two
front seats for a Wee Bitamyte 'O Cheeseburger; CRIKEYS!
As I was gonna lament Y'all how WET it's been
since returning home from California. And the difficulties of trying to swing
thou White Cane thru the Mud, Muck and Puddles! Not to mention Winds of 25mph,
along with Homeowners too DAMN lazy to sweep off their sidewalks! But our
inclement weather's causing Mud flows AIN'T Nothin' compared to California's,
i.e.; specifically Montecito!
As it was a GURR-REAT! Trip beginning in
Fresno, then heading Northwards to Seaside via Highway 1, which brought back
ancient memories of the Hystericals' as Mary Ellen called out Pebble Beach's 17
Mile Drive, Monterey, etc.
After a night's stay in Seaside, it was back
South to a place I'd obviously Prattled on 'N on 'N on 'bout over thou years...
As Mary Ellen said, DON'T you wanna go to Big Sur?
Thus she found out how to access the private
road to Pfeiffer Beach and it's magnificent "Window rock," which may
or may not also be known as Keyhole Rock, Arch Rock or the Keyhole Arch Rock;
Cornfuzed?
"In Big Sur we Take some Time to linger on..."
Reluctantly, we had to leave Big Sur before
we wished too, as it was a long day's journey north again, this time crossing
over the legendous' Golden Gate Bridge, naturally shrouded in fog! Then
meandering over Mount
Tamalpais, also shrouded in Fog, as this was the
twistiest road I've ever been on! Creeping about since the main road's still
washed out from a year ago - as we traversed the Stinson Beach Detour.
Finally arriving at our destination late
Wednesday night, the HighlandsResort, where we enjoyed excellent Hospitality and the
luxurious tranquility of secluded cabins nestled in-between the Redwoods along
the Russian River!
Two days later, we Next stopped at a Park's
name which was easy for me to remember, since my memory instantly recalled
Kevin Doran of IMSA motor racing fame, whom I believe once campaigned those exquisite
Ferrari 333SP's. As we stopped at
Doran Regional Park in order for
Mwah to walk upon thou Beach, along with taking the Hoonds' for a stroll.
As Kevin Doran's
CV at the 24 Hours of Daytona is Mega! Spending time with the late Al Holbert
makes me believe he was involved with those legendary Porsche 962 Panzerwagons;
Ja Volt! Not to mention his involvement with MOMO Ferrari and Doran Lista
Racing, along with his Dallara Grand Am DP being victorious...
This being on our way to Sebastopol, a city
I'd never heard of or visited before, where we spent a further two nights along
with frequent visits to the nearby Doggie Park and another Walkabout on "Kevin's"
Beach
Then we went off in search of the Walgreen's
in Santa Rosa, where Mary Ellen described the vast amounts of carnage from the
Fires, noting how a whole Trailer Park community was Flattened! Along with a
Gynormous pile 'O rubble in a parking lot, presumably the Costco Store that
burned to the ground!
From Thar it was to Willits, CA, our most Dismal
stop of the journey Northwards, before getting stuck in a deluge 'O rainfall in
Crescent City, our last night's stay in California.
And somewhers' between The Redwoods and
Crescent City, or Oregon whilst still on Highway 101, my mind began Ah-wonderin'
about just where had the Carrera Panamericana ended Stateside?
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| One of the multiple cars on display at the Peterson Automotive museum's 2011 Phil Hill tribute was the Ferrari 375MM Vignale that Hill drove and Richie Ginther navigated to second place at the 1954 Carrera Panamericana road race. Photo by Art Evans. (Image source: sportscardigest.com) |
As I find it very Apropos or ironic that I
was in California, Dan Gurney's adopted home state when he died. Although I'd
be totally unawares' of this until returning home a week after his passing. For
which I'll defer Y'all to a slightly different take upon this, since mine
hasn't been started.
Or even more Karmic since when I think of Dan
Gurney, I tend to recall my lone meeting with him nearly two decades ago at Pacific
Raceways, where the Star of the Show for Mwah was the ultra unique Ferrari
375MM racecar that Phil Hill and Richie Ginther co-drove in the 1954 Carrera
Panamericana road race.
Thus, per tipicali, Al gore's wondrous
invention Zed Internetz' was being Persnickety to Mwah! When all I could find upon
my initial inquiry was that the Carrera Panamericana was devised by the Mexican
Government to publicize the completion of its portion of the Pan American
Highway, ultimately linking Alaska, Canada and the Good 'Ol U.S. to Mexico 'N
beyond.
As I pondered out loud to Mary Ellen, which
Highway did it connect upon? Since today's modern Automobile travel partakes
Interstate I-5. Yet this replaced Highway 99, which ran north to Blaine, WA; Washington's
Canadian Border, and ended south at Calexico, CA
between 1926-1972.
Alas, surely this was the route's endpoint on
our side of thou Rio Grande, Ci? Especially since the Carrera Panamericana ran
for five years between 1950-54 before being cancelled due to its extreme danger
and High Death Rate!
Yet if I'd let Lucy', My ARSE-STEAMED' Screen
Reader read a 'lil further, I'd have learned that the first Carrera
Panamericana race starting on May 5, 1950.,
Running North to South, began at Ciudad Juárez,
Chihuahua, "On the Border" of nearby El Paso,
Texas, to Ciudad
Cuauhtémoc, Chiapas, at the Guatemalan border.
And then crossing into Oregon via Brookings,
this naturally made me think of the Brookings Institute, before we made our way
to thee "Other Florence" to visit our good friends, albeit just a
brief Pit stop before a brief walk upon the beach and then to our night's
destination Lincoln City.
As we just had to stay Thar, especially since
I've been to the monument on the B-I-G' Island, aka Hawaii to Captain Cook's Obelisk
monument. As we stayed at the Captain Cook Inn. As the room was slightly funky,
but I enjoyed it's unique charm replete with wicker furniture which made me
think of Hawaii.
Then after getting my wish to trek down the
trail to Smuggler's Cove at Oswald West, albeit in Gale Force Winds R' Matey!
We made it back to the car Justin-time' before the skies opened up! As the rain
just increased the rest of the way home, including driving over the Astoria
bridge,.
Although not bothering to stop at Fort
Astoria, for which I've got an infinity for due to its mystical connection to
the Astor Cup, for which I've prattled on 'bout before.
Whilst upon returning home a Fortnight later,
after some approximately 1,800 miles by car and telling Mary Ellen I felt tired,
to which she replied, you should be exhausted!
Yet being somewhat "Sleepless in
Seattle," naturally I Dialed-up my Newsline for The Blind telephone service,
and once again; SHUHZAMM! I found myself swimming in the Seas 'O Synchronicity...
Becoming totally engrossed in an overly long,
but fascinating Vanity Fair article about a young
German man named Oskar
Speck, who ultimately paddled 30,000 miles over
seven years from the Danube River in Germany to Australia!
Arriving just days after Germany invaded
Poland on September 1, 1939, and dually being incarcerated and spending a
further six years Down Under in Internment Camps before being released after
the end of World War II...
