So, after yesterday’s screed against the media elites, your host traveled first to Venice Beach with his youngest daughter and only wife, on account of the former hadn’t been and the latter wanted to have a look at Teh Crazy. From thence we had planned to navigate via the beautiful Pacific Coast Highway to Santa Barbara, where the latter hopes to attend college school.
We took the new ride up the coast, the ancient BMW having been successfully sold. It was a ret pleasant trip, at least so far as Venice Beach, which quite lived up to its reputation. The Kat was unimpressed, while the Hobbit – an inveterate people watcher – was fascinated. For my own part, I felt more than a little out of place, the demographic consisting largely of 20-somethings with dreadlocked hair in various stages of deshabille, and pervy 60-somethings watching with creepy vigilance. Lunch and gone, and wouldn’t the PCH be a blast?
It wouldn’t.
Perhaps as late as the late 1960′s it might have been possible to navigate US-1 north of Venice Beach to Santa Barbara, but those days are gone, long gone. At least for the four-wheeled set. Over-large men on over-large motorcycles placed their lives on the line threading through traffic which moved with the stately speed and packed efficiency of a car-carrying ship, if by fits and starts. We broke out of traffic on Topanga Canyon Boulevard, which would ordinarily have been the kind of scenic, twisty road which the M5 was made for, were it not for a passive aggressive sport who insisted on going five miles an hour under the speed limit as cars stacked up behind her, steadfastly refusing the opportunity to graciously employ anyone of the several and various slug pull-outs cleverly engineered to allow more enthusiastic drivers to pass.
I have grown, gentle reader, and there was a child in the car. So while I may have simmered just that wee bit, I was cautious – oh, so cautious – to let no external sign of it show. No cursing or muttering under my breath, no imprecations for Jovian lightning bolts, no regret that the laser cannon option had not been selected by the previous owner. No forearm banging off the dash or steering wheel. Well, nearly none.
Got into traffic in some town or another, from whence I was required and desired by the Kat to maneuver into the left lane, the better for to ease myself in to California 101, our pathway to SB. Having found a suitable gap in the traffic behind and to my left, I deftly maneuvered into it at all of 5 MPH or so. At which moment a clearly exercised young woman pulled up alongside, window down, shouting something unintelligible. I rolled down the passenger’s side window the better to understand her concerns, whereupon she set on me something vicious, like:
Her: You almost hit my front end, you should be more careful!
Me: When? (Thoroughly mystified – how does one, when moving forward, almost hit the front end of someone behind them?)
Her: And you have passengers, too. You should know better!
Me: Farewell, adieu, enjoy the rest of the day! (Wondered what the rest of her life was like, “hit my front end” forsooth.)
I had thought that the 300 mile trip up to Santa Barbara was intended to you know: See the campus. But no, the campus is apparently some little way out of town, and the shopping is right there on main street, so that is where we stopped, and shop is what we did. I don’t get that many opportunities to spend eight continuous waking hours in the company of my 17-year old daughter, so I believe that I bore the strain of shopping manfully. Or as manfully as any man can, the male gender being more of the “hunter” type while the typical female – and here I place myself at risk of correction – being more of a “gatherer.” All regardless of my firm impression that there is really quite suitable shopping right here in Sandy Eggo.
Turnabout and back in to sand-poundingly dense traffic on the 101 south, which gave way in time to the 405, which is where apparently everyone in southern California with a death wish drives at 80 MPH in close company, waiting for someone else to make the first move.
Lex’s motor-carriage dictum: Anyone who drives slower than me is a moron, anyone who drives faster is a maniac, any one who drives the same speed is a threat.
Anyway, got back home at 2200 last night well knackered, and now I’m off to get a little systems refresher in a Cessna 182RG with Aspen panel and GNS 530 WAAS. If only for the instrument currency that’s in it.
Talk amongst yourselves.
Thank you, Lex, for that hilarious post. Ah, Venice Beach (ha-ha-OMG).
Yes, I have noted the difference between the “hunter” and the “gatherer” in my long, wonderful marriage.
And on my freeway commutes, I have seen the attractive power of my “bow wave” and “wake”.
More often than not, when overtaking an automobile (I in lane 1, other in lane 2), I have noticed that said automobile will artfully move into lane 1 as I approach. That would be OK, except that said automobile will maintain his/her/its slower rate of speed that it exhibited in lane 2. Sadly, the laser cannon is not yet available (and not even a slightly used 50 cal).
That is the “bow wave attractor”. Similar attractive force in the wake.
I can just imagine the polite hale of your fellow roadster. Something like, “Hello kind sir, I hope you are having a wonderful afternoon drive.” Hmmm…
“Lex’s motor-carriage dictum: Anyone who drives slower than me is a moron, anyone who drives faster is a maniac, any one who drives the same speed is a threat.”
You left out the last part: “…And who the hell gave them permission to drive on MY highway?!?!?”
Sounds like the First Rule of Italian Driving: “What’s behind me is not important!”
I would submit a small correction to the hunter/gatherer thing. When shopping, the female is indeed exhibiting both behaviors – hunting for the perfect whateveritis and then gathering it thru the action of purchase. Giving healthy lucre to those who need it and bringing enjoyment to the lives of her loved ones.
There just couldn’t be a better way to spend the day.
As for Lex’s motor-carriage dictum? Ditto.
Being of the LEFT Coast and Toney Boston, I had an opportunity to deploy from Port Hueneme, located near Oxnard, CA and found the place to be quite OK. Ventura, CA to the north was quite fetching and 7 years ago on Labor day Weekend, me & Mrs. SK1 enjoyed a 4 day pass spending time in lovely Ventura prior to my deployment to not-so-lovely Fallujah, Iraq. Ventura was nice, Fallujah, not so much.
While all the world loves CALI, I found the ” bowl of granola” anaology to be quite true, becuase what wasn’t fruits & nuts out there was all flakes…ahem.
Sorry to hear of your dutiful trip but understand the evolution as I have had similar travels with wife and kiddos. Luckily, here in Massachusetts, we seemed to have assigned most of what goes on in Venice, CA to Provincetown, MA. Such as it ever was….
What do you do if you drop your wallet in P-Town ? Kick it to TRURO and pick it up….local MASS humor.
What do you do if you drop your wallet in P-Town ? Kick it to TRURO and pick it up….local MASS humor.
I’ve never heard that; priceless!!! Personally I love P-Town for the people-watching in it. Always hilarious even if a tad … weird (I’m trying to be kind here, please work with me.)
Best thing in P-Town is Marine Specialties, where do they get all that stuff? Next best is the burgers and shakes at Burger Queen.
Yeah but you don’t have In and Outs do you? I let my chief drive the jeep and the only thing he could think about was finding the In and Out. That was back when they were somewhat scarce but he was a SeaBee and knew there was one there somewhere if we could just find it. Come to think of it, that was the same trip where I found the desk clerk (navy) at the BOQ going totally crazy and screaming like a little girl over a mosquito. He was convinced that one of those little flying proboscisses could give him AIDS. I used to think Ventura/Oxnard were nothing but a beat to windward where rounding the point brought the really bad part. Not so much anymore.
Gem of a post.
Much knowledge to learn from it.
After going supersonic in the Bug, one would think 80MPH would be considered an extended taxi run.
Is there a site where one can have a custom bumper sticker made at reasonable cost? Because I want to get one for my car made that says “II Kings 9:20″
The New Revised Standard Version hits closest to the mark. I discovered it one fine Sunday morning when my mind drifted from the sermon (unfairly, perhaps – our paster is an excellent homilist) and I randomly paged through the Bible in the pew.
Shopping with women folk?
I hope the shop at least had a “Poor Bastard” chair for you to lounge in while the women “gathered”…
Shame about the Topanga section. That’s a great road if you’re the only one on it, or if you have common-sense drivers in front of you.
Try it in a convertible in the summer some time. The temperature changes from one side to the other are quite remarkable. A 30-40F delta is not uncommon.
with cigars in a 328i. awesome ride.
Ooh ooh ooh, I love driving stories. I live in Rhode Island where about 1 in 10,000 people actually know how to drive. Always entertaining to hear “horror” stories from the rest of the country!
1 in 10,000? For most of New England that seems … generous.
When I moved to Massa two xxxxs, GEICO in its wisdom informed me by letter that my policy would not be renewed as they would write no policy to a resident of Mass. Turns out – there was a reason. Something about circumnavigating the Boston beltway at triple digits in the shoulder lane that is cool only because routine… and apparently uninsurable
You’re right Kris, I think I dropped a couple of zeroes!
I used to drive a cab in Boston. When the recent unpleasantnesses started up in Iraq, A$$f**kistan, et. al., I had thought to offer my services as a driver in the combat zones, as I thought it would be somewhat easier compared to that.
My lovely wife, her sister, her niece and her sainted mother traveled south from our home in Port Orchard, WA last week to Laguna Beach, CA in Mom’s motor home to visit Mom’s brother. Now, both my wife and I were raised and learned to drive in Southern California, although it has been twenty five years since we did so regularly. So, as Sister piloted the motor home down 405 through Los Angeles on a Tuesday at 6 p.m., I smiled with fond remembrance as I received the following text message from my bride: “I AM NEVER COMING BACK TO SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA! TOO MANY CARS AND TOO MANY CRAZIES!”
Hah! Memories! Since I now live in a place where a traffic jam consists of three cars behind a combine switching fields, I feel obliged to gloat…
Back in the day, the standard operating procedure for navigating a restored military vehicle was pretty simple (we having 1950′s drum brakes), especially when a high end BMW or Caddy decided to zip in front of us and then jam on its brakes at an inopportune moment:
“Reach down, engage front axle, because you are going to go climbing, so you might as well be ready.”
I’ll add one more line to the motor-carriage dictum:
…and they’re all assholes!
I loved this post! I needed the laugh!
Something is genetically defective in my XX choromsomes. I did not get the shopping gene my sister and my mother have, although I do love finding a good deal. That however may be because I’m a Scot… and bit cheap that way. My husband however, is a shopper, and my biggest peeve is the stores never have chairs for me to sit in. I find myself canvassing the floor, looking for anything low in which I can park myself as I wait. Every now and then I’m fortunate to find a long string of chairs, where my husband always laughs as he finds a long line of bored looking men… and me.
As for the driving, I did a post recently about teaching my son how to drive. I have a saying, “Everyone has their a$$hole moment. Your goal is to be prepared that anyone can have theirs while you’re on the road and you have to be ready to react and to avoid having any of your own.” A friend of mine’s father put it to him better, “Just remember, son, they’re all out to get you…” (I’m not so good about not cussing in traffic with children in the car, as you are. I know. I’m kind of ashamed. A little…)
I substitute your “Drives” for “Drinks”, “Slower” for “Less”, and “Faster” for “More”, as i am the Gold Standard.
My daughter warmed my heart the other day with a request….she drives a 2000 Volkswagen New Beetle 1.9 liter Turbo Diesel with automatic transmission. This little beauty is now twelve model years old and well past any warranty. The TDI motor is small but being a diesel, has loads of low end torque so it gets out of the hole right quick….top end, not so much but it will whistle along at 85 if you need it to. At reasonable speeds, it gets 35 city and 44 highway mpg. So my daughter says, “dad, I want to put a perfromance chip in the Bug.” I smile inwardly and ask her why? She says she is tired of getting beat off the line by the sporty little Japanese cars with loud mufflers favored by the young latin male set (we live in S. Florida) and wants to show them a thing or two but needs more grunt.
I have offered to teach her to drive the 911 SC but she shows little interest, scares her I think. So, I’ll settle for a VW that has been tweaked from 90 to 125 hp. Percentage wise, this improvement should be dramatic. I can’t wait to drive it myself.
I think we can see the real reason yer gonna do it
Hmmm,errr,umm; could you teach ME to drive your 911
SC?
What? She has a 1.9-liter turbo diesel and she can’t spank the rice rockets off the line? I love me some Honda, but jeepers! Most of those kids are more into cosmetics than performance, especially the “loud muffler” crowd, who have always sounded more like lawn mowers on caffeine than real cars.
It was my understanding the modern automatic transmissions are nearly as good as classic manual transmissions. It sounds like she either needs to get a stick, or learn how to drive that bug properly. Really.
P.S. True story about a similar model; was behind a canary-yellow 2000 Beetle in a carwash a few years back when I caught the custom license plate: Y2K BUGG. Heh.
Casey, the TDI Beetle is okay for the first sixty feet then the rice rockets buzz on by making an awfull, raspy unpleasent racket. My daughter uses what she has and hates to be second in any endeavour so not to worry about her giving it the stick….Her equestrian training taught her to control and manage all the power you have without losing sight of the next turn or jump. I think her competitive nature with thoroughbreds translates nicely to cars!
We are signing her up for a day at the track with some others in her class. Already have the helmet. Hooked on Driving is the club I usually drive with at Miami Homestead Raceway and Palm Beach International Raceway. http://www.hookedondriving.com/index.cfm Highly recommend!
Loved the word pictures of this driving and shopping saga.
I have a button that says “Legalize Vehicular Weaponry”. If cars had laser cannons, then the three survivors in
Northern Virginia[insert your local metro area here] would be very polite drivers.Alan Dean Foster published a wonderful short story years back (pre Star Wars) The title is “Why Johnny can’t drive”. The story postulates an America where the Supremes rule against any sort of limitations on Interstate highways. Rocket launchers aren’t far behind.
Salty, I’d bet a lot that those 3 survivors would be hunting each other before long, just to show the others who the Bull of the woods really is.
I’ve often wished for a ma deuce mounted between the port headlights with a computing gunsite and HUD. The real problem is a lot of teh people that I’d be flaming have been cops and state troopers (my County Sheriff called the Ohio Highway Patrol “Road Nazis”).
QM, every divorced guy in America would want to go past their ex-wife in your rig.
Police vehicles have more distractors with onboard computers, radios, phones and stuff than the guy with two cell phones, an onboard fax, an amorous girlfriend, and a hot coffee from McDonalds. Some police officers lead by example on the road, but many do not, IMHO.
Oh, AMEN and Concur! I wanna get me a bumper sticker which says, “Hang up and drive!” and in smaller print underneath, “If yer a deppity, log off and drive!”
I get _so_ annoyed at the County Mounties around here staring at the display off to the right, and occasionally tearing their eyes away to look down the road and see whom they’re about to kill.
I think the County could save money, and make the roads safer, by having two deppities in each car; one to drive, one to sit in the starboard seat and play with the computer.
Think about it. We would have half the expenditure for cars and gasoline, and the deppity would not have to call for backup, he would already be right there!
Some of those classics from the 1950s have those nice gun ports built into the hood.
Dave Barry had an excellent essay about Atomic Land Torpedoes. His idea was, that you don’t want to have to drive through a debris field and ruin your tires after you take care of that guy in front of you, but that you just blow him to ions.
Yes, Joe. Such as my parent’s ’57 Chevy; it had rockets. In our cross-country trips, I had more “kills” than R. I. Bong and the Red Baron combined. In my mind, at least.
Paul
(chuckle) And if you drew a sight on a page from one of those spiral bound pocket notebooks and set it on the dash you had a “reflector gunsight” on the windshield. (you didn’t even think about using a grease pencil on the inside of the windshield….more than once)
No, I want the M2 in the trunk so I could do away with the tailgaters.
I was thinking along the lines of a 25mm Bushmaster like the Marines have on their LAV’s.
I want a Sidewinder at either end of the lightbar. No one runs the Badger TWICE!
UCSB? /meh You turned around too soon. Just about 85 miles short of paradise — Cal Poly SLO. Could’a laid over at the Madonna Inn and got the ladies their fill of immaculate early 60′s kitsch.
“pervy 60-somethings…”. Hey! You! You tawkin to me?
….sounds just like me! You are in GREAT company, CAPT Lex! What a Champ and a Mensch among Men!
Subsunk
On the traffic: I complain about people who drive at Speed Two; that is, Two Fast or Two Slow. I can’t stand the ones who stay even with you in the next lane, leaving no room to dodge.
… in a Prius, to save on gas economy.
I’ll second the vote for Cal Poly SLO, they teach you good trades there…accounting being one…tho shopping (at the time my daughter attended) was limited to Kmart…i drove the 101 for 50 miles one way to work (LAUSD) 5:30 in the morning speeds in were 75-85…coming out at 4:00 65 – 75 what a blast…
I can empathize. Having traversed – at a similar snail’s pace – the sprawling wasteland of Los Angeles and environs, with its many foul denizens living in foul air, Santa Barbara is both beautiful and refreshing.
But like you, the “gatherers” in my family have a compulsive propensity to shop and spend too, rather than the original reason to be there.
Fortunately there are some nice wineries in the vicinity to visit and chill. But alas like the university, the better ones are a bit out of town.
Dude, you, like, tried to do waay too much in one day, you know? Kick back, crank the tunes, and plan to stay the night in Santa Barbara. By the next morning, you should be, like, totally broke, you know, dude? You could have flown, you know and saved Venice Beach for another day’s fun outing!
YES, listen to the wise Comjam, for back in WWII, the airport and the land that would become UCSB were but one whole– MCAS Santa Barbara. A flight to Santa Barbara would leave you mere miles from the university.
While I commend your ddaughter on her interest in my alma mater, in the interests of full disclosure, I will confess that the student community of Isla Vista has been known to freeze the bone marrow and send the blood pressure of parents soaring. The Baccanalia that takes place on All Hallows Eve is known far and wide, we used to get visitors from San Diego to Chico, just for that day.
…and finally, shouold an aviator ever be looking for a home near his steed, that person could do far worse than to look at Santa Barbara, and neighboring communities…say Summerland.
-BeachBum
UCSB class of 1985
Weird, you know I noticed the same thing about the “morons” and the “maniacs”.
Unfortunately, the “Speed to Drive” problem is un-necessarily complicated by the presence of traffic cops, and their completely arbritrary irrational decisions about whom to pick on.
Go with the flow of traffic and risk random ticket, or obey the law and have every man shake his fist at you; those seem to be the only available choices.
Did a year at UCSB in the early 90s (before my dad’s insurance stopped paying for his medical treatment and my college fund was the closest thing to a savings that they had) and wasn’t particularly impressed. Then again, I was only there a year.
Being back in SoCal after many years, I find it’s not the speed that bothers me but the sheer overcrowding on the roads. I’d love to go 85 somewhere but that’s not happening anywhere in the Valley. We were able to hit that speed on the 15 south into Sandy Eggo but only until we reached about Mirimar, at which point we slowed to speeds that would have frustrated even the old Fillipino men that insist on driving 10mph below the speed limit in the fast lane in Hawaii.
I can’t WAIT to get on the open roads between here (SoCal) and the Sunflower State and actually be able to drive.
As for Venice…yeah….it’s an experience.
HF6/
When my soon-to-be wife was doing her specialty in Burns at LA County circa 1973 and I would fly out to visit from grad school in La., the traffic then was bumper-to-bumper also–but at 90mph! It’s STILL bumper-to-bumper, but now were talking 2 hrs to travel what took 45 min then…LOL, “progress.”
The Nelson Oceanographic Institute is in Santa Barbara! Was the SEAVIEW in port?
The “SEAVIEW!”…LOL!
PS: We ARE dating ourselves, aren’t we, Badger?
A bit of a narcissist, aren’t you, Virgil?
Joe…he is indeed full of himself…he also laughs out loud to a disturbing degree. Best
Verily! I always enjoy taking a trip up to Superior, where the Nelson Lake Studies Institute is, and seeing if the LAKEVIEW is around. They have done much research on the fresh water whales of Lake Superior.
When I takeover anyone holding a California driver’s liscence will be required to undergo enhanced driver’s reeducation, unless they can prove they learned to drive in a civilized part of the country. Cars will also be retrofitted to detect if they are in the left lane without passing. If so, 120V will be passed through a vehicle-driver interface.
I am currently inland of Monterey helping with the 9th anniversary of my sister’s 21st birthday. As part of the preparation I’ve been performing chauffeur duties for my grandmother and a couple of aunts. The US 101, 8 supernumerary X chromosomes, and an average IQ on the road that would struggle to reach Canadian room temperature do not make for a very relaxed driving experience.
Jeff, an awful lot of us are not having a very good life at the moment, so kwitcherbitchin and write something amusing, Mmmkay?
Eh, I thought it was amusing. You, apparently, disagree.
Noted.
On a philosophical note, it seems to me that anyone with the temporal, mental, and computational resources to kvetch about a blog comment doesn’t have a terribly difficult life. It could be worse, you could be on fire.
I thought your post was funny!
I thought your reply to JTG was funny too.
Where the hell is Bill, anyway? Bill T. should be here. Bill T. can explain anything, and soothe yer mind so that you love, and believe, his explanation.
Bill, I need you! I am afraid! What does it all mean, Mr. Bill?
Just some random thoughts – Obama isn’t a snob, he just tilts his head back and looks down his nose at people so his brain can roll back and make contact with his brain stem.
During the restoration of the P-39 that was brought back to the NY factory where it was produced one of the women who worked there back in the day mentioned to they sometimes wrote their names on the parts. That started the restoration team looking for those. So far they have found two pieces with names and addresses.
The Old Guard stood fast and stood their watch during that last little storm on the eastern seaboard. Have they even missed as much as a minute since taking up the watch in 1948?
What restoration is that Joe? Is this a current project?
Check this: http://wnyaerospace.org/?page_id=66
see also: http://link.brightcove.com/services/player/bcpid34757272001?bclid=0&bctid=87804472001
And here’s the house she lived in at 103 Ross Avenue, Buffalo, NY.
Amazing.
That’s neat!
Interesting story. I know we has supplied the Russians with a lot of material but wasn’t familiar that that aircraft. I saw P-39 and was thinking Lightning and remembered the show I saw about the restoration of one a few years ago. I thought maybe someone had found another one.
There’s a Frederick Remington museum up in western NY that I want to visit and now I know about another air museum to put on my hit list.
Oh hell no, Daryl, the P-39 was used by the Russkies as a tank-killer w. its 37mm cannon which fired thru the prop nose-cone surrounded by the prop linkage–made possible by the fact its engine was mounted mid-fuselage behind the pilot. Was also the only ac in the inventory that had a DOOR as part of the canopy and fuselage for the pilot to enter by. Good low alt performance and useful when one has overall air superiority.
VX:
Popular mythos re. P-39 and tank killing:
It may come as a surprise to the admirers of Mustangs and Lightnings that the highest-scoring U.S.-made fighters in World War II were P-39 Airacobras, flown by Soviet pilots. Throughout the war, combat on the Eastern Front rarely occurred above 20,000 feet. Against the Red Army, German aircraft flew ground attack and close-support missions, down at low altitudes where the Cobras could strike. Eight Soviet P-39 pilots shot down at least 30 German aircraft each, and the highest-scoring Soviet ace, G.A. Rechkalov, scored 48 of his 54 confirmed kills in a P-39. The Soviets called it Kobrushka—Little Cobra.
There are military aviation histories and Web sites in which you can read that Russians used the P-39s as tank busters, flying ground attack and strafing missions. “That’s a fairy tale,” says Grinberg. “It flew air superiority missions. Yaks and Ilyushin Sturmoviks flew in the ground attack role, at low altitude. The P-39 plugged a very important gap” by prowling the mid-altitudes used by the German and Russian bombers, Grinberg says.
“If we had flown it [as] the Americans outlined in the aircraft’s specifications, they would have shot us down immediately,” said Golodnikov, a retired major general in the Soviet air force. “This fighter was a dud in its [design] regimes. But we conducted normal combat in ‘our’ regimes.”
w/r, SJS
SJS/
Yes, I knew about the low alt performance air-to-air, note my comment, above (tho perhaps I should have been more clear.) What I WASN’T aware of, however, is your info that it also wasn’t used as a tank-buster along with the IL-2s, etc. Thanks for the info–I was always under the impression that it was a “dual-threat” in almost equal proportions..
I spent some of the last few days driving around the Chicago area with a full rental mini-van and my lovely bride behind me in another full rental car. My style of driving in a place I’m not too familiar with is to take a quick look at the map, figure out where I want to go and then head that way. A few wrong turns or back tracks just add to the fun and teach you your surroundings quickly. Unfortunately, I’m a little hard to follow, if you’re not aggressive, or like my wife, holding a three way conversation. My only saving grace was my daughter was my wifes co-pilot and was cell phone equipped.
The last full day in town we took the train into the city from Great Lakes. Cheaper for eight of us than parking downtown all day, but not as fun for me. But the train was pulled by a locomotive my company built, so that was cool.
Captain, you should send the Kat up here to Boise State University. Good school, clean air, great people, awesome football team and it would let her see the rest of the country isn’t Southern California. And she could ride my wife’s 10 year old Thoroughbred Mare all she wanted. Just sayin…
In the next couple of days i’m going to get a few photos downloaded and post a Boot Camp PIR report over on the Flight Deck.
Remembering when, once upon a former life, PCH was a much favored thoroughfare. Coming off I-10 through the ever beautiful turn upon the highway was always a joyful moment, if not somewhat challenging up to around Pacific Palisades. After that it was largely dependent on locals going forth and back until about Zuma, but after that it was anything goes. Stop for shrimp and refreshments at Neptune’s Net, shoes off SOP for the stop, and then back to hell bent for leather til rounding the curve at Pt. Mugu.
Choices there: continue on Hwy 1 through Oxnard, or surface streets (Hueneme Rd, Ventura Rd, Channel Islands Blvd to Harbor Blvd, and then “Go, man. Go!” Thence on 101 to Santa Babylon and parts yonder. The real shame, Lex, is that Elephant Bar is gone at SBA; wonderful atmosphere!