Wet San Francisco 2

Well Friday was another wet day - VERY wet day.  More storms rolled in dropping non stop heavy rain on the coast, and snow up in the Sierras.  But you can't sit in a motel room all day when you are on a trip like this, so Elsie and I set off in the rain.


It was raining so hard when I set off, but the shower cape had kept the inside of the car dry with no leaks, athough everything is damp. And thank goodness I had made that waterproof cover to fit over the louvres in the engine lid and keep the water out of there - clarification later !!  The motel has a covered archway at the entrance and I was able to sit there under cover until the engine warmed up sufficiently to blow some hot air on the windscreen and dry everything up so I could see out the windows !  And off on the very wet freeway into San Francisco. First stop Lombard Street, supposedly the crookedest in the world, although there are others, even one in San Francisco. Then on in the rain to the heart of the city to 555 California Street, the old Bank of America building where, in 1973, I had worked with the company that built the fountain there - Was my masterpiece still there ? No, I think it has gone - Coudn't stop in the traffic but it looks as though there are hedges and gardens there now !!  So on to the next landmark for a photo - Fisherman's Wharf.  But the rain got heavier and heavier, and then my camera batteries died, and the roof was leaking and the chammys were getting full of water - Time to cut and run - NOT an Elise friendly day.  And MAN these US roads are TERRIBLE - especially in the cities.  Will be glad to get out in the country.  One more stop in the city.  Back in 1972 or 73 when I was here, there was a place called Tommy's Joynt on Van Ness and Geary that served great Buffalo Stew (as in Bison, not water buffalo !!) and had about 100 different beers from around the world. Wonder if it is still there ?  Sure was, and a parking spot right outside - My luck is changing.  In I go and NOTHING has changed - It is like stepping back 40 years !!!!! The Buffalo Stew was great, and I had a draft Guinness.  Perfect.  Time to go home and get out of the rain, and do my laundry, so back to the motel.  But first a brief detour to an old haunt up above the GG Bridge - And just as I pull up, the bridge appears out of the fog.   I take a quick photo, and almost before I am back in my car, the bridge has disappeared into the fog again !!

At 7 pm I set off back into town again still raining, to the Golden Gate Lotus Club meeting at a member's (Pete) home . Great food, good Lotus minded people (too many to name individualy here, but great to meet you all !) - A great evening, and by the time it wrapped up at about 10.30 it had stopped raining !!!  Still damp though.  So on the way to the GG Bridge, I end up in an area that was NOT very nice - lots of people hanging around on street corners, and most of them eyeing the strange car pulled up at the lights that seem to be red an awfully long time.  Know what I mean ?  How do you lock an S1's doors from the inside ? Where is my penknife in case I need it ?  Even bear spray might help !!!   Suddenly the engine splutters and nearly dies, and my heart beat soars.  At the same moment the light turns green, and I manage to keep the engine alive and take off in a squeal of tortured rubber up a series of 1 in 5 San Francisco hills a LOT faster than even Steve McQueen did it in the Mustang !  Water in the plug sockets ?   Imagine if I HADN'T had that cover over the grills in the engine cover for the past 3 days of torrential rain !!

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Saturday morning it is still dry !!  Still grey too, but at least not raining.  So off over the double decker Richmond/San Rafael bridge to meet Kiyoshi Hamai again, this time in Alameda on the Oakland side where he was checking out a new venue for GGLC Autokhanas.  They have so many big and suitable areas around here they are so lucky. After that, a quick Starbucks to check emails on their free wifi, and then on south to San Jose down the freeway, where, after lunch we went round to Rob Dietsch's workshop.  Rob works primarily on Lotus' but I wasn't prepared for either his venue or the contents of his garage, let alone the others.  Basically his workshop is in an area set up to cater for auto enthusiasts, with private garages where people can store cars and work on them, and meet socially.  I understand there is a Veyron and two McLarens there althugh I didn't see them, but saw a LOT of other stuff.  What an amazing facility, and I just wandered round with my mouth hanging open !!  And Rob's place isn't too shabby either, with Esprits, M 100s, M3s, and a LOT of Eliges in varying stages of repair.  And an S1 Sport 190 that is registered (thats another story !!) but in fairly sad condition needing a complete rebuild as it has just sat outside for a while. Then there is the original Tesla Mule that is a 2002 Italian Spec S2 that Tesla then used to test their first electric efforts.  Interesting to see something that one day will be a piece of history - Shame they wouldn't sell it to Rob with the engine still in it !!!   And his nice new 4 WD dyno almost installed that can measure up to 1000 hp !!   So they plan to get the local Veyron on it to see if it can walk the walk !!  And wandering round the facility just lots of stuff - More Elises, R8, new Godzilla, Ferrari's, Porsches, Healey's and of course lots of US cars, including the gorgeous Cadillacs I photographed.  If I lived in the US, I would want one of these - the biggest car, with the biggest rear fins, convertible, white top - the works - Only in America  !!  Love them. And last of all, outside is the GGLC van which houses all their cones, tents, timing gear etc for them to run Autokhanas and track events around the region.  And it tows a trailer on which they can fit 3 Elises in tandem !!!! I think we need to emulate this in Australia !!!

By now, still no rain.  Rob gave me some lubricant to spray in all my door and boot locks which were stiffening up in all the rain, but that didn't help raise the air temps which with the rain gone, have now plummetted to about 10 deg C today, with a bitter wind.   Hmmmm - Must be time to leave California ! Thank you VERY much to all the wonderful friendly people I have met through the clubs here.  I have had a great time despite the weather !!  And Kiyoshi, a special thank you for taking so much time to show me around - Really enjoyed your company.  Come and see me in Australia !
So tomorrow morning I am heading out down to Bakersfield, Death Valley, and Las Vegas. Was going to go through the Sierra nountains to get there, but heavy snow over the past 3 days has been down to 3000 ft, and many roads are either closed or accessible with chains only- Which rules me out.  So will be going down the freeway to San Jose, then on smaller Hwy 25 through Hollister to Bakersfield, and then up through Death Valley to Vegas - Should take 2-3 days I think. So catch you in a day or two.