Tuesday, September 21, 2010

Clean car, clean clothes and clean us!

Friday morning the car is returned to us from David Watson's Automotive Restoration and Detailing business. She is dazzling, absolutely beautiful. Dave donated the time and resources of his business to our vehicle so that we could represent Team Fox in the best light! We take her for a ride to the laundromat, (we live such exciting lives.) While parked, people make donations into Mr. Compassion and take flyers for the upcoming car show. Oli gets a hair cut nearby and I fluff and fold. Back to the hotel to clean up for the Gala. It's being held at he Blackhawk Museum in Walnut Creek. Its a modest facade nestled within an outdoor shopping/dining center (which also has a cinema.) In fact, it's so well tucked away, we circle the mall twice trying to find it!
But when we do, it blows our minds. The museum houses the most unique collection of car masterpieces I have ever witnessed. There are one of a kind autos here, dream machines.
Oliver liked the wooden one. I favor the purple one, no the silver one, no the red one! Oh wait, all in a row the most amazing Alfa Romao's. beautiful! There are 3 levels to the museum and each has wonderment to see. They have us park the Delorean at the entry for all to see as they enter the Museum. An extension cord is offered and we plug in, light all the lights and play the promotional video on the ‘wing-screen’ and all is well. After a few hours, we have a bit of a panic when the sound system fails. The radio is out! A quick call to our official DeLorean Technical Support, Bob Zilla and Oli is checking fuses. It's getting scary, then Oli realizes that the lights are starting to fail and the time circuits start to fail. The outlet we were told to plug into was not live! It's on a timer and won't turn on until Sunset. We've been running the D on her own battery, with all the effects even the TV and DVD player! She's a tough little car and did her very best, (amazing she lasted as long as she did on her own power!) but she did even better when we found a live outlet. Thanks to the fine crew at the Museum, they tested a few outlets before we found a live one! Crisis averted, now let's enjoy the party. It starts with a silent auction, folks have had a chance to write their bids, and to finish, the auctioneer steps to each item with a tall blinking sign and does a final rally for bids. It's a great way to build excitement and bids! Dinner is held in the museum and we are surrounded by amazing cars. Our table partners include Tom (and wife Nancy), who designed special glasses that help him walk; he has PD. And then there's Gale and her husband who have a fully restored 1955 Jaguar. As the night goes on, we share stories and tales and find out that Gale and Jerry live near Jamestown; the train is in their backyard. Maybe we will see them in the future. Back to the room, there's a VW Camper Bus all decked out for a vacation. It's the favorite the Owner of the museum admits later in his greeting. The announcer is a local reporter who calls the weather lady for an update on tomorrows forecast. Partly sunny with a chance of light rain is the translation. Translation because the connection is broken up, they must have ATT too! Jim and his wife have a moment to speak, very kind and generous people. Then Debi takes the microphone, she announces that Team Fox has hit the $2,000,000 mark, and that's just for this year. Team Fox has raised over $200,000,000 in it's history! She then introduces a video that Michael J. Fox has sent. The dinner was delicious and the auction exciting. A trip to Budapest to race a Formula One, a Safari in Africa and a Diamond Necklace. These are only a few of the lavish items up for bid. At the end of the evening there was a card pull, they sold 52 cards for a chance to win earrings. Very popular with the ladies! And last but not least a paddle raise, here they gave you an opportunity to raise your paddle and yell out the dollar amount your family wanted to donate, no prize just pure pleasure in giving. The evening ended with us having a moment with Debi and then to the hotel to rest up for the car show.

Zigzagging, Petrified, and the PCH 1.

Tuesday September 21, 2010
We leave the San Remo heading for Lombard Street. We zig zag our way to the crooked-est street in the world. We approach from the bottom and receive cheers as we head to the top. It’s an exciting ride, people yelling and taking photos all the way down. At the bottom more cheers! What fun! We cross the Golden Gate Bridge and head north. We decide to visit the Petrified Forest, huge rock trees that are millions of years old and the world's largest specimens. About as exciting as petrified trees can be, but to get back to Petaluma we took the PCH 1, Pacific Coast Highway, which WAS exciting!
It’s a beautiful day, blue sky, cool breeze and the awesome ocean and rocks! We stop at shell beach, not so may shells, and hike down the cliffs. Oli and I both love this part of the world. A little lunch with sea gulls at Bodega Bay (where Hitchcock filmed 'The Birds') and then on to Petaluma, CA., a town established in the 1800’s that still has a lot of the old town style. A grand old bank building on the corner now houses a seed company, featuring non-genetically altered seeds. 'Heirloom seeds.' Also some really cool book stores and toy shops.
Then off to the farm to visit our friends, Jeffery and Kimball. They live in Petaluma where Rameses the Great Hemotep Kitty Uncommon, greets us at the top of the drive.