Back from San Fran with a peculiar smile on my face. Despite the total weirdness of this holiday, I have a quiet sense of peace today.
I got sick in SF for a few days. You, know, sore throat, cough and stuff. But not enough to really stop me from doing what needed to be done. Had a great time in our FORD van. Yea, we opted for a Ford E250 instead of the Chevy. It was crap.
Saw a cool 600hp Vette on the way up. The intake was so big that the guy couldn’t put the hood back on. Um,… peculiar. But, we visited our usual stomping places. The Warming Hut at Fort Point with awesome brownies and a cool lil’ nook on Van Ness call The Underground for a Hummus Bagel and Joe. But, … it wasn’t, um underground. Peculiar.
Downtown was in full festivities with the Big Tree and Ice Skating in Union Square. Very Christmasy. Then, we shot back home, the pups in tow for a Christmas day with the family. I even made a cake, but ran out of letters. Pe, pe, peculiar.
2009 will bring great car things. Great things for all, I believe. And it’s important that you believe that, too. We’re all in this together.
Good read. Robert Collier’s “Secret of the Ages.” It will put in in a good mood and ensure you that your life can and will be better. …With cooler cars.
Good night, 2008.
Yea, my wife’s always getting me into weird things. Since she builds wild character costumes for movies and promotion, I’m being forced to drive to San Francisco and help deliver two of these little guys. Actually, they’re huge. This is Mr. Helmet for PG&E. He goes to all the schools and gives talks about saving energy. And that, folks, is a good thing as it’s something we all need to do. She did the first Mr. Helmet about 5 years ago which premiered here in this commercial. Since then, she’s done about 20 more. THAT’S A LOT OF HELMETS! (And guess who wore the costume in the commercial? Yes, me.)
While we’re in San Fran, we’ll do some Christmas shopping. It’s is a great city to shop in for Xmas. It’s way cold, lots of holiday cheer, cable cars where everyone has a cold red nose, and Union Square is cool. We’ll take our pillow killing cockerpoos with us, too. Maybe they can take out their frustration on the hotel couch?
Oh, and the best part? We get to drive a massive White Chevy Cargo Van to carry the Helmets in. You ever drift a Cargo Van? …You Have?? Well, I bet you’ve never had huge Helmets in the back!!! Cha!
This last photo was one we got back after a truck backed over it. Guess Helmets really aren’t that safe after all…
Off to San Francisco we went on Thursday. 7 hours up from LA. And all the while, I got the sense that cars were following me. Not on the freeway, mind you, but everywhere I showed up,… cool cars appeared.
We stopped for some joe in Pismo Beach. Great place called “The Honeymoon Cafe,” right on the strip. Extremely well themed place and great coffee. A must see. Then, back on the freeway where cool cars emerged again. Jaguars, Lotus, all kinds. Within a few hours, I was at CLUB SPORTIVA for a cool talk about Exotics. A blast meeting everyone and talking about design philosophies. My doggies, Bug and Sammy liked the Ferrari F430, paws down.
Then, off we went to Napa for some wine tasting… IN A BENTLEY! (Courtesy of Club Sportiva, of course!) We got to taste cool vino and drive a ridiculously cool car there. But before we hit the wineries, we snagged some lunch in downtown Napa… WHERE THERE JUST HAPPENED TO BE A CAR SHOW, DOH!! So, all the while chowing, we got to check out MORE cool cars. And the desserts at the restaurant, (Tuscany) were pretty dang yummy, too. (That’s my son’s girlfriend, Isla, about to take a bite of her CHOCOLATE CUP!
After lunch, we headed to Kathie’s favorite winery BV, 20 minutes north of Napa. Merlot is her drink of drinks, so everyone (but me!) did the tasting. I just drove the Bentley… poor me. SICK!!!
The next morning, before returning the BIG BEAST back to Club Sportiva, we hit Fort Point for some coffee again and… A 140 SMART CARS SHOWED UP!!! YIKES!!! And boy, did they get in trouble for not having a “I’M GOING TO GO SEE THE GOLDEN GATE BRIDGE IN MY SMARTCAR PERMIT.”
1. Go to San Fran, ’cause it’s beautiful. Or anywhere beautiful.
2. Go in a cool car, ’cause life is short.
3. Drink good coffee, taste some good wine,… unless you’re the designated Jeeves.
4. Enjoy yourself. Life is too short to waste time not doing what you love.
…And don’t give me any of that “I can’t afford to do this kind of stuff” nonsense. You CAN’T AFFORD NOT TO. There is ALWAYS a way. My whole trip? About $1000. It took me about 4 months to save that in a coffee can once…
“Whatever the mind can conceive, the mind can achieve.” …Napoleon Hill
If you want to have fun, get crooked…
This past week, the boys of MyRide and I headed to San Francisco to shoot two new episodes of “WORLD OF CARS.” And boy, was this a crazy week…
FADE IN
The Club. Not just any club, but CLUB SPORTIVA. An extremely well run dream generating auto enthusiast club, catering to those wishing to drive the ULTIMATE EXOTIC! And thanks to head honcho, Torbin Fuller, that’s exactly what you get.
I’m saving the details for the upcoming episode, but let me just tell you that getting involved with these guys will light your fire!
…We started off the day driving the Bentley Continental GT, then on to the Ferrari F430 and finally to the Lamborghini Gallardo. SICK!!! It was like riding a 50 foot wave,…..FOR 6 HOURS STRAIGHT!!
Then, it was onto Lombard Street to run the “Crookedest Street on the Planet.” Or is it? (What’s the picture above?) Only time and the episode will tell. Coming in just a couple of weeks, folks!
But, if you’re ever in San Francisco, and you love cars, then CLUB SPORTIVA should be your first stop! Big thanks to all the boys there that helped us out! Especially, Torbin. An incredibly humble and passionate car guy, doing it all for the right reasons…
…And for a first trip, Sammy and Bug were excited. At only 5 months old, they were eager to experience San Francisco and the car scene. Some good, some seriously wrong.
In order from above, I grabbed the pups in the early dawn and we headed up the coast to the City By The Bay. 6 hours. Stopping briefly at the pooches favorite food shop, Subway. Piled high.
Once arriving, as always, Kathie wanted to find the water. And since SF is… like ALL water, that wasn’t hard. (Not to mention we’ve been here about 300 times!) BUT, for the pups, it was their first time! And man, were THEY excited. …And the views did not disappoint.
Can you identify the gold car? Take a chance and post the answer below. It’s about as wrong as it gets…. You may get a gold star?
We met up with our son, Sean, who just moved to SF and is working for Starbucks. Yes, free coffee, yo. And lots of it!! We hung with him, downed a triple espresso, and took the pups on tour in Kathie’s new favorite ride, the TOYOTA FJ CRUISER. The ride rocks! I’d recommend it highly as a great long distance traveler. We rented this one, but she’s hot doggin’ for a black one coming soon. But, for anyone in the market to buy, ALWAYS rent first. It’s the best way to make sure that the thousands are well spent.
We head into Sausalito to see some cool rides, just soakin’ in the sun, then off to ESCAPE FROM LA PIZZA. Best in town,… and a good title. No Alcatraz this time, doggies not allowed as they may mess up the pen.
One more time past the Golden Gate and to the beach and we were done. 4 days. The pooches were depooched as we got home. And it was nighty night, doggies. Sleeping and dreaming of Twin Turbo’d Z Cars smokin’ Ferraris….
Why do we make money? Why do we work so hard? Why do we waste our time dreaming? … To enjoy life, you have to step up to the plate. And say that you did the things you always wished you could do. And found a way…
Don’t wait ’til it’s too late…
