The Redwoods to Hollywood Tour began early on April 28th from Richmond, California. It took over 1.5 hours in commute traffic (more about that later) to get down to Mountain View to rendezvous the 1930 Straight 8 Rumble Seat Coupe with the 1925 Screenside Commercial car. The Gong clan caravanned down to Van Nuys from the Bay Area via HWY 101. Once out of metropolitan San Jose, the journey was relatively unhindered. The usual bottlenecks were encountered at Gilroy and the Peninsula cutoff but nothing major as we wended our way at 55mph past Salinas, Greenfield, Soledad and then King City. At King City we fueled up with Diesel and gasoline and took time to grab a bite to eat and we were off again.

We travelled along and anticipated the first Rest stop at Camp Roberts. Although the State brochures guaranteed that the rest stop would be open by the end of April, alas work was not completed. We just continued driving and rumbled on down HWY 101 through Paso Robles, Atascadero, San Luis Obispo, Santa Maria and finally took a break at the Gaviota Rest stop. By this time the gasoline vehicle was getting low on fuel, so we decided that we should fuel at the first station that we could spot. We went past Ventura and noticed that the ocean view was so close to the highway, there were no gasoline standards to be seen. Just above Oxnard we pulled off the highway after noting a blue highway marker indicating gasoline, dining and sleeping accommodations. We did find gasoline but the attendant was very vague on where one might find diesel fuel. This hiding of commercial enterprises certainly keeps the ocean view very nice, but to the traveler, it is a bit disconcerting being unable to spot a service station from the freeway. Once taking on gasoline we resumed our trek towards Van Nuys. It is about 53 miles from Oxnard to the intersection of HWY 405. We were caught in the Los Angeles stop and go commute traffic for most of that distance - past Thousand Oaks and Encino. Now this is what can be called real commute traffic! Once we got to the 405 the signage from HWY 101 to North 405 was vague at best and it was a challenge just to find the correct lane to be in to make the merge and exits. We finally arrived at the Van Nuys Airtel Plaza Hotel that abuts to the property of the Van Nuys airport. We check into the Airtel Plaza Towers and took our Dodge Brothers cars to the drop off point. It was 6:45 p.m. when we began unloading the cars off the trailers. By the time we completed unloading and parking the trailers it was growing dark. We did notice that there was a 3-club wind blowing (golf-speak) west to east at about 30 mph.

Off we went to the dining room to have a bite to eat at about 8:30 p.m. and had a decent meal. As we were completing our meal and having coffee, we spotted Ken Sobel (our host) and had a great reunion with Ken. Soon we headed for the Airtel Plaza Towers and our rooms for much needed sleep when Ken remembered that he had goody bags in his room. Ken handed these out to us and had the definitive directions of each tour venue. These were different type of goody bags and which were cloth tote bags and aside from the tour directions the bags were filled with fruit, waters, snacks, etc. After receiving our goody bags we were off to bed getting ready for an early morning departure.

It was windy and cool the morning of Friday, April 30. For the LA Basin, the air was crisp and clear and you could see all of the mountains surrounding the San Fernando Valley with no smog. After a hearty breakfast where most of the tour group met and reminisced, we were greeted by old and new friends of the Northern California Dodge Brothers and Sisters Region. We had Donn and Sherrin Marinovich from Columbia riding in Sherrins 1962 Power Wagon, Knute and Maryjoan Kleinen also from Columbia in a 1936 Pontiac 4-door sedan, Barry Monroe with Marvin Brown from West Covina in a 1922 DB Touring car, Eddie and Maryvonne Festa from Reseda in a 1933 original non-restored DP sedan, Tom and Elaine Gong from Richmond in a 1930 Straight 8 rumble seat coupe, Roger and Lynne Gong from Mountain View in a 1924 Screenside, Russ and Trish Stewart who are restoring a 1937 humpback panel and Ken and Gloria Sobel from Encino in a fine 1934 Sedan, . Bob and Marilyn Hepner joined us later in the day in a 1937 Airflow sedan along with Sherman Kaliber, the past president of the WPC club. At 8:45 sharp, there was a drivers and navigators meeting to begin the tour. The destination for this morning was to travel city streets to San Sylmar to the Nethercutt Museum. We were off with Ken and Gloria Sobel in the lead and Donn Marinovich and Sherrin Grout in her 1962 Power Wagon as trailer car for the procession. We travelled on city streets with the last of the commute traffic over roads that need a lot of help in terms of repair. In the 4-cylinder cars without shock absorbers, this was a very rough ride to the museum. It took about an hour to arrive at the Nethercutt Museum due to traffic and stop lights, etc.

The Nethercutt museum consists of two very large buildings. The primary building is one of four levels to the collection, and it's filled with everything from dolls to classic cars to nickelodeons and music boxes. Many of the antique cars are Pebble Beach Concourse d’Elegance winning cars. The collection of objects d’arte along with antique furniture and other collectibles and finally to the music room on the upper floor where there is a mighty Wulitzer Organ with over 5,000 pipes is an amazing sight to see. The Wulitzer organs were used in the day of silent movies and there are 5 instruments of this genre left in the USA. Aside from the organ, there are innumerable player pianos, player string instruments and other oddities of the musical world. Each major piece was demonstrated to the group – including the player banjo as requested by Lynne Gong.

Arrival at the Nerthercutt museum upon arrival.

The docents have been working in this museum for over 20 years and provided detail analysis of every piece of art, musical instrumentation and for the cars in residence. In this museum, the Nethercutt showcases more that 200 vehicles, six that have won the top award at Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance an unprecedented six times.

The existence of this Museum and the Nethercutt Collection is the lifes work and passion of the late J.B and Dorothy Nethercutt. For those who are curious, the money for this endeavor was the result of profits from Merle Norman cosmetics. After our two-hour docent led tour we retired to the parking lot where our box lunches awaited us. It was great to get out and sit on the running boards to eat our lunch and discuss our own feelings about what we just observed and just hang out talking Dodge with the group. After the lunch break we were on our own to examine the second building stuffed full of antique automobiles.

Across the street from the main building stands another edifice that houses about 150 automobiles. From boat-tailed Cords to Rolls Royces, all in the era from 1900’s through the 1930’s. And yes, there was a 1923 DB Touring car on display. Every car on display is in drivable condition and has gasoline, oil, water and the keys in the ignition ready to roll. Many of these fine vehicles are on loan to be seen by the public. Each car is exquisite and detailed for a concourse show and shine. Another attraction was a Canadian Locomotive connected to a fully appointed Pullman car. This car was custom designed by the daughter of Lucky Baldwin who was a turn of the century entrepreneur and had his hand in racing, gambling, automobiles and real estate. After another two hours of gazing at the plethora of exotic automobiles we made our way back to the hotel in commute traffic. This is another testament to the sturdiness of the DB vehicles. There were no breakdowns during any of the travels in stop and go traffic. We reached the hotel with no problems (except the brakes on the Screenside were heating and slipping). Donn Marinovich applied his technical skills to the Screenside and fixed the problem by tightening the upper bands. Then it was time to head for the Magic Castle.

With Ken and Gloria Sobel as members we received preferential treatment for dinner and the main show. Entering the Castle was an enlightening experience. A hidden panel of a wall is used as the portal to the main Castle itself. Of course you had to provide the password for the door to open and the password was the obvious: -Open Sesame! As we entered the main part of the Castle we were introduced to Invisible Irma and her music room. Irma is a ghost of a favorite performer of the Castle who left us in the 1930’s, but continues to entertain us today. You could ask Irma questions and she would respond in piano played responses. Besides questions Irma would also play any requested tune.

The Castle itself sits atop of a hill directly above the Roosevelt hotel and is a leased property. It has an amazing view of the valley and all of Hollywood. As to the dinner, by no means was this a minimalist menu and the chef’s served up delicious meals. There was plenty of time to make the main show which was a cabaret review by Rudy Coby. His show consisted of using Science and Magic to baffle audiences. There was not the typical magic trick show only during this act. For those interested in prestidigitation there were Close-up Galleries where Johan Stahl and Andrew Mayne were the headliners for their magic tricks. In addition you could see Chris Kenner who was with David Copperfield and Brian Brushwood who is the author of Cheats, Cons, Swindles & Tricks: 57 ways to scam a free drink.

As an aside, the main attraction for many of the men of the NCDBS (and almost all of the other men in the main room) was this well endowed statuesque long legged blonde in a bright turquoise colored clinging mini-skirt sheath dress who entered at the front of the theater just as the curtains were going up and was accompanied an elderly gentlemen whom we all presumed was escorting his niece to the performance. All of this magical observation aside, the problem most of us had was fatigue and trying to stay alert for all of the acts that one would want to see. The Castle closes down at 2:00 a.m. but most of the group was long gone by that hour and safely in bed at the hotel. But the Magic Castle is an interesting place and one should see it at least once in your lifetime!

Saturday May 1 was another brilliantly bright day with less wind than the previous day. After meeting for breakfast, we then met at 8:45 a.m. for the Drivers and Navigators meeting in front of the hotel. The same intrepid souls were in place and we were headed across town to the Peterson Automotive Museum. The route was on city streets and over many hills, along the freeways for about 20 miles one way. This took about 90 minutes of concentrated driving to reach our destination. The two 4-cylinder DB’s made it without protest as we travelled past Rodeo Drive and onto Wilshire Boulevard.

At the Peterson Museum, there was a docent led guided tour of the facility that took approximately 2 hours to complete. The tour began with a visit to a 1900s blacksmith’s garage in the Los Angeles area where a hand built gasoline two seater with steering yoke was built. This led to a life of automobiles in the L.A. basin. The museum is split up into very interesting sections. Early automobiles from the 1900s through the 1930s representing family type vehicles, race cars of the early vintage ranging from the 1930s through the 1950s, and fiberglass bodied vehicles, a motorcycle exhibit, a slot car exhibition and finally a childrens area. Once the tour was completed, we headed out for lunch at Johnny Rockets (a hamburger haven) at the Peterson.

After lunch Ken Sobel was feeling a bit tired so he retired to get some rest. The rest of us followed Eddie Festa about 3 blocks to the Page Museum at the La Brea Tar Pits. The Page Museum houses the Earths richest and most important Ice age fossil collection. There is a working paleontology laboratory on site and scenes depicting Southern California and North America thousands of years ago. More than 30 complete skeletons of fossil mammals and birds are on display.

When the ocean levels receded about 100,000 years ago, the area of Rancho La Brea became land. At the site, crude oil began to seep out of the ground for the past 40,000 years and has caused pools to form. This area became a hazardous place for animals. The surface was camouflaged and as the animals wandered in, it was possible for the animal to be stuck like a fly on flypaper. These animals were attacked by predators who themselves were sometimes caught by the clinging liquid asphalt.

Opposite the entrance to the museum there is a fenced off pool of liquid asphalt. One immediately notices the continued bursting to the surface bubbles of methane gas. Sometimes in small continuous bubbles, other times in a single gigantic bursting through the surface. The museum itself was enlightening for all visitors. One of the first exhibits is a teaching aid to have all visitors understand the viscous nature of the liquid asphalt. A number of clear Plexiglas pipes about 1.5 inches in diameter were thrust down into tar that has been taken from the pools of the area. There was a piston like mechanism inside of the pipe. As you lifted the inner piston you were drawing the liquid asphalt up from the reservoir of tar. The resistance you felt was the sticky-ness of the liquid asphalt itself. There was one pipe, which was about 4 inches in diameter with a piston pump to match that size. This one was really difficult to lift out of the tar. It was easy to see why animals caught in the liquid asphalt had a difficult time to escape.

As you enter another part of the museum you find the skeleton of a saber-toothed cat. No, it is not a saber toothed tiger and never will be, this gigantic animal was a cat. Next you run into the Columbian mammoth in full size and a smaller American mastodon. This is followed by 404 mounted head and jawbones of the Dire wolf (over 1400 jaws were found to date) and birds of prey and the working “fish bowl� laboratory where paleontology is happening in front of your very eyes.

This is the Columbian Mammoth found in the tar

Nearly all of the skeletons on display are real fossil bones found at the tar pits. They have been mounted using an internal steel and wire armature. Missing bones or parts originally composed of cartilage have been reconstructed with resin or plaster. Only the Shasta ground sloth is 100% plaster because the bones of this species are rare from Rancho La Brea. In addition, the Columbian mammoth and American mastodon tusks are fiberglass, since the original tusks were dentine rather than enamel and consequently decayed in the asphalt. A wood fragment was dated at around 40, 000 years old using the Carbon-14 radiometric dating method. Extinct mammals, like the saber-toothed cats and mammoths, and birds, like Merriam's Teratorn and Grinnell's Eagle, roamed the Los Angeles Basin for several hundred thousand years. These and other extinct species were entrapped and their remains were preserved between 40,000 and 10,000 years ago at Rancho La Brea, during the last of four great Ice Ages at the end of the Pleistocene Epoch. Since 1906, more than one million bones have been recovered representing over 231 species of vertebrates. In addition, 159 kinds of plants and 234 kinds of invertebrates have been identified. It is estimated that the collections at the Page Museum contain about three million items. Dire wolves are the most common large mammals from Rancho La Brea, with several thousand individuals represented in the Page museum collections. The remains of over 2,000 individuals of saber-toothed cats rank second. After ingesting this museum we headed back to the hotel with Eddie and Maryvonne Festa leading the way over city streets and many back roads. After another 90 minutes or so we arrived back at the hotel none the worse for wear.

We prepared ourselves for our usual camaraderie dinner that was held at Ken and Gloria Sobels house. It was an informal affair with great interaction between the guests talking “Dodge� and the scarcity of parts, etc. In the final analysis, we find that the reason for some of that scarcity is due to the fact that every Dodge Brother has squirreled away enough storage of parts to build another car if the need arose. After dinner with many of the group imbibing in their favorite adult beverage or some of the wine that Eddie Festa brought, Ken Sobel began to show snippets of the DVD that he has been working on for the past few weeks. It is a video representation of the entire tour and will be completed when those in attendance forward their digipix to add the last touches to the digital film. And then since we were all staying at the Airtel Plaza Hotel in Van Nuys, a DVD of something called 16 Right was shown, which is a history of the Van Nuys air port. A very interesting film. With dessert we all gathered in the dining room and low and behold, we were entertained by an Elvis Presley imitator. Steve Sands a friend of Ken’s does this professionally and the set was great. Steve used the young Elvis and the act was upbeat and entertaining. Again, it was terrific! But then it was time to depart and head back to the hotel for some much needed rest.

On Sunday morning at about 5:30 a.m., Roger and Lynne received a call from Gloria Sobel informing us that Ken had checked himself into a hospital at mid-night due to cellulitis. Cellulitis produces the symptoms of fever, chills, shaking, fatigue, malaise, myalgias, pain and tenderness of the skin. After the effort that Ken put into making this tour a success – a stroke 6 weeks prior to the event and a foot injury that has not healed yet – it is a wonder that the tour came off at all. However, the success was due to the both the host and the participants who really made this happen! Sunday morning was less windy and chilly, but was still crystal clear. The Bay area group began loading up immediately following breakfast. There was a scheduled event for Sunday. However, by 9:00 a.m. it was obvious that only the Gong’s and Marinovich’s were left in the parking lot. After hearing the news that Ken Sobel was in the hospital, Donn Marinovich and Sherrin Grout decided to keep the appointment with the Van Nuys Heliport tour themselves. The rest of us were still loading up our cars as they departed for the Heliport. They were regaled by all the members of the Fire support team and were treated to a personal 2-hour tour of every piece of equipment and process fire fighting in their arsenal. As Donn Marinovich said: These guys were awesome!!! Thank you to Donn and Sherrin for taking one for the team and the Heliport guys for being so gracious.

By 10:00 a.m. the Gong contingent were headed out Sherman Way to the 405 and then HWY 101 and back to the Bay area. With only a short stop at Andersons Pea Soup restaurant we made it back from L.A. in nine hours. This tour was tiring, but it was worth every minute to bond with our southern Dodge Brother brethren. Oh as an update, by Wednesday, May 5 after the tour was completed, Ken Sobel had been released from the hospital and was well enough to begin making and receiving telephone calls and emails! So thank you Ken and Gloria for a great time!