Mendenhall Museum, Buellton, CA
Story and Photos by Scott Gregory
Fourteen Corvettes gathered early on a Saturday morning at our pre-launch site in the parking lot of the Copperhill Walmart in preparation for what turned out to be a beautiful day for the drive north to Buellton, CA.
The trip up was great, and as usual it required some experienced coordination between Mark Ware in the lead car and the tail gunners, Tom and Elke Couples, to keep everyone in formation as we made our way through some coastal traffic along the Ventura and Santa Barbara stretch of the 101. But once we cleared the traffic it was time to set the cruise control and enjoy the ride.
The museum, for those that have never there, is an amazing private petroliana collection of gas pumps, signs, and racing related memorabilia, much of it from the central California region. It is also home the Dry Lakes Racing Hall of Fame.
The museum was gracious enough to let us park inside, where we spent the next couple of hours getting a private tour by our hostess, Misty, the daughter of the owners, Mark and Vicki Mendenhall. She was not only very knowledgeable about the collections on display, but she shared many family memories related to growing up around the museum that was originally started by her grandfather, a Buellton gas station owner, and himself a land speed record holder.
After our visit to the museum, we took the short drive to Morrell’s Farm Fresh Dining where twenty-seven of us descended on the restaurant for brunch. Parking had been pre-arranged in front of the restaurant, and our tables were ready and waiting.
The relaxed brunch was excellent and offered a wide range of menu choices from traditional breakfast items to locally selected specialties – either way, we could not go wrong.
After brunch some of the group headed off to the casino to try their luck, which I understand went well, while others went shopping in Solvang, and a few of us caravanned home along the Chumash route through Ojai, bringing a close to another great run.
Our route bypasses the fire and resulting congestion and included a lunch stop in Buellton at Morrell’s Farm Fresh Dining on McMurray Road. It’s an American food place with excellent ratings where we were all welcomed and well taken care of. The restaurant staff was excited to have us all pour into their place and photo’d us leaving. We apparently were the guests of the day. Our caravan of 23 Corvettes was spectacular as we headed north and all the way into SLO and took over the Best Western Plus on Madonna Road for the weekend. Naomi, the manager, was gracious and she and her staff all treated us as longtime family friends, like her buddy Don Ceo.
Besides getting to SLO all together, there was no set agenda for the weekend, but despite that we all dined together at Tahoe Joe’s nearby to end our day. Our club is one that likes to stick together, and this getaway was no different. After Saturday’s leisurely breakfast, most of us lined up for another caravan, outbound on Los Osos Road to Morro Bay, then north on CA-1 to Cambria where one of our own, Chuck Negri suggested a stop at the little known Nitt Witt Ridge house. It was at least worth a drive-by.
With the Nitt Witt detour in our rear-view mirrors, we continued north on Highway 1 past San Simeon and on to the gateway to Big Sur, Ragged Point. There were plenty of photo ops there and the fresh ocean air was a welcome change from our hot summer’s end.
The caravan then continued, back south to Sebastian’s in San Simeon for lunch. The Corvettes rolling in all together were an added attraction for the many tourists at the café and my chili burger was especially good.
Onward south to Cayucos was next for a mandatory stop at the Brown Butter Cookie Co. for our favorite cookie selections and for some a look at the other spots of interest in the great little beach town.
Our caravan splintered into several smaller groups through the day, but we all made it back to SLO in good order in time to once again assemble for another “group meal”. This time the location was the nearby and infamous Golden Gong Chinese Restaurant. It was a close walk from the Best Western.
Then, almost as quick as the weekend started, it drew to a close. For some, Sunday morning had an early drive home in store and others had local stores to visit. With the ongoing fire situation in our home area, the route home was a consideration for all and there were several options discussed and taken, but we were all in the same accord, the Central Coast Getaway was another great event for the SCVCC!
Not wanting to miss out or to pay full price for the school, I called the reservation number for Ron Fellows hoping for a reservation but understanding the problem was on my end and not theirs. What a relief to hear after pleading my case that GM granted me an extension and that I would soon be attending the school. They even offered me a class date of November 5th, after the summer heat was over and the desert temperatures were ideal. “I’ll take it” was my response.
Instructions read that attire was optional, so I opted for shorts, polo shirts and a light jacket just to be cautious. I also read about the advice to wear driving shoes during training. I own plenty of shoes and have operated many Corvettes with no problem, but I had my eye on the Piloti driving shoes that were recommended. To get me focused on the training, now that my preparations phase was fairly complete, I spent some time reviewing YouTube videos posted by several past attendees. In retrospect, I think that was time well spent.
The courteous and helpful staff made our check-in smooth and we moved into very nice condo accommodations for our two-night stay. The second night was an optional add-on but well worth the minimal added cost to be up and running when instruction began at 0800 hours that Monday morning. I obviously had to check out the Piloti driving shoes and did so after registration in the gift shop area. Yes, I bought a pair and found that they run a bit small, but the shop had my needed size 12½ in stock. I worried a little that I would be the dork in the class with the new Pilotis, but about half of the class was sporting them the first morning and throughout the two days.
Our class of 20 all received training in Corvettes matching their own, Stingray, Grand Sport and ZO6, auto and stick. Attendees were in all ages and experience levels, from novice Corvette owner just learning how to put gas in to a couple with designs on breaking the course record. I might have fallen into the top third. The training gave us all a greater confidence in ourselves as well as the capabilities of our fine automobiles as well as hopefully making us more capable drivers in a very short time. The course is not one about speed, but it is about handling with speed being an element.
Graduation was included in the program and personally, I am proud of my certificate of completion and hope any of you who can, will find their way to Pahrump to understand your Corvette more fully and to be an improved driver. The only drawback I have found after the course is experiencing how mundane regular roadways feel and am always looking for my next apex!
Over twenty Corvettes and their associated drivers and co-drivers were raring to go on Sep 20th when the trip began its first leg to Laughlin, NV for an overnight stop and then on to Arizona for the event which promised to showcase seven generations of Corvettes dating from 1953 to the current 2019 models. 250 cars were scheduled to be on display representing customized, restored, and current models, along with a variety of vendors and exhibits.
Our own Tony and Kathy Munshi and John and Linda Noble have recently departed California for a better life in Arizona and were anxiously awaiting our members’ arrival to help with the lay of the land and word is that several others are in the process of relocating soon and others have begun looking at real estate. 
But that will have to wait for another article.
Although the attendees have missed the deadline for this Gazette article, my detective work has uncovered some pics of their smiling faces and rumors that they had a terrific time and our people were trophy winners, to boot! 
As we arrived, we found the Fort Tejon visitor lot empty and ready to accommodate all of our Corvettes. It was beautiful to behold.
