From the Driver’s Seat – August 2019
August 2019 President’s Message
Another August has come and gone, but summer is still here. It’s tough for us convertible people in the hot months, going around with our tops up…some of you understand. Nevertheless though, we had some great club activities this month. Don’t tell Vincenzo’s that we had Taste of the Town at another pizza place. Topper’s is always a good place to go with a big group, so then, pizza it was on the 15th!
Lunch at La Cocina (Golden Valley) was on the schedule for the 19th to get us ready for a visit to the newly opened SCV Senior Center. Although many of us have already received Social Security benefits, most have not thought about enjoying other senior benefits beyond senior discounts. We all were quite impressed with the new Bella Vida SCV Senior Center at 27180 Golden Valley Rd. There is something for everyone there and we hear the lunches are good too. The center was extremely busy during our tour and we were treated as honored guests as a result of our club’s past donations. We all found Bella Vida to be an important part of our community.
Our run to the Getty Villa on PCH with lunch en route at the Ladyface Alehouse in Agoura made for an excellent, albeit, a hot day out. Our morning caravan with 26 Corvettes was just one of the highlights of the day. The gracious Ladyface staff took great care of our large group and the location seems to be a place most would like to try again. Then it was off to Malibu for the Getty with hope for cooler temperatures, but alas, it was still 86˚ on the sand and even hotter at the museum, but we are 98.6˚, so who cares!
You might ask why Corvette people are excited about art and antiquities such as seen at the Getty Villa. Maybe you didn’t ask, but at least I considered the question and I had to think there is a parallel there with Corvettes. The Getty Villa was designed after such a villa in Herculaneum, near Pompeii, destroyed by Vesuvius in 79 AD. It houses important antiquities to help us not forget that era. Thousands are making a pilgrimage to Bowling Green, KY and the National Corvette Museum this month. The NCM is another place designed for us to understand and appreciate not just Corvettes, but the Corvette era. The NCM will be important for coming generations to appreciate the frontengine masterpieces we grew up with as the Corvette improvements continue with entirely new concepts for America’s Sport Car. If you missed the National Corvette Caravan in the past or this year, put it on your schedule for 2024.
That was almost it for August, when the sad news came about the loss of our dear friend and member Dan Colonello. He was more than a Corvette guy though. Dan fought heroically in Vietnam and in his final days here. We will miss him. Our love and prayers go out to Lydie for peace and comfort. —Mike