San Luis Obispo Weekend Getaway – 2019.11
Mike Woodings
San Luis Obispo (SLO) and the Central Coast make a great destination for travelers and maybe even more so for Corvette people. A road trip there offers not only many choices of sights and things to do, but also plenty of driving through beautiful countryside. The weekend of November 15 – 17 was on our calendar for a weekend trip up the 101 to SLO and points beyond, and the plan was a popular one, one with time for getting together and time for individual interests.
Thirty of our members answered the call, eager for our annual weekend run to SLO. Some of us were so eager, another day, November 14, was added for visits with friends in the area, shopping and the SLO Farmers Market held on Higuera Street every Thursday. As Thursday was going on, our hearts were, at the same time, heavy with the events at Saugus HS.
Our advance-party conveyed to the main caravan that the weather was beautiful and we were eager for their arrival. First stop, Pea Soup Andersen’s for lunch. 
We all joined as planned on Friday afternoon at the Best Western on Madonna Road to officially begin our weekend. 
We initiated the run officially with a mass gathering at poolside with beverages and snacks to get us ready for our mass arrival for dinner at the nearby Tahoe Joe steak house.
Saturday had no official agenda, but there was no lack of things to do as we rolled to the winds in our faithful Corvettes. 
North and south, we found butterflies, elephant seals, cookies, farmers markets, apple farms, wineries, souvenirs, and cinnamon rolls.
There is likely even more, including rocking chairs. I must add that despite my excellent packing skills, my trunk was filled with reminders of the SLO weekend.
Saturday evening brought us all back together for an impromptu happy hour at an undisclosed room on the third floor of the BW. 
One more group dinner followed at the infamous Golden Gong, just south of our lodging. Service and cuisine were just as good as last year!
Before you could blink, it was already Sunday. Like the last day at camp, there were hugs and good-byes. Some left early to miss Santa Barbara Sunday traffic and some elected to enjoy even more time in SLO. It played out the same for us all in the end, we returned to our beautiful, but in shock, community with memories of a great weekend together.
P.S. I felt compelled to make a stop at Bunnin Chevrolet of Santa Paula en-route home to see what’s up. I was met by many familiar staff members there who reported they are indeed open and that virtually all of the sales and service employees were retained under the new business ownership and they are eager to see us at their Grand Opening. I noted they have two Corvettes in stock as well, a Stingray convertible and a ZO6! (Christian says he is anxious to make a deal.) 
I was happy to see them up and running again.
We gathered on a perfect So-Cal Saturday morning at the Copperhill Walmart for coffee and chatter before the drivers’ meeting where we were promised to be taken west along Highway 126 towards the coast. There, we would be given additional instructions.
Normally a trip to any courthouse comes with an expected level of anxiety in anticipation of the bureaucratic experience that awaits us, but not for this trip. 
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!
Twenty-two of America’s favorite sportscars with almost double that number of participants left Santa Clarita for a three to four day outing in beautiful Pismo Beach. The caravan was a sight to behold as our assembly of cars headed out CA 126 and all the way north on US 101 on the getaway leg. Morning coffee necessitated a pit in Ventura and then it was clear sailing into Buellton for a traditional traveler’s lunch at Pea Soup Andersons.
The place can’t be beat. Even their parking spaces were EXTRA wide, to the delight of our Corvette owners!
