STORY LINE:  MOUNTAINS, PALM TREES and CARS

SEMA is thee aftermarket show of the universe where every specialty car component; tires, wheels, audio, restyling parts, high performance, gidgets, gadgets-for virtually any automobile manufactured is displayed for distributor vendors to see and hopefully place orders. The toy store for people like you and me  and the place where I get to see and talk to the leaders of the aftermarket industry.

Fortunate for me that my birthday is at about the same time as SEMA, and the Pacific shores of Southern California is where the VIXSTER and I do the annual celebrating of the hallowed birthday event. Friday AM is land day at LAX where we pickup a PT Cruiser TURBO Convertible, head for Hermosa Beach and Hennessey’s open air upstairs dining for a burger n’ brew. Now I know for sure watching the surf and swaying palm trees … I am here. Further south some 30 miles following Pacific Coast Highway-PCH, Huntington Beach is the evenings domain with once again open air dining, walks on the pier, catching the sweet smelling ocean air and … incredible views of the night lighted city from the end of the pier.

Saturday early morning wakeup for the Donut Derelicts 6 AM car cruise-still dark-at Adams and Magnolia Avenues Adams Donuts, where some 200 vehicles and probably 500 car fanatic devotees gather … for donuts, coffee and … car ‘stuph’. Street rods, stockers/modifieds, Harley motorcycles … a way cool 1960 Pontiac Bonneville long roof and a triple carbureted ’48 Continental catch my eye. By 8:30AM most of the cars and people are gone and we learn of another early cruise that starts at about 8:30 in Laguna, about 15 minutes further south on PCH. Were off. Crystal Cove is a way upscale and small shopping mall paralleling PCH overlooking the Pacific Ocean and just north of our next nights stay in Laguna Beach. The lot is full of Porsche, Lamborghini, Maserati, Jaguar, one W8 powered Vector of which maybe 28 exist … and a few Corvette and Mustang vehicles. It was the tu-tone Canyon Tan/Desert Sand wire wheeled 1955 Chrysler New Yorker Town & Country long roof … that garnered my vote. Breakfast while watching the cars then off to the celebrated town of Laguna Beach, Hotel Laguna and a very fine fun day of more palm trees, beach walking, window shopping and million dollar views. 

Sunday starts with an early morning sunrise walk to Laguna’s Scandia Bakery for coffee and epicurean pastry delights, where we find out from an aged patron that Laguna’s mini concour is happening as we speak-where his ’32 Ford rumble seat cabriolet is displayed. Yep … another good day starts with old cars. Wouldn’t you know it, while at the Laguna car show we learn of still another car show, in nearby Lake Forest. We do it and then drive on to Las Vegas for business meetings and the four day SEMA exhibition.

SEMA-Specialty Equipment Marketing Association, is held annually in Las Vegas at the Las Vegas Convention Center, occupies some 1-million square feet of floor space and attracts 100,000 automotive interested attendees to peruse 10,000 booths featuring over 1,900 exhibitors and over 2,000 show vehicles. HISTORY-The first SEMA show was in 1967 held at Los Angeles Dodger Stadium, with the fledgling organization then officially known as the Speed Equipment Manufacturers Association. That first SEMA show covered 14,000 square feet, 98 booths and 3,000 attendees.  The show moved to Las Vegas in 1976 and has since become the worlds largest automotive aftermarket exhibition. Both exhilarating and tiring, SEMA is the best and a must see for the auto lover …likely some television coverage will bring post SEMA live into your home.

After LV/SEMA it was off to another of my favored left coast destinations, 2-1/2 glorious days of Death Valley in Furnace creek where the Milky Way, heavenly bodies we call stars and coyotes are the main attraction, a day in Palm Springs  and two more days of Laguna Beach. Sunset dining in Manhattan Beach followed by a ‘Red Eye’ flight back to Michigan.

DID YOU KNOW … that Michigan led the nation in lumber production during the 1880’s and 1890’s.  By the early 1900’s, millions of pine trees, worth  more than all the gold mined in California, had been cut in the lower peninsula alone.

Copyright © 2006 Top Hat John, Inc.. WebPages Revision #26b - 03/31/06