Weekend Driver San Diego

In the rush that was this summer I somehow missed the passing of Fred Spenner and the Sausage King, one of the really great spots in San Diego. A little shop on Washington Street in Mission Hills run by Fred and his wife, Charlotte, put out what were arguably the best German sausages in the [...]

Sometime after the Aztec game finishes on Saturday and before the Charger game on Sunday, do check out the Coronado Speed Festival. It’s an extremely unique event that’s actually a moving — fast moving — museum. One of the great things about the car hobby is that unlike almost anything else, cars move. And for [...]

I was honored to work for about six weeks at FEMA headquarters in DC with a great group of professionals on the Sept. 11 recovery, arriving just a few days after the tragedy. I brought back with me some video from Ground Zero and put together this report on the Urban Search and Rescue team [...]

Here’s a great package of stories on buying an electric car, from the LA Times. http://www.latimes.com/business/autos/electric-vehicles/la-fi-autos-ev-mainbar-20110828,0,6689205.story

I can’t make it, but Amphicar aficionado Steven Reich let me know that the 11th annual San Diego Amphicar Swim-In is  from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. this Saturday, Aug. 20, at Lake Miramar. Sounds like a can’t miss event for car or boat nuts. More info… www.amphicar.com. Wish I could go, as seeing one [...]

Here’s the most popular destination on my website, Hearst’s Hacienda, the Hacienda Guest Lodge on Ft. Hunter Liggett near King City, along California’s Central Coast. Built in 1929 by William Randolph Hearst, of Hearst’s Castle fame, it was a guest house and ranch headquarters for what was the northern half of the newspaper magnate’s ranch. [...]

  The story of the first motel, in San Luis Obispo, and how you can find what’s left of it: http://www.latimes.com/features/home/la-hm-lost-la-milestone-motel-20110702,0,1271731.story

For your July 4th weekend viewing, here’s a look back at the first Beachin’ 101 Cruise. Great cars and great views of the Pacific coast. Watch for the bumper cars! [youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eZnMUlk8s7s]

A ’63 VW bus just sold for $195,000 at Barrett-Jackson. It was beautifully restored, had all the windows and the big fabric sunroof. Restored to original, even with the — what was it 65 hp? — air-cooled engine. Whoa…

A couple of months back, the Salvation Army tore down an iconic old building at the corner of 12th and Broadway, the old Pearson Ford. What was super cool about this building was that it was built at the same time as the Ford Building for the 1935-36 exposition and in the same art-deco style, [...]