A big “Thank you” to Mike Rouw and Melanie Mitchell for organizing the Kern River run to McNally’s Restaurant and Fairview Lodge. They were so generous in providing, also, the raffle prizes of which there were numerous items to be given away. Approximately 15 Corvettes and a “tin car” made the procession up the Kern River Canyon to Kernville and then 15 miles north on the Kern River highway/Sierra Way. It was a beautiful day and the drive was magnificent. The weather was perfect. We made a pit stop in Kernville where we went to visit a couple of the shops including the Kern Valley Museum where we saw many artifacts from the old pioneer days. While at the museum, we met up with a couple of the COB members who live in the area and were docents in the museum.
John McNally came to the Kern River Valley in the early 1930s and established an estate called Fairview on the Kern. In 1940s his son Johnny started a steakhouse and six room lodge which would become famous for fine steak dinners. Johnny McNally wore many badges which included farming and ranching, working for Southern California Edison, a logger and, also, worked on the Isabella Dam until its completion. The other badge he wore was when he became the only deputy sheriff in the remote Southeast Tulare County; the nearest jail facility being two hours away. He became very adept to tracking lost deer and cattle and especially lost people…hunters and hikers who needed rescue. He was a big man and very well known in the area.
The new owners, James Thurin and Darlyn Thurin with Paul Frankforter were exceedingly gracious hosts that catered to our every whim. They employed a large staff and reserved the whole restaurant to serve the Corvettes of Bakersfield members with delicious steaks and excellent service. The long drive through the canyon to the restaurant was very worthwhile and delicious event.
The weather couldn’t have been any better. Originally The Trembler Run was a much longer run taking us, starting from Bakersfield, to Coalinga and San Lucas. Then we would have headed south through very sparsely used country roads through beautiful countryside along the San Andreas fault; had lunch in Paso Robles and more cruising along little used scenic country roads where we were to do more sight-seeing and then home after a full day. Unfortunately the threat of rain and flooded roads canceled that event. As a last minute endeavor to do something and to see wildflowers, 10 intrepid drivers (one in a Pontiac Solstice) made a last minute run through Hiway 58 straight through McKittrick to the Carrizo Plain National Monument. All alongside the road we saw an awesome display of God’s beautiful, colorful creations. We would stop to take pictures of everything from our cars to the multicolored mountain sides. Anytime you get a bunch of beautiful Corvettes together, you have an instant car show that attracts kids and adults alike. As a matter of fact, we had some beautiful and excited Asian gals all the way from Los Angeles taking pictures of our Vettes so we invited them to sit in one for a picture setting. They were very entertaining and had a great time.
Afterwards we drove back to McKittrick to have a wonderful and much needed lunch and to recount what we had seen. We stopped at the McKittrick Hotel and Penny Bar owned by Mike and Annie Moore. In that rustic old building, established in 1898 and rebuilt in 1903, we saw a plethora of kitschy sayings, proverbs and artifacts but mostly we saw pennies…”Starting with a large bucket of pennies, the Moore’s begin decorating the bar, the walls, the sign in the front of the building, and just about any flat surface he could glue Mr. Lincoln. Over 1 million pennies later, the Penny Bar’s unique beauty has achieved a fame that has stretched from coast to Coast. Television and newspapers have done stories about this unique establishment which has brought fame to this icon of a very small Kern County town”.
For a run that was organized at the last minute, this turned out to be a beautiful and wonderful experience. Many thanks to John and Cher for getting this together. For more pictures, click on this Flickr link: https://www.flickr.com/photos/158760832@N02/albums/72157679769347628
We had a totally awesome time under the most perfect weather imaginable at the Streets of Bakersfield car show. Many thanks to David Kielty, Bill Dean, Larry Young, Richard Villanueva, Mitch Townsend, Virgil Miller, Dale Frye and Adrian Medina for the hard work of chalking and numbering the streets for the gorgeous cars being displayed. Corvettes of Bakersfield had 12 members show up in their Corvettes as well as other members bringing their other prized cars. Many friends were made and possibly new members for the club. In spite of three other car shows going on in town, we had a record 400+ cars registered at the Streets of Bakersfield show. Our charity of choice was the Wounded Heroes Fund among five other charities benefiting from the proceeds of this show. Plenty of vendors and entertainment was available and lots of food. This show gets better every year.
Sunday, March 10 was a great day to have a Corvette car show and brunch at the Tower Bar and Grill on Truxtun Avenue. Under Puffy clouds and cool weather, 21 Corvettes gathered for our first “Concours De’ Brunch of Corvettes”. All the Corvettes were lined up with their hoods up to show off exquisitely detailed engine bays and special accessories. Each Corvette was judged on several criteria and three trophies were given out. First place was awarded to Jack and Yolanda Atkinson for their wildly modded C6; second place went to Gregg and Carol Brott for their elegant Z06 and third place went to Virgil and Kim Miller for their well preserved vintage 1954 Corvette.
The Tower Craft Bar and Grill was first established as the First Baptist Church in 1932. The steel reinforced structure survived a major earthquake in 1952 and has seen several different businesses and restaurants occupy it over the later years as well as concerts. It is registered in the U.S. Department of Interior National Register of Historic Places. The elegant bar and grill served a delicious lunch to all the COB members by friendly and helpful staff and a good time was had by all. For more photos of this event, click on our Flickr page.
We had a run to the Ronald Reagan Library in Simi Valley yesterday with our friends in the Corvettes of Bakersfield club. 10 Vettes and 4 “tin” cars joined us on this beautiful Saturday to visit one of the most beautiful and influential museum/libraries in California. Also featured was ‘Pompeii: the Exhibition’ where artifacts and castings of the bodies of the buried city of Pompeii were on display. Afterwards, we headed off to Red’s Barbecue and Grillery for a delicious lunch. On our way home, a few of us decided to go to Rosemary’s Creamery when we got into Bakersfield to have our dessert and to cap off our trip.
Corvettes of Bakersfield Board Agenda Date: First Tuesday of the Month Time: 6:00 pm Location: Miller’s Home Call to Order – President Welcome – President Flag Salute – Sergeant at Arms Approval of previous Board[...]
COB General Membership Meeting Meeting will be at Salty’s 5:00 PM – Banquet Room opens. You can order your food and eat at the restaurant or you can take your food to the banquet room[...]
Corvettes of Bakersfield Board Agenda Date: First Tuesday of the Month Time: 6:00 pm Location: Miller’s Home Call to Order – President Welcome – President Flag Salute – Sergeant at Arms Approval of previous Board[...]
COB General Membership Meeting Meeting will be at Salty’s 5:00 PM – Banquet Room opens. You can order your food and eat at the restaurant or you can take your food to the banquet room[...]
