Yesterday (Sunday), Mrs. S2KALI and I headed up to Julian in the stook for a Sunday drive. For those of you not familiar, Julian is a small town outside of San Diego, nestled in the Laguna mountains. The main industry is apples and apple pie. The road to Julian is blessed with switchbacks--in other words, Stook country! For the other SoCal natives, I know what you are thinking--the road to Julian on a Sunday means minivans, SUVs, and blue-hairs in Buicks. You're right, but I was still able to get a little thrill by hanging back before turns, allow the traffic ahead to gain some ground, and then pour thru the essess like rushing water.

But that's not all--like Batman hustling back to the crib, we broke off the main highway onto a rarely used side road called Mesa Grande Drive, that cuts through the hills between two highways. Six or seven miles long, Mesa Grande is pure, unadulterated Stooky bliss. Switchbacks, short VTEC bursts, and bowl-like turns snaking beneath canopies of trees and cutting across the faces of hills. Oh, what joy!

With the wife game, I switched off the A/C, hit the gas, and VTEC'ed into the heart of the forest--the Neuspeed exhaust gurgling up from deep rumbles and crescendoing in a high-pitched scream. The steering, as if by magic, seemed to be intimate with the road, with me more just holding on and less guiding the stook. With nary a squeal or an unsure step, the tires hastened me out of each corner to the next as if on rails. Perhaps I was at my limit or maybe theirs, but I know there was not much left between me, the tires, and the drop off that haunted the outer apexes of certain turns. And thank goodness for Mingster's FLCB as turn ins were crisp and decisive, the stook unaware or just flaunting the trees that beckoned to embrace my Zaino-clad, red warrior. And then, just as suddenly as it began, the ride was over, pouring out finally onto the other main highway. Satisfied, but yet not full, we turned it around and headed back the way we came.

It was then, at that moment, that I full well knew that paradise is not a destination but rather a feeling like the one found in a red convertible hastening from one corner to another.

 

Tiger,

Shouldn't you be working on your aproach shots from 270 yards out?

 

Thank you S2KALI for the well-written description of your fun-filled weekend! It made me feel as if I was on the drive with you.

 

Sounds like a fun drive. Are you and Mrs. Tiger Woods going to be at the Irvine meet??? Are you the special celebrity guest that we're having???

 

lvs2k,
Sorry, dude. It must have been a tight squeeze in the trunk.

MarkS2K,
We'd like to go but unfortunately I have to attend the company picnic this weekend. Just when I try to get away,...they pull me back in!

Are you guys doing the Ortega Run?

 

Have you ever been confused with Tiger Woods?

 

Well written... You should write for Penthouse Forum. Then we'll ALL go to your company picnic. Maybe your new coworkers will also "embrace your Zaino-clad, red warrior".

 

Not sure what drive we're going to be going on. The Irvine group is keeping everything under wraps to make sure we don't get freeloaders joining us. There's just too many cars going and not enough space.

The only open event is the gathering at Weseloh Honda at 12:00. If you're around that area, you're more than invited to join us for that. Maybe sneak away from the company picnic for an hour or two.

 

very nice.

 

Speaking of the Ortega Highway, did anyone catch the Column One story on the front page of the LA Times on 8/11 about how dangerous it is to drive that particular stretch of road?

"California Highway Patrol figures show that the number of traffic deaths and crashes causing serious injury on California 74 has steadily climbed during the past decade. Unsafe speeds and high traffic volumes combine to make Ortega Highway one of the most dangerous highways in the state, according to CHP statistics. The risk of having an accident and of being seriously injured is higher on the Ortega Highway than on six similar rural highways in the state."

No Ralph Nader I, but for one who's taken the curves on the Ortega at 9/10th at times, it was a pretty sobering read. Think I'll stick to Mullholland and Latigo.