Great California Adventure
Great California Adventure - More Photos

In January 2002, Joe and Ray, friends from high school and fellow car nuts (and train nuts), met up at LAX to begin an eight-day, all-car/all-rail extravaganza. They traveled over 900 miles and visited every car, train, trolley and model train attraction in Southern California.

The full trip report with some photos can be found here. Additional trip photos:


At the Petersen Automotive Museum, 'Kookie' Edd Byrnes' hot rod, from the TV show '77 Sunset Strip'. 'Kookie's Kart' was built by hot rod builder and actor Norm Grabowski. He modified the original car several times. In 1956, he brought it to Valley Custom Shop where the car received its Royal Blue paint with flames flickering across the cowl sides. This color combination was the one seen in the TV series '77 Sunset Strip'. Grabowski's creation started the mid-1950s T-bucket craze in Southern California. T-bucket refers to a hot rod, based on a Ford Model T body of the 1915 to 1927 era:

Ray with Steve McQueen's Jaguar XK SS at the Petersen in Los Angeles



Joe with Elvis Presley's hot rod - from the 1957 movie 'Loving You' - at the NHRA Museum in Pomona, CA

Joe & Ray with a 1958 Ford Ranchero at the Deer Park Winery and Car Museum in Escondido, CA.
Ray points out lettering on the 'Lukas' dragster at the National Hot Rod Museum in Pomona.
Awesome Shoe Car parked on Santa Monica Blvd.
Joe with President Reagan's Cadillac limo at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley, CA
Ray with a 1952 Muntz Jet convertible at the Dear Park Winery
Joe - holding Miracle Hat - is about to board a trolley at the Orange Empire Railway Museum in Perris, CA.
Joe with Trigger at the Roy Rogers Museum in Victorville, CA
Joe near the end of legendary Route 66 in Santa Monica, CA

Joe and Ray also visited the spectacular Nethercutt Museum and Collection in Slymar, California. Several pages of photos from a 2010 visit to the Nethercutt Museum begin here. Car photos from a 2010 visit to the Petersen Auto Museum are posted here.

copyright 2002-21 - Joseph M. Sherlock - All applicable rights reserved

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