Santa Cruz Woodies A Chapter of the National Woodie Club
The last time the Santa Cruz Woodies club got together for a social function was the installation dinner in January of 2020. It’s hard to believe that over a year has gone by since we’ve gathered together as a group. With Covid 19 cases easing, availability and willingness of folks to vaccinate, mask wearing, social distancing and the uneasiness of the pandemic subsiding, a hardy group of the Santa Cruz Woodies club ventured out on a less-than-ideal and uncharacteristically lousy weather day for a drizzly drive north up the California coast along Highway 1 for our Spring Cruise/Drive your Woodie Day on May 15th. A total of 14 Woodies along with a couple of conventional cars made the trip much to the delight of the assembled club members.
We started off in Santa Cruz where South Bay residents met up with our coastal members at one of our favorite coffee shops, Java Junction, off of Front Street.
The weather at 8 AM while driving from San Jose to Santa Cruz was cold and misty, just on the brink of rain. It didn’t get much better the rest of the day. We left Java Junction and motored north up the coast to San Gregorio where we met up with club members who had transited over from the North and East Bay.
There we stopped at the old San Gregorio General Store. This historical building has been there forever and is a haven for bicyclists, motorcyclists and motorists who stop in for a coffee, alcoholic drink or to buy something from the quirky mix of just-about-anything items the store carries.
After about an hour of shopping we began the short drive up to our intended destination which was just south of Half Moon Bay. A club member invited us to their family’s farmhouse which is near the coast and the views of the Pacific Ocean go on forever. The 32-acre site was once owned by the DuPont family and has been used as a farm and private airstrip with a runway.
After un-loading our cars, we had a picnic style lunch and fresh Gizdich Ranch berry pies for dessert.
The owners of the farm have a ‘we-just-got-it-running’ 1951 Chevrolet tin woodie which was purchased 30 years ago. Its unrestored but in immaculately original condition.
We then toured the meticulously rebuilt family farmhouse, large Olympic size pool and grounds.
While the weather was cold and misty it didn’t dampen our enthusiasm for seeing each other after what seems like an eternity.
The spirit of Aloha is alive and well in the Santa Cruz Woodie club as old friends and new members gathered to share friendship and our collective passion for wooden cars. Members who made the trip included the Vickery’s, the Inglesias’s, the Silva’s, the Iatomase’s, Bob Faust, the Solis’s, the Biggs’s, the Alves’s, the Hilton’s, the Skillman’s, the Griffin’s, the Baur’s, the Pereira’s, the Morgan’s, the Phillip’s, the Jones’s and Cheryl Luchsinger.
We ended the day after lunch with a group photo.
The next club event will take place on Saturday June 26 when we will meet un-officially for “Knot a WOW” at the Santa Cruz Municipal Wharf. While Woodies on the Wharf 2021 will not be officially held this year due to Covid 19 restrictions, a few woodies will be meeting up on the wharf for an informal get together for part of the day. Contact Events Chairwoman Arlene Solis for more information.