Sunday 12-11-16

So Cal Mets Christmas Party

Sunday December 11 2016 we had another great Christmas party at Mama Cozas' Italian resaurant. The food was terrific and the party was another success. We enjoyed each others company and had a gift exchange that left all with something worth having.

It is with great sadness that I tell you.

After the Christmas Party Barbie Bauman had an accident at home and was taken to the hospital. Sadly we lost her there. Barbie Bauman was one of those people who just handled stuff so it all seemed to happen 'as if by magic'. She had most problems fixed before anybody knew there was a problem. She was there if anybody or any thing needed her. When it came to Home, Car Clubs, Business she kept things running smooth. Everyone who knew Barbie will miss her forever and because of 'her way' I'm sure that some people who didn't know her will miss her and not even know why.

12-10-16

Laguna Niguel Holiday Parade

So Cal Mets made another appearance in the Laguna Niguel Holiday parade this year. We had eight Mets lined up this year. Metters who joined in the fun were So Cal Mets President Ronnie Bauman, Mike & Kim Dahlberg, Jeff & Sue Garrett, Cindy Harris, Kim Dominguez and Friend, Marcia Jones and Friend, Ken & Judy Conner and Tony Bilotti. The parade is a mile long so we got a mile of smiles. After the parade we traveled down Pacific Coast Highway to the Rubys' Auto Diner for a great lunch and we headed home from there.

11-12-16

Another trip to Toms Farms

November 12-2016 SO Cal Mets made another trip to one of our favorite places, Toms Farms in Corona, Ca. So Cal Metters who joined in on the fun were President & First Lady Ronnie & Barbie Bauman from Riverside, Nick & Renee Anderson from Riverside, Tony & Jackie Bilotti from Anaheim, Caryl Stephenson from Corona, Chuck Hatfield from Crestline, Paul Van Wig from Lakewood, Ken & Judy Conner from Huntington Beach, Kim Dominguez from Irvine, Jeff & Sue Garrett from Chino Hills, Marcia Jones from Fountain Valley, Mike & Kim Dahlberg from Tustin and Armando Reyes with Maritza and her Mom from West Covina arrived in a 'Brand X'.

The two Mets from Riverside and the one from Corona met us there. The other eight Mets met in Orange and caravaned over the hill from Orange to Anaheim Hills and to Corona from there. Once we arrived we put the Mets together, answered some questions and most of us had lunch at Senor Toms Mexican Restaurant. Then it was time for a little shopping and a stroll around the farm. It was another terrific time with each other and the Mets!

10-22-16

Gypsum Canyon Cruise

Saturday October 22nd So Cal Mets took another cruise in the Gypsum Canyon area to our final destination 'Pollys' Pies' in Yorba Linda for lunch. It's a beautiful drive and the weather was perfect. Our group for this cruise was our President Ronnie Bauman, Cindy & Bill Harris, Jeff & Sue Garrett, Marcia Jones, Tony & Jackie Bilotti, Ken Conner and Mike Dahlberg. Kim Dahlberg met us at Pollys' for lunch. It was another great day with the Mets! 

9-24-16

 Cruise to Crystal Cove

Saturday September 24 So Cal Mets made another trip to Crystal Cove State Park in Newport Beach, Ca. We all met and left from Marcias' house in Fountain Valley.

Crystal Cove is an old seaside vacation/recreation site on the Newport Beach coast with restored cottages that can be rented. Some have been used in movies over the years. Besides the little 'settlement' on the beach you can find wildlife and beautiful tide pools to explore. The park has a long history dating back more than 100 years. So Cal Metters that joined in the fun were President and First Lady-Ronnie & Barbie Bauman, Cruise Director-Marcia Jones, Mike Dahlberg with his Daughter and soon to be Son in Law, Newsletter Editor-Ken Conner, Tony & Jackie Bilotti and new member Cindy Harris from Huntington Beach. We were met there by club members John & Anita Fildes from San Juan Capistrano. The weather was perfect and a great time was had by all. Marcia put us on the list for lunch at the Beachcomber restaurant on the beach and we had about an hour to explore before lunch. We did sustain one minor casualty. Marcia, Jackie and Tony went to get a closer look at the tide pools. There is a lot of 'green' on the rocks and you have to be carefull not to slip. Tony noticed some little fishies swimming along and pointed it out to Marcia and Jackie and then was taking some pictures. Tony looked over and saw Marcia face down looking very close at a tide pool. The first thing that came to mind was "Hey, what did you find? The fishies are over there"! Come to find out Marcia had slipped on some green was dealing with the pain and doing her best to get up. There was some blood but she was checked out by the Lifeguard EMTs' and Jackie is a Nurse. Everything tuned out fine and Marcia should be OK in a week to ten days. Just in case on the return trip Ronnie drove Marcias' Met with Marcia and Barbie drove theirs. We did make one of our favorite detours through Newport Back Bay for a picture stop. We bumped into a British gentleman reminiscing about his childhood and 'Austin Metropolitans'. From there we made our way up the coast back to Marcias', had a little chat and went home from there. It was another great day with the Mets!

8-20-16

Petersen Automotive Museum

On Saturday August 20th a few So Cal Metters enjoyed a day at The Petersen Automotive Museum 6060 Wilshire Blvd at the end of the Miracal Mile. Metters that attended were Ken and Judy Conner, Mike Dahlberg, Paul Van Wig and Tony Bilotti. Tony rode along in Kens Lexus. Paul brought his brand X from his house in Big Bear and Mike drove his Met from Tustin! The museum is newly remodeled and very nice. The cars in the collection are beautiful as is the building they are housed in. We even took the extra guided tour of 'The Vault'. These are cars downstairs being worked on. These cars belonged to movie stars. world leaders, ect. It was well worth the extra price and the extra time.

7-31-16

Original Mikes Car Show & Lunch

Sunday July 31st we were back at at Original Mikes - 100 S. Main St. in Santa Ana again for another car show, lunch and a short meeting. Metters in attendance were President and First Lady Ronnie and Barbie Bauman, Mike and Kim Dahlberg, Kim Dominguez, Gary Loomer, Ken Conner, Marcia Jones, Tony Bilotti and new members Sandy Dingman and Michael Collingwood and Sandy brought her Dad. We put our little Mets in the show with the others and had a short meeting on the patio before lunch. We had lunch reservations inside to escape the live music outside. The food at Original Mikes is great and we had a nice visit talking about upcoming fun.

6-26-16

Annual Club Picnic

Sunday June 26 we had our club picnic in beautiful Craig park. The weather was good and we had trees and EZ-Ups for shade. Metters that attended were Ronnie & Barbie, Bauman, Tony & Jackie Bilotti, Ken & Judy Conner, Gwen Tolleson & Yolanda Gutierrez, Renee & Nick Anderson, June Valentine & spouse Michael, Paul & Allison Van Wig ,Jim & Lisa Houpt, Armando & Maritza Reyes, Jeff Gordon & friend Donna, Mike&Kim Dahlberg, Chuck Hatfield, Jeff & Sue Garrett, David & Diana Heller, Kim Dominguez & friend & Marcy & Randy Hetrick. We were pleased to have June Valentine and her Hubby Mike again. June brought some more of those wonderful houndstooth picnic sets. The food was great and we had our annual auction that keeps us in the money as we still collect no membership dues. The auction is always good. Members bring quality items and most everything sells. One of our new members Kim Dominguez outdid herself with her contributions to the auction. She brought a few good size zipper compartment bags and a few more carry all type tote bags. She also made some little pillow looking catnip toys for Kitties and having a few Kitties I'm here to tell you they love them. She did so much I'm sure don't have it all here. The great thing about everything she brought was there were red M's on embroidered on everything with differant M's on differant things. I also noticed some fork-spoon-knife sets for lunch that were done very well. I'm not sure but they also seemed to scream 'Kim'. Everybodies contribution to the fund raiser was great but Kim deserves a big pat on the back for her efforts and time!

5-21-16

Coastal Cruise with Micro-Mini club to Signal Hill and lunch in Huntington Central Park after

4-16-16

UC Irvine's 18th annual Car Show on the Green

So Cal Mets had an alternate event for Saturday April 16 for members who did not or could not attend the Unique Little Car Show. A great show was held at Aldrich Park on the beautiful UCI campus. So Cal Metters there were Jeff Gordon, Tony Bilotti and Mike Dahlberg. Mike was also in the Arizona show a week before, Go Mike! Our newsletter editor Ken Conner came without his Met but with his camera. A little into the awards ceremony Tony Bilotti's name was called as the winner of the Promoters Award. Tony asked what exactly he was being awarded for and the man with the trophys said "I'm the promoter and you brought my favorite car. As Tony was walking back to the cars Jeff Gordon's name was called as the winner of the Students Choice award. Tony and Jeff shared a high five as they passed each other. The promoter told Jeff that he sent his volunteer students out and told them to pick the car they would want to be picked up for a date in. They picked Jeffs convertible!         

4-8+9-16

Southwest Unique Little Car Show-Phoenix Arizona

The Unique little car show was held in Arizona this year. Unfortunatly your Webmonster did not attend. I heard it was another good show. I'm sure members of So Cal Mets and other clubs have pictures on Facebook pages and we might have some more pictures show up here in the future. Thanx to Renee Anderson for the pictures below.

Saturday 1-23-16 So Cal Metters had our first outing of 2016. We started in Anaheim Hills and drove over the hill to the City of Orange through Orange Park Acres horse property to Ruby's at the Old Orange train Depot for lunch and then across the street to the Blacktop Depot for some shopping. The Blacktop Depot shares space in the old C W Moss Motors building on Chapman Ave. and is packed with old cars and car stuff and EVERYTHING is for sale! Metters attending were Pesident and First Lady Ronnie and Barbie Bauman, Nick and Renee Anderson, and Gary Loomer driving Brand X cars from Riverside and Perris. The weather was a little threatening and they didn't want to get stuck in it. Metters driving Mets were Marcia Jones, Gwen Tolleson, Ken Conner, Mike and Kim Dahlberg and Tony Bilotti. George Mocabee, Jodie Lynn and her Dad in Brand X's met us at Ruby's. It was a great first event for the new year.