ON THE ROAD AGAIN

HEADING TO CLOVIS and FRESNO, CALIFORNIA.

Departure from Woodland Hills, Friday, March 27, 2026

On the day of our departure for Clovis it was sunny and warm.  Our thoughts were in high spirits, flying with every movement as we finalized packing and loading of our trusty 1971 MGB-GT.  I was smiling as I sat in the co-pilot’s seat in our Little British Car (LBC) .  I was looking forward to another day of adventure and quality time with Doug.  This trip has been planned since February.  Doug did his maintenance and checking of fluids and pressures. The 9-mile drive to Woodley Park’s Queen’s English Car Show had served as a test run of the car’s potential performance.  On the return trip from Woodley Park, we discovered that the GT had an oil issue (puffs of white/blue smoke from the tail pipe) that needed to be addressed.  We had five days to diagnose and repair what could cause the puff of blue/white smoke from the tail pipe. The solution: minor adjustments to the PCV system.

Our first challenge on the day of departure to Clovis was getting on the 101 freeway at Shoup.  Before we had traveled a quarter of a mile on Interstate Highway 101, we were stuck in stop-and-go traffic.  It was time for our driving music to begin.  The first song was the Beach Boys singing “Good Vibrations.”  However, our trip did not have its “excitation” until we finally turned onto Interstate 405 North.

Traveling north, uphill, on Interstate 5 there was a definite difference in the way folks were driving.  One does not really “see” that the car is climbing a hill.  The car is aware and the driver is aware as he shifts up and down through the gears.  As the co-pilot, my ears popped as we traveled.  As we begin the obvious climb toward the summit of the area’s famous Grapevine Pass on Interstate 5, I heard a “clunk” and another “clunk.” Doug said it was the overdrive disengaging.  He also thought it was the “heat of the day and traveling uphill” that was causing the overdrive to disengage.  He said it is okay, being out of overdrive as we were approaching the longest climb to the 4400 feet altitude mark.  It was expected that the car would react, but not normal.  On the way downhill, passing Gorman, there was an absence of wildflowers in bloom on the right side of the Interstate.  On the left side, the hills were glowing orange.  It was so visually beautiful, I missed the opportunity to take a photo.  The air speed on left side of the freeway was ideal to see the fields of poppies.  There were several hillsides glowing orange.

We continued the drive downhill without further incident.  Toward the bottom of the Grapevine, Doug engaged the overdrive and the sound of the engine reduced and off we flew towards Clovis.

We stopped at the Shell station at the first large truck stop to take a look at the “oil catch can” to see if the oil was circulating correctly.  No oil in the can meant the engine was performing correctly.  After Doug unscrewed the oil catch can, he pronounced the can dry.  Yea! Doug had, indeed, fixed the car!

The joy of traveling in a Little British Car (“LBC”) is invigorating.  There you are dodging semi-trucks and annoying Tesla cars, and yet happy, because you noticed that the mountainside was covered with Poppies,  orchards and more orchards of citrus growing trees and grape vines!

A few hours later, we arrived at the Best Western Hotel without incident.

Friday Night at Clovis with Pam, Ingrid, Joel, and Chris.

While looking for a parking space in the Hotel’s parking lot, we see a gorgeous red Triumph being unloaded.  We discovered it was Joel and Pam Justin from the Central Coast British Car Club.  The four of us decide to go for a short walk before dinner.  When we returned to the hotel, we saw a yellow MGB with black racing stripes and I recognized the license plate; Jon and Nancy Turney from the Southern California MG Club were here.  We discovered that Chris and Ingrid Hayes of Central Coast British Car Club was also there driving a truck with an empty bed.  Within walking distance of the hotel, there are several restaurants.  We ate at a restaurant called Papa’s Place.  A friendly restaurant featuring Cajun fare and live entertainment.  After good food and good conversation, the anticipation of the start of the Round-up driving tour through the Sierras became the topic.  It was decided we all needed to get a good night’s rest. We returned to the hotel soon afterwards.

Saturday Morning Car Round-Up Afternoon at Clovis, Saturday, March 28, 2026

Saturday morning, it was cool with a slight breeze.  By the time Doug and I ventured downstairs, the breakfast area at the hotel was already buzzing with activity.  Several folks were preparing their breakfast and talking about the upcoming drive.  The rallye planning team members of the Valley British Car Club are very expert at providing different routes for the Saturday morning Car Round-Up Sierra Drive.  In order to take advantage of the horsepower of the faster cars, The rallye team decided to host two routes this year.  One route for the folks who wanted to drive fast, the large-bore engine cars.  The other group would be  small-bore LBCs, mainly the Minis, MGs and Triumphs.  The Jaguars were off with a roar.  The small-bore cars leisurely departed the parking lot 15 minutes behind the cats.  Just before the right turn out of the parking lot, we set our trip meter to zero.  Now it was a matter of following the trip meter gauge mileage numbers and the car in front of you.

On the drive, I was expecting cows to be on the road blocking our egress through the back roads near their pasture lands, like last year.  This year, in the open range area, there were no cows on the road, they were all in the pastures.  The cows seemed content to just watch us drive by.  At the Drivers’ Meeting we were told to be mindful of slow moving tractors.  We did see workers picking fruit, but no tractors were on the road.  The drive was well planned as always.

As we arrived at the mid-point parking lot, the Jaguars were leaving, going back to the hotel on the fast route.  The small-bore car group decided to go back on the fast route behind the Jaguars. To our surprise, the route was twisty, up and down.  The rollercoaster part of the run was in full flight.  Our LBC’s got to rev up their engines and shoot through the turns.  The drive back was shorter and faster, in time for lunch.  That was a wonderful 79 mile round trip tour!  We were very ready for lunch.

Our group of adventurers had lunch at Bobby Salizar’s. The banquet room was packed with fellow British enthusiasts from the drive regaling others about their experiences of the morning.  After lunch, we walked around the corner for ice cream and started the serious job of hunting for antiques.  Joel left the antique store area with an antique STP oil sign.  Pam found vintage postcards for her family members. Doug found a very old Matchbox car, in the original box.  I found Faygo Pop and Circus Marshmallow peanuts.  There was playful banter between Pam and I about the cute container that we both thought passed as an umbrella stand.  No.  No!  I won’t fit in the GT!  Thank goodness we had enough self-control and we did not need to take advantage of Chris’ truck bed.

After all that walking, we went to dinner with the Justin’s and the Hayes ‘at a restaurant called The Local.  Our waitress was professional, kind and respectful of each of us with our quirky exceptions to the meal order.  At the table we discussed how exciting it was to participate in the Sierra Drive.  Soon the conversation focused on what would be expected at the car show in the morning.  The recommendation was to get there before 8:00 am.

VALLEY BRITISH CAR SHOW ROUND UP AND ANTIQUE FAIR, Sunday, March 29, 2026

We arrived for the car show at 7:45 am and got the MGB-GT parked.  Joel drove his triumph behind us on the way to the show.  He parked his Triumph next to our MGB-GT.  Right behind Joel were 4 DeLoreans.  They majestically drove on to the show ground with their doors open.  What a sight!!  A few minutes later, Jon and Nancy entered the show ground and parked their MGB on the other side of the street.  The show area was filling up fast.

The morning was relaxing as we caught up on conversations with old friends and met new friends with their cars on display on the street.  The day was perfect!  Not hot and not cold. There was a gentle breeze.  We had lunch at an ice cream parlor called Scoops, Soup and More. The show had lots of impressive, unique cars.  And the antique fair gave me a break from automotive to the shopping opportunity of the fair.  This is the place to be on the last weekend in March.  Place this event on your 2027 calendar.  See you there!