LBCC Nor-Cal Guerrilla Cruise- East Bay to San Francisco 11/12/11
What an incredible end to an insane year. The weather broke late on Friday and cleared the way for a perfect day in San Francisco. I rolled out to the Emeryville Marina, our impromptu meeting spot early to hold it down, and enjoyed being the nicest car in the parking lot (by default, I was also the only car in the lot) for a little while: It didn’t last too long, as our friends from as far as Vallejo, Sacramento, San Jose, and Fremont quickly showed me up and rolled into the East Ocean parking lot at about 9 o’clock. We waited it out for more people, and eventually hit the road trying to out run to gloomy gray sky over the East Bay. I led the pack as we rolled slowly onto I-80 and across the Bay Bridge. Seeing cars in a parking lot or on the grass at a car show is great, but there’s just nothing like seeing chrome and flake in action on the highway. It makes you appreciate a car on a whole new level, not as a collection of cool parts, shapes, and colors, but as an incredible machine, moving and bumping down the road as if it’s alive and breathing. We must have turned a lot of heads rolling across the bridge, it’s a shame I couldn’t capture the action. We pulled off on Folsom in the city, and slowly rolled through the edge of the Embarcadero to my new favorite spot in the city, Red’s Java hut. This spot is incredible; it’s an awesome greasy-spoon diner (with a full bar, if one were so inclined) on the edge of the bay with the Bridge and the East Bay in the background. A perfect spot for a breakfast cruise by all measures, we’ll be back for sure. This means so much to me. I’m still a little in shock: Every time I get to make it out to a show and hang out with people at events like this, I always leave in a daze, constantly impressed by the quality of people who this lifestyle draws in. It is so nice to close the laptop for a while, put down the car mags, and hit the road with good friends and watch your worries fade in the rear view. I am so grateful for everyone who made it, and I’m looking forward to seeing more new faces out there next time. Thank you.