Roadster Roundup
   by Mark Byer, photos by Mike Christensen                             News & Events 2013 

	The first year of the Roadster Roundup (RR) was 1966, with a gatherings of roadsters by the two initial clubs (Los Angeles Roadsters (LAR) and Bay Area Roadsters (BAR), in Pismo Beach, CA. In forty-eight years, the RR has grown to four member clubs, with the addition of San Jose Roadsters (SJR) and Valley Roadsters (VR), coming together at a different venues in the state to enjoy the camaraderie of roadster owners. Our club, the California Roadsters (CR) and San Luis Roadsters are guest clubs and enjoy being invited to this annual event. We have attended the last eleven RRs as the guests of BAR, with our first being the 37th RR held in Folsom, CA, which is near Sutter Creek and is rich with gold rush history. The 48th RR in now in the books and it was a good one. It was hosted by the LAR, September 5-8th in Ventura, CA. It’s success was a combination of the cool coastal location, good attendance (102 registered roadsters) with about 200 attendees, hotel accommodations and overall program. The CRs kicked off our long weekend on Thursday morning. We left in two groups (northern and southern) and rendezvoused in Malibu at Paradise Cove for a nice lunch. Tom Schnauppner set-up the lunch in advance and reserved parking for our roadsters. We got to dine in a nice, covered, sand patio, with a full ocean/beach view. Since its right on the sand, you got a cool ocean breeze and had the feeling that you’re eating right on the beach. After lunch, we blasted north along Highway 1 to Joe/Laurie Scanlin’s beach house located just north of Ventura, within a private beach community known as Solimar. Tom had also suggested to Joe and Laurie that our club have a welcome lunch party on Friday for our host club BAR, plus our friends within SLR. The Scanlins thought it was a great idea, and everyone pitched in for the set-up, then it was back to the Sheraton Four Points, at the Ventura Marina, for registration and a short nap before dinner. Joe and Laurie had also made dinner reservations at Jollie’s, a Mexican restaurant in old downtown Ventura, where we had a private room with a nice buffet. Friday, was the official arrival day for the RR, with clubs arriving from all over the state. Knowing this in advance and that this year’s RR was in Ventura, is why Tom suggested to Joe his beach house would be a perfect venue to have a welcome lunch. Joe and Laurie’s house is an older, Cape Cod cottage, but is situated on a larger oceanfront site, with expansive grass area, 360 degree ocean and coastal views and lots of roadster parking. Joe decided it would be best to have it catered, and made arrangements with a local taco vendor, which worked out great. In addition, to the 17 CR members at the lunch, we had a total of 46 roadsters and over 100 hungry folks that loved the tacos and cool drinks. After the party, we all pitched again with the cleanup and made it back to the hotel, and/or for a nap and/or short run to Jerry Magnusson's Supercharger Shop, in nearby Oxnard. Jerry recently sold his business, and was off in Europe spending some of the proceeds. The new owners made everyone feel welcome and spent a lot of time giving us a tour and answering questions. Some of the guys also stopped by the Proteet & Main Bonneville shop in the same area for a quick unannounced tour, and again were welcomed with open arms. This is the home of George Proteet record breaking streamliner, Speed Demon, which set a record for the fastest piston driven car at 437.183 MPH. The engine was designed and tuned by the master, Kenny Duttwieler. We got lucky this year, in that Jerry & Judy Kugel were assigned a suite over the standard hotel room, and they were willing to host our club cocktail parties prior to dinners. After Jerry and Steve Schmidt relocated the excess booze from the beach party, we were open for business, and it became party central; which I'm sure really cut into the hotel's bar tab. Steve was also quite generous pouring his special stock of tequila, which everyone seemed to enjoy. It was so popular, that Steve bought a big bag of limes to satisfy demand, and did a good job as bartender. It was a good thing that we only had to walk downstairs to dinner, because Steve needed a ride from Jerry on one of the hotel baggage carts. Friday night was the RR welcome buffet in the main ballroom. We got there a little late, but there still was enough food and we had a good time. I understand that the hotel threw this meal into the mix, and added the three breakfasts, which were excellent. In fact, the hotel was very nice and the people running it were even nicer, especially Patti, our event co-coordinator. Saturday morning was the RR event run to the Reagan Presidential Library, in Simi Valley. It was about 30 miles inland from the coast, and of course we had to take country roads to make the drive more interesting. We also noticed a substantial rise in the temperature, reminding us how hot it was at home over the weekend. LAR planned this event well in advance, and had enough reserved parking spaces. Unfortunately due to the popularity of the touring Lincoln Exhibit, and a book signing event by Mark Levin, most of the parking was gone by time we arrived. Also, the slow trip up the long, entry drive caused some of our roadsters to overheat. We finally got the parking situation worked out by tandem parking in bus zones, etc and made it inside to the welcomed air conditioning. This is a great presidential library, if you have never been, for one of our greatest presidents. We had unlimited access to the library, including the Lincoln Exhibit and enjoyed a nice buffet lunch under the wing of Air Force One. Some of our attendees even stayed around and got in line for a personal autographed book from Mark (The Great One) Levin, titled The Liberty Amendments, how to restore the Republic. It was good to get back to the cool weather of the coast. The final event of the RR was a very nice, catered dinner in the ballroom, but of course we had to have one last cocktail party in Jerry & Judy's suite prior to dining. LAR randomly assigned us to dinner tables, mixing up the club members, which is a good way to meet new people. LAR did a great job planning and executing the 48th RR. We are looking forward to next year's 49th RR, to be hosted by BAR, which is rumored to be in Monterey, CA. We also enjoy the cool coastal venues, with our last visit to this area being Carmel hosted by SJR several years ago, and that's why they are the best attended. The 50th RR is to be hosted by SJR, and it's in the initial planning stages. It will be a big one, with all the bells and whistles. So definitely, put the first weekend on September 2015 on your roadster calendar.