SOLVANG ROAD TRIP & WINE TOUR
An Alex Best Production in Collaboration with
The Palm Springs Corvette Club & North Coast Vette’s
March 29 – April 1 2025
Saturday, March 29th:
The Solvang Corvette Event kicked off at 8:30 AM in the parking lot of OGGI’s Sports Bar off
the Ted Williams Parkway. Right on time, all 10 beautiful Corvettes of the COCSD arrived on
schedule. After some meet and greets and, of course, plenty of group pics we all finally fired up
our engines and headed North on I-15.
Once we got on I-15 north, we quickly learned that Alex was a master at changing lanes at high
speed. Not so bad for the second and third cars in line, but a major challenge to the rest of us.
We then got on Hwy 78 west to I-5. Here we hit some significant congestion. But, once again
meeting the challenge head on, Alex weaved us all through of the traffic unscathed.
On I-5 North, we immediately took the first rest area at Aliso Creek. It was here that we joined
up with members of North Coast Vette’s who met us with 8 cars. The camaraderie was instant
and genuinely felt with this new Corvette Club and it set the stage for the rest of the weekend!
Flying up I-5 North we exited near Malibu and down to the PCH. Alex had arranged a
magnificent luncheon for us at Spruzzo’s Restaurant across from Zuma Beach. This was a
fabulous Italian restaurant with a high-rise deck that overlooked the Pacific Ocen. Like
clockwork, we were seated, handed drinks and fed a delicious lunch that Alex had previously
selected.
After lunch, we headed up the PCH through Oxnard and onto Hwy 1to Santa Barbara. From
there we took scenic Hwy 154. Our new friends from North Coast Vette’s where with us the
entire way, 18 cars… We arrived at The Corque Hotel in Solvang around 4:pm. Solvang is a
beautiful little Danish Village that has neat little shops and restaurants everywhere, including a
full-size windmill in the center of town! We checked into The Corque Hotel for our 3-night stay.
Some in our group immediately headed over to the Chumash Casino for fun, drinks and
entertainment.
Sunday, March 30th:
Sunday morning, we awoke to some light showers for the Cars & Coffee event behind the hotel
where we met with the Palm Springs Corvette Club. They had 16 Cars. They drove up from
Palm Springs through the Angeles Forrest back roads. The weather did not deter the group from
having a great time while displaying nearly 40 gorgeous Corvettes of all types. Again, the
friendly excitement from all the participants was contagious and set the stage for a truly
wonderful weekend.
After Cars & Coffee, the sun came out and the day was perfect for the other scheduled events
that day. This included a quick walk to a vintage motorcycle museum. The museum had an
amazing display of vintage motorcycles. These included very rare models from the early 1900’s.
The craftsmanship shown on many of these early bikes was truly amazing and extremely unique.
Here, we spent a couple of hours taking it all in and taking hundreds of pictures. The owner was
on hand eager to answer all our questions which made it even more enjoyable. It was time very
well spent. A spectacular outing to kick off the day!
Later in the day, we got back in our cars to take a short trip over to see the Mendenhall Gas
Station Memorabilia display. We were able to drive our Corvettes into the display compound
which genuinely added to the frozen-in-time movie set feeling of the 1950’s and 1960’s. This is
the current home of Mark and Vickie Mendenhall, the son and daughter-in-law of the late Jack
Mendenhall who started the collection decades ago. This is a private museum, partially guided
by our hosts, who live on the second floor of the original gas station garage. After a brief history
of the museum, we were let loose to wander the grounds and explore all of the many connecting
buildings. Each of these buildings showcased different exhibits from antique racecars, roadsters,
dragsters, workshops and trophy rooms. These displays showcased the California car and racing
culture that Jack and Mark Mendenhall were involved with and clearly were so passionate about.
In addition to the fabulous cars, each garage was stuffed with signage, globes, neon and antique
gas pumps. An “American Pickers” dream come true for sure. For most people this was the
highlight of the trip. A fabulous outing offering a one-of-a-kind experience. A must see for
anyone who has not visited this historic place.
The above outings were followed up with dinner at A.J. Spurs restaurant in Solvang at 6pm.This
was a rustic steakhouse that seated our entire group of nearly 80 people. With live entertainment
and a full night of dancing (lead by the girls, Roberta, Precy, Gloria, Marie, et al.) we finally
headed back to our hotel for some much-needed rest in preparations of a very busy day
scheduled for Monday.
Monday, March 31st:
After a quick breakfast, we met in front of our hotel to board two custom party buses
emblazoned on the side with “Corvette Owners Club of San Diego”! This was in preparation of
our planned stops to two wineries, and one speak easy bar. The party on the bus started
immediately with bottles of wine being served, music and singing along the route. Everyone was
already in great spirits as we looked forward to our first stop.
The buses pulled into Babcock Winery on time. We were led into a large building that was full
of Roak & Roll memorabilia from the 60 and 70’s. Comfortable chairs and couches lined the
walls and a wine tasting table was front and center filled with numerous varieties of the winery’s
offerings. These we eagerly and willingly enjoyed! After imbibing for a couple of hours we
boarded our buses and headed off to our next stop.
After a short drive, we were at Vega Wine & Farm. The sun was now coming out nicely – just in
time for our sit-down luncheon. A huge table was set up for us where we immediately enjoyed
another wine tasting service promoting their wine selections. This was followed by a multi
course meal served “al fresco” on the winery’s expansive patio. Images of Italy and Greece
surrounded us, and we all felt like we were on some European vacation. Delightful doesn’t even
come close to describing how pleasant the overall experience truly was.
After lunch we all strolled down a nearby path along many of the vineyard’s fields of grapes.
This brought us to an unexpected delight: A petting farm full of goats, chickens and other
various farm animals. These you could touch, caress and even feed to your heart’s delight! It was
a perfect ending to a fabulous luncheon.
Boarding the buses once again, we continued to drink the left-over wine from lunch. Laughter
and singing ensued for a merry ride to our next destination – a speak easy appropriately called
The Backroom. Entering a non-descript retail store, a secret door magically opened into a private
back room complete with a bar and outside patio. It was another opportunity for our groups to
continue to mingle with each other and form bonding friendships. It was all sporting fun which
we all thoroughly enjoyed! We returned to our hotel ready to relax after a very full day of eating,
drinking and socializing.
Tuesday, April 1st:
After many hugs and fond wishes to many club members, we broke up to head home. Alex and
Gloria lead a dedicated group of Roberta & Chris and Penn & Precy back down the 101 to have
one last luncheon at Joey’s Restaurant in Newport Beach. We hit some pretty significant traffic
heading southbound, so we were all very happy to finally reach the restaurant. This led to one
final challenge: how to find a parking spot in a very crowded mall. This led to a very detailed
inspection of the entire parking site led by Alex which took another hour. Lol. Yes, we were
happy to finally be seated and order a well-deserved drink followed by a very good lunch.
This ended an incredible 3-night, 4-day event with two other Corvette clubs. This was no easy
task and major kudos go out to Alex and the other club leaders on making it happen flawlessly.
Alex was constantly being recognized and thanked by the other clubs for all of his efforts in
creating an unforgettable experience. This was all made possible because of great people, great
times, and of course, our mutual love for the Chevrolet Corvette!
CREDITS:
Stan Moreno- Palm Springs Corvette Club President:
Original Concept; Hotel Bookings; AJ Spurrs Reservations
Scott White-North Coast Vette’s Public Relations Director:
Mendenhall Museum Reservations
Alex Best-COCSD Public Relations Director:
Spruzzo’s, Tour Bus and Vineyard Reservations
Photographs: Everyone contributed
Newsletter: Penn Hubbard