After my four and a half hour/three hundred plus photo marathon visit to the Air & Space Museum, I thought I would take it easy and rest a bit…by immediately visiting the San Diego Automotive Museum right next door and taking a lot more photos. There was a very cool exhibit of classic “woodies” that were all polished and beautiful. They also had their usual impressive collection of cars from different eras including a few of my favorites like the 1913 Cadillac Model 30, the 1932 Cadillac V-12 and the 1913 Pierce-Arrow Raceabout (think Tony Curtis’ car from “the Great Race”). They also had a 1967 Austin that was once owned by Frank Sinatra during his Rat Pack years. In the center of the museum there’s a section devoted to Louis Mattar’s “Fabulous $75,000 Cadillac” that he modified to drive nonstop on a 1952 round-trip journey of 6,320 miles across the United States from San Diego to New York and back. He was able to fill-up the tank, change the oil, change flat tires, cook meals and wash dishes, wash and iron clothes, make phone calls, watch TV and even shower and go to the bathroom, all while never stopping the car. There were three drivers taking five hour shifts. He bettered that two years later with an even longer 7,482 mile trip from Anchorage, Alaska down to Mexico City. Even the immigration inspection into Mexico was done while driving.
Also on exhibit is an impressive collection of early and classic motorcycles, one even owned and raced by Steve McQueen.
So ended my extended, multiple museum day.
( s o m a n y p i c s )
