L.A. Literature, Toy & Memorabilia Show

Story

Alfred Abken

On Thursday, February 23rd, the 2023 Lit Meet weekend kicked off with Sierra Madre Collection’s Warehouse Open House. If I still lived in southern California, I would have attended this, but alas, I do not. So, early Friday morning, with the snow level forecast to be at 1000’, I was off to head down south for some of the other events. Needless to say, it was a cold and wet morning. I had hopes of being on the road at 8:45 AM that morning, but by 8:50, I had my arms full of what I thought were the last things to load into my car. I got them inside my car, got in, and got underway. Not surprising, I drove in and out of rain all day.

Passing through Pismo Beach, the ocean was covered in white caps. It was a very angry looking sea. Angrier still, between Rincon Point and Mussel Shoals, where US 101 is relatively close to the shore, the water near the shore was very brown.

When I was a little south of Santa Barbara, I realized my backpack was not on the front passenger seat of my car. Duh! No cameras, no cell phone, and several other items that were in my backpack did not make the trip with me. Double Duh!! Oh well. I was way too far south to turn around and get it. Especially since there had been a tornado watch posted for the Santa Barbara area (really!). Consequently, I have no personal photos to accompany this article.

Considering the weather conditions, I got down to Porsche South Bay in Hawthorne in fairly decent time. It took less than an hour longer than the GPS in my car had predict- ed. I bought some touchup paint for my car, the bottle I got after my car was repainted in 2014 is getting unusable. I also picked up a copy of Porsche Classics’ Originale, Volume 08.

My next stop was in nearby Harbor City for Pelican Parts Open House. It was nice to see their warehouse open again. They have a remarkable collection of 962’s, a 959 and other significant Porsches. I ran into a couple people I know, and it was fun reminiscing with them. I also ordered a new oil filter for my car while there.

There are so many shops that hold open houses on Friday, even with good weather, it is highly unlikely to visit all of them.

My next stop was in Long Beach at John Wilhoit’s. Getting there was easy, it was only about 10 miles from Pelican Parts. I was surprised how close I was able to park to their shop. I got there after 3 in the afternoon, and there were only about half a dozen people milling around. Usually for an event like this one, this place is very crowded with people. If you are unfamiliar with Wilhoit’s shop, they do restoration and modifications to air-cooled Porsches. Their work is first rate, and they also make twin plug 356 engines, which are always fun to see.

As it was after 3:30 PM when I left Wilhoit’s, my plan was to drive up PCH (Pacific Coast Highway) to my hotel in Hermosa Beach. However, the local constables had other ideas. As I approached the Los Angeles River, and I-710, the local police had PCH blocked. So, I turned