Sunday December 16
So
Cal Mets Christmas Party
Our Christmas party this year was terrific. So Cal Mets members Ken and Judy Conner opened their beautiful Huntington
Harbor home to the club. The house was nicely decorated for the Holidays and the food was great. Busy Judy did the cooking
and it was better than anything we've ever gone out for. There was live music with piano, bass, I believe a clarinet and of
course we were treated to Ken's harmonica!
We had our gift exchange
where anything can be stolen but only three times.
Ken has been
working on restoring an old gas pump and it came out great. Ken took pictures of the guests standing by the pump then went
upstairs and printed beautiful color pictures for all who posed with the pump.
We had a great turnout of So Cal Metters. We were treated to the company of Ken & Judy Conner of course, Marcia
Jones. Tony & Jackie Bilotti, Mike & Kim Dahlberg, Nate & Shirley Hall, Bil & Cindy Harris, Armando &
Maritza Reyes, President Ronnie Bauman and Judy Kanouse, Chris DiTommaso, Kim Dominguez, Nancy & Patrick Halbert, Mark
& Socorro Weitzman, John & Leah Perrotti, Natalie & Ken Pollard, Paul& Allison Van Wig, John & Anita Fildes
and we were surprised and delighted when past MOCNA President Brad Swiggert showed up from Nebraska!
Kens Met and gas pump welcoming Metters to the Conner residence
Ken found this in pieces. Great job putting it together. It's got
a new hose and the top is great! M
Oh the memories
Bill & Cindys Met on the other side of the pump
Check out the Reindeer in the window!
Uh, Ken. What happened here?
So Cal Metters grazing.
More Metters heading for food. Our Hostess Judy in purple on the right
Ken had an ongoing slideshow/video in the family room on the big screen
of past Metropolitan events from around the country.
Opening presents in the living room. Brad Swiggert in the middle
behind Armando
After dinner conversation
Kens pump at night with the light on
Saturday December 8 2018
Laguna Niguel Holiday Parade
Saturday December 8th we made a 2018 appearance in the Laguna Niguel Holiday Parade. We had a great turnout this
year!
So Cal Metters this year were President Ronnie Bauman, Marcia
Jones and her friend Ginney, Chris DiTommaso with Mike Dahlberg. Mikes car Mr. Toad is still down, Cindy Harris, Kim Dominguez
& her friend Diana, Ken & Judy Conner, Nancy & Patrick Halbert, Bob & Phyllis Burchett, Jeff & Sue Garrett
with Noodles the wonder Dog, Bridget Mills & her Mom and Tony Bilotti. Bridget and her Mom and Jeff, Sue and Noodles had
to leave us after the parade. The rest of us cruised down Pacific Coast Highway to Ruby's Autodiner
for a great lunch. After lunch we went our seperate ways. Ronnie, Marcia and Tony took Pacific Coast Highway through Laguna,
Newport and Huntington Beach back to Marcias' house in Fountain Valley.
Decorating the Mets
Kims' idea this year. I keep telling
her that her 'day job' is
hindering her
creativity. Jeff to the left working on his.
Chris's left, Marcias' and Nancy & Patricks'
Phyllis Burchet working on hers
Bidgets Mom on the left and Bridget on the right of Bridgets'.
This was good because the motto for this year was
"Snow Much Fun"
Judy Conner between Hers & Kens and Kims
Click here for a video of Tonys'wind up car
The Parade
A Mile of Smiles!
Almost to the end
Click here for a short parade video
Heading for Coast Highway and Rubys' for lunch
Lined up in front of Rubys' Autodiner. We had lunch under
the umbrellas
Mets from the roof. Pacific Ocean on the horizon
Ronnies' & Tonys' from the roof
Clockwise from the closest end of the table.
Judy, Ken, Ronnie, Bob, Ginney, Diana, Kim, Chris's chair, Mike
Marcia, Phyllis, Tonys' chair and Cindy
Tony, Ronnie & Marcia heading up the coast to Marcias'
in
Fountain Valley after another great day
with the Mets!
Saturday November
3
Annual trip to Toms Farms
We made our annual cruise to Toms Farms in Corona on November
3rd.
The trip to Toms Farms is always enjoyable and Toms Farms
is a relaxing place to have lunch, talk about future events and get together with other Metters.
So Cal Metters who joined in this year were So Cal Mets Commander and Chief Ronnie Bauman, Ken &
Judy Conner, Mike & Kim Dahlberg, Leon & Nancy Hastings, Ken & Natalie Pollard and a friend, Caryl Stephenson,
Marcia Jones and Tony Bilotti.
It was a beautiful day and we all
had lunch at Senor Toms Mexican Restaurant then we did some shopping and chatting with each other. There was a big rig accident
on the 15 freeway and people were getting off onto the canyon road we were traveling so there was some traffic on the way
home but the slower we go the more smiles we get!
Tony, Marcia and Ken going over the hill from Orange to Anaheim Hills
Beautiful day heading for Corona
Our Destination in Corona
In front of Senor Toms- Kens, Caryls, Marcias, Tonys and Ronnies
Mike and Kims Met is still convalescing so they drove Brand X.
Leon & Nancys Met is having carb. problems so they came in this
freshly restored 39 Ford Sedan I think, with a nice Mustang 5.0
Natalie & Kens Met is in the paint shop so they drove this 57 Beauville
Beauty
From the bottom left---Ken Conners chair, Judy, Mike, Leon, Nancy, Caryl,
Natalie & Ken Pollards guest (sorry I din't get his name)
Ken Pollard & Natalie,
Kim behind Tony,
Tony, Marcia and Ronnie having lunch at Senor Toms.
Ken Conner
behind the camera.
Tony, Marcia and Ken on Temescal Canyon Road
heading Back to Orange County
Saturday October 20th
Breakfast and a trip to the Santa Ana Zoo
Saturday October 20 So Cal Met members Elise & Tim Doran, Nancy & Patrick Halbert, Marcia Jones
and Tony & Jackie Bilotti met at the Blue Frog Cafe in the historic old town Orange for a great breakfast to start the
day and then headed from there to the Santa Ana Zoo. The zoo is home to Camels, Snakes, Porcupines, lots of different types
of Monkeys and other animals.
Marcia discovered the Blue Frog Cafe.
The food and the service were great.
The zoo is in Santa Ana and
is home to about 300 animals. There is a gift shop, a couple places to eat, a little train and ferris wheel and of course
the animals.The train was brought from Santas Village when it closed and was refurbished for the zoo. When you're in the zoo
it's hard to believe that your right in the middle of Santa Ana but there it is!
Tony's by the cafe
Elise's black one and Marcias blue one by the cafe
Jackie heading up to the loft where we were seated
Up in the loft
Bringing smiles to the zoo parking lot
Going in!
Patrick, Nancy, Elise, Tim, Marcia and Jackie. Tony behind the camera.
Porkupine following the care taker
Anteater
Tony wanted to ride the train!
The train going past the Goats
And then there was this guy!
9-15-18
Return to Stanley Ranch Museum
Garden Grove California
The 15th of September we made a return
visit to The Stanley Ranch Museum in Garden Grove.
Metters
that showed up for the adventure were our president Ronnie Bauman, Ken Conner, Dave Heller, Tony Bilotti, Mike Dahlberg and
new members Nancy Halbert and Patrick.
The house was built
in 1893 by Edward Ware a horticulturist who developed the Eureka walnut and also introduced the first Valencia orange trees
to Garden Grove. In 1905 Edward and his wife Marys daughter Agnes married Arthur Stanley
and Agnes and Arthur took over the ranch after the death of her parents. In 1970 Agnes and Arthur donated two acres of the
ranch to the Garden Grove Historical Society. In 1971 the last crop was picked and Agnes and Arthurs son Emerson donated the
original Ware-Stanley house, his own house, the barn and tank house to the society. Other buildings were moved to the two
acre museum from their original nearby locations.
Dave's, Nancy's, Tony's, Ronnies and Kens
The Ware-Stanley house and the pump house.
The sitting room with a foot warmer in front of the chair.
The dining room.
A bedroom with a heater by the window and a Chamber Pot by the
bed.
Nancy and Dave in the kitchen.
Nancy and Patrick in front of the refridgerator. The thing next to the
fridge is a manual
vacuum cleaner. Pull up on the handle
to suck.
A pass through cupboard to put the dishes back in the dining room.
The dining eoom side of the pass through cupboard.
The laundry room.
Garden Groves first Fire Station and first Fire Truck.
The Fire Station office.
A collection of old fire extinguishers .
Garden Groves first switchboard and the first operators great great granddaughter.
The barn next to the Electric Shoe Shop-Beauty Shop-Dentist Office.
Ronnie next to an old shoe making machine in the shoe shop.
The beauty shop part of the building.
The dentist office in the back. I believe I will be canceling my appointment!
Garden Groves first Post Office built in 1877.
Post Office boxes inside the Post Office.
Walt Disney's uncle Roberts garage that Walt used as his first studio
in 1923 where Walt
produced his first cartoons. In 1984 the garage
was moved here from N. Hollywood.
Nancy looking at old Disney things on display in the garage.
Garden Groves first school house was closed but this is an older picture
from our first visit.
Inside the school house from our first visit.
The little old Garden Grove town at the museum. The small shed next to
the plow is
Walts studio with the school house behind it.
Kens Met on Main Street in Garden Grove.
Nancys Met across the street.
We
chose 'Kay's Kitchen' on Main Street for lunch after our outing.
Nancys Met brightening up Main Street!
Ronnies and Tonys bringing smiles to the other side of the street.
The cute little Barber Shop on Main Street.
8-5-18
Trip
to Heritage Museum of Orange County
Civil
War reenactment and Kellogg House
On Sunday August 5th we made a trip to The Heritage Museum of Orange County. Metters that joined
in were Chris Di Tommaso, Mike Dahlberg and Tony Bilotti. Our fearless leader Ronnie had it on his to do list but got a call
from his weekend dispatcher who couldn't work that day so unfortunately Ronnie had to cover. We chose this date because they
had a Civil War reenactment happening that weekend. The Civil War thing is very interesting with guns, camps and period clothing.
The soldiers and supporting members of the 'army's' are well versed in their rolls and seem genuine, like you've stepped back
in time.
The Kellogg house was the home to H.
Clay Kellogg an engineer who brought irrigation, aqueducts, dams and city plans to much of Southern California and Hawaii.
One of his sons also a civil engineer went on to start the Kellogg Garden Products Co. in the 1920's.
The MASH tent
'Old Glory' going up
The 'other side'
Period Weapons
Chris lining up a shot
The Kellogg house built in 1899
Inside the house
Looking up, The pole in the middle is a mast from a ship. Mr. Kellogg
loved ships and designed the house interior to look like a
ship
From the second floor landing looking down to the dining room
7-21-18
Trip to Custom Auto Service Packard restoration Shop
+
Tour of Wax Museum
Saturday July 21st we met in
the City of Orange to start our day of fun with the Mets.
Metters
who came out were our leader Ronnie Bauman, Ken Conner, Kim Dominguez and her friend Dianna, John and Anita Fildes, Armando
Reyes, Maritza and her Mom, Chris DiTommaso and Tony Bilotti.
Our firststop was an old gas station on Main Street in Orange that is said to be the first gas station in
Orange County California built around 1927. We thought it would make a good picture stop. From there we went to Custom Auto
Service owned by Robert Escalante. They do 100 point Packard restorations here. After
the Packard shop we met Robert Escalante and two of his partners at a cute littls Mexican restaurant in Santa Ana where our
leader Ronnie treated us all to lunch. From there we drove a couple miles to a building that a friend of Roberts has turned
into a little wax museum. There are many wax figures from the old Movieland Wax Museum in Buena Park that have been saved
from a trip to the candle factory.
Another great
time with the Mets!!
Tonys,, The pumps used to be on the left where the weeds are now
Chris
Ronnies
Armando looking at Kens
The Gas Station in it's glory days prior to 1990
I think that pump says 25 cents a gallon
Going into the Packard Shop. John and Anita standing with Ronnie. John
and Anitas Met to the left
Inside the Packard Shop
The front office
The front office
Welcomed to the wax museum by former President Reagan
Then we were greeted by former President Obama
We also got to meet our current President Trump
And into the museum
W.C. and Ronnie B.
Smokey??? That's a big 10-4 good buddy!
I'll get you, you sumbish!
From the back to the front of the museum
Upstairs at the museum
From upstairs looking towards the back of the museum
6-24-18
Annual Club PicNic
Sunday June
24th we had another great club picnic at Craig Regional Park in Brea.
This event usually draws the most of our members at the same time than any other event. Because of the size
of the guest list I'm not going to list it here. I will give recognition to new member Bruce Paxton who made the trip from
Palmdale, new members Natalie and Ken Pollard who came up from Murrieta and members Leon and Nancy Hastings who came from
Desert Hot Springs. And lets not forget our fearless leader Ronnie Bauman and Mona who comes to darn near everything from
downtown Riverside.
Again we had a great
turnout, great weather, great food and a great spread of stuff for our club fundraising auction.
Our spot thanx to Ken getting there at 6:15am
Metters arriving and setting up
The 'Jellybeans' from the hill
Multi colored 'Hoodies'
'Coupe De Grills'
Jackie under our banners
A great buffet for lunch!
And a great spread for the auction!
Auctioneer Ronnie and helpers, Marcia, Kim
and Diane.
"Do I hear $1000.00"
One more shot of the Mets. Leon and Nancy's yellow Met at the end. They
came a little late.
May 12 - 20
We took
another trip to historic Crystal Cove in Newport Beach.
So Cal
Metters along for the ride were our fearless leader Ronnie Bauman and his friend Mona, Ken & Judy Conner, Cindy Harris,
Marcia Jones & her friend Anne, Chris Di Tommaso, Kim Dominguez & her friend Diana, Tony & Jackie Bilotti. Mike
& Kim Dahlberg joined in for the fun driving Brand X because Mikes Met is having some major surgery done and we hope gets
well soon. John & Anita Fildes also joined us in their Met from Mission Viejo.
Lined up above Crystal Cove with the Pacific Ocean in thr background
Adding color to the Crystal Cove parking lot
The tunnel under Pacific Coast Hwy. to Crystal Cove
Some of the little village at Crystal Cove
Downstairs for public viewing - Upstairs can be rented
People on the beach-Catalina Island in the background
More people on the beach-(Marcia,Kim,Jackie and Mike)
Looking north up the beach. Hilltop cottages restored. Lower cottages
waiting for restoration
Looking south down the beach at restored / rentable cottages
The beach looking at the Beachcomber Cafe behind the American flag
Cottages awaiting restoration
4-21-18
Cruise to
CHOCXO chocolate in Irvine
Beginning at Member Kim Dominguez' 'Kimseum'
ending at Knowlwood Burgers in Old Town Irvine
April 21st 2018 we made a trip to Chocxo Chocolate in Irvine
suggested by our member Chris Di Tommaso.
Metters in attendance
were Chris Di Tommaso, Kim Dominguez and friend Diana, Dave Heller, Paul VanWig, Tony&Jackie Bilotti, Bridget&Mark
Mills, Marcy&Randy Hetrick. We were joined by new member Mark Weitzman with his Wife and Daughter. We also got to meet
Doug and Doreen that saw the outing on our website and came to see what we were all about. We expect to be adding them to
the 'Member List' soon!
They make all natural chocolate products
here at Chocxo (pronounced 'choczo') and the motto is 'From Bean to Bar'. They have a delicious selection of chocolate treats
and a tour of the workings of the place.
We all Met at member Kim
Dominguez' house for a tour of what she calls 'The Kimseum'.
Kim
has got things around her place that are impossible to list here. You have to see it for yourself and even then you probably
won't see it all the first time but you will be amazed!
After Kim's
and Chocxo we went to Old Town Irvine for lunch at Knowlwood inside what was originally the Irvine Blacksmith Shop and a look
at the hotel inside what was the Irvine Bean & Grain storage silos. The day was beautiful and all the stops were very
entertaining and interesting. Another unbeatable day with the Mets!
Kim's marquee welcoming us!
Kim's Garage
Kim's Garage
Support for Kim's TV
Some of Kim's wonderful stuff!
More of Kim's wonderful stuff!!
On the kitchen wall
Very Cool!!!
even more Very Cool!!!
The Lion in the Loft and the clock works!
Diana standing in the 'Elevator Door' to the kitchen
Another room full of goodies in the 'Kimseum'!
The front of Chocxo
They gave away some of these when they first opened
Good for a free tour
Inside Chocxo
The chocolate making process on the walls
Through the windows is the chocolate being made.
Chocolate making kitchen
More chocolate making through another window
Lunch at Knowlwood inside the old Irvine
blacksmith shop
Inside the blacksmith shop
Lunch
Now
Then
Us lined up outside the old grain storage warehouse
Looking west towards the hotel
The hotel looking east,,now
The hotel looking east,,then
Standing in a grain silo looking at doors to hotel rooms in other
grain silos
4-7-18
Cruise through Floral Park in Santa Ana to
Bowers Museum and lunch at
Original Mikes
Satuday April 7th we took a cruise through upscale Floral Park in Santa Ana. There
are beautiful older houses in this area of Santa Ana. We stopped in front of a few houses for some pictures and residents
came from houses on both sides of the street taking pictures of our Mets while we took pictures of their houses.
From there we headed for 'Bowers Museum' in downtown Santa Ana. There are exhibits
in the museum highlighting the first Californians, Missions and Ranchos, Art of the Pacific Islands
and much more.
There is a exhibit for a limited time of the life
of John F. Kennedy. After the museum we drove down Main Street to Original Mikes for a terrific lunch.
Houses in Floral Park
Kens
Tony's
Chris's
Cindy's
Nice Houses!
This was in front of one of the nice houses
Us in the Bowers Museum parking lot
the Museum entrance
Nice Ceiling
An old Brandy Still
Another great ceiling
Cute Girls (Jackie & Marcia) outsie the Museum
Parked at Original Mikes
Jackie heading in
Dave Heller with the Pillsbury Dough Boys Dad
From left, Ken Conner, Jackie Bilotti, Marcia Jones, Dave Heller, Chris
Di Tommaso,
Mike Dahlberg looking at the menu next to Chris, Mona
with Ronnie Bauman and Cindy Harris
Tony Bilotti behind the camera
Cindy showing where we are
2-17-18
Cruise to
the Richard Nixon library and birthplace
Saturday February 17th we made a trip to the Richard M. Nixon library and birthplace in Yorba Linda California. It's
the place to learn about the life and legacy of U.S. President Richard Nixon. The house he was born in is right where it's
always been and they built the library and museum around it.
The
place is very nice with something to see and learn around every corner and there are lots of corners.
After seeing the museum and the house Nixon was born in we went to Polly's Pies
in Yorba Linda for a terrific lunch.
Lighting up the streets on
our way
Somewhere over the rainbow
Sky's are Blue : )
Were there!
The gang going in
Inside
The Oval Office
The presidential office in the air. We couldn't take pictures inside.
: (
The house Nixon was born in
The living room
Sad, but I guess what goes up must come down
Metters and friends
Click here for video of the Metty Go Round with a Morris Minor