On a clear sunny Sunday morning between Christmas and New Years the Southern California Region of the Horseless Carriage Club goes touring.  This is not just your ordinary tour, but a grand car show of antique vehicles and then a tour of pre 1932 antique vehicles.

      First, there is the car show.  In a nondescript parking lot of the Pasadena City College Extension, every kind of antique vehicle shows up to see and be seen.  There are over three hundred antiques.  There are the early horseless carriages, the classics of the 1920’s and 1930’s, the muscle cars of the 1950’s and 1960’s, an assortment of fast machines such as Cobras, hot rods and street legal sprint cars, motorcycles both early and late, and even bicycles that have to be pedaled by human power.  Over a thousand people come to view these awesome machines.

      Next, there is the car tour.  The cars that are 1932 and earlier get to go touring.  Over two hundred of them went this year!  Theses antique vehicles toured past the most beautiful mansions decorated up for Christmas that one could imagine.  These cars toured past the old mansions of Pasadena and the newer ones in Arcadia.  They went past many old Craftsman mansions and even the Blacker House built in 1907. They toured above the Rose Bowl parking lots where the Rose Parade floats were being assembled.  About mid morning they arrived at the Eaton Blanche Park where their drivers talked about these machines and even had a donut or two.  While all of this talking and eating was occurring, Jan Leno arrived in his magnificent “red” White steam car. 

      After the mid morning stop in the park, the vehicles were off again.  There were many roads to travel up in the mountains on twisty roads and down in the flats along Colorado Boulevard.  Colorado Boulevard is the road the Rose Parade Floats will be traveling on New Year’s Day.  Our vehicles passed by the grand stands for the Rose Parade spectators, which were located on almost every vacant lot and even in front of some buildings and storefronts. 

      After all of this touring, the drivers and their passengers went eating.  Lunch was served at many local restaurants and of course these antique vehicles drew more crowds.  If that wasn’t enough for one day, these antiques were then driven to one of the Southern California Region’s most prestigious member’s house.  Here desserts were served and his collection of old cars and even an antique train were observed.

      A large thank you goes to the Eastwoods for starting this grand tour many years ago and to Peter Eastwood for carrying on the tradition.  Another large thank you goes to all of the volunteers of the Southern California Region that worked so hard to make this a very fun event.

    (Special thanks to Marilyn Balduff for recapping the tour and sharing these photos.)

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