Sandwiched between a 4.3 magnitude earthquake and the memorial service for a COVID victim I grew up with (we live in surreal times), the largest Mustang show in California made its comeback on Saturday.
We started the day with a beach brunch from The Wild Chive. This is Wendy’s breakfast skillet, a tofu egg patty, sourdough toast and gravy, and a scramble of sausage, grilled cheese, potatoes, arugula, and roasted tomatoes. (The potatoes and tomatoes had especially great flavor.) It was a lot of food, but we ended up walking seven-something miles that day, so it’s a good thing we loaded up on some delicious calories.
For Ponies at the Pike, participants park their cars on a lighthouse-topped hill across the street from the Pike Outlets. (Originally the Pike was a 1902 boardwalk-type thing with rides, food, and a bath house). You were allowed to wander the show maskless if you showed proof of vaccination or a recent negative COVID test, and they were even offering entry into a $100 raffle if you wanted to get vaccinated on-site.
Show details! (I think I included this snake in a previous Ponies at the Pike blog post.)
The highlight of the show for me was that someone brought their Mach-E. So I got to ask a real owner all the questions. (“Do public chargers work?” “Is it worth charging past 80%?” “Will I make it to Washington State to see my sister?”) Plus he let me sit in the driver’s seat (notice the blue stitching on the steering wheel that matches the car’s exterior paint).
The highlight of the show for everyone else was a 2000 Cobra R. The Cobra R is significant because it’s made for racing (it’s not street legal), and there’s only 300 of them. They used a lottery system to decide who gets one, and this Oregon-based Cobra R is number 10/300. (Ford kept numbers 1-9.) The car has no air conditioning and no stereo, it’s just for racing.