I grew up in Palos Verdes, one of the wealthier suburbs of Los Angeles, and it has gotten wealthier since I left. Candidly, I did not like its stuffy and uptight nature. One of the reasons I love cars is that getting my license gave me freedom to escape and enjoy myself in the rest of SoCal. My dad helped me get met my first car, a 1981 Celica Sparlingco conversion convertible (RIP) that is the reason for my Sunchaser obsession. My parents were shockingly permissive about me driving to shows and god knows where else as I explored Hollywood, Santa Monica, Long Beach, and others. It was this time when I felt like I really started to figure myself out.
Anyway, I finished high school and headed to Colorado for college. I never looked back, and when I moved back to SoCal I moved to Santa Monica. Eventually, life took me across the country and back, and I made my home in Fresno. My parents retired and left Palos Verdes, and my onetime home faded - I never missed it.
By chance, an old SoCal friend (a car enthusiast) has an extra ticket to Dead & Co. at Dodger Stadium Saturday night, and invited me to go. It so happens that Palos Verdes has a Cars & Coffee that day, so I decided to take the Sunchaser and hit my old stomping grounds and enjoy a Cars & Coffee where the cars will be worth millions. It feels weird to be back there in a car so similar to the one I drove around the area as a teen. I may have to take a spin around town to see how things look after all these years. It is an odd feeling.