Bill Brandt

Reno Air Race Memories

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With the announcement that this September will mark the end of the nearly 60 years of the Reno Air Races, I thought I would mention my experiences there over the years. I’ve written about some of those experiences here, here, and here.

I started going there in the late 70s, a 2.5 hour jaunt up I-80 from Sacramento. Then (if you were lucky) no wait heading north from Reno a few miles along US 395 to Stead Field. For many years I used to make it an annual pilgrimage. I’m a bit embarrassed to say in later years I got a bit jaded wondering if “this year” I would see something new and exciting. Of course, then I realized that what I was seeing, after the great air race venues of the 30s, was probably the last of its kind.

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Searching For That Part That Was Unobtanium

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When my cars have needed interior work, I have gone to one place for years. Whether it is a simple replacement for a seat bolster, rubbed raw after years of sliding in and out of the driver’s seat, new seat covers, a new roof headliner,  or now, a new convertible top for my 27-year-old Mercedes-Benz SL500 I have only one place.

And without exception, when I go there, I always like to take pictures of the current customer cars having work. You might see a 1930 Bentley next to a 1957 Chevy. I have always felt that the owner is a perfectionist.

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Back to Google’s (Alleged) Beginnings…

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Most people would not like to travel the way I travel. They want a specific route itinerary and planned places to visit.

For me, it is the spontaneity of the journey that I like. Last November I decided to drive from California to Minneapolis to attend Thanksgiving with my small family. And it was the unplanned stops along the way, a few way off course, that made the trip. I wrote about that trip here.

I have found a travel companion, and because of her background as a cruise director for the Royal Viking Line (and the first female cruise director), she is on board with my travel plans made at the last minute.

Inger once told me that she and her charge of passengers were in the middle of India, and the scheduled plane that was to take them to the Taj Mahal would not come. Now that is a challenge making arrangements “on the fly” for 20 people who are depending on you to get them to their destination in a timely manner. So she is used to travel’s unexpected detours.

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Retrotech Event – West Coast Edition

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On September 28th, David Foster posted about the Retrotech Event in New England, with the New England Wireless and Steam Museum firing up its steam engines for the public.

I mentioned that I attended a similar event on the West Coast a couple of weeks earlier.

He invited me to make a guest post on my visit.

On September 10th, I went with my car club to one of the most interesting places I’ve visited – in California’s Sonoma wine country.

One might say it was a journey back in time to 1914 to see a working lumber mill from that era. Even more mysterious, like the fictional Scottish town of Brigadoon, it only opens 4 weekends a year (versus once a century!). There was one visitor who made the trek of 550 miles from San Diego to Sebastopol just to see these machines.

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