On Saturday, September 15, 2012, I experienced the Pleasure Road Rallye and it was so much fun! After we checked in at the Rolling Hills Country Club, we had lunch and were regaled with stories from Peter Mullin, one of the the Concours Grand Marshals. He told of the unique history of some of the cars he had acquired in his collection. Then we went back out to our cars and waited in line for our official start. We left at 2:04 p.m. with a list of 48 questions regarding landmarks on the Peninsula.
Our first turn was easy, right out of the parking and right onto Palos Verdes Drive North – Question #1 was “What is the name of the park on the corner on your right?” and the “Dapplegrey Park” sign was visible from the street. Well, our confidence level soared; this was going to be a cakewalk. We wound through the City of Rolling Hills racking up answers – street named after a very quick bird was Roadrunner – number of Rolling Hills Fire Station was 56. Out the Crest gate and back down through Peninsula Center we drove and then on to Malaga Cove and to Lunada Bay where we answered question #21 – “How many American Flags are there in the median?” We counted 5.
It was starting to get really hot (temperatures climbed to over 90 degrees) and we were in an open convertible. Even with my floppy sunhat, I could feel the sun beating down. We drank more water and concentrated on our task at hand as we answered more questions and drove down Palos Verdes Drive West – “Right after you enter the city of Rancho Palos Verdes, what does the sign warn of?” Fire danger, we read. We then drove through Portuguese Bend Club and on Peppertree proceeding down the road until we got to the gate answered the question, “The last home on your right is called Villa ________” It was Francesca. I think it was at this point that we started slowing down and enjoying the scenery which ultimately threw off our time.
We drove into San Pedro, stopped at Fort MacArthur (Major George A. Tucker was born in 1903), drove past a little bakery serving Fancy Melts (Baltic Bakery) and went into Miraleste and were directed onto Via Colinita. There it all came to a halt. Question #35 (Photo above) – “What is the current address of this home? Trees have grown since the 1920s but the house remains mostly unchanged.” We drove up and down the street three times and finally got out to inspect 6505 Via Colinita which we decided must be the house. Greatly relieved, we drove away watching several other cars driving up and down the street but we knew our time was going to be off.
After answering 14 more questions, we drove into Palos Verdes Country Club and were checked in at 4:52 p.m. and went on the the Grand Marshals’ reception. When the winners were announced (not us), we learned that 2 hours 20 minutes was the secret target time. We were only over by about half an hour! Next year, we will have a different strategy. It was so much fun and I not only learned new information about our Peninsula but will remember this adventure as I drive by those 48 points of interest. I highly recommend signing up next year!
Photo courtesy of Palos Verdes Concours Pleasure Road Rallye
