Southern California Chapter So. Cal. Chapters Weekend Tour 2007 March 10 and 11th Palm Springs, California  The Southern California Chapter members wanted more activities for 2007. Frank Wenzel volunteered to hold the first Tour of the year. Frank made arrangements for the members to visit various private car museums and the Palm Springs Air Museum. Frank also set up a private tour of his garages and private collection with the evening ending with a delicious BBQ. Below is the story from the "Atalanta", the Southern California Chapters Newsletter, along with a full picture gallery of the weekend. Wow, what a great way the start off the 2007 season with a few days in sunny Palm Springs. The weather could not have been better as it was in the mid 90’s all four days. Frank had been planning this weekend tour for over 6 months and he accomplished it with flying colors. Many of us had planned to go down early and just enjoy the desert area. And we did just that. Thursday morning, Dad and I were doing the finishing touches on the “new” roadster and packing our suit cases when Lloyd Prather showed up to lend us moral support. We left around 2:00 and started our way down. We arrived in just a couple of hours and found that Malcolm Stinson from Arizona was already there with his 1940 President Sedan. As it was getting close to dinner we decided to give Doc Shepard and his daughter Lori a call to join us for dinner. Doc said, “get the group together and come on over to my place for a BBQ”. It was agreed and the troop was on our way. Lori was the perfect hostess and put together a really nice dinner on such notice. Thanks Lori! Frank volunteered to be our official chief at the grill. The stories and drinks flew as everyone ate their fill. Thanks again guys for the wonderful dinner. We arrived in just a couple of hours and found that Malcolm Stinson from Arizona was already there with his 1940 President Sedan. As it was getting close to dinner we decided to give Doc Shepard and his daughter Lori a call to join us for dinner. Doc said, “get the group together and come on over to my place for a BBQ”. It was agreed and the troop was on our way. Lori was the perfect hostess and put together a really nice dinner on such notice. Thanks Lori! Frank volunteered to be our official chief at the grill. The stories and drinks flew as everyone ate their fill. Thanks again guys for the wonderful dinner. It had already been planned for Friday morning that we would eat at Sherman’s for breakfast. Sherman’s is a breakfast restaurant and deli. We all dined on the sidewalk and enjoyed the company. Plus, we also had the attention of the pedestrians who were enjoying the cars. We had just left the café and had not even gone a block when Frank ran out of gas in his 1938 Commander. Everyone knows Studebakers get excellent mileage, but Frank, they do need a tank full now and then. Malcolm came to the rescue and fetched a few gallons to get it running. Of course it was a perfect photo session.  That afternoon, a few more members showed up and were also getting ready for the weekend. For the rest of us it was just basically a kick back afternoon of kicking tires in the parking lot, but Frank had a secret plan. One of his friends has a limo and he was able to borrow it for a couple of hours and give us a personal tour of all the popular places in Palm Springs. It would have been a perfect tour except for the fact that the air conditioning did not work. With the outside temperature around 95 and with all those bodies in the car it got a bit warm. But all and all, it was a neat venture. The evening ended with a dinner at Hawthorns, another wonderful restaurant with great food and huge portions. Saturday morning was our first major trip. I was a bit worried with the ’15 but we were on our way. My brother Dave and his son Eric rode over on their motorcycles from 29 Palms to join us at Ruby’s, a 50’s style diner. After breakfast a large group of hot rodders from the area who always eat and meet here on Saturday mornings, were really impressed with our groups herd of Studebakers that graced the parking lot. After many questions were answered, pictures were taken and rides that were given, the group started on their way back to the hotel. Later that afternoon, Frank had arranged that the group would tour the Palm Springs Air Museum. After a short tour of downtown Palm Springs, we arrived and were given preferred parking right out front of the entrance and went in to enjoy the display of World War 2 war birds. Outside on display was a B-17. Richard Dormois claims that this bomber actually has 4 Studebaker engines. He said that he borrowed a ladder last time he was there and checked them. Also on display was one car, a 1940 Commander Club Sedan. It was on loan from a private museum. Nice car to see next to these proud old birds. After a nice tour and a fly over by a group of pilots it was off to our hosts’ house for the next part of our tour. Frank had his garage in prime condition with all his cars on display. After a fantastic tour of the property and a great spaghetti dinner, the group was ready to head back.  The weekend was just a great time. Nobody was in a hurry. We did have a couple of problems but nothing that will be only a shared conversation at a later Meet. Thanks Frank and Kent for a fantastic weekend. The next morning, the group had another short tour for breakfast at Billy Reed's Restaurant. This time, as before, it was through downtown Palm Springs. As you can guess, we turned a few heads. After breakfast, the group was again on the road to another private car collection. Hey guys, same time next year?

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