I packed a light bag, grabbed the credit card and before 9 a.m., Simone and I were headed north on 90 out of Santa Barbara in the Toyota Sequoia.
Having lived within hours of the Sequoia National Park for most of my life, I had the thought to make that the first stop on our little getaway; it being the namesake of my truck and all. For the first couple hours, we just drove without talking to each other; it was a beautiful day and the sun shone warmly. Once inside the confines of the park, I left the road to find my own way around.
Those big trees are something to see!
We had stopped at a little store on the way and picked up some items for a picnic - a French loaf, cheese and wine. Once we found a suitable spot, we stopped and unpacked the buffet. Like the wine, Simone's smile has a certain intoxicating effect on me as well.
Termites from all over the world must love this place. They probably send back postcards to the termites at home telling of all the great wood to gnaw on. I prefer cheese myself.
Leaving the park, we came to a wooden suspension bridge. It was a long way up, but quite scenic.
We found some hills so I reasoned this was a good chance to try out the traction on the Toyota. Four Wheel Drive is a good thing!
The hills grew steeper, but it didn't faze our truck. It kept right on climbing to the top of the world.
Once we got to the top, what a view it commanded! We could almost see the Pacific Ocean. But not quite. Simone remarked with a slight yawn that she was getting tired. I nodded.
The natural rock formations were huge, but fairly smooth going. The wine tipped over and spilled in the back floorboard. We broke the rest of the bread up into crumbs and threw them to a flock of white and yellow birds we saw by the side of the road.
By late afternoon, we were both tired and ready to return. One last view of the cavern and we started back. I knew there would be hell to pay when I got back to my wife. Sigh.
Back wing detail of the Esso "1"
I have seen four different styles of wheels used on this model and they include a "5 Star" wheel, a "6 Point" wheel and a "4 Spoke" wheel. I have also seen a version with an un-chromed, white plastic "5 Star" wheel used.
I have since painted it with a couple coats of the upper color and reassembled it. I'd like to recreate the exact look of the original adhesive decals and add them on in the proper places, but I don't know - I think it looks kind of nice with no designs on it anywhere. What do you think?
So, there is the complete story of my Summer Toyota Celica LB Turbo GR.5 - from it's humble beginnings to it's colorful present restored appearance. Tomica has made a version of this casting, so it must be popular with other people besides me. Even though Summer vehicles are considered to be some of the cheapest made, I think there's a certain attraction to some of their models. Does anybody else have Summer models in their collection that they treasure? I'm almost certain that I've seen this same casting of a Toyota Celica race car in a group of non-descript vehicles packaged in a big set. It's tempting to buy this set just to have a new version of my old favorite to go along with it's older sibling!
I've also been informed by Steve that this little Toyota was based upon a real-life race car driven by Harald Ertl, in 1977, and Rolf Stommeln in 1978. While my car seems loosely based on the paint scheme that was used in 1977, the Tomica version of this same car is almost identical to the 1978 paint scheme. The actual car showed speed and promise, but in the end turned out to be disappointing in it's racing results. Too bad! But I like my little version anyway!
Maisto also has a Denver Pumper, a Snorkel truck and a Utility Truck painted in fire engine red to go along with their other fire vehicles. I'm still looking to add those to my collection. I've also heard that a 1955 Buick Century is coming out shortly, painted in red and white and sporting "Fire Chief" graphics. I can't wait for that one!