American Bugatti Club

Posted on May 6, 2019

My husband and I recently hosted the Annual Meeting of the American Bugatti Club. It was the first-ever La Jolla gathering of this group, and 50 members attended with ten finicky French cars. Like all of us who are lucky enough to live in San Diego, I’ve hosted a fair number of out-of-town guests over the years, and I find I always learn something about my hometown from them. A nephew first alerted me to our city’s craft brew status. A visiting horticulturist couldn’t wait to visit San Diego Botanic Garden.

Likewise, preparing for the ABC meet, I discovered car-centric San Diego. One great example of this special interest is the Cars & Coffee gathering we attended on Paseo Delicias in Rancho Santa Fe. These informal Saturday morning meetups take place in hundreds of cities across the country and around the world and, I learned, this one in RSF is particularly good.

“Bugatti only” parking had been allocated for our group, and the cars created quite a stir when they roared into their staked-out spaces. The community of car guys — locals and out-of-towners alike — immediately launched into a level of car talk that exceeded my understanding, but I could tell they were having fun.

When the time came for the actual Annual Meeting, I was glad that I had reserved space at Nick & G’s Restaurant right next to where the cars were parked. Following the meeting, we enjoyed a delicious lunch on the patio overlooking the automotive pulchritude.

After a visit to a private collection in RSF, we returned to our host hotel, the La Jolla Beach & Tennis Club. President Bill Kellogg had kindly arranged for the club’s Old Black Goose, the 1915 Packard La Jollans know from our Christmas parade, to pose for a photo with the Bugs. Kellogg and his staff were also very patient with the trailers that littered their parking lot all weekend and the general craziness that is part and parcel of all car events.

On Sunday, the final day, we rallied up the coast and then out along Del Dios Highway and through San Pasqual Valley. The weather was perfect, the beaches were gorgeous, and the vineyards and small farms along San Pasqual Road, Old Milky Way, and Bandy Canyon Road helped make this the perfect route for sexy vintage cars.

The visitors loved it — and so did I.   Elizabeth Hansen

Group: Photo by Richard Adams     Yellow Bugatti: Photo by Bob Stefanko