Saturday was the Mystery Drive with Walt L. leading. Walt kept the locations a mystery until we actually got there. We had 14 cars and 27 people. To throw us off Walt said the first stop was to see Willie Wonka, we were all thinking chocolate! However, it was a miniature train club. The trains were in a huge abandoned warehouse in Crockett, CA. The miniature train club members came and ran all the trains for us and patiently answered many questions. The work they put into the train display was amazing and we all had a great time. We were not disappointed that there wasn’t any chocolate!
Next stop was to The Nantucket Seafood Restaurant where we all feasted on clam chowder, fish & chips, crab cakes, and various other sumptuous fish plates. We had some great conversations and got to know several new BAMA members who joined us on this excursion.
After we got our fill of fish, etc. we drove to the Bailey Art Museum in Crockett, CA. Clayton Bailey has on exhibit ceramic sculptures and robots built out of everyday metal objects, like coffee makers, teapots & old roasters. Betty Bailey, Clayton’s wife, had her watercolor drawings on exhibit and Dr. Gladstone had his pseudo-scientific curiosities. Check out the website at claytonbailey.com. If you’re ever in Crockett (also home of Aldo Ray) this museum is worth a look.
Our fourth and final destination was Port Costa, which according to Wikipedia was once the United States busiest wheat shipping port. We went into the Port Costa pub to get out of the heat where on exhibit was a huge stuffed polar bear in a glass case. They also had other eclectic displays. Several of us visited the little antique shop on the corner where there was a small treasure, a Sweetgrass basket, made in Charleston, SC. This brought back memories of watching Gullah women from Daufuskie Island making Sweetgrass baskets in Charleston City Market.
We all went our separate ways after having a great time on a successful Mystery Tour. Many thanks to Walt for putting together a fun and very interesting BAMA drive.
