It was 1 p.m. I pulled up to the intersection of Sunset and Vine. Traffic was heavy and the light turned red. As luck would have it, I was first at the light and just happened to be in the left lane. The CD was cued up and waiting its turn. The light was red for an eternity. An XK-E didn't pull up on the right, but an Astin Martin DB9 did. HOLY CRAP! The light turned green, Lori hit the CD and away we went. The Astin Martin got caught in traffic and we didn't think we'd see him again. Since 1964, when Jan and Dean took us down Sunset Boulevard, past LaBrea and Crescent Heights, the dream was there to travel the infamous route, but without the tragic ending.
(This is the intersection of Sunset & Vine)
The song was blaring as I went past LaBrea and Crescent Heights. It was a very eerie, yet magical journey. As we approached Doheny, the Astin Martin caught us, roared by on the right and pulled in front of us, where we took this photo. We "bugged each other" for about a 1/4 mile, but he realized we were too much for him and he turned down Doheny. (One can dream.)
I continued down Sunset Boulevard and on to Dead Man's Curve. Not wanting to end up like the Vette in the song, I let the old man in a BMW convertible go by! As the song says, "it's no place to play". Sadly, the magic was gone. I will only concede that he knew the road much better than I. A little more practice and we'll go back!
A 40-year dream has come to life. Thanks for the memories, Jan & Dean!
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