"Anybody can jump a motorcycle. The trouble begins when you try to land it."
~Evel Knievel
"Never get so busy making a living that you forget to make a life."
When I created my Updated Bucket List for YEAR 77 I listed a Harley day-ride on the 7th of each month. The idea was to ride to a place that had an interesting history and a fun route to ride on a motorcycle. The 7th doesn't always work, and for this ride Dale agreed to meet me at Annie's Cafe in Lake Elsinore on February 17th.
I left Monrovia early on a clear and quite cold morning and met Dale at Annie's Cafe a little after 8:00 am. I rode freeways all the way and it took a little over an hour - it was 65 miles from Monrovia. Dale and I had a good visit, first going over all the details of each of our kids so we could answer questions from our wives when we got home. We had a good breakfast - it seems to be a habit to eat too much on these Harley/Hot-Rod breakfast meetups. Annie's Cafe is a neat place. They book themselves as "The Friendliest Place in Town" and I think they live up to this. Everyone working there is very friendly and the service is the best. And one of the draws is the dancing - every so often they dim the lights, put on some crazy music, and several of the waitresses line up and dance for a few minutes. I should have taken a video, but I do show a photo below.
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After breakfast we went outside and took a few photos.
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The Boy's and Their Toys
There were two nice young ladies, and their daughters, selling Girl Scout Cookies just outside the entrance to Annie's. One of these ladies became our official photographer, so I purchased some cookies as a thank you. Below is a photo of their sales stand, and the two Girl Scouts with Dale and I at my Harley and his hot-rod.
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As Dale and I were preparing to leave and head for home, who should walk up but the real live Annie, of Annie's Cafe (it turns out her name is Jan, but she also goes by Annie). For some reason this photo didn't turn out so well, but we had to have a photo with the owner.
As I left to go home, heading North on I-15, I saw Exit 77. Given my obsession with the number seven, I couldn't pass up taking that exit to see where it would lead me. It turned out to be a good choice. As I came to the City of Perris, I saw the Motte Historical Car Museum and turned in. The Museum is located in a barn, as you'll see in the photos below. While they welcome visitors to tour the museum and view their collection of cars, their real business is providing a unique venue for special events, like weddings, birthday parties, fund raising events, etc. They have a wonderful collection of cars, all in running condition, and they have a detailed description at each car. The cars are quite close together, so while there is plenty of room to inspect them in person, the photos don't show them as well as if they were a little further apart. In any event, I really enjoyed touring the museum and am comfortable recommending a visit to anyone interested in old cars that have been nicely restored. I entered the museum at the opening, so there were only a few other people there and I got some good personal attention regarding questions about the cars and the museum.
Photos below from the left:
1st row- Exit 77 on I-15 North; next, my first view of the Motte Car Museum; then a view of the Museum from the parking lot; and finally an interesting presentation of the Motte Family Tree above the welcome desk.
2nd row- All four photos are examples of the cars on display and how each car has an exhibit at the car explaining all the details about the car.
3rd row- A photo of one section of the museum taken from a balcony; the second photo is a hot-rod in a section including other hot-rods; next is the information exhibit for the 1932 Ford Roadster in the second photo, which is similar to what is shown for every car in the museum; the final photo is of a large photo on the wall of the museum. The words at the top of the photo say, "1946 Deuce Roadsters on Sierra Madre Blvd., Pasadena, CA, now the crowded route of the annual rose parade."
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After leaving the Motte Museum I continued on my selected "Exit 77 route" to the City of Hemet, then to Beaumont, and finally got on the I-10 Freeway and headed for Monrovia. The route I took from Annie's Cafe to home was 121 miles for a total for my day-ride of 186 miles. It was a fun ride, a fun visit with my brother Dale, and an interesting visit to the car museum.
A Little History of Annie's Cafe: The original Annie's Cafe is located on Mission Trail in Lake Elsinore. It began as a little mom and pop burger bar named Sunnymead Hamburgers. Those owners changed the name to Annie's Cafe in 1989. Annie's struggled for many years, with several different owners, until Jan and Kevin Vyse purchased the cafe in the year 2000. They worked hard at cleaning the place up, providing the best of food and service, and as the word spread, a large and loyal customer base developed. Jan and Kevin are Brits, and although Annie's has been primarily an American Diner, they have thrown in a few of their home favorites. They serve three British meals; Fish 'n Chips, Bangers & Mash, and the Winston Churchill full English breakfast with Heinz Baked Beans, English Bangers and English Bacon. Annie's web site states "Great American Food, With Just a Twist of British Attitude." And they give this comment regarding the dancing - "it all started because a young guest asked for the chicken dance one day and it made so many people smile that we continued. We now spontaneously erupt into many different dances during the day - why? because it makes our customers smile and that's what Annie's is all about -- great food and service in a fun environment. Life is good when we can make you smile!" And the menu begins with, "The Friendliest Place in Town."
The web site lists the owners as Jan (AKA Annie) and Kevin (Mr Annie).