#4833504
So this will be the first post in a series to summarize the EPIC California trip three buddies and I just had. I had been on two Ghostbusters-themed visits to California previously, but this one managed to top those just because of how much we accomplished in a span of 6 days.

The story begins during the very early morning hours of May 8, 2015. I woke up at 2:15am and got ready for my buddy Fernando to arrive. He traveled from Queens, NY down to my place in Bethlehem, PA and arrived at around 3am. If anyone doesn’t know Fernando, he has one of the best modern-day custom Ecto-themed cars.

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It was cool to see it sitting in my dad’s driveway. We were off for the Philadelphia airport. The excitement was mounting because we had been talking non-stop about how we could get Chick-fil-a before our flight as there is one in the airport. Well, we got there and found this:

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The damn place was closed. Out of every single place to eat in the airport, this was the only one that wasn’t open. Needless to say, we were both sort of sad…Fernando more so:

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It wouldn’t be long before Jonny Ruckus and our other friend Ken arrived in the Philly airport – they each flew into Philly from Manchester, NH and Boston, MA respectively. We then all took the same flight to Los Angeles together (EPIC). The flight was long, but hey, sleeping was a good way to pass the time…depending on who you ask…

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OK, no, his head is not on the other dude's shoulder...I was just waiting for it to happen though (darn).

Eventually we landed, got our bags, headed to get our rental car, got to the hotel, checked in, and then it was time for the first matter of business. I wanted a sacred meal to signify that our adventure had truly begun: ROSCOE’S CHICKEN & WAFFLES. If anyone reads this, you MUST go to this place if you’re ever in Los Angeles. The food is amazing:

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After this, we headed back to the hotel and then for the Griffith Observatory. The drive to this place is so awesome. To get to it, you get to drive through this:

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That’s the tunnel from ‘Who Framed Roger Rabbit’ and ‘Back to the Future Part II’. We spent some time at the observatory and then headed back through the tunnel listening to 'Smile, Darn Ya, Smile!' from Roger Rabbit, but it wasn't as magical as it was in the movie. Anyway, we then headed to House of Pies (which happens to have the best key lime pie in the world…seriously).

By this point, we were freaking exhausted, but opted to head to another location called Eighty Two. This is a pretty cool location with a bar and a bunch of old arcade games/pinball machines. It was a good time, though all I wanted to do was play Street Fighter II but couldn’t because these two guys who obviously go to this place way too much were hogging the machine and there was no way any of us would stand a chance against them.

Eventually we had our share of fun and went back to the hotel to get some sleep. Day #1 was complete.
jackdoud, Smeghead liked this
#4833685
I am back with California Trip Update #2... Day #2 was a special day. This was the day we were going to see my Ecto! The guy working on my car had arranged a hearse club meeting for that day and invited a bunch of people to his place in Lake Elsinore. There were some really cool cars there, however, one car stole the show...


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The back window rubber has been sourced and the windows are going in! YES!!!!!!

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MY BABY…God, I love her so much, and I’m pretty sure my friends did too. She is close to being ready to ship to me in Pennsylvania. The best part of all about this visit wasn’t just the visual appeal…SHE WAS READY FOR ME TO DRIVE HER FOR THE FIRST TIME.

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It felt good to sit behind the wheel for the first time...something I'll never forget. The video of the first drive was recorded by my buddy Fernando. I had nothing to do with the soundtrack (I actually don't like the song, but plenty of people do)...



I don’t remember much from this short drive, but I do remember how ridiculously excited I was about it…something I’ve been waiting over 4 years to do. I didn’t get to give her any real gas because I didn’t take her out onto the actual road, but she should haul a$5 when I want her to.


After spending some time hanging out and meet some good people, we had to head back to Los Angeles. On the way back, we managed to get Chick-Fil-A to make up for missing out on it at the Philadelphia airport. We got back to the hotel and day #2 was complete.
jackdoud, Ecto-1 fan, Jake LeRoy and 1 others liked this
#4835199
Hey buddies!
It's been long...I apologize. I'm in the midst of 22 straight work days essentially...this is my 21st day. Anyway, I figured it was time for the next California update...chapter #3.

Day #3 started off with DONUTS…well for three of us at least. Fernando was too busy running…loser. Anyway, we were heading over to visit Sean Bishop. What a dynamite guy…just one of the nicest people you could ever meet. He was super cool to us all, just as he had been to my buddy Matt and I last year. Another super cool dude was over at his place working on prop stuff…so a big shout out goes to you as well, Doug. We sat around and shot the crap for quite a while. For those of you who aren’t aware, Sean has a beautiful Ecto as well:


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So pretty…this was the second Ecto-1 we were seeing in 2 days. Sean showed us plenty of his other goodies and then we decided to go get food. Our destination: ROSCOE’S CHICKEN AND WAFFLES (VISIT #2, BABY!). Yes, it was good, but they didn’t have any French fries, and apparently it would have taken at least an hour to make them (I guess they had to grow the potatoes). This is what Sean gets for not ordering waffles like normal people…shame on you, Sean. We went back to Sean’s and hung out for a bit longer before heading out to visit Doc Brown’s 1955 house from ‘Back to the Future’ aka The Gamble House. The garage is still there too. No, there was no time machine in it…bummer. From here we went to go search for some ice cream and ended up at the Stick Station. It was a hipster ice cream place. Fernando was introduced to hazelnut flavoring and the world is now a better place. Jonny wowed us all by explaining why there is no grape-flavored ice cream, and we went back to the hotel, and eventually day #3 came to an end.



Day #4’s agenda included a trip to Sony Pictures for the backlot studio tour, and Roger (the guy working on my car) joined us. His 63rd birthday actually fell on day#3 of our trip, so the tour was just the first part of our celebration. The home of Sony Pictures is really cool. If you stroll around the lobby, you may run into a few things you recognize…

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They have some other screen-used items on display, and at one point they had another proton pack and one of Dan Aykroyd’s GBII suits on display, but those have been taken back to the archives to avoid any further sun-damage (and to hide it from some untrustworthy fans).


The tour started and we crossed paths with this beauty:


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That is the screen-used Ecto-1. It looks good from a distance, but once you get close, you can see how she’s in need of another restoration (and hopefully a good one for once…if she gets another, that is). We had a few minutes to snap a bunch of photos, and because of my first trip to CA, I knew we’d be able to return to the car as it was right across from the Sony gift shop (convenient how the tour concludes with a 15 minute stop at the gift store…hmm).

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The rest of the tour was cool. We saw one of the guys who is in a number of Adam Sandler’s movies (Allen Covert) and Bryan Cranston’s car (sadly, he was in his office and we didn’t get to meet him). We finished up the tour and then it was time for the next part of our birthday celebration: ROSCOE’S CHICKEN AND WAFFLES VISIT #3. Yes, we ate there three times in 4 days…and it was still just as awesome.

That night, Fernando had an awesome idea of going to get food at this place called Saddle Ranch (on the Sunset Strip). This place was really, really cool. Plenty of good-looking women, decent music, decent food, and a mechanical bull = a good time, for some. Jonny was very clear the moment we got there that he was brave enough to ride the mechanical bull, and, being a good sport, Fernando said he would too. Both of them required some alcohol to get ready for the tournament…yes, tournament. Every night, this place recruits around 10 people to ride the bull in competition (whoever holds on the longest in the last round wins). 8 people took part in the competition this night.

The first round was like a warm-up. The second round was pretty much for entertainment…if the rider agreed to ride the bull on the “hard” setting, they automatically advanced to the next and final round. Both Jonny and Fernando strategically agreed to ride on the “hard” setting to assure they’d advance to the final round. This was an intelligent decision, or was it?


Fernando actually finished in second place…missing first place by less than 2 seconds. If he had just held on a bit longer, we would’ve gotten a free meal. Nice going, Fernando. Day #4 of our trip was complete.
Kingpin, Grimmy GB, Jake LeRoy and 1 others liked this
#4841427
SabaSka109 wrote:Something I had to make...

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That's hilarious!
#4841435
SabaSka109 wrote:Something I had to make...

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Oh man, that does sum it up... LOL @ 38 bucks. :walterpeck:
#4841970
Well guys,

I had the intention of finishing off a summation of the California trip, but there's too much going on, and all of the Ghostbusters-related stuff that I could post has been shared here (there was more, but I cannot elaborate on that now). Actually, there is something I can share that I have not yet...

When we were out there, we visited Michael Gross, one of the associate producers of Ghostbusters and executive producer of Ghostbusters II. I had visited with him a few years prior when 3 of my buddies and I had taken the first California trip. We had a blast with him then, and he didn't disappoint me or my trip buddies during this second visit either. The stories he tells are amazing...it's a shame many fans will never get to hear them.

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When we were heading back to his place from lunch, he said to me "I've got something for you...something I want you to have." I explained to him that he didn't need to give me anything and that he had already given me enough just from the conversation/memories I'll carry with me forever. He insisted, and gave me this:

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That is his workbag from the past 30 years or so...he wanted it to end up in good hands. Now, to most people, a workbag wouldn't seem like a big deal, but to me, this was a BIG deal. This is Michael Gross's personal bag. The man who created the Ghostbusters logo GAVE ME HIS BAG. I honestly wouldn't have needed anything more than this to be excited, but the bag contained some awesomeness:

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There is a very rare Japenese Ghostbusters program I have honestly never seen before, and of course, 35mm slides from production of Ghostbusters, highlighted by Slimer production and the Mr. Stay Puft roasting. There are also a few of the terror dogs.


The bag also contained more awesome things...

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35mm slides from the film Heavy Metal, and an old hand-drawn rendition of his most famous National Lampoon Magazine cover.


I do have an actual car update coming, but this post would have had way too many photos, so I'm waiting a little to post that update!
jackdoud, ncc74656m, Grimmy GB and 1 others liked this
#4842204
I said I had a car update coming and I didn't lie. Plenty has been underway the past few months. The rear window installation is a monumental process, and it's getting very close to 100% completion:

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It's looking just how I had dreamed it would...

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The rocker panels also needed some love and they GOT IT.

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So straight and perfect...

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After the final official test fitting, the window moldings needed to be restored...

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(This is just some of the pieces, of course...)

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The pieces were sent off for restoration (to be re-anodized) and they have turned out BEAUTIFUL...

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Until next time, be safe my friends!
mburkit, Ecto-1 fan, Grimmy GB and 3 others liked this
#4842352
Awesome update. It's finally coming together.

Here - you earned it. :crunch:
User avatar
By SabaSka109
#4843150
As I prepare for my trip to California in 2 days, I figured I'd post a few photos of the car that I received over the past 2 days. These are just what I needed to perk me up after Dragon Con (which was a let-down this year).

The front end parts have been test-fitted and they look amazing!

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So pretty!

I'll post more after my visit to California. The trip is mainly intended for visiting Michael C. Gross (associate producer of Ghostbusters and executive producer of Ghostbusters II). I will accompanied by some very awesome friends for this and we'll be filming it for the Ghostbusters fan documentary, "Ghostheads".

See you all soon!
Grimmy GB, zeta otaku, Matt Campbell and 3 others liked this
#4845931
I envy that your car is taking it's time and being done right. I've always been upset that I needed about a year but was forced into doing it all in 90 days. It's better to do what you're doing and handle each piece 100% properly. You won't have to go back and do it again later. You'll know what I mean the first time it rains and nothing leaks in through the windows or up through the floorboards.
By Fifthrider
#4848516
SabaSka109 wrote:
That will be fixed, of course. When I brought it up with my friend who is working on it, he said:

"These kind of issues don't happen with a normal 'restoration'. Your car seems to have one-of-a-kind problems."

...and I say this with all the patience, understanding, and compassion that only another Ecto owner could truly have endured, you will be hearing that a lot from now on.

No matter how much time, money, effort, engineering, forethought and planning you put into it, EVERYTHING that happens to it is like trying to repair a prototype, not a production-run. It will test you, but based on your effort you are up to it. Good luck sir.
User avatar
By SabaSka109
#4848707
ncc74656m wrote:SabaSka109, my condolences on the passing of Michael.
Thank you...I miss him a lot already. I was thinking about starting a thread for my Michael Gross collection, or maybe I'll just post it in here. He was an awesome guy and he was a good friend the past few years...I will never forget him.
ncc74656m liked this
By ncc74656m
#4848708
SabaSka109 wrote:
ncc74656m wrote:SabaSka109, my condolences on the passing of Michael.
Thank you...I miss him a lot already. I was thinking about starting a thread for my Michael Gross collection, or maybe I'll just post it in here. He was an awesome guy and he was a good friend the past few years...I will never forget him.
I totally understand. Perhaps you should, to make it more easily found for those who search for it, and as a little something of a dedicated tribute to him and his work. :)

*hugs*
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