Palomar Mountain Getaway

[By Jim Barnes]

Do you ever wonder where some of the earlier vintage Volvo automobiles may have rolled off to? I'm talking about some 544's and 444's and a couple of 1800's coupes and ES's. Well we now know where some of them are..Club member Gene Bellegarde's cabin up on Palomar mountain. There, nestled in the tall pines and firs, up where the air is clean, crisp and dry Gene has managed to keep several of these cars under wraps for some time and contemplate what to do with them.

Our last outing on Nov 24th took us once again up thru the twisties and turnies to gather at Genes for a day at the cabin, and a good day it was. Three 1800's departed from Denny's at the appointed time and with a red one in the lead heavily laden with firewood and libations, proceeded north to the second gas station on the right There we waited and gathered up a few more cars including an ES and a 122 wagon and after a short while we were away....Onward and upward} but not without stopping on the side of the highway and checking out a two door amazon for sale on the side of the road making for a wonderful picture taking opportunity. Alas, too much cancer on this one, so back in the cars and down the road thru picturesque horse country and always beautiful Valley Center.

Soon we were climbing and climbing and climbing until reaching the Palomar Mountain lodge where, lo and behold, more club members awaited our arrival. I think all who made the drive and stood there on the deck of that lodge taking in a breathtaking view will agree that so far the trip had been worth it. Genes cabin is just a short hike from there but we just couldn't pull ourselves off that deck,

maybe it was the crisp mountain air and that view or the coffee tasting so good. Finally to Genes cabin where the approach road demands cunning and skill and the solitude and quiet are in abundance. Its a cool afternoon up at that elevation and the first order of business is getting the fires going in the fireplace and the barbie. Del and Libby did their girl scouts best and got a good fire started in the fireplace, our Volvo hats off to them... In the meantime a few more members arrive driving their "other car" and join the rest in a tour of the cabin grounds and peering under all those covers hiding some very interesting early Volvo projects to be. Eventually we grilled food and gathered around the warm fire to eat and watch an interesting video that was provided by club member Bruce B which was about, what else, the history of Volvo. Outside, members gathered around some of the cars and poked at parts and talked about what works on what and where that fits into this. The afternoon was coming to an end, it gets dark up there on Palomar quick and it was understandable that everyone wanted to get down the road while driving was good- We talked about upcoming events and the anticipation of the holidays, we talked about chrome and bodywork and oil changes. Some deals were made and knowledge exchanged. We said our goodbyes and started down the mountain heading home still smelling the wood smoke from the fire in the fireplace.

Thank you Gene for opening your cabin to us and hopefully we can do it again next year... even with horseshoes tossed, the grudges go unsettled.