Far out, man

We stop in Petaluma proper where an old hippie bums a cup of coffee - he is in the movies, building electric cars and into eastern religion in no particular order. He carries his possessions in a golf bag and his heart on his sleeve. He refers to dropping acid in the old days and I guess he took one tab too many.
I've noticed that California has many old veedubs - the classic beetle, the microbus and the Karmann-Ghia. Many have faded paintwork and are in need of body repairs - but they soldier on in an air-cooled timewarp.
We cruise to Napa, via Sonoma. The town is chic, and as you would expect, heavily into wine. The old downtown is pedestrianised with quiet streets on a Sunday morning. We browse the bookshops for bargains. A black '56 Chevy Coupe goes by, "Little Deuce Coupe" by the Beach Boys on the stereo.
Back on the road we are blundering about lost when we see a sign for Infineon Raceway and the NHRA Summit E.T. Series Bracket Drags and suddenly we are in the grandstands at the drag races. This is a low-key event - just our stripe - and we photograph the smart car next to a wicked black 9-second Chevy Camaro in the paddock.F