2015 Woodies at the Wharf Santa Cruz CA

Each June the Santa Cruz Wharf hosts the annual Woodies on the Wharf event. It's a fun weekend and this year our friends Kendall and John drive up from the Morro Bay area to join us.

View of the Santa Cruz Boardwalk from the wharf

Wharf is decked out in style for the Woodies

This event is coordinated by the National Woodie Club. If you have an interest in these vehicles, they are a great group to connect with.  So what's a Woodie? No, it's not a sexual reference, at least not in this context.  Woodies are generally older vehicles, mostly station wagons, that use wood as part of their construction.
Surfers and woodies have long been associated with each other. In the early days of surfing, these cars had fallen out of favor with the public so they afforded cheap transportation for surfers and their bulky boards. See How surf culture caught the woodie bug.

Woodie with surfer history

Surf boards mounted on roof carrier

Woody surfing on a Woodie

This event has grown over the years as more and more people have come to restore these old cars bringing back the luster of their youth. At first we are almost overwhelmed by how many are parked in long lines up and down the wharf.

John and Peter deciding which way to go

Kendall leads the charge up the line

John checks out a nice one

Woodies come in every color of the rainbow and then some.

Oooo - Peter and I really like this root beer colored convertible.

These Woodie owners have bestowed tons of love and hard work in restoring their vehicles. It's amazing to me how much attention to detail has gone into these cars.

An owner lovingly dusting his blue Woodie

Gleaming oil can

Wow - now that's a clean engine

Some owners have even put considerable thought into how to display their car. We were all struck by this yellow convertible which even has a replica perched on top of the carburetor.

Personally, I am fascinated by the wonderful art deco dashboards, often adorned with hula dolls and surfboard shaped rear view mirrors.
Hood ornaments are wonderful. They simply don't make them like they used to.

It's surprising how different the front grills are as they changed over the years.
No detail is too small - from the license plate ...
To the license plate holders.

Looks like this event has attracted a new fan. Maybe his daddy will buy him one to restore so it'll be ready as he grows into the next generation of Woodie owners.

This young man seems to have found one he likes

Here's one you can talk your daddy into buying and restoring