This photo shows the time we all had a driving experience that involved purposefully bumping into other vehicles on a smooth metal enclosure track. Bumper cars were popular at amusement parks everywhere. In So Cal, one of the first ones was located in the shoreline beach/waterfront location of the Long Beach Pike park. Hello, One of the most famous rides we encountered as little kids was when our dad took the whole family to the Long Beach Pike amusement location as little kids. He had experienced the place as a younger guy and wanted to show us the activities we would enjoy. Well, not all of us enjoyed everything… One of the first rides was to go on the “bumper cars.” Our dad took my brother with him and my mom had me as her helper on the steering wheel. We could move, but not as fast as my dad and brother. So, we got hit a lot by them and also tons of other riders. Our mom did not like the bump from the sides or the back when we were not ready or prepared for the jolt. But, as a good, mom, she stuck it out for the short time on the steel track. At the end or our first and last ride together, she got stuck after some idiot hit us from the side rear angle. Think the modern police pursuit, hitting in the rear quarter panel bumper area to spin the car around. Once we got that final hit, she gave up and we sat there wedged into the wall and a couple of other cars. Facing each other. Ha! Jnaki All this time, my brother and dad were zipping around with the flow of the other cars and hitting at will when the time was right. My mom and I were done with our first and last ride together. As teens, we were all “pedal to the metal” action and the hits were notoriously hard and shocking. But, no one got a whip lash or sore neck afterwards. It was too bad that we all could not end up jammed up as usual. It was fun to floor the pedal and go as fast as possible on that smooth metal floor, especially with the steering in tight spaces, zipping along with other teens all laughing at each other. YRMV NOTE: The sad sight of the end of the road…pun intended. By 1968, the Pike in Long Beach had seen its days and was in a state of repair or destruction… as how anyone saw the final days. YRMV
The Jalopy Journal
