[DeTomaso] Fun Rally Chronicles, day six

[John Donahue]

Hi all:
It's my first Fun Rally and I won't get there until Friday around noon (I hope) - and during the past year I have become involved in The List. In doing so, I have come to recognized a lot of names that I would hope to meet  - was just wondering if people are wearing name badges.
Jack
#4348
On May 28, 2014, at 11:53 PM, Christopher Kimball <chrisvkimball at msn.com> wrote:

>  Day Six:  The 2014 POCA Fun Rally officially begins!
> 
> 
>  This morning, after a relaxing sleep-in, we returned to a wonderful
>  eatery we discovered yesterday called Marys English Kitchen
>  (www.marysenglishkitchen.com) for brunch.  Since my mother is English,
>  I loved this restaurant--it has all kinds of food I remember enjoying
>  during (and after) my youth:  wonderful tea (with plenty of cream and
>  sugar, of course), finger sandwiches, quiche, English chocolates, lemon
>  squares, pound cake, soups, chicken pie, etc. etc. etc.  I had the full
>  high tea menu option today, and left completely stuffed.
> 
>  That feeling of being overly-full is one I've become very familiar with
>  over the last week or so.  Something I've discovered is when one is on
>  vacation, one usually doesn't think about what things cost, or whether
>  or not it is prudent to continue eating.  I have been spending and
>  eating consistently since I left University Place, and am sure I will
>  weigh 25 pounds more when I return from this trip than what I weighed
>  when I left.  There have been days when I've consumed up to three
>  milkshakes within 12 hoursand loved every minute of it.
> 
> 
>  Besides food, we've taken the time to see some pretty neat landmarks so
>  far.  Those of you on the forum won't be able to see the pictures I've
>  included of several places:  Old Town, the Hotel Del Coranado, the
>  Cheesecake Factory (thats the picture of the milkshake), to name a
>  few.
> 
> 
>  Until a couple of days ago my car was the only Pantera in the parking
>  garage, safely protected by its car cover as you can see in the
>  photo.  Then, a couple of days ago, another Pantera appeared, also
>  under a car cover.
> 
>  Last weekend the entire property was infested with middle-school age
>  kids involved in some sort of baseball and/or basketball tournament.  I
>  have a sneaking suspicion that may have something to do with the
>  evidence I saw on more than one occasion indicating someone peeked
>  under my car cover.  Fortunately there were no pizza-sauce fingerprints
>  extant on the paint, so no harm done.
> 
>  The same couldn't be said for our sleep.
> 
>  Theres something about middle-school-age kidswhat is it?  Oh yes, they
>  are hyperactive, loud, and dont go to sleep.  Ever.  I'm not kidding;
>  there were laughing, crashing, and banging noises all night and again
>  at six in the morning.  My sons even detected a certain smell they
>  recognized wafting under their door one evening.  It seemed to be
>  coming from the next room, so since were in California and not
>  Washington or Colorado, they called Security to check it out.
> 
>  We never heard what happened, but not long afterward the smell
>  disappeared
> 
> 
>  After brunch, we headed back to the hotel.  On the way we saw (and
>  heard) a number of Panteras beginning to converge on the hotel
>  property.  When we arrived there were dozens of Panteras in the parking
>  garage.  Only 24 hours before, the spaces had been filled with normal,
>  boring cars.
> 
> 
>  Walking to the outdoor snack bar by the pool I ran into Bob Reid and
>  President John Buckman.  We chatted for a while, and I was surprised to
>  see despite all the activities they had been planning in order to
>  organize the event (along with help from others, of course), they both
>  seemed to have remained quite sane.
> 
> 
>  I spent some time outside the pool reading, and had the opportunity to
>  meet Phil Tomlinson from Texas.  We talked about Panteras, health,
>  retirement (his, not mine) and the fact his location makes it tough for
>  him to interact with other Pantera owners.  The closest tech sessions
>  are a half-days drive away from where he lives.
> 
> 
>  I went upstairs to check out the hospitality suite and to check in, and
>  found the Panteras Northwest banner displayed in quite the prominent
>  spot.  When I sent the banner to California, I knew slipping in a $50
>  bill couldn't hurt!
> 
> 
>  Four very hardworking women helped me register (I was the first person
>  to do so), and they are in the picture those of you on the forum wish
>  you could see.  Left to right:  Judy McCartney, Cheryl (whose last name
>  is Stra followed by some other letters I cant read because I wrote it
>  down with a stupid sharpie and cant read my own writing.  Sorry
>  Cheryl!), Kathy Buckman and Christine Hall.  I visited the POCA store,
>  which was up and running (other clubs hadn't yet arrived with their
>  wares) which was being ably staffed by (left to right) Josett Dorazio
>  (the store manager), and two other folks who preferred to remain
>  anonymous.  They obviously havent been reading about the NSA.  I bought
>  a cool DeTomaso tie for the amazingly low price of $10.
> 
> 
>  After wandering back to my room, we decided to go to Chick Filet
>  (again) for dinner.  I love Chick Filet.  Where else can you get both
>  crispy AND grilled chicken nuggets accompanied by chocolate milk AND a
>  hand-spun, peach milkshake (plus a soft-ice-cream cone)?  Sadly, we
>  dont yet have Chick Filet restaurants in Washington.  Something tells
>  me theres a franchise in my future.
> 
> 
>  Because this is a vacation, and a full stomach is no deterrent to
>  eating more food (see paragraph one), we then drove to the mall next to
>  the hotel and visited Wetzels Pretzels where we each ordered one of the
>  cinnamon variety.  Delicious.  Plus, thanks to the coupon book
>  thoughtfully placed in my goody bag by the Fun Rally organizers;
>  because we bought the first two pretzels at normal price, the third was
>  free.  What a bonus!
> 
> 
>  Once back at the hotel, I waddled back up to the hospitality suite and
>  said hi to Denny and Maggie Finn, and Forest and Judy Goodhart.
> 
>  Denny told me he is currently working on a Pantera in his Shop in
>  Oregon.  He described to me the myriad layers of metal comprising the
>  structure of our favorite cars.  I thought about how difficult it must
>  have been, and the exacting scientific methods needed, for the Italians
>  to figure out how to trap moisture and encourage rust so efficiently.
> 
>  Later I met Eugene and Eva Boston, who, despite their last name, are
>  from California.  We traded stories about speeding tickets, collector
>  cars, and that sort of thing until the exciting moment arrived when Bob
>  Reid announced I didn't win the raffle for two, free nights at the
>  hotel.  Doh!
> 
> 
>  While I was talking with the Bostons, I learned Eguene was a family
>  physician who retired a couple of years ago.  I wanted to ask him if he
>  retired because of our Presidents crazy policies, but realized the
>  medical profession probably isn't affected at all by how John Buckman
>  behaves.
> 
> 
>  Tomorrow I have to get up at the ungodly hour of 8:00 AM so I can go
>  with a group of POCA members to a car museum.  For those of you
>  unfamiliar with collector-car owners and their idiosyncrasies; just
>  because a collector-car owner is surrounded by a large amount of really
>  cool, rare, classic cars, this does not mean he or she will miss an
>  opportunity to go to a place to see more cars.  In fact, Friday night
>  there is a car cruse which Im planning on attending, and Saturday a car
>  show all who are here are planning on attending.
> 
> 
>  Think of it this way:  In the same way there can never be too much ice
>  cream; there can never be too many cool cars.  Its just that simple.
> 
> 
>  On final thing on a serious note:  This afternoon one Pantera owner had
>  to be transported from the lobby to a local hospital due to a medical
>  problem.  Since I dont know specific details, I wont speculate on what
>  happened, nor will I divulge his name, but please remember him in your
>  thoughts and prayers.
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