[DeTomaso] Fun Rally Chronicles, day six

[Mike Drew]

Yes we are all wearing buttons with our names. See you soon!

Mike

Sent from my iPhone

On May 29, 2014, at 7:51, John Donahue <demongusta at me.com> wrote:

> 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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