[DeTomaso] Fun Rally Chronicles, Day 8

[Bill Moore]

Boyd, I found Chris way down the list, but it looks like a "follow me" page.

Cheers,

Bill Moore

Calgary, AB.


-----Original Message-----
From: DeTomaso [mailto:detomaso-bounces at poca.com] On Behalf Of Boyd Casey
Sent: May-31-14 2:54 PM
To: Christopher Kimball
Cc: Pantera list serve; Jan Kimball
Subject: Re: [DeTomaso] Fun Rally Chronicles, Day 8

Dear Christopher,
I have really enjoyed reading your Chronicles of the San Diego Fun Rally!
Your writing style is effective at making one feel they are experiencing the fun right along with you ( without all the calories!). You  manage to combine reports of the mundane along with the unique and more interesting aspects of the trip without ever losing your sense of humor. I wish I could see the pictures! In spite of your ability to paint us a picture using much less then the  reported verbal value of one thousand words per (I commend your economy) I would like to see if your photography matches your verbal artistry but unfortunately I don't have you as a Face Book friend and was unable to find your page. Could you direct me to your page or better yet send me a friend request to Hugh Boyd Casey. Having been a list member since 2008 or so I share your desire to put faces to the names I hear so often. Following your exploits and adventures has been a real pleasure.
Sincerely,
Boyd


On Sat, May 31, 2014 at 3:48 AM, Christopher Kimball <chrisvkimball at msn.com>
wrote:

>    Day Eight, March 30^th: A Great Day in Panteraland
>
>
>    Toby Keith recorded a song called I Love This Bar.  Even though I dont
>    drink, I can completely relate to his sentiments on a slightly
>    different level.  I love this room service.  Im just now sitting down
>    to write about todays activities, and because the day was so jam-packed
>    with action, it turns out I skipped lunch and a proper dinner.  I knew
>    I needed something to eat besides the M&Ms and pretzels Id enjoyed
>    while in the hospitality suite, so in an act of purest optimism I
>    called the operator and asked if I could get a milkshake at 11:00 at
>    night.
>
>
>    Not only was the answer yes, but it could even be delivered to my
>    room!  Best of all, it will only cost me $10.00.
>
>
>    Now, I know what youre thinking, Thats a lot for a milkshake.  That may
>    be true, but its all about priorities.  Some people would say its crazy
>    for anyone to spend his or her entire life-savings on a Pantera, but I
>    would hazard a guess everyone reading this would find that a totally
>    sane thing to do
>
>
>    Ah, whats this?  A knock on my door.  It is, in fact, said milkshake
>    being delivered.  Although a bit small, it looks delicious.  The silly
>    room service guy forgot to bring a straw (!) but for the generous tip I
>    gave him, he agreed to go fetch one for me.  By the time I finish this
>    paragraph he will have returned and Ill be happily sipping.
>
>
>    A delicious milkshake is a great ending to a great day.  This morning I
>    got up at about 5:30 AM for the only thing on the planet that would
>    cause me to do such a foolhardy thing.  Today was the day Vicki and
>    Donny left for home.  They took an early flight so Don could get back
>    to University Place in time to attend a friends graduation.  I wanted
>    to be awake when they left so I could give them a hug and a kiss
>    goodbye (Vicki got both; Don simply got a hug).  Once they were safely
>    on their way, I went back to bed.
>
>
>    I didn't sleep for long8:00 arrived all too soon.  Due to intense
>    pressure from my loyal readers, I have been forced to make a change in
>    my persona.  It concerns my weak attempt at growing a beard.  It was
>    actually only one person who complained.  I wont mention her name,
>    other than to say her email address includes the words fast and
>    grandma.  She wrote she wanted the old Chris back.  I took that to mean
>    she wanted me to look less homeless, so for the first time this
>    vacation, I took out the shaving cream and destroyed 2 weeks-worth of
>    follicular exercise.  If it weren't for the grey hairs, wrinkles, and
>    pot-belly, Id look 15 again.
>
>
>    After becoming fully awake, I went to the buffet breakfast.
>    Unfortunately, because it took so long to shave off my huge, manly
>    beard, I only had time left to eat a bowl of Frosted Mini Wheats.  Its
>    just as wellI was still so stuffed from yesterday I really didn't need
>    breakfast at all.
>
>
>    I ran into Bob and Dena Lewis in the elevator, and we were all amazed
>    that we arrived at the right floor in less than 25 minutes.  The
>    elevator in this place seems to have a mind of its own.  I think it
>    might qualify to be one of the exhibits in the Haunted Tour I saw
>    advertised.
>
>
>    During breakfast I sat at a table full of friendly POCA members,
>    including fellow north-westerners Denny and Maggie Finn.  It was fun
>    talking with them, but I soon had to leave to get to the parking garage
>    in time for the drivers meeting prior to the Midway tour.  I was
>    looking forward to the tour, since I have always had an interest in the
>    rides and side-shows of county fairs.
>
>
>    Im kidding, of course.  The Midway we were about to see is a rather
>    gargantuan aircraft carrier that, in a prime example of our Governments
>    penchant for good timing, was commissioned into service exactly one
>    week before the end of World-War Two.  Missed it by that much
>
>
>    Surprisingly, no one got lost on the way to the museum, and soon we
>    were parked in the lot next to the giant ship.  If you go to my
>    Facebook, you might be able to see the pictures I took of our cars
>    lined up.  Those of you reading this on the forum will have to again
>    use your imagination.
>
>
>    I opted for the audio tour.  I was issued headphones and a receiver.
>    Note the use of the military-sounding word issued.  Im getting you in
>    the mood for Navy stuff.  I took a considerable amount of pictures,
>    including a shot of the small space allocated to provide sleeping
>    quarters for a lot of personnel.  Talk about sardines!  This
>    arrangement was for the enlisted menofficers were afforded much nicer
>    accommodations.
>
>
>    The control rooms were as complicated as you would expect on a ship
>    that carried a crew of between 3,700 and 4,500 people.
>
>
>    The ship had a compliment of airplanes on display on the flight deck,
>    ranging from vintage, World-War Two examples to helicopters, to
>    contemporary jets.  Throughout the ship there were various mannequins
>    in navy-ish poses.  It was kind of creepy, actually, because as I
>    followed the little yellow arrows from audio-station to audio-station,
>    I was surrounded by other tourists who were real.  Then, all of a
>    sudden, Id come fact-to-face with a non-moving sailor.  Sometimes the
>    difference between the two became a bit blurred.  For example, one of
>    the displays depicted a soldier sleeping.  The dummy used in that
>    instance was expanding and contracting along with a snoring
>    soundtrack.  It sounded almost exactly as Vicki describes my snoring,
>    and with the movement the thing seemed quite lifelike.  On the other
>    hand, some of the tourists I saw seemed to have the vacant stare of the
>    mannequins
>
>
>    The ship had a chapel, too, which I thought was a nice touch.  Im
>    surprised (and relieved) its still part of the tour, since it seems
>    these days anything to do with religion is somehow offensive so someone
>    somewhere.
>
>
>    There was also a display of exquisite place settings
>    one wouldn't expect to find in the military, but as I mentioned
>    earlier, officers received much better accommodations than the typical
>    sailor.
>
>
>    I took a picture of the bridge with a jet in the foreground, and you
>    can see how great the weather was.  A breeze kept things in the perfect
>    temperature range.  I took several other pictures, including an
>    intimidating view of a fighter jet, as well as from the flight deck a
>    view of the Panteras in the parking lot.
>
>
>    In the radar room I saw a readout which had indications of small
>    objects scattered all about the screen in a seemingly random, haphazard
>    pattern.  It turned out it was an aerial view of the Pantera group that
>    yesterday was trying to stay together for the mountain drive.
>
>
>    I also took a couple of artistic shots; one of the backs of the
>    Panteras in the parking lot, and another of my car with the bridge of
>    the Midway in the background.  The amazing thing is it costs about the
>    same to operate the Midway as it does to keep Pandora running
>
>
>    I've had the opportunity of sharing my POCA Fun Rally activities with
>    Tom Shinrock, and he has been a valuable co-pilot.  We drove back to
>    the hotel (without getting lost) in time to have an hour or so before
>    leaving for the Escondido Cruise-In later that afternoon.
>
>
>    That was just enough time for me to enjoy a bowl of clam chowder and a
>    vanilla Frappuccino at the snack bar before meeting Tom in the parking
>    garage for the pre-cruise-in drivers meeting.
>
>
>    The trip to Escondido was about a half-an-hour, which gave me a chance
>    to see if my air conditioner still worked.  To my relief, it worked
>    great.  As we drove to the cruse-in, we encountered the most confusing
>    car-pool lane arrangement I've ever seen.  The lanes divided with the
>    familiar diamond pattern in the HOV lanes, but there were large signs
>    indicating cars in those lanes would get charged 50 cents every so
>    often, and there was also a picture of some sort of certificate.  Im
>    not sure if it meant if you had the certificate youre bank account
>    would get billed automatically, if you didn't have the certificate youd
>    get a bill in the mail, if you were a single-occupant car in the
>    carpool lane with the certificate you could stay in the lane but youd
>    have to pony-up the 50 cents, or if the certificate was something
>    Californians could get to make them feel superior to us out-of-towners.
>
>
>    I simply kept driving.
>
>
>    When we reached the cruise in, we found an entire city block had been
>    reserved for Panteras.  Even then, I dont think the organizers were
>    prepared for the sheer number of Panteras that arrived.  Some of us had
>    to wait a while before getting staged, primarily because a few shoppers
>    had parked their daily-drivers in the areas which were supposed to be
>    reserved for the classic and collector cars involved with the
>    cruise-in.
>
>
>    Im not sure how anyone could be so oblivious as to what is going on not
>    to notice his or her car is in the wrong place.  Hey Mildred, how come
>    every car parked next to ours is 44 inches tall and has massive
>    horsepower?  Plus, they all look kinda eye-tal-ee-un.  Do ya think
>    there might be some kinda show goin on?  I wondered what all them
>    orange cones were doin in the middle of the street.
>
>
>    Eventually, all the Kias and Priuses (should that be Prii?) skedaddled,
>    and we were able to move into position.  As the lucky few who have
>    access to Facebook should see in the pictures, the Panteras were lined
>    two-by-two down the middle of the street flanked by angle-parked
>    Panteras.
>
>
>    The rest of the show extended over quite a number of blocks, with
>    classic and muscle cars parked along the streets.  I took pictures of
>    some of the vehicles but there were so many I was afraid if I tried to
>    capture all of them my phone might run out of film.
>
>
>    I walked the entire perimeter and side streets to examine each cool
>    car, truck and motorcycle (it took almost an hour-and-a-half).  There
>    were some really nice cars on display and I was very impressed to learn
>    they do this sort of thing quite often.  I began to realize why people
>    might actually want to pay the ridiculous taxes and cost of living to
>    reside here (I saw a flyer for a 2100 square-foot home for sale for the
>    low, low price of just 1.3 million dollars!)
>
>
>    One eerie thing I encountered while at the show was an
>    honest-to-goodness drone.  I looked up to see a small, white
>    contraption with four propellers hovering above our prized
>    possessions.  Just as I was about to begin pushing through the crowd
>    screaming for everyone to run for their lives (and soylent green is
>    people) I realized the thing wasn't sent by the NSA to spy on us.
>    Rather, it was probably just taking pictures of our cars.  Pretty
>    innocuous, but also a bit dangerous because if the batteries ran out at
>    the wrong time, one of our Panteras might have ended up with a
>    drone-shaped dent in its top!
>
>
>    After a great time with everyone involved, including a church group
>    giving away free popcorn and sno-cones (which I personally enjoyedoh, I
>    guess I did have dinner), we headed back to the hotel.
>
>
>    I got to the parking garage, turned off the car, hit the headlights off
>    button, and nothing happened.  The lights went off all right, but the
>    headlight buckets stayed up.  I tried flipping the switch again and
>    again, demonstrating the definition of insanity, until Tom suggested I
>    look at the headlight motor assembly under the front trunk lid.  I did,
>    and tried wiggling the relay wires a bit (the first thing anyone should
>    always do when trying to fix a problem is wiggle a few wires).
>    Presto!  The buckets began working again.  Another problem solved using
>    precise, Italian methods.
>
>
>    I borrowed a pair of vise-grip pliers from the equipment trailer
>    someone had enough foresight to bring to the event, and George lent me
>    a tube of black silicone rubber.  This allowed me to re-attach the
>    brace I affixed to the lower portion of my front air dam.  I guess on
>    one of the altercations it had with the road between University Place
>    and San Diego the brace had broken free from the air dam on one side.
>    By tomorrow that problem should also be rectified.
>
>
>    I spent a little time in the hospitality suite, and found out I can buy
>    raffle tickets using a credit card.  Vicki, if youre reading this,
>    please stop reading at this point.
>
>
>    I bought $50 worth of raffle tickets, and put all of them in the box in
>    front of the new taillight lenses.  Thats rightone itemshoot the
>    works!  I usually dont gamble, unless it has to do with potentially
>    winning new Pantera parts, or driving a 42-year-old car 2900 miles
>    across the Country.
>
>
>    More fun on the way tomorrow!
>
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