A Tour-riffic Tour!

Our August tour was one for the books!  A total of 10, count-em 10, shiny Porsches gathered at Oasis Auto Repair on a bright Sunday morning raring to explore the hills and dales of eastern Shasta County.  Harvey & Sue Weidman in their Pastel Yellow Boxter were ready and waiting as I pulled into the parking area in my blue 928.  I was solo for this tour because my navigator, business partner, and lovely wife (yes, all the same person) was in Louisiana becoming a grandma—again!  The ever-smiling Dale & Gail Gleichweit arrived in their white 911 (Have you ever noticed how they’re always upbeat and happy?), and were soon joined by Bob Cochran in his red Cayman.  (Sorry about all the slobber on the car, Bob.)  Kirk Bristol, who was voted “Most likely to become a PCA member”, arrived in his silver Boxter, accompanied by Danielle Benton, who we’d like to see more of (hey, that’s not what I mean!).  Beth Spencer was so eager to experience the twisty-turney roads that she managed to drag Duane (hmmm, Duane in drag?   Let’s not go there.)  out for an afternoon of sight-seeing in their white 356.  Will and Kathy Thompson beefed up the “red Porsche” numbers with their 964, and Russ & Ruth Duclos added to the “blue Porsche” numbers with their 993 Cab. Our Tourmeister, Jerry Nystrom arrived in his red “air conditioner on wheels” (Boxter) in time to provide some last minute guidance and information about the tour.  Joe and Pa Sombath must have heard that Kirk and Danielle were in the only silver Porsche, so they hustled over to bolster the silver ranks with their 911.  Nice exhaust, Joe!  OK, let’s see—we have 2 silver, 2 blue, 2 white, 3 red, and one yellow.  Congratulations Harvey and Sue, you get the “Only Yellow Porsche” award!

On a beautiful August Sunday with 10 great looking Porsches and some spectacular scenery, what do you suppose we were missing?  How about a camera?  We paraded a convoy of 10 smiling Porsches through downtown Redding to rendezvous with Elly Nystrom and her camera, and then back through Redding to highway 44 and all points east and north.  We wound our way through Jerry’s favorite roads and descended upon a picnic area in Hat Creek.  Blankets quickly claimed territory along the water’s edge and picnic baskets sprang open to reveal salami’s, pastrami’s, and tamale’s, fruits, cheeses and exotic breads—hey, I’m getting hungry just thinking about it.  While the Porsches rested in the shaded parking area, the Porschefiles relaxed by the cool of the water.  We each drew a card to complete our hand in the poker run.  Kirk and Danielle were the big winners and received a $50.00 gift certificate to Logan’s Roadhouse.  We expect a full report at the next tour, Kirk—well, maybe not a “full” report—just tell us how your meal was. 

We resumed our trek northwards to McCloud, where we found the town center closed for a classic car show and street faire.  Not wanting to “out-class” the domestic automobiles (yawn), we parked a block away and strolled through the area on foot.  They must have known we were coming because as soon as we set foot on the main street, the vendors began to fold up their tables and tents. One building actually had windows boarded-up when we arrived.  Is our reputation really that bad?  Oh well, we said farewell to McCloud and made our ways back into the warmth of the valley.  It was a very nice tour with some great Porsche people and, of course, some of the greatest cars on earth!  Maybe we’ll see you for the September tour?