February 2009 In this issue... • Featured Member Beth Aldecoa • The ...

Featured Member Story
Beth and the whale tail 911 on tour
When I first met my soon-to-be husband,
Al, I was driving my 1976 Datsun B-210
and he was driving what he called his
“Pretend Porsche”, a 1973 914 2.0. I was
working at Santa Ana Police Department
as a Records Clerk and Dispatcher and
he was an Investigator in the Juvenile
Investigations Bureau. I got to drive
his boxy Porsche a couple times. Its
horsepower far exceeded my B-210, but I
was content with my little Japanese car.
When Al left the Police Department
and went to work for the State, all things
Porsche took a hiatus. Al sold his 914
and went to the “Dark Side”. He dabbled
in BMW’s and Corvettes, having owned
a number of models over the years. As
long as the car either handled well or came
with a lot of horsepower, he was happy.
With my B-210 advancing in age, Al
recommended I sell it and get something
better…and with air conditioning. A 1981
Nissan 200SX proceeded the purchase of
a 300ZX in 1984. That car was eventually
sold so Al could enjoy another Beamer,
and later, a VW Corrado.
About seven years ago, Al began this
annoying habit while driving the streets
and highways in Southern California. As
we came upon a Porsche (SC or 3.2), he
would point and yell out, “Look! That
man is driving my car!” I ignored his rant,
thinking it was a phase. Well, little did I
know that he wasn’t kidding? He began
buying generic sports car magazines.
Then, he enhanced his purchases with
Porsche specific magazines;”Excellence”
and “911” were the biggies. I had a
feeling he was trying to win me over with
the idea of buying a Porsche. He would
speak about all of the technical aspects
of the car and I would yawn and pretend
that I was interested. I told him we could
never buy a Porsche because we couldn’t
put two sets of golf clubs in the trunk! He
replied, “That’s what the Denali is for.”
PCA…It’s Not Just
a Guy Thing.
Story by Beth Aldecoa, photos by Al and Beth Aldecoa
Down deep inside I knew that he had the
need for speed.
Six years ago, Al told me that he
saw a pristine 1989 3.2 on the Internet. It
was dark gray and had a “whale tale”. I
had him show me of photo of the car so
I knew what a “whale tale” was. He had
bookmarked the car on the Auto Trader
website and quickly brought up the listing.
One Saturday I got home from work and
he told me that he had looked at the car
and drove it, but not to worry…he was
just looking. (Don’t forget those “famous
last words”.) He later announced that we
should both go look at the car.
Well, that fateful day we drove to
the South Bay and met the owner. That
second look sealed the deal for Al. He
told me what a good investment it would
be…for us. I wonder…how many wives
in this club have heard that before? Well,
pushover that I was, he got his car.
Al continued reading everything
Porsche on the Internet and suggested
that we join the PCA. He told me that he
had done a lot of research on the group
and thought it would be good for us to
get together with other Porsche owners.
I thought to myself, “What a crock.” I
figured he just wanted to race “his”
Porsche with a bunch of other crazy guys
who like to drive fast. I say “his” because
I had no interest in driving the Porsche.
It did not have power steering and had a
sensitive clutch. I enjoyed the luxuries
of driving a modern car, our 2004 GMC
Denali…the one that fits two sets of golf
clubs!
Although the 1989 3.2 was the
car of his dreams, Al began wondering
what a more modern vehicle would cost
him. Just fifteen months after our initial
purchase, Al told me about a red 993 he
saw in an Orange County showroom. I
told him a red car would attract the eye of
law enforcement. He tried to explain the
color, Arena Red. This time, he didn’t
waste time showing me the car on the
Internet…he took me to the showroom
to see it firsthand. And again, he
repeated those famous last words “Don’t
worry. I’m not going to buy anything. I
just want to show you.” Do you see a
pattern here? Can you say “pushover”…
again? Well, he said this was the very
last Porsche he needed to buy. It had
better air conditioning and power
steering. We put the 1989 for sale and
eventually the 1996 “Trojan Red” 993
came home. Again, I didn’t drive “his”
car because I thought the clutch was a
little on the strong side. As a passenger,
I enjoyed the extra horsepower and loved
the sound of the engine as it drove at
higher RPMs. And it was a pleasure to
have good air conditioning as we drove
through the desert to visit Frank and
Nancy Goodyear or to breakfast in Palm
Springs on Sunday mornings. I limited
my driving of the 993 to backing it out
on the driveway to wash it or across the
local shopping center parking lot, from
the bank to the Vons.
Mini Cooper and the 993
Al’s “daily driver” at the time was
an Acura CLS. As the mileage inched
upward on the vehicle, so began Al’s
search for a replacement. He sold the
Acura and purchased a Mini Cooper S…
with the John Cooper Works package.
He got 207hp and another “speed racer”.
I got to choose the color, white over gray,
and the “heated seats” package.
I enjoyed driving this little “pocket
rocket”. I actually drove it at one of the
autocross events sponsored by PCA in
Orange County. Al drove the 993 and
bested me by only five seconds! The
autocross was a thrill, but my common
sense (and worn tires) prevailed. After
the event we decided to stick to the
social part of the club and retire from
autocross.
As many of our friends know,
we are planning to pull up stakes from
California and move to North Carolina in
2009. Once our house is sold, we will
bid adieu to the Golden State and become
“Tar heels”. In planning for this event,
we decided we no longer needed three
cars. With a very heavy heart, Al said it
was time to sell the 993 and the Mini and
to invest in a Porsche he could use as a
“daily driver”. Thus, the 993 and Mini
were sold and we purchased “our” 2004
Boxster S. We never thought we would
enjoy a convertible. I can tell you, we
both get a grin on our face as we climb
into the car. And I finally took the plunge
and began driving the Boxster. With its
modern engineering, I can honestly say
I don’t miss the Mini…except for the
cool “back fire” noise as you downshift
through the gears! I found the Boxster
S to be such an easy car to drive that I
drive it whenever he is not! I especially
enjoy driving with the convertible top
down. And, for Al’s sake, I will say that I
appreciate its high performance and good
looks.
We joined the PCA in late 2004. Al
attended the breakfast meetings at the
Hofs Hut near the airport; I worked on
Saturdays and told him to “have fun”.
When I would get home from work, he
would tell me about the people he met
and the variety of cars that were there...
yawn. Then the “Pandemonium” began
arriving. He read it cover to cover and
began telling me about the events planned
for the club by its members.
Well, purchasing Porsches has been
Al’s thing, but the events have become
my thing. We attended our first club
trip…the Mystery Train in Ventura. I was
introduced to some of the members (and
wives) that Al had already befriended.
We checked into the hotel and enjoyed
the “happy hour” before a bus shuttled
us to the train depot. As we arrived, we
saw a parking area filled with Corvettes.
Too bad they did not have the sense to
be transported to the train. We began
wine tasting at the depot before boarding
the train. Our train car was lively and
festive…thanks to the members being
able to wet their whistles with other than
water and soda. As I walked through
the Corvette people’s car to access the
restroom, I thought I had entered a church.
No fun and laughter in that crowd! As
I passed through the car again, I began
chanting aloud, “Por-sha, Por-sha, Porsha”.
The chant continued and grew as
I joined our train car. I look back now
and think how lucky I was to get past the
“Vetters” in one piece! And to this day,
we still wonder about the “murder plot”
on the Mystery Train…can anyone tell us
who killed whom?
Having had a grand time on my first
outing, I realized that the Porsche club
represented far more to Al than driving
fast and eating doughnuts on the third
Saturday of each month. The club is not
just for the “drivers”; it has events to make
the driving experience fun for couples,
too. We began to develop a new group of
friends that had little to do with work and
everything to do with Porsches.
We have attended Bob Savic’s annual
Wine Tour, the December Christmas Party,
the Hearts and Garage Tour, the Follies
in Palm Springs, the Octoberfest in Big
Bear and several “day trips”. One of our
memorable trips was the three-day jaunt
to Sedona planned by Frank and Nancy
Goodyear. Picture packs of motorcycles
making their annual trek to the River
for the Laughlin “River Run”. Then put
about 15 Porsches from Orange County
on the same roads. Needless to say,
the “hogs” had nothing on our German
engineered vehicles! We arrived safely
at the Goodyear’s and have visited with
Frank and Nancy two additional times
since then, enjoying both their hospitality
and their friendship.
Jay Leno likes Theo Russell and Beth
Through the club we’ve also met and
become good friends with Doug and Theo
Russell. This year we joined them at the
Monterey Historic races. We drove “our”
Boxster…you can’t imagine how much
stuff you can fit in a Boxster if you pack it
right! We actually camped two nights in a
small tent, using our car as our oversized
suitcase. If you have never experienced
the races, you don’t know what you are
missing. We only had to walk about fifty
feet from our campsite to watch the cars
race around the turn and up the hill. All I
can say is “WOW”!
On the veranda at Club Mud in Monterey
And because of the club, Al met a
member who is a kindred spirit AND a
USC fan, Buzzy Klevens. Our Saturdays
in fall are spent with Buzzy and Debbie
and friends watching USC and college
football games on the many TV’s in the
Klevins’ garage.
What began as Al’s annoying habit
of pointing out Porsches brought new
adventures to my life. I am enjoying
friendships and travel not only PCAsponsored,
but outside of the group’s
activities. With over 1500 members in
PCA-OCR, it still amazes me that only a
small core of folk seem to attend many of
the events. I hope that changes and more
members take a chance to experience
what the PCA has to offer.
Frank and Nancy Goodyear
with Beth
Continued on page 33
8 FEBRUARY 2009 9