December 2007 - PCA - Orange Coast Region

Fast-forward through about 17
motorcycles, 13 cars and a number of
years, and I met the woman (Michelle)
who would ultimately become my wife.
I knew this for sure for a variety of
reasons, but one of which was when we
were fi rst going out and she wanted to
go to Monterey for her birthday. Not just
to Monterey, but to the World Superbike
Races at Laguna Seca. My search was
over. We did some traveling while dating
and went to the Paris Auto Show in 2000.
It was a huge show that was spread out
over seven buildings. I’d never known
anyone who was as willing to go through
all the buildings and spend as much time
at a car show as me! I also found out that
when she was growing up, her favorite
car was a Porsche 928, and she always
wanted a Turbo. My fate was sealed.
Now comes August of 2005 and we’d
read about the “new” mid-engine
Cayman S that Porsche was coming out
with. I’d driven various Porsches in the
past, but had never owned one. This new
model seemed like winner. With quite a
bit of research and very little discussion,
we decided this would be a good fi rst
choice and placed our deposit. Our car
arrived in late January of 2006. The
entire experience of ordering the options
and taking delivery was exciting and
the car has certainly not disappointed.
After logging a quick 2,000 miles on the
odometer, I went back to Willow Springs
to see what the track was like with four
wheels instead of two. While I didn’t beat
my personal best time on a bike, I did
have fun with a few 911s.
We then fi gured we’d like to be part of
the PCA and jumped right in (Michelle
more so than me). Since then, we’ve
met many great people and attended
numerous events. It’s amazing how
anything Porsche will usually bring
a smile to the faces around you and
seemingly transmit that aforementioned
car bug to the unsuspecting. We’ve
witnessed this within our own family
when my brother’s wife was on the verge
of buying a new car. They had planned
on getting a different German marque
when we “convinced” her to take our car
for a little drive. Long story short, she
went straight to the dealer and asked
for her deposit back and then bought
her own Cayman. Shortly thereafter, my
brother sold his car and bought a 1996
993. They are now an all-Porsche family
and they’ve since joined the PCA in the
Santa Barbara region.
As far as the future goes, we’ll happily
endure this car bug, and our Cayman S
will be the fi rst of many Porsches. Maybe
it’s time to start looking for Michelle’s
Turbo, partly because we’d like to have
the extra room of a back seat for future
little Porsche owners…
DECEMBER 2007 13