East Texas+Winnsboro+Great Roads+Autumn Colors+Porsches=FUN By Sarah Gutfarrin Another touring season has come to a close, and what a great year it has been. Interesting places to see, fantastic places to eat, great places to stay, super friends to associate with, and then there were the roads...the reason we all do the tours. Roads, roads and more roads. And, they are getting better every year as Andy and Ted find new gems with every tour planning trip. Roads where you can discover what Dr. Porsche had in mind when he built his first hot rod VW in the lumber yard in Austria. Photo by Andy Miller 944 and the “Camper” Photo by Andy Miller Chris Smith, Carl Moore, and Bonnie Glover The culmination of this great year was the Autumn Tour to the east Texas forests which grow in abundance around the town of Winnsboro. This is the area of Texas where a blazing rainbow of colors reminds one of the photos depicting the northeastern states. One contrast is that while we were touring the great roads and enjoying the scenery with tops down and air conditioners on--in November--most of the poor unfortunates who live in the northeast have put their cars away for the winter. Locked up tighter than a drum until April, waiting for the sun to come back out. Man, I love Texas. The last tour of the season brought out some long lost friends who had gotten their priorities confused. They had forgotten to plan their 2005 calendar around the Porsche tours and as a result, found that they could not be in two places at the same time. And, their excuses are so flimsy. Business priorities?? Family priorities?? And, how about this one...other car club events! Brother, we need to think about blackballing that guy. However, it was really great to see some of the old time regulars like Chris Smith and her beautiful white and blue cab, Steve Marusa and his RUF lowered 993 Flaming Red Turbo, and Mr. Other-Car-Events, Jim Mayzurk, and his phenomenal silver 928. Many new people were present, which is always fun for the group. As new people always mean new stories and new friends. New also for this tour were two female drivers. Bonnie Glover actually lead most of the day driving her 1989 Diamond Blue Turbo Cab and Marjy Chadwick showed her driving skills by piloting her silver Boxster through the curves like she did it every day. And, this was really the first time she had driven the Boxster in a spirited fashion on these types of demanding roads. She has obviously picked up a lot of tips from watching Jim drive, and to think we all thought that she had her eyes closed the whole time when she rode with Jim. Photo by Andy Miller Besides the great weather, great roads and great friends, we did have some tourists from Canada join the tour in their...? Well. I am not really sure what you would call it. However, when we saw it parked in the parking lot of Wal-Mart, the main thought that popped into peoples minds was, "That isn't going on the tour, is it?" It had caboose written all over it, and to everyone’s surprise, it had no problem keeping pace with the rest of the group. This "it" could best be described as a Porsche 944 Motorhome. Actually, a Porsche 944 towing a gutted rear-wheel-only-944 with a trailer hitch under its nose, hooked to the back of another 944. Both painted flat black. Inside the 944 trailer were accommodations for two. Bed, refrigerator, and all the amenities one would find in John Madden’s motorhome. However strange the two 944s looked driving down the road hooked together, this oddity performed well on the tour. By the end of the tour, everybody was pleased that Vicki & Gregory Poirier decided to do a Maverick Region event in their travels around the US. Check the PCA web site for future tours as they are all planned already and you can mark your calendars now. This way nobody will have to listen to phoney-baloney excuses when you are asked, "Where were you?" Scenic Road along the way. 18
1033 N. Henderson St. Fort Worth, TX (817) 877–1772 Forgeline • Brembo • Eibach • Sparco • Borla • Hoosier • MOMO • Red Line • OMP • Teamtech • Fuel Safe 19