Slipstream - December 2015

Porsches and Costumes: The “Driving to the Spirits” Rally
By Meg Moore
It was a couple of weeks before Halloween.
My husband had been invited
out of town to play roadie for
a buddy’s band. I was left to my own
devices. Then it was there, in my email
inbox: “Driving to the Spirits Rally, October,
31 - Halloween.” The Maverick
Region of PCA would ensure that my
Halloween would be special! The details had us meeting
at the Frisco Heritage Museum to wind, more like
find, our way to the Witherspoon Distillery in Lewisville.
To make things more interesting, in addition to rally
awards being given, participants were encouraged to
dress up with an award for best costume.
It took me longer to find my phone than to actually
send the text to ask my best girlfriend, Tammy, if she
was up for a run, in costume no less. She called me
right back saying, “yes, I’d love to,” but what was this
costume requirement? I replied with, “what costume do
you already have?” and
I’d come up with something
to complement.
She would be the Great
Pumpkin, a.k.a. navigator,
to my Linus Van
Pelt, of Charles Schultz
“Peanuts” greatness. She
had been my navigator
for the Texas Hill Country
Boxstoberfest and
reminded me that this was NOT a timed event. She had
experienced that side of things, and she didn’t have an
appreciation for it.
As what seems to often be a prelude to these gimmick
rallies, a good soaking rain included localized flooding
in the hours right before our scheduled start. I feared
the attendance would be down due to the rain, but as
we arrived in the parking lot, we joined 30+ Porsches
of every model and variety with costumed characters.
The drivers’ meeting began in the light rain and we
were given instructions with a glossary of terms. Then
the questions were handed out. Tammy and I pored
through those pages like they were clues to the location
of the Holy Grail. Questions as simple as the past and
present population of a tiny town to more clever, and
vague, observations such as what several points along
our drive had in common.
The brief opportunity to review and commit all the
questions to memory was over and it was time to start
16 December
Linus and the
Great Pumpkin
Photos by George Luxbacher
our engines. Shortly -- very shortly -- after leaving the
parking lot, we encountered the first answer to our list
of questions. This, of course, caused me to slow my car
to a crawl along the main street of Frisco, a very unrealistic
motion for my car or for me. So after a few blocks
I rejoined the recommended speed limit range and we
were off to find more answers to the clues.
Our route instructions were simple to follow. The first
half had the distances between route changes provided.
The route took us through some beautiful areas of Collin
and Denton counties, McKinney, Celina, Weston,
Prosper, Little Elm, The Colony, and Lewisville.
Around the middle of things, there was a small unforeseen
route change. As we entered the small hamlet of
Celina, TX, the town square was cut off for a festival.
Tammy had to adjust her navigation antenna and find
her bearings, and then we headed onward. As we approached
the designated course rest stop, we saw one
of our group participants turning out of the parking
lot. It was my inclination to pass it up because it wasn’t
necessary for us to stop. However, Tammy stayed on top
of things, encouraged me to stay the course and drive
into the parking lot. As we discovered, skipping this step
would have taken us in a wrong direction. My trusty
navigator kept us on track.
Along the way, we were exhilarated as we found answers
to questions and felt confident with our progress. That
was until we reached the end of the route, turned in our
answer sheet, ordered a wonderful Witherspoon beverage,
and began to
socialize with other
participants. We
quickly learned we
had some earnest
competition, and
we chuckled about
how serious we took
ourselves. Group
photos were taken, Mav members came out
voting for costumes in full costume mode
completed, question
sheets tallied, and awards given. As we walked out
into the late afternoon, we realized the sun was finally
shining and were a little sad that it was over.
We will do this ride again and if we win, place, or get
lost, it’ll all be for the thrill of the ride . . . the Porsche
ride, that is.
View the full collections of photos
at http://bit.ly/mavphoto4