EuroSunday Plus, January 13th.
by Emilia Seiferling
We decided to check out this first EuroSunday Plus, when a specific marque is honored by EuroSunday. This first one honored BMW. The BMW community was out in force. There were at least 42 cars and 7 motorcycles at the Pavilions this very cold but clear Sunday morning. Starbucks was the hot spot at the event. I wore full thermals and that made it OK to be outside in that kind of weather. We were one of only two Italian cars. In fact there were only about 8-10 non-BMW cars in attendance! We were curious to see what type of number would show for this type of EuroSunday. DeTomaso is the featured marque on April 13. If we can get one quarter of the turn out of the BMW's that would be great! The DeTomaso's are more rare that the BMW's, so our numbers will be smaller. But we would still like to have a good showing. Please mark your calendar now for this event!
It had been a slower drive to Sacramento this Sunday morning. We did get to sleep in a bit since EuroSunday Plus didn't start until 9 AM. Rio Vista was only slightly overcast, but we could see a fog bank across the Sacramento River. We thought we might get as far as Walnut Grove before we encountered the fog, but it found us in Isleton. That resulted in a slow foggy drive up the River. Jim had put the wipers back on the Pantera before we left home. Good thing that he did! It was a drippy fog, so we needed them. The heater was not functioning, so we had condensation on the inside of the windshield that needed to be wiped constantly. When we got to the freeway it became more of a high fog and normal speeds returned.
After the short presentation by the BMW Club president. They were recruiting new members. With the start of a detailing display by a vendor and a talk about the Euro 500 Rally www.euro500rally.com , we decided to go to breakfast. We had been joined by this time by John Worsley, without the Bricklin. I overruled John who wanted Roxy's and went instead to a new place for Jim and I that was on our way to our next stop after EuroSunday Plus. We went to Eggie's at the corner of Fulton & Arden. We were lucky on our timing and got both parking and a table right away! John is a regular there and he knows everyone on staff! We enjoyed our meal and were then on our way to the "Bodies Revealed" show on Alta Arden, www.BodiesRevealed.com . As we prepared to leave the parking lot we were asked questions about the Pantera. It seems that the owner of the car that had just parked next to us, Grant, once had a Pantera in his family. Grant described a black Pantera that the family had for 5 years, but sold before he was old enough to drive. He said he had always wanted to get his own Pantera. His son Berkeley, about 12 years old, had been eyeing the car before we came out of Eggies. We invited Grant to get his son and have him sit in the car. Grant had a hard time believing that we truly meant the invitation. He went into Eggie's and returned with his son. Berkeley climbed into the driver's seat and was smiling from ear to ear! We made that kid's day! He'll have that memory for a long time. Father and son left with a POCA flier and the Capitol Pantera web address. Who knows, maybe we recruited a new CP member! We finally got on our way to the Bodies Revealed show. We had expected to find an empty parking lot at the exhibit, but instead found a full lot and had to hunt for a space! The show was a bit expensive, $30 per person if you included the audio option, but it is a truly unique experience. Their web site says that most people spent 1-1 1/2 hours at the display. We were inside close to 2 hours. I took a comparative anatomy class in college and dissected sharks, rats and cats. In dental school, I had head & neck anatomy and dissected human cadavers. This display was much better. If you have a weak stomach, this display should be fine for you. The unique method used to preserve the bodies make them look almost like a wax model. The fetus section is the section that may bother some people, but that area is off by itself and very well marked about the content so you can skip that area if you wish. There are 4-6 docents at the exhibit to answer any additional question that you might have. I was curious what qualified a person to be a docent. I was told that all of them have a background in anatomy.
After our visit to the Bodies Revealed display, we were off to home. Our drive home was under clear bright skies and was a beautiful trip on the Victory Highway (reference to the article in last months CP newsletter).
The Motoring Mouth
by Emilia Seiferling
This was a slow month for articles for the newsletter. We are still waiting for several articles that have been promised. So here is a brief summary of the various automotive related conversations that I overheard at the CP meeting.
Ken is looking to buy a used motor-home in the 30 foot range.
Rick is now a member of theTVR Club, both local and international. He passed along the POCA article contest concept to the TVR Club President. It was so well received that Rick is now committed to write an article for their newsletter.
John McNamee brokered the deal to sell Joe LaBue's Pantera to Glen Cramer.
Henry still needs to get his new air-conditioner installed in his Pantera.
Peter Kovacs, the new PCNC President, is making progress on his Pantera repair. The car was damaged in an accident.
Lamar is concerned about his cooling system. It need attention before the summer.
Rick received yet another bag of blankets from Emilia bound for Project Linus. Rick has helped to deliver many, many blankets to this great charity.
Jim bought a set of the head light bumpers from Curt. Jim wasn't lucky enough to win them in the raffle.
Jeff is trying to decide what to do to improve his front end handling.
John Worsley and Ken Montgomery are going to a Big event on the East Coast for Bricklins and DeLoreans this summer. No they aren't driving their cars! Go figure!
If I got any of this stuff wrong, sorry guys. I listen to a lot of conversations at the CP meetings and I don't always completely understand the car talk that I hear. But I think I do pretty good "for a girl".