I awoke, way too early, to a call from Robert asking when the guys were leaving Ottawa. Bohdan, up since 4:00 AM was re-installing his interior and needed another hour. Robert and I planned to meet at 10:45 on the way out of town, and I went back to sleep.
I got up late and hit the road. Robert and I met at a service station and fuelled up for the ride to meet our Pantera buddies. Robert's brother-in-law Pete was with him.
Hard to hear the cell phone in the Pantera, especially on the highway, I estimated about where Mark and Bohdan would be running into us and Robert and I exited the highway and turned around to wait for them.
Within five minutes they came screaming by. We were overlooking the highway so we jumped back in our cars and went after them. I was flat out and after a few minutes went even faster when I realized I could not catch them. How fast could they possibly be going?
Little did I know that they had both seen us and pulled off at the next exit. Robert was trying to call me on the walkie talkie, but I heard nothing over the roar of the beast.
Eventually I got Mark on his cell and I pulled over to waited. And wait. Eventually they came by and so at last we cruised into town together - flipping out a lot of folks on the road. One of these cats is enough to get some excited, but four in a row was a sight to behold.
We eventually rolled up to the Orange Julep, a Montreal landmark and home of the original Summer Cruise Nights. This is the place where 50 years ago the girls were on roller skates bringing burgers and fries to your car window.
We hung out, ate too much, blabbed about our latest projects and took some great pics. Then we headed over to my house where we watched the Canadian GP. Our homeboy, Jacques Villeneuve, did a decent job and was running seventh when he crashed.
The company was great. So were the gifts. Robert had Pantera golf shirts for us all which he brought back from Pocono. Bohdan brought champagne and wine. And I gave everyone a copy of the De Tomaso Official Racing History - which Linda Adler FedExed to me yesterday. Awesome book. Awesome history. I never knew how many Panteras had actually taken part in significant races over the years.
Having these four great cars in my driveway was a real treat - for me and for the neighbors. Robert's wife Laine joined us later as did my wife Joanne and we all had a good time. Wonderful cars and even better friendships, which originated purely as a result of us meeting right here on the PI Bulletin Board.
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