Guest Blog entry by Paul
Last year Dan and I took a Saturday ride over to sunny central Oregon and checked out the Sunriver Exotic Car Show. The event was very casual, no charge, and open to the public, it seemed to be just a relaxed get together of car enthusiasts at a very nice resort. The following Monday I wasted no time telling my employers about the event and sharing the many photos I had taken. It had been a very fun day and was an event I thought we, Sports Car Shop, should make an effort to be a part of in the future. Well the future arrived this year with us as one of the show’s few sponsors. The only trick was how to get several vintage cars and a couple modern classics across the mountains, of course I volunteered to help by driving!
This is where things got a bit tricky for me, as luck would have it the date of the show fell on the same day as my 5th wedding anniversary and the day after Dan and my latest trip to the track needless to say I was in a tight spot, a Friday spent racing followed by a day at a car show is not exactly what Mrs. Breen was dreaming of. Luckily I had a plan… We would head over to the show Saturday morning in a gorgeous 1974 E-type roadster
My vision was a warm top-down drive through the Cascades in a roaring 12 cylinder to arrive for a fancy lunch at an upscale resort. I’d get to look at cars while my wife was swept away by my James Bond-like driving, the beautiful surroundings, and the sheer romance of the event. What could go wrong? As it turns out almost everything!
What I had forgotten in my plan was that the show started at 9:00 AM which required that all cars be parked by 8:00, with Bend a good two and half hour drive away at close-to-legal speeds that meant a departure time of 5:30 AM, not a good start. The second problem evidenced itself Friday, I was getting sick, the bug that had been going around had got me, during our track day I was trying to deny my sore throat and achy body but there was no getting around it, by that night I was truly ill. I thought of calling the whole thing off but when I called my boss to give him the news he sounded very excited about the show and told my that instead of the E-Type he wanted my to bring over a 1995 Porsche 911
He had already put my room reservations on the seat, just pick up the car and meet him Saturday morning by 8:00. I couldn’t back out now, I figured he was putting us up at a hotel and they really wanted the car there, what was I to do? Man-up and do it is what. I let Heather know as gently as possible that we would be waking at 4:30 and to avoid ruining her whole day we would take two cars, I would drive the 993 from work and she would follow in my 911, that way we could just drop-off the work car at the show then have the day to ourselves, I was determined to make a wife-friendly weekend plan that would work. She took it well and agreed, (in 5 years she’s come to expect these kind of things I guess).
Saturday morning came too quickly and of course we didn’t leave town until almost 6:00, we would really have to fly to make it on time. It took Heather a while to adjust the Porsche and being a cautious driver she was lagging behind, I gritted my teeth and slowed the pace to keep her in the mirrors. Luck was on our side, as we crossed the pass at sunrise the 993 informed me that the outside temp was a chilly 27 degrees!
I of course had packed for summer temps and had only short-sleeved shirts, I was hoping Heather had come better prepared (which she had). I called Joe from the road to let him know we were still an hour away and got the good news that they were on a frost delay. This year the show was being upgraded from a parking lot get together to a real car show and was to be held on grass of the golf course, nice! We arrived perfectly at 8:30 just as they were opening the course and allowing the long line of cars out onto the turf. I parked the 993, said hi to the bosses, got a couple mochas, and made a quick round of the show while people were still setting up. This was the only chance I got to take pictures and check out the cars as the rest of the day was spent with Heather enjoying the area’s non-automotive attractions. All-in-all things went well and I consider the whole trip a success, Heather and I ended up having a great dinner at the Deschutes Brewery and stayed at a great little bed and breakfast, The Mill Inn just up the street.
Unfortunately I only got to enjoy the show for a few minutes while things were still being set-up. The cars on display were stunning and the reports I got from later in the day confirmed that it was a cool event not to be missed.
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