Beach Boxster Bingo!

Click for a REALLY good look at us!
(Click on any picturefor larger image)

Half Moon Bay, California

Saturday, May 16, 1998 Visit Walt's other Boxster pages.

Click for larger imageSeven Boxsters and fourteen enthusiasts convened in the picturesque California fishing port of Princeton-on-the-Sea to welcome the visiting Mark Lysinger and his black '98 with Texas plates.  Mark is touring the western United States with Steve Switzer, a visitor from England.  They had come all the way from Yosemite that morning, and were bound north to the Napa Valley wine country.

Click for larger imageWe met in the harbor at scenic Princeton-by-the-Sea, on Half Moon Bay about 20 miles south of San Francisco.  The Shore Birds restaurant met all our requirements - private room with a long table, private parking lot with a vacant row, and a decent seafood menu.  (Mark: "I'm from Texas- I don't eat fish.")

Click for larger imageLunch, scheduled for 12:30, was an hour late in starting, but no one noticed -the parking lot was full of Boxster discussions and inspections. Everyone had to look at the aspherical mirror from Chris from Germany on Trygve Isaacson's brand new '98 Arena Red/black/black.  About 1:15, organizer Randy Russell (substituting for Doug Berman, who was called away on business) finally rolled into the parking lot.  We took a group picture and moved inside for lunch.

Click for larger imageAt the table, Randy kept the conversation going with mini-versions of Pete's Polls.  All the Californians present, except for one retiree, were either in the high-tech industry or married to someone who was.  The eight Boxsters represented at the gathering (Mark is on his second) ranged from a February 1997 build to spanking new.  Everyone had had at least a few problems, spread fairly evenly from trivial (a few hose leaks) to serious (a new engine).

Click for larger imageMark's '98 had been problem-free until the previous week, when he bounced over railroad tracks in Arizona on the way to Las Vegas. (How fast, Mark?) The computer suffered a small stroke, retracted the driver's side window, and muttered to itself in digital German all the way to Las Vegas, where the Porsche dealer gave Mark the scarce replacement part that Betty had been waiting for.

Click for a better look at what the cat did.Keith Evans gave us the inside scoop on his custom Boxster accessory - his cat. According to Keith, the plating on his chrome 17" wheels was done by the cat.  (Not by licking them, either.)  The secret?  "We feed her plutonium - she likes it because it makes her feel all warm inside." Keith also finds heated seats unnecessary.  "Just set the cat on it for fifteen minutes beforehand."

Click for larger imageAfter lunch, a few people had to leave, including Keith, who had a wedding to go to.  He said it was California Formal (socks required) and promised to change out of his t-shirt and jeans. The rest of us - six Boxsters and Walt and Nancy Bilofsky's Brand X convertible- headed up the coast road toward the Golden Gate, with Brian Langley and Marilyn riding along as Boxster passengers.  First event was Mark's gas station stop.  In honor of the legendary Las Vegas Boxsterfueling, all but one car pulled off and waited for him.  Unfortunately, Mark fell behind as we pulled back on the road.

Click for larger imageThat left four Boxsters, trailed by Walt with Nancy snapping pictures, zooming in formation around the curves of the coast road, with the Pacific surf gleaming on the left.  As we convoyed along the beach in San Francisco, owning the left lane on the Great Highway, a loud noise came from a blackVW on our right - a woman's voice saying "Are those all Boxsters? Holy s___!  I gotta see them."

Click for larger imageWe continued north, past the famous Cliff House restaurant overlooking Ocean Beach, then through the streets of Pacific Heights, gawking at the fabulous mansions. The highlight came as we were winding through the park-like Presidio, high on the cliffs overlooking the Golden Gate, with ships heading into harbor and the green peaks o fthe Marin Headlands on the other side.  There, coming around a curve toward us, appeared a gleaming Zenith Blue Boxster.  Imagine - this poor guy is tooling along, on a beautiful day in a beautiful car, feeling terribly special and unique -  he comes around a curve, and there we all are, tooting at him …  As someone said, the look on his face was priceless.

Click for larger imageWe crossed the Golden Gate Bridge in bright sunlight.  When the fog takes the day off, as it did this day, San Francisco, spread out on our right, becomes radiant in the afternoon light.  Randy was holding the four Boxsters bunched up in the right lane, doing 35, ten miles under the limit. Walt, out in front, looked back and saw three lanes of traffic - and no one was passing.

The group reconvened - with the two wandering cars catching up - at the scenic overlook on the Marin side of the Gate.  After a bit more conversation and lots more pictures, some of the group split off, while most of the Boxsters headed for Sausalito for dessert and tourist stuff.

Not a bad Boxsterfest, considering the informal organization and small amount of planning.  Wonder what we could put together here in the Bay Area with a little advance notice … Volunteers, anyone?
 
 

Click for larger image
Mark at the 
Golden Gate
   Attendees:
Mark Lysinger and Steve Switzer - '98 black/black
Rob and Gillian Sward -Glacier White/gray
Trygve Isaacson - '98 ArenaRed/black
Jude George- Arctic Silver/red
Keith Evans - '97 GlacierWhite/black
Dennis Marer - '97 ArcticSilver/red
Randy Russell - '98 Black/beige,Technic suspension
Walt and Nancy Bilofsky- '98 triple gray due next week
Leslie Wallace - '99 just built
Brian Langley and Marilyn- picking out colors
Click for larger image
Randy's beige interior

Text and photos by WaltBilofsky.  Convoy photos by Nancy Bilofsky.

Visit Walt's other Boxster pages.