Three Sarasota Café Racers and their spouses drive their Porsche and Ferraris 1,266 miles in seven days because Car Guys Just Want To Have Fun!
Gary Jones, Jurgen Otto and Brian Sonnenschein are three hardcore car guys who believe that cars were built for driving and not spending most of their lives in “tin cans.” “There’s no place in my collection for Trailer Queens,” said Jurgen who has a sizeable collection of high-performance German cars, sprinkled with Ferraris. Friends and members of the Car Guys Who Lunch in Sarasota, FL, Brian and Gary, concurred.
After a successful driving vacation with their spouses in Europe last year, visiting Ferrari and Porsche, the trio decided to have some fun with their cars out West. Gary & Candice Jones, who have a home in Santa Fe, NM, took charge and created the Four Corners Expedition itinerary: Four states – Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico and Utah – in seven days, averaging 109 to 290 miles per day. Total distance: 1,266 miles.
Gary & Candice (Ferrari 458 Italia), Jurgen & Melody (Ferrari 512TR) and Brian & Meg (Porsche Carrera S/X51) shipped their cars from Sarasota to Santa Fe for the start of the seven-day Four Corners Expedition. If anyone would like to plan a similar drive, here are the day-to-day destinations and mileage.
Day One: Santa Fe to El Monte Sagrado Taos Hotel, Taos, NM – 105 miles.
Day Two: Taos, NM to Doubletree Hotel Durango, Durango, CO – 202 miles.
Day Three: Durango, CO to Hotel Telluride, Telluride, CO – 230 miles.
Day Four: Telluride, CO to Gateway Canyons Resort, Gateway, CO – 104 miles. (Note Gateway is the home of the Hendricks Car Collection Museum).
Day Five: Gateway, CO to Goulding’s Lodge & Tour, Monument Valley, UT – 225 miles.
Day Six: Monument Valley, UT to Sundance Bear Lodge, Mancos, CO – 160 miles.
Day Seven: Mancos, CO to Inn & Spa at Loretto, Santa Fe, NM – 240 miles.
Their primary goal, in addition to having fun, was to “fly” under law enforcement’s radar and stay out of jail. Considering the vehicles and the guys involved, staying out of jail sounds a lot easier than it was! After seven days on the road and no tickets, the only casualty was stone damage to the 458’s windshield.
Next year, the three caballeros and spouses will be doing the 2012 Expedition, visiting the Grand Canyon, Bryce Canyon, Sedona and other western wonders.
Check out the Four Corners Expedition photo album at the Cafe Racers Picassa site, https://picasaweb.google.com/srq.caferacers/2011FourCornersExpedition?authkey=Gv1sRgCJvww_rx7u3OOg
For more information about The Car Guys Who Lunch in Sarasota, FL, Boston, MA, Oldwick, NJ, Washington, DC and Tehran, Iran, please visit, http://www.sarasotacaferacers.com/