Rally withdrawal blues


GKW05GT

GT Owner
Mark II Lifetime
May 28, 2011
2,785
Fayetteville, Ga.
The Rally took forever to get here and now we are home thinking how long it is till next year. For a week it was a way of life and now its back to the same daily routine and it is going to take a time to unwind. The following are my unsolicited thoughts of one of the best vacations ever.

For Donna and me it was an opportunity to celebrate our 38th wedding anniversary with old and new friends. I really thought the hotel was perfect as it was very nice but small enough we always were among other GT fanatics and it was very easy to become acquainted with new folks. The food and drinks were outstanding
both at the hotel and Andretti's and the final dinner program was entertaining and informative.

For me the car show was an opportunity to exchange ideas and see what other mods were being done and what you guys thought of the results. I know Donna liked the cooking class but the best I can hope for is reading the preparation as I doubt it will be duplicated here in Ga. The Cobra museum was a great photo opportunity but the amount of visual stimulus was hard to process for some of us weaker minds.

The driving portion of this would be impossible to improve upon and once Donna learned to ride in silent terror without telling me to slow down I personally had the time of my life. We took lots of pictures but really as you know they just do no justice to the scenery. It does help somewhat to remember because most of my focus was keeping on my side of the road. As a group on the road we were treated like rock stars as people pulled over and watched us pass and gave thumbs up everywhere. When we stopped we were surrounded by enthusiastic people asking questions about these "never saw one before" cars.

We are a lucky lot to be caretakers of these great cars and although we come from different places and back rounds the forum brings us together and we are all treated with the same respect. I'm proud to be a part.

Can't wait until RALLY IX.
 

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wmjim

GT Owner
Mark II Lifetime
I could not agree more!
Lynn and I had great fun meeting you and Donna, and being able to spend time with you.

Jim Kreber
 

Xcentric

GT Owner
Mark II Lifetime
Jul 9, 2012
5,213
Myakka City, Florida
Wonderful summary Gary! I am proud to consider you and your lovely wife as friends. Thank you both for helping to make this rally one of the best experiences Amy and I have ever had.

I have to say though...I don't have the blues yet, although I'm sure they will arrive before too long. We are still on a glide path down from a solid week of sensory and emotional overstimulation. Too much is never enough. :)
 

roketman

GT Owner
Mark IV Lifetime
Oct 24, 2005
8,086
ma.
Gary and Donna ,
Im glad you wrote that ! It really describes how I feel too. I read it to my wife and we both had a good laugh! We just got back to Boston about an hour ago. It sure was an awesome time!Mandy and I are already talking about driving out to next years rally!
 

Vince H

GT Owner
Mark II Lifetime
Jul 23, 2012
2,423
Southern California
Echoing the others, well said Gary.

Vince H
 

The Grey Ghost

GT Owner
Mar 13, 2009
692
Kansas City
Gary, we too enjoyed meeting both you and Donna.

I thought it was great at dinner in Tahoe, when our waitress asked about the reason for our gathering. She questioned family or just friends, and without hesitation the entire table answered "FAMILY!!!" in unison.

Every year we get go home having increased our GT family, glad to able add you two this year.

Our anniversary also fell during the rally, and other than not having our GT there (1st and last time), we had an awesome time.

So begins the count down.

Jeff
 

Ed Sims

GT Owner
Mark IV Lifetime
Apr 7, 2006
7,922
NorCal
Fun times Mr & Mrs myellowc5. Glad you were with us!

Ed
 

bonehead

GT Owner
Mark II Lifetime
Aug 18, 2012
2,827
Houston, TX
Gary, glad to have officially met you up at the stop in Elk, CA. And thanks again for the GT banner inspiration. This will hang proudly in my garage (also, thanks Trent!).

 

Not 4N

Tungsten GT Owner
Mark IV Lifetime
Apr 5, 2006
889
Calgary AB
Great comments Gary, Sue and I also had an great time meeting new and old friends. We are still on the road (Olympia WA now) and won't be home until Friday. I am sure post rally blues will hit when I roll the GT out of the trailer and head to the car wash.

Ed - glad you got the packages from the front desk.

Cheers GT family.

Trent
 

SSRob

GT Owner
Mark IV Lifetime
Oct 9, 2012
542
Oklahoma
+1 I could not agree more. My car isn't home yet and I can't wait for it to get here so I can drive it some more...although our roads here aren't anything compared to what we experienced in CA.
 

GKW05GT

GT Owner
Mark II Lifetime
May 28, 2011
2,785
Fayetteville, Ga.
Gary, glad to have officially met you up at the stop in Elk, CA. And thanks again for the GT banner inspiration. This will hang proudly in my garage (also, thanks Trent!).

I appreciate your formal introduction and as promised a pic from Elk Ca. This day you were FLAGHEAD!!!
 

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Indy GT

Yea, I got one...too
Mark IV Lifetime
Jan 14, 2006
2,545
Greenwood, IN
Great to finally meet you Gary and echo others on your masterful description of the FGT "family"!

Looking forward to doing it again somewhere next year!!
 

GTJack

GT Owner
Mark IV Lifetime
Le Mans 2010 Supporter
Oct 1, 2006
1,729
Saddlebrooke, MO
Gary and Donna
Great to meet you and spend time with you driving to Lake Tahoe and eating some TexMex chow. Looking forward to seeing you and everyone else next year...wherever.... It might be hard to top this year given the pre and post rally organizing and cat herding done so well by Ed Sims, IndyGT and Dr Frank. Dr Frank even managed to keep up after stopping to give aid to someone who flipped their SUV after seeing 10 GTs roar by him on the road down from Downieville.
 

Xcentric

GT Owner
Mark II Lifetime
Jul 9, 2012
5,213
Myakka City, Florida
Dr. Frank could only give aid if there were dead people.

j/k! +1 for all the pre and post work and hospitality, to include Heidi Sims. I've given up thinking that things just can't get any better...because they do!...but seriously folks, this entire event would seem to have raised the awesomeness bar about as high as it can go.
 

bonehead

GT Owner
Mark II Lifetime
Aug 18, 2012
2,827
Houston, TX
I appreciate your formal introduction and as promised a pic from Elk Ca. This day you were FLAGHEAD!!!

LOL. Thanks Gary. But what the hell am I doing in that pic? Admiring the slats on the building??

Dr. Frank could only give aid if there were dead people.

Sorry Doc, but that was pretty funny:rofl
 

GKW05GT

GT Owner
Mark II Lifetime
May 28, 2011
2,785
Fayetteville, Ga.
LOL. Thanks Gary. But what the hell am I doing in that pic? Admiring the slats on the building??



Your just camera shy I guess. haha
 

roketman

GT Owner
Mark IV Lifetime
Oct 24, 2005
8,086
ma.
LOL. Thanks Gary. But what the hell am I doing in that pic? Admiring the slats on the building??



Sorry Doc, but that was pretty funny:rofl
Ed he was trying to get your good side!
 

bonehead

GT Owner
Mark II Lifetime
Aug 18, 2012
2,827
Houston, TX
Ed he was trying to get your good side!

There's no camera on earth that could accomplish that, Ron.
 

Ed Sims

GT Owner
Mark IV Lifetime
Apr 7, 2006
7,922
NorCal
Ed - glad you got the packages from the front desk.
Trent

Which Ed & which packages?

Sp Ed
 

bonehead

GT Owner
Mark II Lifetime
Aug 18, 2012
2,827
Houston, TX
Which Ed & which packages?

Sp Ed

Trent is referring to me, Brother Ed. I bought a sheet of windshield clearplex and he made me that blue GT banner I posted above. He was kind enough to bring them from Canada in his trailer.