Monday, I flew from Indianapolis to San Francisco. Arriving late, I decided to bale into a motel for

In the beginning God created man... and it was good. It is written that God took a bone from man and created a woman and that was really something. Then there was that Jonathan or was it a Red Delicious controversy. The details escape me. With man and now a woman walking the face of earth, wearing designer fig leaf, God became aware man needed transportation bahamas hotels with two seats.
In 1930, (made a big jump there didn t I?) it is also written that a man called himself Battista Pinin Farina, or Pininfarina, a designer and builder of expensive sports cars appeared on the scene. A voice from somewhere boomed and said to the Italian Make exotic and sexy sports cars for man and make a place in this lorry for a beautiful woman. Pininfarina, living in Italy, then meditated on the challenge, with the sun on his face and many a bottle of good Italian wine passing through his stemmed bahamas hotels glass, Pininfarina brought forth transportation with two seats. Pininfarina saw it was good and he called his creations Ferrari, Maserati, Rolls-Royce, Jaguar, Volvo, Alfa Romeo, Honda, Lancia and of course Cadillac. In the late 1980s Pininfarina focused bahamas hotels his efforts on a small company in the United bahamas hotels States called General Motors, he designed and partially assembled his latest thing of beauty called the Cadillac Allanté. The bodies were sleek and low and the design bahamas hotels took shape and prospered. It prospered 27,000 times. The Allante were assembled and painted in in a small town in Italy, known as Turin, before being placed on a machine with wings and flown 3,300 miles in a specially equipped Boeing 747 to a town in North America dubbed Detroit for the final assembly. Cadillac bahamas hotels said that it was good and called the two seat sports creation Allante , The Flying Italian Cadillac. General Motors and Pininfarina (The company) realized they now had the longest assembly line in the world.
The vehicle represented a true Italian and American offspring, you might even say Oh Baby! Deep in the bowels of its sleekly styled Italian designed body rests an American V-8 mussel engine and drive train as well as other remarkable mechanical systems. General Motors, being a big bad engine builder made improvements in engine design and called their behemoth the Northstar engine and in 1993 dropped this block of throbbing steel under the bonnet. The marriage of style and brawn produced a box off the assembly line that would scream down the track from zero to 6o in a little over six seconds and a top speed of 140 MPH.
Hollywood became enamored with the Allanté with it appearing in several films. A silver Allanté was driven by J.R. Ewing (Larry Hagman) in the later episodes of the hit TV show Dallas; Sylvester Stallone drove one in Tango and Cash, Robin Williams in Cadillac Man, and Joe Pesci drove one in the Lethal Weapon movies. Cadillac released the '93 early so it could serve as the pace car for the 1992 Indianapolis 500.
I happened to see the movie, The Bucket List , starring Morgan Freeman and Jack Nicohlson. I realized I wasn t getting any younger, so I sat down and took a blank piece of paper and decided to write my own personal bucket list. As I stared at the piece of paper trying to figure out what was really important to me at this stage of life, I decided to plunge in head first and simply write down things that fascinated me. No, I didn t list World Peace, bahamas hotels or list education for every man woman and child on the face of the planet. My health wasn t a factor in my life, no this bucket list would be the simple pleasures of life my life. On my list I wanted to travel, so I wrote that down. I wanted a professional camera, I wrote Camera down. I also wanted what I thought I would or could never own. I wasn t sure if I should even list it on the paper. I wanted it, but afraid to acknowledge it. I wanted an Allante . As my hand made the marks on the paper I thought to myself finish it! I then slipped the numbers 1993 in front of the word Allante . There it was staring bahamas hotels back at me travel, a camera, and a 1993 Allante .
You see, if you are going to travel you need to record the trip by taking pictures. So that is why I wanted a good camera. I held my breath and placed the word Canon 5D in front of the word camera. bahamas hotels In my career bahamas hotels as a professional photographer I was always using the companies high end professional camera equipment. But now being retired, I realized I wanted to own my own camera equipment.
Then I sat back and looked at the list and laughed. bahamas hotels I was so cock sure I wanted a 1993 Allante and I also knew I wanted a professional Canon camera, but the word travel need some help. Travel to where? Paris? Rome? Spain? Scotland? Sure, I said to myself, who wouldn t want to travel like that? I leaned back in my kitchen chair and thought about it for a few minutes. Maybe I should see all of the United States first before I travel across bahamas hotels the pond. I ve lived in Indiana my entire life. Yes I have been to Florida a couple of times and Michigan bahamas hotels many times, but I haven t been out west. I haven t been to the west coast of California. I haven t seen the Pacific Ocean or the big trees in the National Parks. I leaned forward and looked bahamas hotels at the word Travel bahamas hotels on my paper. I was dreaming. It would never happen. I placed the word California on the paper, I quickly wrote highway one, I wrote Pacific Coast Highway. I got into a cadence and wrote Big Sur, Golden Gate Bridge. I pushed the paper away from me. Stupid, this is just stupid. What am I thinking, it will never happen!
Time marches on and that bucket list stayed on my kitchen table for a long time I would move it around not really looking at the items written on the list but for some reason just kept the list on the table. For months I was comparing prices for that Canon 5D I wanted. One day I found it on-line and on sale. I placed the order and before long the box was sitting on my kitchen bahamas hotels table. I took the camera out of box and held it in my hands. The packing material was everywhere and some of it landed on the kitchen floor. I leaned over to pick it up and noticed my bucket list on the floor too. I put the camera down. I took a pen and spread the paper open on the table and I checked the camera off the list. I sat there thinking, this can t be happening. I have fulfilled one of my aspirations on my list. I played with my new camera for days.
I think it was a Saturday (Labor Day Weekend) I had been day dreaming and surfing on line for a 1993 Allanté. Nothing on my screen ever struck my fancy. I tend to glean toward the 1993 model year. I also sought the 1993 Allanté because the designer was 6'4 and I'm 6'5 so I will assume I will fit quite nicely in a two seat Allante sports car. While on line I noticed a 1993 Beige Metallic came up on my screen. It was being sold by a guy who lived in California. bahamas hotels There was something different about this vehicle. It was different because it was talking to me... I emailed the owner and asked for additional bahamas hotels information along with more photographs. For the remainder of the day on Saturday and Sunday, Moe, the owner of Allanté and I, exchanged several emails and phone calls. After some give and take let s just call it negotiations, bahamas hotels we struck a deal and I decided I would fly to California to check out the car in person. If the car was a Martha Stuart Good Thing I would buy the car and then drive her back to Indianapolis from the west coast via US highways avoiding the interstates as much as possible.
Monday, I flew from Indianapolis to San Francisco. Arriving late, I decided to bale into a motel for the night and meet Moe Tuesday morning. Moe as it turned out lived just east of Carmel by the Sea. Carmel by the Sea is a short trip south of the airport. The next morning I got up and was out the door of the motel it was the longest bahamas hotels hour s drive in my life. I was full of anticipation bahamas hotels and expectation. I could hardly wait to get there. bahamas hotels Upon arrival I asked Moe lots of questions, lots of questions. I made an inspection of the car, top to bottom, side to side.
Now it was time for the much anticipated test drive. When I turned the key of the Allanté the engine came to life, there is a nice little guttural roar, not too loud but not too soft. Just like in the Three Bears, it was just right. I repositioned myself behind the wheel. This thing has full leather bahamas hotels interior. I glanced at the instrument panel and was over whelmed. It looked like the cockpit of a fighter bahamas hotels aircraft. bahamas hotels I counted the number of switches and dials and found almost 60. I ask Moe where is the landing gear switch on this thing? I adjusted the interior and exterior mirrors and repositioning the seat one more time. Then I was off. East of Carmel by the Sea is mountainous, twisty roads. The back roads were just perfect for testing a fighter jet and a 1993 sports bahamas hotels car like the Allanté. I was pleased at the horsepower under my right foot. The vehicle wanted to run, I resisted. bahamas hotels First left then right and back left again up and down the side of the mountain we raced as the wind put its arms around me. This was not a man and car experience, this for me was a more emotional moment and somewhat of a spiritual experience. I was not just driving the car I was engulfed in it, we became one, I was falling in love. Being a car lover for most of my life and having built or rebuilt several cars and hot rods throughout bahamas hotels my life, cars for me, have always been a passion. After looking for just the right Allante for years I had to laugh out loud as I was running the back roads of California for I knew deep down in my gut, I was about to own one, this one!
When I arrived back from my test drive it was all I could do not to show any emotion. Moe and I came to our final figure, bahamas hotels we exchanged, money and title and it was time for me to drive off into the sunset.
Heading west I wanted to see the Pacific Coast Highway, the plan was to drive south to Big Sur. It was a ride of a lifetime, driving along the coast on California highway one was a dream come true. The beauty of the coastal hi