Sunday morning, March fourteen, was a ‘double-header’ kind of a car morning! ‘Head to the first. Caravan to the second. Balboa Ferry in the middle.’ How much better can it get?! We arrive at the Balboa Fun Zone about fifteen minutes after seven and, once parked, John Hummer and I make a casual beeline over to the donut shop for our Phil Caliva’s- recommendation: bacon, egg, cheese and avocado croissants.
It is without question, the best breakfast sandwich I have now ever put in my mouth! ‘And Alice, why do you say that?!’ ‘Simple! Moist scrambled eggs!’ For me, hard to come by but always the ticket. They were absolutely perfect, as scrambled eggs go! Breakfasts in hand, we walked back to join Phil and Dexter Kaytis gathered around a light pole in the parking lot, amidst the regular mishmash of gorgeous cars out on a gorgeous morning.
I hear Phil call out ’Hey Ferrari girl!’ and I look over to see a woman walking towards us, in her bright yellow ‘baseball’ cap with the unmistakable lion-up-on-its-back-paws’ branding, sort-of-obviously on her way to grab her husband a coffee. She’s adorable. We five chat away, happy to be out in the perfect Sunday morning air doing what we do best. It did cross my mind, at least a time or two, how nice it is that she has her Ferrari and I have my MDX!! (After all, the car would naturally match the hat, right?!) Little did I know at that moment, not the case at all. We are kindred spirits as far as garages go. No Ferraris.
Healeys, yes. Theirs? A gorgeous iced-blue ‘67 bj8 and ours, a primrose-yellow ‘57 bn4 100-6.
Her name, I learned, is ‘Paige’ and her delightful husband is ‘Tom,’ who eventually meandered towards us still in search of his hot cup of coffee. I am sure he knew, as this group goes, a fun few minutes of kibitzing will trump a coffee trip anytime! See? I made two new friends that morning based on apparel that was not even remotely tied to shiny aluminum or steel. I love these chance meetings. Phil and Dex are the common denominator every time! Just hang with them.
Then when it was our time, we said our goodbyes and Phil, Dex, John and I headed through the parking lot to line up for the ferry. We floated for our few minutes, as a threesome, over to the Island to head to Tustin Legacy Cars and Coffee. And here, I pass the baton!