Out of This World 2024

WOW!!!! What a great group!! I was reminded over and over of Richard Adams now famous quote: “I join the club for the cars, and I’ve stayed because of the people.” I realized Richard knew what he was talking about when long-lost member Rick Drake arrived and greeted me, saying: “I haven’t seen you in about a thousand years. ”Whew !!!” Now that’s definitely a “stretch”– but you get the idea! FOC friendships seem to have that lasting quality, and its great fun seeing old friends.

We began our morning with Plan “B”, which is to say, rather than begin at Orange County Ferrari Service Center in Costa Mesa (they were closed), we met on the inviting patio at MAGS, a 5-star bakery and donut shop in Newport Beach. It felt like the first day of summer in cool, coastal Orange County; a perfect morning for coffee and donuts (or muffins) outside. During our morning “Meet and Greet” everyone received their gift-wrapped “freebie” from Mothers Car Care Products, along with a Ferrari Red folder containing written instructions, high-lighted maps, and a little souvenir astronaut as a reminder of our planned trip to outer space. Following a short driver’s meeting, we had a drawing for a complimentary bucket of Mothers products. The lucky winner was Martha Aldrette who was accompanied by Fabrizio... and he was happy to carry that nice surprise to their blue 348ts.

Before departing on the Ride & Drive, I took the liberty of reminding everyone of what they already knew — Coastal Orange County ran out of back roads a long time ago. But not to worry... we drove the next best: Newport Coast Rd. to the coast. It’s always a gorgeous run, regardless of what you are driving. We managed to avoid all the traffic and beach-goers on Hwy 101 by taking a run through Pelican Hill. At the crest we stopped to regroup and take in the fabulous views of Newport Coast. The marine layer was still doing its thing sitting just off the coastline obscuring our distant ocean views, however the jetty at the entrance to Newport Harbor was clearly visible along with a long stretch of a beautiful sand beach.

With our group intact, we headed to Newport Back Bay for a cruise through Upper Newport Bay Nature Preserve and Ecological Reserve. It’s one of those “must do” drives you’ve got to do at least once in your lifetime. Nothing like enjoying the beauty of Mother Nature.

Following another re-group, we pushed the pedals to the metal for lunch. The restaurant at Newport Beach Golf Club was ready for us. It was a relaxing time to sit back, exchange Ferrari stories, and get reacquainted with old members like Leroy and Rita Chavez, and welcome new member Tim Young. Relocating to Irvine from San Diego for their first event with us was Wayne Weissman and Angie Song in a beautiful new Ferrari 296 GTB. Driving the shortest distance was Richard Moriarry who lives on the golf course. Longest distance traveled was Chris and Christine Aber who drove all the way from Newbury Park. Always in attendance was Al Ortiz and John Windt with his guest, Anita Maguire. Mike Greenwald arrived just in time to steal half my lunch - (just kidding. I shared - it was twice what I could eat). The Planetarium at Orange Coast College was less than 10 minutes away (in a Ferrari), and we arrived there in a “flash.”

Opened in March 2019, at a cost of $23 million dollars, its 50-foot dome and a high- definition digital projection system can show 3-D representations of earth, our solar system, the 88 named constellations and practically anything else science has discovered in space.

We were ready! We watched proof of the rotation of earth on display in the lobby as a large pendulum swung back and forth knocking down spikes in both directions. Next to it hung a huge globe of Earth, slowly revolving. Lots of expectations filled our thoughts as we were seated for the narrated presentation of the night sky and some Webb

Telescope discoveries. As the lights dimmed and the speaker began, I remember looking up at the night sky... and that’s all, folks! I will have to ask someone in our group to tell you about the presentation, because I was too exhausted from putting on the event to stay awake for the star performance!! But no worries..., I plan to return soon to see the show.

I want to compliment Richard Adams for the outstanding job he did as our “wagonmaster.” He kept the group together throughout the day. Even though I had driven the route 4 times in preparation, I flunked as his “navigator” when I unexpectedly saw a sign I had not seen previously directing us to Pelican Hill Rd. Go figure!! My thanks to Mothers for their donations, and to John Cannizzo for making the donations happen. Also, my thanks to all those FOC people who participated in this fun event.

I hope to see you all soon at our upcoming events, and at least before another “thousand years.”

The heart and centerpiece of the Planetarium is the Dome Theater. 124 unidirectional, reclined seats sit beneath the 50-foot (15 meter) dome projection screen. The Dome is tilted forward 12 degrees for ease of viewing. The planetarium is powered by the state-of-the-art Digistar 6 platform that allows visitors to experience everything from a dark, quiet starry night to a journey to the very edge of the known universe on a whim. Six Sony GTZ 270 Laser Projectors work together to fill the dome with 8K resolution picture and video for a truly immersive experience.