Flight 93 Memorial Tour

from PCA Chesapeake Region Patter - October 2021 Vol 62, Issue 10

Two old Silver Porsches

By Aniano Arao

Photo by Marsha Buss On Sept. 25th, PCA Chesapeake’s Tour and Rally Committee held its 11th event of the year – Ron Farb’s Flight 93 Memorial Tour. The weather was perfect, yet out of 39 people and 24 cars registered, only 32 drivers and navigators in 19 cars showed up at our Frederick assembly point.

Ron and I divided the cars into three groups. The first group was led by Ron and son-in-law Leo Gutierrez in a black 911 Turbo S Cabriolet (997.2), with Hank and Ellen Lucas as sweepers in a Midnight Blue 911 Carrera S Cabriolet (991.2). The second group was led by Steve and Joan Wood in an Aqua Blue Metallic 911 GT3 (997.2), with Ken Wilmers and Margaret Hanauer as sweepers in a white 944. The third group was led by Steve and Marsha Buss in a Lava Orange 911 Carrera S Cabriolet (991.2), with Myrna and I serving as sweepers in our Arctic Silver Cayman (987.2).

After driving for about one hour and 45 minutes on wonderful back roads from Frederick, we took a quick restroom break at the Hancock Antique Mall. We then drove for about an hour on even more delightful roads to the Jean Bonnet Tavern in Bedford, PA, where many tour participants had lunch. This 1760s tavern is a historic landmark.

After lunch, we drove 19 miles to the Flight 93 National Memorial in Somerset County, Pennsylvania. This memorial honors the victims of the Sept. 11, 2001, crash of United Airlines Flight 93. The plane

FLIGHT 93 (cont’d)

nosedived into the ground after the passengers fought the Al Qaeda terrorists in an attempt to regain control of the hijacked plane. An attack on a Washington, D.C., target was heroically averted.

Though our tour’s ultimate destination was the site of a sad and tragic event, the drive to get there was a lot of fun, as we relished a good number twisty back roads and passed many scenic farmlands.

It was too bad that not more club members were on hand to enjoy this great tour. However, the good news is that Ron has agreed to consider offering this terrific driving event once again next year.