By Lionel Neff

HEARTTHROB TOUR

By Lionel Neff

The morning of Saturday, February 19, was a cold one, even for midwinter in southern California. However, the temperature always appears to warm up once I get behind the wheel of my Porsche 911 Turbo. My early morning drive to Porsche of Santa Barbara served as the prelude to the Heartthrob Tour, held as close to Valentine’s Day as we could get. The plan was for all participants to meet at the dealership at 8:45 a.m. for a 9:30 “lift-off.” I must extend a note of thanks to Sales Manager Rene Verbrugge who did an exceptional job at making our entire group feel welcome with a wonderful spread of fresh fruit, sweet rolls, juices, and various coffees—all well beyond the call of duty. Thanks, too, are to be extended to Doreen Pankow, Doreen Shinn, and Art Shinn for assuring everyone signed the liability waivers and received their meal tickets.

The plan for this drive was a bit different from the past. The vehicles were divided into two groups: on the left, led by me, were all drivers with last names starting from A through L, and, on the right, led by distinguished club President Rod Hersberger were all drivers with last names from M through Z. There were 40 vehicles divided equally in left and right lanes. The plan was to have the groups leave ten minutes apart. At 9:30 all drivers were at the wheel of their cars, motors running, with hearts throbbing in anticipation of the adventure ahead.

We drove out of the dealership and northbound onto US101. So far so good. We whisked ourselves past the pristine views of the Pacific Ocean and the verdant green hills along the Camino Real. The scene is captured very well in this magazine’s cover photo taken by our own Gary Krueger. At 38.9 miles we exited at Santa Rosa Rd. (known affectionately by locals as the road to nowhere). Let the fun begin; and so it did over curvy farm roads through vineyards and cannabis fields until mile marker 55.6, where we intersected the famous Hwy. 1.

From here we turned right onto Hwy. 246 on our way to the challenging Harris Grade, once part of the original Hwy. 1. Known as a dangerous crossing, the Harris Grade connects the Lompoc and Los Alamos valleys running through the Purisima Hills. The Harris Grade passes through a 100-year-old oil field and a rare Bishop pine forest. The multiple 15 mph curves led to a locally known ghostly tale of Agnes, who supposedly haunts these parts after she and her daughter plunged over the side and died. Fortunately, we all made it over the haunted Harris Grade with neither incident nor ghost sightings. But we did feel fortunate in being in cars, unlike the many struggling up the grade on road bikes.

At the bottom of Harris Grade we turned left on Hwy. 135 and turned left again onto San Antonio Rd. Or, more accurately put, half of our number turned left at San Antonio Rd. while the other group dutifully followed the leader and turned right. (Those of us who continued on San Antonio Rd. were treated to more beautiful vistas and high-speed sweeping curves while descending downward on Casmalia Rd., while the errant group missed the views but arrived at the restaurant first and got the best parking places.) Our route continued to Black Rd. and onto Hwy. 1 toward Orcutt.

Opposite: The pre-drive gathering at Santa Barbara Porsche, photo by Bill Hallier. Top: Two groups lined up at the dealership before the start, photo by Bill Hallier. Middle: The leaders, Lionel Neff on the left and Rod Hersberger on the right, photo by Dennis Power. Bottom: On our way with Bill Hallier and his 911 Targa pictured, photo by Dennis Power.

You might find it interesting to know the town of Orcutt was named after William Warren Orcutt, one of the major figures of the California oil industry heralding back to the early 1900s. William Orcutt was responsible for the oil boom that took place in the Santa Maria Valley. When the locals wanted to name the town after him he was reluctant, thinking the idea akin to “naming cheap cigars after cheap actresses,” as the story goes.

From Hwy. 1 we turned left onto Clark St. and right onto Broadway to our final destination, the fabulous Trattoria Uliveto, an Italian dining gem in the heart of Old Orcutt. Owner Alfonso Curti was there to greet us and directed us to the private dining room where he and his staff had prepared a sumptuous Italian dining experience. The meal consisted of a wonderful salad followed by a choice of chicken marsala or sole piccata, finished with a delicious tiramisu. Because he did such a good job with the service and the quality of the food, Alfonso was requested to take a bow and enjoy the appreciation and warmth extended to him by the PCA Santa Barbara members. And so ended the Heartthrob Tour, with full bellies, good stories to share, and a pleasant drive home at our own pace.

Lionel Neff has been a member of PCA since 2020. Along with Art Shinn, he is SBR's Activities Co-chair. Lionel drives a 2017 911 Turbo in GT Silver.

Top: Line up on the road to Orcutt, photo by Bill Hallier. Middle: The entrance to our Italian dining experience in Old Orcutt at Trattoria Uliveto, photo by Randall Fishwick. Bottom: A small portion of the private dining room, photo by Dennis Power.