It was great to meet up with Jaime and his associate Andrew and spend a few hours talking MBs.
There is some background here worth repeating: My youngest son is not a gear head, but he does love his Mercedes, and for that matter, all things MB and exotic when it comes to cars. He's been in close touch while I actively search for a new car these days, so when Jaime told me he would be in the neighborhood with the Maybach I hatched a scheme. I told Stu I was going to be looking at a potential car purchase in St. Pete where he attends school, and that if he wanted I would pick him up and we could get some dinner. Being the proverbial starving college student, he gladly accepted my offer. I drove over and picked him up that night, telling him the car and its owner were over at the Hampton Inn and we would meet him there. We drove over to the Hampton Inn and walked up to two men standing at the lobby doors. "Jaime?" I asked, and we exchanged pleasantries. "So where is this car?" I asked. "Right over there," as we walked towards the Maybach. Stu just about soiled himself. It was, and still is, a priceless moment I'll never forget. I'm indebted to Jaime for being gracious enough to let us take a ride in it. Needless to say, Stu was agog, in awe, etc., for the whole evening. When I talked to him the next morning, I asked him how much sleep he had gotten that night. "I was so wound up I finally got to sleep around two!" That was really great. You gave my boy an experience he'll never forget. I am a candidate for "World's Best Dad", no doubt. Thanks again, Jaime! Dan Sent from my iPad > On Mar 19, 2015, at 5:14 PM, Jaime Kopchinski via Mercedes > <mercedes@okiebenz.com> wrote: > > I've been down in Florida since last Monday for work. We did a test drive > for work, driving a loop around most of the state: Jacksonville -> Daytona > Beach (during bike week) -> St. Petersburg -> Naples -> Miami Beach -> > Cocoa Beach -> Jacksonville. > > Highlights of the trip were visiting folks along the way. Had a great > dinner with Dan Penoff and his son Stu, and got to treat them to a ride in > a Maybach. Dan and I haven't seen each other since the days of the Rusty > Qs and it was great to catch up and share stories. > > Next up was Miami Beach for four nights, which meant visiting with Gary > Hurst. We shared a few meals and drove around quite a bit. Gary in > person, for those who haven't met him, is great experience. I always look > forward to seeing him. > > And finally I had dinner with Pierre Hedary and his sister Marie on > Tuesday, followed by a visit to his shop on Wednesday with the Germans. > They're both gracious hosts and we had a great time. I could hang out > there for a week I think. His shop holds many treasures, including a 1967 > 300SEL, very similar to my car. > > I'm a bit surprised by my busy social calendar over the trip... its a > reminder of what kind of community our hobby can create. > > Jaime > > > > -- > Jaime Kopchinski > http://www.jaimekop.com/ > _______________________________________ > http://www.okiebenz.com > > To search list archives http://www.okiebenz.com/archive/ > > To Unsubscribe or change delivery options go to: > https://server.secureplusplusfour.net:2083/cpsess595060604/3rdparty/mailman/listinfo/mercedes_okiebenz.com > > _______________________________________ http://www.okiebenz.com To search list archives http://www.okiebenz.com/archive/ To Unsubscribe or change delivery options go to: https://server.secureplusplusfour.net:2083/cpsess595060604/3rdparty/mailman/listinfo/mercedes_okiebenz.com
