Howie comes for a visit

Many have been the occasions when I have marveled how much Beltsville Shell is about "friendship".

Readers of Beltsville Shell may be familiar with my friend Howard "Howie" Feuerstein.  

Chapter 10 of the book describes my first ride in a Corvette, followed by a series of "first ride in a Corvette" stories contributed by some of my closest friends.  Howie's is especially memorable:

“It was 1955 and my cousin Hank had gotten a Corvette.   Well, one summer morning, as my father was leaving for work, he told me that Hank was going to loan him his Corvette for the night.  I remember telling every kid on the block and we all were waiting on the street in front of my house as my dad pulled around the corner. And there it was.  Top down, Polo white, red interior, white wall tires, wire mesh protecting the head lights.  I had never seen anything so beautiful in the 9 years I had inhabited this planet.  I can still see it and smell that special Corvette scent as if it was yesterday.” Howard Feuerstein

Howie was my commercial real estate consultant when I worked at the Information Sciences Institute at USC from 1991 to 1999.  Our professional bond became a personal one, and we have remained friends for almost 35 years.

Howie was an enthusiastic supporter of the idea of the book, and as you can see above, even contributed to the book!  Howie has remained in close contact with all things relating to Beltsville Shell, so it is no surprise that he had read the stories of Nan's acquisition of a 2024 Corvette convertible, followed closely (17 days later) by our acquisition of a 2024 Z06.  He decided to drive down to Carlsbad at the end of May to check them out.

We first took a tour of the garage so I could show off the new cars, and explain the differences between the Stingray and the Z06.  Soon it was time to take a ride, meaning that he needed to decide which Corvette to choose! Howie decided that he wanted to experience the Z06.

We buckled up and headed down I-5 here in San Diego to visit some familiar places.  I tried to show Howie the many features of the mid-engine Corvette, since this was his first ride in a car with the new configuration.

Once the engine was suitably warmed up I demonstrated the performance of the flat-plane crank 670 HP power plant.  Howie told me that this was the fastest car he had ever experienced.  This comment made me very happy!

No visit to Cary's garage is complete without a stop at the local In-N-Out burger joint. 

There is nothing quite as special as spending time with close friends, doing the things that make us happy, and building new memories!

Thanks for coming for a visit, Howie -- let's get together again soon.