Blog

I am a Hematologist/Oncologist, who’s been driving my Porsche since 2010.

I have always been fascinated by sports cars and bought this stick shift 2010 Boxster S, a convertible to enable a top-down super speed drive. I learned to Drive in a stick shift vehicle at age 15 years and would never buy a sports car that’s not a stick shift. I am guessing most of you would agree that, that’s the way to drive any sports car. 

I have been a Porsche club member from the time I had bought my Porsche (save, a couple of years in-between when my wife was ill). 

Here’s my take on the “TOUR to Nowhere”. 

I saw the invite for “The Tour to Nowhere” and almost instantly decided, I was going to do it. I am so glad I joined this small group of enthusiasts. Almost instantly, like magic, What an awesome comraderie..! 

We were a total of 8 cars, with one being a McLaren and the other 7,various Porsche cars. The drive started from the outskirts of Las Vegas and right from the get go, one could feel the exhilarating sensation of the exciting speed. 

The itinerary was perfect and we have Reid and Dana to thank for the route devised in an exemplary manner. Every intricate detail pertaining to the places of stay, restaurants, sightseeing venues etc. were all well designed by them. Not to forget the preparation by Dana, down to the minute details, especially her forethought relating to snacks. 

Our trip took us from our meeting spot on the outskirts of Las Vegas (I am going to refrain from mentioning names of our participants, except for the names of our organizers, Reid and Dana) and about an hour or so later, we were at the Pharanagat National Wildlife Refuge, and it’s a spot not to be missed out. It was there, that, we saw one of our Porsches appeared to have a flat.. And I was impressed as to how everyone involved pitched in to save the tire from a full blown puncture. Soon, we were on our way with the next stop at Caliente, where we had lunch in a nice, small cozy cafe (Knotty Pine). There, we were joined by our Porsche owners from Utah. A great addition to this outstanding Porsche owners led by Reid and our McLaren owner as our sweep. 

From Caliente we proceeded to take Nevada Hwy 50..Referred to as “The Loneliest Road in America”. This Hwy reveals the” The Pony Express Trail”. Within hours we were in Ely, Nevada.. What a cute little town…! Our friend with the flat tire took it to the Tire Repair place and spent over two hours to get it all set right. We checked into our hotels (many to choose) and met for dinner at the JT’s Steakhouse. Great place, Great food and a good choice of drinks and entrees. We then retired for the day. 

The next day, we got together at The Ridley’s Market. It was astonishing to realize that every one of us were there on time and left Ely, to our next stop, Eureka, an interesting little town. The opera house had a classic look from the outside. But, what was impressive was the Eureka Court House.. Authentic with its olden day fireplace room heater, updated court with jury and judges’ rooms and an ancient clock. Then after taking a short break in Austin, another sweet little village, we reached Middlegate for Lunch in a “hole in the wall eatery” with good food choices, albeit. Thence, we headed to Fallon and got into our respective hotels and met at the Grid Original Restaurant for a nice dinner. By this time, all of us were ready to say, that we were all too full, with constant intake, including the snacks.. Thanks to Dana..! We then retired for a good restful night. 

Third day of our drive was to start at 8.45am and believe it or not, everybody was again on time. We started our drive, backtracking a bit of the drive we did the previous evening and were on our way to the Berlin Ichthyosaur State Park. It’s a little bit of a rough, dusty drive.. But, none of the Porsches had any problems. It is a spot for sure to see and if one is a hiker and want to spend more time, there are hiking trails. The park can be explored per your wish or one could do a guided tour, which is what we did. It was worth it to learn the history of the excavation. We then got on to Rt. 95 on our way to our last stopover for the trip in Tonopah. We were there by late afternoon and I believe, most of us were too full for a sumptuous dinner, although some had a light dinner. Then, we met at the Mizpah Hotel Lounge, which I would say turned out to be the best gathering, after, being initially scattered, were able to turn comfortable seating for a round table discussion. Suffice to say that we were pretty much the last ones to leave the lounge, well after the bar closed down. 

After another night of perfect rest, we all gathered at the Comfort Inn parking lot. By then, the McLaren was on his way back, the Utah Couple were planning to take off and our Pilot, a Porsche owner, had sped off to see his new born..! We congratulated him the previous night..! The last day of the drive on our way home was via Rt. 375 – The Extra-Terrestrial Hwy..! What a beautiful drive with miles and miles and miles of straight roads.. You know what that means..! 🤔😉..! 

Once we hit I-15, everyone of the leftover Porsche guys split up to drive home. 

OH, What a memorable Road Trip this ” Tour To Nowhere” has been. I sincerely believe, everyone of us had a wonderful, enjoyable, mostly event free drive. 

Thank you for organizing this Tour..! 

Panju Prithviraj M.D
Hematologist /Medical Oncologist
Emeritus Physician (ASCO & ASH).
ORGANIZING MANAGER
NILAM INTERNATIONAL INVESTORS 

Note: Dana and Reid really enjoyed Panju and his guest on the tour. Panju has been guest speaker at medical and pharmaceutical conventions all over the globe!