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Hello fellow Porsche enthusiasts—meet Charles and Barbara Washington.

We have been Las Vegans since 1990, moving here from the Florida Gulf Coast—and what a change that was. Barbara was a CPA, small business consultant, accounting department manager, and I was a computer scientist, statistician, mathematician, project manager, university faculty member, systems architect, pre-AI expert systems developer, and involved in several other related fields of study.

This is our story.

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Charles

My father used to say that someday he was going to dust the world.

He grew up on a farm and remembered long days working in the fields while cars sped past on the dirt road, leaving behind drifting clouds of dust. In those days it was called “getting dusted.” He would raise his fist and declare that when he grew up, he was going to drive faster cars and dust the world.

And he did.  My father loved cars—and the faster the better.

He owned a series of very fast machines, all big American V8s, and he was always looking for the next one. He was also very generous and let me drive them. Before long I was just as addicted as he was to speed and power.

My introduction to sports cars was an eye-opening event. These cars could corner and stop! Suddenly driving became far more exciting than simply going fast in a straight line.The first sports car I bought was an Austin-Healey Sprite Mk II, a car that changed my life. Something was always going amiss with that little Sprite, so I became a very capable mechanic. Brakes, clutches, piston rings, carburetor rebuilds, engine rebuilds—you name it. To this day I still perform all of my own maintenance and repairs.

That little car began a grand tour of more than sixty years of passion for power, handling, speed, precision, and beautiful mechanical sounds.

Over the years I have owned or been involved with most makes and models of Japanese, English, German, and Italian sports cars, but nothing I have ever driven makes me smile as much as my 2015 981 Boxster GTS, “Sting.”

It’s Racing Yellow with a black top, which reminds me of a yellow jacket—and those will sting you.

Drop the top on a cool morning, start the flat-six, and the car immediately reminds you why Porsche builds some of the finest sports cars in the world. The engine sings just behind your shoulders, the steering talks to you through every corner, and the car feels perfectly balanced as the road begins to twist.

After more than sixty years of loving fast machines, this one still makes me grin every time I drive it.

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Barbara

I was born and raised in Boise, Idaho. My father loved automobiles, and they were always big and fast, except for my first ride which was a blue 1964 Opel Kadett station wagon with a manual transmission.

Here is a photo of my mother and one of his early cars. (Circa 1932)

Upon moving to Las Vegas, we converted our Camry into a Toyota Land Camry named Lotus Blossom so we could run the desert dirt roads.  LB was quickly followed by a “Joe Isuzu” Trooper which was much more suited to rough roads. 

I have always been a BMW lover—and red, if you please. Over the years Charles and I have shared a love of automobiles and the adventures that come with them whether they were Hondas, Toyotas, Nissans, Volkswagens, Porsches, etc.The Las Vegas Porsche Club of America has become an integral part of our lives, and we participate in as many events as possible. I especially enjoy the wonderful people we meet along the way.

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After all these years, I sometimes think back to my father standing in those farm fields, watching cars disappear down a dusty road and promising himself that someday he would dust the world. In his own way he did, and somewhere along the way he passed that dream on to me. From that little Austin-Healey Sprite to the Porsche sitting in my garage today, the machines have changed, but the feeling is exactly the same.

These days Barbara and I enjoy sharing the experience with fellow Porsche enthusiasts. The cars are wonderful, but the people and the stories that come with them are what truly make the journey worthwhile.