Jan. 2003 Drive to Hobe Sound
by Chris Canning

On January 26, our club put 28 cars on the road on a picture perfect Florida “Season” day and drove from Lake Worth to Hobe Sound.  We met at the historic Gulfstream Hotel in Lake Worth at 9:00 AM and a lot of us had a wonderful breakfast in this beautiful hotel. This old (1925) hotel has a wonderful wood paneled lobby with high ceilings and it served as a fun place for Jag owners to have coffee, review the maps and directions and chat about their cars. The hotel dining room has a great view of the Intracoastal Waterway and beautiful Bryant Park.

At 10:30 we lined up our Jags and headed east over the Intracoastal Waterway, heading toward A1A.   After crossing the bridge, we turned north and drove through the Town of Palm Beach.  We followed A1A (Ocean Blvd) north past some amazing mansions including Mar a Lago and got a great view of famous Worth Avenue.  The route north passed through the grounds and golf course of the world class Breakers Hotel. We turned west at Royal Poinciana Way and zoomed across the Flagler Memorial Bridge, taking us into West Palm Beach.  The group then headed north again, up Flagler Drive, along the beautiful Intracoastal Waterway and saw many sail and motor boats enjoying the gorgeous Sunday weather. Right after passing the Palm Beach Yacht Club, we made a turn north that took us through Riviera Beach.

Trying to keep a couple dozen Jags together for a 90 minutes drive was not easy but our SFJC drivers did a super job in keeping the pack together. We passed the Port of Palm Beach and then turned east across the bridge to fashionable Singer Island and heading north on A1A. The procession then drove past Palm Beach Isles and the beautiful natural preserve at Macarthur State Park.  The diversity of beauty along this drive was very impressive. From the pristine and natural Florida of 100 years ago, to gorgeous beach views and beautiful modern communities.  We drove through Juno Ridge, the Town of Juno Beach, the Seminole Golf Club and past more beautiful “beach-view” communities.

At about 26 miles from our start point, we pulled into the Lazy Loggerhead Café on the A1A Beach Park. There we met with members who are driving down from Vero and Ft. Pierce. We lined up our Jags and took a number of photos before heading north again.

We crossed back over to the mainland, drove across the Jupiter Inlet and past the picturesque Lighthouse.  We then headed up A1A past Blowing Rocks to John Payson’s lovely home and great garage.  The cars that John had in the garage were very special. They included a 1959 AC Ace Bristol, 1957 AC Aceca, 1956 Bentley S1 Saloon, 1959 Austin Princess limo on '72 Lincoln chassis, 1962 AC Greyhound, 1973 Jag E Type Roadster, 1988 Jag XJ 12 Roadster H & E conversion, 1995 RENNTech Benz 7 Liter S Coupe and assorted late model racers including 1989 Corvette Challenge car and some very interesting vintage toy cars. 

We then went to the Jupiter Club for a superb lunch. After lunch, I had a very exciting and enjoyable drive down to Indiantown road with Roger Seitz in his very fast XK-120.   Roger really wound up the tach and gave this E-Type driver a great appreciation for perhaps the most fun roadster that Jaguar has ever manufactured. 

When we got to Indiantown road, we had a chance to see the Ed Davies collection of Ferraris and other cars. Ed is a friend of John Payson’s and owns a number of beautiful Italian and other cars. Among the cars we saw were a beautifully restored Mercedes Gull Wing Coupe and a number of wonderful Ferraris including;  Ferrari GTO, SWB Berlinetta, 512 M, Spice Ferrari, Testa Tossa, 375 MM, BBLM, and a P3, Ed and his wife race a couple of the Ferraris that are pictured. 

We want to thank John and Ed for opening their collections.  It was a very special day for the members of SFJC who were along for the ride.