Five Oh B Posted July 6, 2009 Report Share Posted July 6, 2009 I just got back home to the USA from a 2 week vacation in the Netherlands (Holland) with my wife & kids. My wife's parents were both born in Holland, and we went to a big family reunion near Amsterdam. Team Shelby member, pjcobra9t7 (Patrick), lives in Almere (near Amsterdam) and he's been to our home a couple years ago. Our itinerary was so busy that I didn't make any specific plans to visit Patrick, but........ We were in the town of Gouda (yep, just like the cheese), and returning to the home we were staying in Weesp. My wife's uncle was driving (in his Renault), and I was riding shotgun with the wife and kids in back. Suddenly, I saw a bright orange glow ahead of us on the freeway and I see white stripes and the unmistakable outline of a Shelby GT500. I told my wife that it must be Patrick, as his Grabber Orange GT500 is unique in Holland. I asked her uncle to speed up and catch him. As we pull along side the GT500 and look over, my wife and uncle roll down their windows, but Patrick did not recognize them. I lean forward and yell over "hello, Patrick" and the surprised look on his face was priceless as he yells back "hello, Brian"! We pulled over at the next gas station to chat, then visited him a couple days later at his home. Here's a couple pics we took at his home.... I can't believe the coincidence of seeing Patrick randomly on the highway in the middle of Holland dozens of miles away from his home. It is always nice to chat with him and his wife Astrid, so it was one of the highlights of our vacation in Holland. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mrfarmdog Posted July 6, 2009 Report Share Posted July 6, 2009 That is cool! Thanks for sharing the story and photos! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
azmartin Posted July 6, 2009 Report Share Posted July 6, 2009 I just got back home to the USA from a 2 week vacation in the Netherlands (Holland) with my wife & kids. My wife's parents were both born in Holland, and we went to a big family reunion near Amsterdam. Team Shelby member, pjcobra9t7 (Patrick), lives in Almere (near Amsterdam) and he's been to our home a couple years ago. Our itinerary was so busy that I didn't make any specific plans to visit Patrick, but........ We were in the town of Gouda (yep, just like the cheese), and returning to the home we were staying in Weesp. My wife's uncle was driving (in his Renault), and I was riding shotgun with the wife and kids in back. Suddenly, I saw a bright orange glow ahead of us on the freeway and I see white stripes and the unmistakable outline of a Shelby GT500. I told my wife that it must be Patrick, as his Grabber Orange GT500 is unique in Holland. I asked her uncle to speed up and catch him. As we pull along side the GT500 and look over, my wife and uncle roll down their windows, but Patrick did not recognize them. I lean forward and yell over "hello, Patrick" and the surprised look on his face was priceless as he yells back "hello, Brian"! We pulled over at the next gas station to chat, then visited him a couple days later at his home. Here's a couple pics we took at his home.... I can't believe the coincidence of seeing Patrick randomly on the highway in the middle of Holland dozens of miles away from his home. It is always nice to chat with him and his wife Astrid, so it was one of the highlights of our vacation in Holland. Nice story, Goes to show you never know who or what you might see out in this big world. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ingram4868 Posted July 6, 2009 Report Share Posted July 6, 2009 Wow, that is almost spooky. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grabber Posted July 6, 2009 Report Share Posted July 6, 2009 Great photos. Thanks for sharing them 5-Oh. Patrick stopped by my house 2 summers ago. He brought his family and we had a barb b Q. They are great family people and Patrick Bleeds Grabber Orange. :happy feet: Here's a pic of them at my house. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
moabman Posted July 6, 2009 Report Share Posted July 6, 2009 Nice story Brian! Thanks also for the pictures. I think it is interesting to see how people in other countries live. I have to say that Patrick's garage looked just like the garages in many subdivisions here in the US (except for the TWO beautiful cars). I know this is not normal for much of Europe. Detached, single family homes were rare in most of the German towns I visited recently. What's up with the rear valance on the Terlingua? do they not come with cut-outs for the exhausts? Do they have a single or dual setup? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sharabi Posted July 6, 2009 Report Share Posted July 6, 2009 Wow...sure Patrick like those shorts.....nice pics, wonderful family. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FordRocks1 Posted July 6, 2009 Report Share Posted July 6, 2009 That is mighty cool!!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sportscars Posted July 6, 2009 Report Share Posted July 6, 2009 Great photos. Thanks for sharing them 5-Oh. Patrick stopped by my house 2 summers ago. He brought his family and we had a barb b Q. They are great family people and Patrick Bleeds Grabber Orange. :happy feet: Here's a pic of them at my house. Thought you said Patrick, not Borat! Just kidding Patrick, although the mustache is a different look for you! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sherri Leicht Posted July 6, 2009 Report Share Posted July 6, 2009 How cool is that? Patrick was home when you were there Mark, the Terlingas have side exhaust. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kahmann Posted July 6, 2009 Report Share Posted July 6, 2009 Nice story Brian! Thanks also for the pictures. I think it is interesting to see how people in other countries live. I have to say that Patrick's garage looked just like the garages in many subdivisions here in the US (except for the TWO beautiful cars). I know this is not normal for much of Europe. Detached, single family homes were rare in most of the German towns I visited recently. What's up with the rear valance on the Terlingua? do they not come with cut-outs for the exhausts? Do they have a single or dual setup? Yep, dual side exhaust. Those plates on the back are added by SAI during the conversion. Looks awesome IMO! Ken Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
moabman Posted July 6, 2009 Report Share Posted July 6, 2009 Thanks all! Dual side exhausts sounds sweet.... sorry couldn't help myself Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cali_KR Posted July 7, 2009 Report Share Posted July 7, 2009 Gotta love it!...great story...and what are the odds, out of all the people, all the cars, and all of the roads in the world.... Thanx for sharing! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Five Oh B Posted July 7, 2009 Author Report Share Posted July 7, 2009 I still can't believe the odds that we magically just found Patrick (and his son, Rick) driving down a random freeway in Western Holland. I had my camcorder rolling as we were cruising down the freeway that I still have to upload. Great shot of Patrick roaring away from my wife's uncle's Renault. Patrick's home/garage look very modern and Western because he lives in a new area of Holland that was under the sea until 50 years ago. Those crafty Dutch built a huge dyke out in the sea 50 years ago, drained the area, and in the mid 1960's started building brand new cities. If only we could hire the Dutch to build dykes to protect New Orleans and other Gulf Coast shorelines! Everyone in Holland that we met was very nice. Very gracious, most speak English, and so many wonderful places to see beyond the tourist kind of stuff you'd expect. Sure, we walked through the Red Light District at night, rode bicycles through the countryside past windmills, drank Dutch beer or wine with most meals, saw big churches in 300-400 year old towns, etc. But, we also saw many modern wonders, wildlife galore, and a very international melting pot of people. Oh, and my teenage daughters got to drink alcohol legally with us there (16 is the legal age). Good times! It was actually very sad to leave Holland to come home to the states. Can't wait to go back! I'll get that video and more pics up soon. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Five Oh B Posted July 7, 2009 Author Report Share Posted July 7, 2009 Here's a couple pics of when we first saw Patrick on the highway, and stopped at the nearest gas station to pull off. My wife's uncle, Auke, has the beard. I'm in light blue, and Patrick is wearing shades and the Shelby shirt. Patrick didn't need gas (wasn't empty), but decided to top off the tank since we stopped. Cost him over 70 Euro (roughly $100) to top off the tank! Ouch!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Five Oh B Posted July 7, 2009 Author Report Share Posted July 7, 2009 And, here's a pair of pics from 2007 when Patrick, Astrid, Rick, and Cheyenne visited our house near Seattle. You can see that we fly Dutch and American flags on the front of our house. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DubbsFaris Posted July 7, 2009 Report Share Posted July 7, 2009 And, here's a pair of pics from 2007 when Patrick, Astrid, Rick, and Cheyenne visited our house near Seattle. You can see that we fly Dutch and American flags on the front of our house. Nice mustang tattoo!!! Aren't you the dedicated fan! BTW- I miss Patrick and Astrid!! Thanks for the pics! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
moabman Posted July 7, 2009 Report Share Posted July 7, 2009 ...Those crafty Dutch built a huge dyke out in the sea 50 years ago, drained the area, and in the mid 1960's started building brand new cities. If only we could hire the Dutch to build dykes to protect New Orleans and other Gulf Coast shorelines!... The irony is that many of the pumping stations in New Orleans use pumps from the turn-of-the-century that were made (you guessed it) in Holland! The pumps are great - they are still being used - but the levee designs and the number of and placement of the pumps were not so good. Thanks again for the pictures! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NordicShelby Posted July 8, 2009 Report Share Posted July 8, 2009 Thought you said Patrick, not Borat! Just kidding Patrick, although the mustache is a different look for you! Now thats funny. :beerchug: Yeah it is strange seeing Patrick with a mustache. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Five Oh B Posted July 8, 2009 Author Report Share Posted July 8, 2009 Nice mustang tattoo!!! Aren't you the dedicated fan! What? Don't all of us have a Mustang tattoo? I thought it was required here - at least that's what Grabber told me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Five Oh B Posted July 8, 2009 Author Report Share Posted July 8, 2009 Here's part of the video I shot on a highway in Holland after randomly encountering Patrick there. We were trying to decided where to pull over at this point..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hans Posted July 8, 2009 Report Share Posted July 8, 2009 Brain that was so cool that you ran into Patrick while on vacation. He was here in Florida last summer, don't know if he'll be back. What a small world. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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