Volvo Club…

This one’s for the car lovers…

After much persuasion Mr.Martini was convinced to join the local Volvo club, and we got a chance to hang out at the annual picnic this fall.  It was amazing!  I always take a ton of pictures, but there were more opportunities than even I am used to.

The 1800 wagons are my first love – but the coupe is also charming…

… hard to know which one was our favourite…

Every Volvo has its’ own personality, and everyone reminds me of a different moment in my life so far – you can’t spend 40 years visiting Granville Island without running into a fair number of Volvos…

…and somehow Volvo people are just my kind of people.  Like their cars they are dependable, unique, hardworking…

…Volvos are famous for their ability to keep on running, no matter what – it seems the people who drive them are the same.

…but my true loves are still this 1973 sweetheart… and the man who keeps it running!

I am looking forward to spending the next forty years with them both…

Volvo P1800 ES

This is a love letter to my sweetheart, and a tribute to the other love of his life…

It’s been a long time coming. This gorgeous girl is the same age as me, but she has only been ours for a short time. Long enough to fall in love…

For the last fifteen years or so we have been looking for a car to love. Not just to drive, but to enjoy for the history and design and artistic innovation that makes this car more than just “the sum of her parts”. She’s special.

Every inch of this vintage love is perfect…

The angles and arches of each curve are beautiful together.

This love affair with vintage cars is not a new development…

…but that was only the road that led us to here…

…the beginning of a new road. Where will it take us?

Stories from the road…

Sometimes life feels like it has slowed right down. We are moving along with the traffic and wondering which lane to change into in order to get back up to speed… Or maybe we’ve given up and just put it in park to ride out the night.

Today at Casa Martini it feels like we’ve hit a few speed bumps, or maybe a road block or two…

Posted speeds, merging lanes and detours are all a part of getting out on the road. Sometimes we have to remember that we are not in the drivers’ seat –

But with the right directions we can get back in the race.

Lane changes, life changes; they are all tiny parts of this great big road trip we’re on together. As the miles click by I realize more and more how much easier it is to be with people who love the journey as much as I do – who can take the wheel on rough roads, or change a tire when things go flat…

Then suddenly you’re flying again!

It may still be winter and the roads still buried in ice and snow, but spring and sunshine are just around the corner – that wanderlust and need for adventure are waiting in the garage and dreaming of the open road ahead.

This “jellybean” is just the thing to keep the spark of adventure burning on the slow, dim days… Counting down the days to getting back out on the road, and back up to the speed of life!