The time I drove a Ferrari in Tacoma

A few months ago, the family and I visited Tacoma for a weekend and had a fantastic time.  Although this city is only about an hour’s drive from Seattle there is so much to do that a weekend’s visit there felt like a perfect northwest ‘Staycation’ holiday.

We really enjoyed visiting the Tacoma Art Museum and the Museum of Glass and both of these museums are a short walk from each other.  It is pretty amazing how much of Tacoma is pretty walkable.  We are big fans of a local glass artist named Dale Chihuly who is world-renowned and a lot of his art is represented in these museums too.  Even the bridge nearby these museums showcases his art and is a fantastic place to spend some time.  Tacoma is perfect if you love glass and art and water.

We also loved the restaurant scene in this city.  There were lots of fun and family-friendly restaurants and we especially liked Ice Cream Social and a diner-style burger place called Shake Shake Shake. (PS. Shake Shake Shake has great vegetarian options too!)

One of the neatest places we visited though was the LeMay America’s Car Museum.  With a family of boys who love cars, it was definitely a hit.  We started off in an area where we could race our own cars (there is bit of a fee on top of the admission but it was certainly a highlight for my kids!). And they also liked a place where they could build and race their own wooden cars.

I was excited to see an early electric car model and an interesting solar car that one of my kids has a replica of made by Tomica cars in Japan.  We had so much fun in Tacoma that weekend that we still talk often of going back.

So I was totally delighted when I received an email from the LeMay Car Museum a little while ago inviting me to come and drive a Ferrari! According to my husband, driving a Ferrari is a once in a life-time ask and he was devastated he didn’t have the day off.

Apparently, I would be getting to fulfill one of his dreams.

I was thrilled but terrified. A little part of me didn’t really believe I would be able to drive. I have no idea how to drive a standard car.

But the best thing I found out about the Ferrari California T is that it has automatic transmission. I could even fit my kids in it if I wanted to because it has a back seat! The engine purrs in a way only a Ferrari can. And it is an absolutely beautiful car.

But a Ferrari does not have a back up camera. Or little lights on the mirrors that tell you if a car is coming in the blind spot. And because I’ve learned to rely on these things I was too afraid to drive a Ferrari that was not my own very far on unfamiliar streets.  So about a mile into my drive I decided to keep it an amazing experience and headed back to the museum.

I can only imagine how exhilarating it would feel to drive a car like this everyday! And it is neat that the Le May America’s Car Museum has experiences like this for the community and its members.  I am on their mailing list and I’ve seen a lot of awesome events in my inbox that look really fun.

Tacoma now holds so many special memories for me and my family.  We are totally lucky that this cool, artsy city is only a short drive away and I’m sure we’ll be back again very soon!

(PS. I received tickets to the Tacoma Art Museum, Museum of Glass and America’s Car Museum as guests of Travel Tacoma but the ideas represented here are my own.

(PPS. I noticed that the Tacoma Art Musuem is on the Bank of America Museum’s on Us program and if you have a Bank of America credit card it might be free on the first weekend of every month for you too.)

Terumi

Terumi Pong is a Seattle-based family travel writer and mom of twin teenage boys.  She loves coffee and pastries, shopping local and looking for greener ways to live.  She is also known as Scout’s mom (Scout is a 5ish pound little black yorkie-poo)