I have always been into cars and trucks so when I was approaching my 17th birthday, I couldn't wait to get my first car. My first choice was to get a pick up truck but the one I wanted was sold before I could buy it.

As I started looking for an affordable vehicle, a friend told me about a 1977 Pontiac Bonneville that was for sale by an older woman who just moved to New Jersey from Florida. She was the original owner and was only looking to sell it because of the snow and ice covered roads in NJ winter. Her son wantd her to switch to a four-wheel drive vehicle. She only wanted $400 so how could I not check it out.

A few days later my friend, who was a mechanic, and I went to see and test drive the car. From the moment I saw it, I was in love. With two doors, it was light blue with a white top and white interior with bench seats. The best part was hidden under the hood. It was a 400/4 barrel. I didn't really understand what that meant at the time but I knew that the car would fly.

The car handled like a dream. Only downfall was it still had the 8-track stereo systems in it. As a gag gift, my brother brought me a 8-track cassette converter so I could play my tapes in the car until we could install a better system.

I had the car for about a year. It was totoaled in an accident on a wintery and icy road.

To the left is the only photo that I have of the Blue Boat.