by Steven Perez
posted on June 17, 2020
How one son surprised his dad for his 60th birthday
Appreciating your parents never goes out of style and we should all do it more often. Holidays offer good opportunities to show your love, whether it’s your parent’s anniversary, a birthday, or Father’s Day, and one member of the Turo community really hit it out of the park for his dad’s 60th birthday this year.
Jesse is a photographer and freelance content creator who lives in downtown Detroit with his wife and two kids (and one on the way!). This last February he was planning a sort of spring break trip with his family and his parents to the Tampa area, to take place just a couple days after his dad’s 60th (before travel restrictions took effect).
Jesse wanted to do something special for his dad’s big milestone, so he thought he’d surprise him with something fun to drive during the trip. While searching for cars in Tampa, he came across this beautiful 1965 Mustang convertible in Poppy Red with a cream interior — the perfect cruiser for a Florida vacation! So he told his parents not to rent a car.
Jesse’s dad, Ron, is a big car guy. He once had a career in auto body and restored a bunch of old cars in his spare time, and was the owner of a turquoise 1966 Mustang. When Ron got married to Jesse’s mom just over 40 years ago, that Mustang was the wedding getaway car. It was his prized possession.
But when they started having kids, Ron switched careers and sold the Mustang before Jesse was born. “It was sort of a legend of my childhood,” Jesse said. “All I ever saw of it growing up was pictures, and I always kind of had an obsession with it and asked questions about it.”
Cut to the Tampa family vacation. After Jesse picked up the red ‘Stang from his host, Edward, he drove it to the airport to surprise his parents at the terminal. The surprise couldn’t have gone any better. Picture your mom and dad walking out to the curb with their bags, and there you are standing next to a gleaming classic pony car, keys in hand. “It was exactly the reaction I was hoping for.” Jesse (aka best son ever) even caught the moment on his Instagram story.
“The place we were staying at was about an hour and a half from the Tampa airport, so we had a nice long cruise to start the trip,” Jesse said. “We had an absolute blast.” Ron drove everywhere in the car during the long weekend. “He couldn’t stop smiling for three days straight.”
Jesse (whose first car was also a Mustang — a ‘96) and his wife also got a little time behind the wheel, and their kids were big fans too. “Everything was amazing. The top never went up.”
Jesse may have a hard time topping this for next year’s gift, but that’s what made this so special. With a classic Mustang, a bit of planning, and a lot of love, you can make memories that’ll last a lifetime.
Editor’s note: A previous version of this story contained an incorrect model year.
Steven Perez
Steven is an avid car guy and content maker at Turo. Between Golden State Warriors games he can be found getting lost somewhere in California.
