Mid Atlantic Mini/CMU members
from southeastern Virginia and northeast North Carolina will
gather on the morning of April 18th at Cooper Tune in
Hampton, VA. for an all day drive through the historic
City of Williamsburg, VA before traveling on to the
Capital City of Richmond.
Once through the Williamsburg area we'll follow the
very pleasant 2-lane plantation route (Rt. 5),
paralleling the James River westbound towards the
City of Richmond. We'll continue on Rt. 5 into
"old Richmond" past the old docks and under
the train trestles. All of this is surprisingly 2 lanes
and only 1 or 2 lights until we reach a short,
steep (first gear) cobblestone climb to a scenic
overlook of the City in an area known as Churchill. At
this point we'll travel through some of the
downtown Richmond area in order to get to the other
side of the City. Once there we are rewarded by crossing
the James River on the Lee Bridge (Rt.1), reaching
Riverside Drive and heading up-river for miles and miles
of twisty, scenic, no-stoplight pleasure.
We'll stop for lunch at approximately 12:30-1:00,
possibly at Joe's Inn in suburban Bon Air,
departing there around 2:00pm.
After lunch, we'll have the following two options to
consider before making the turn back to the Hampton
Roads area.
Option A is a return to Riverside
Drive and Old Gun Rd for 30 minutes or so of scenic
twisty fun.
Option B includes Option A
plus a longer 1.5 hr loop through Powhatan County to
cross the Maidens Bridge and the ancient one lane Woods
Rd. Bridge between the two Correctional Centers on
either side of the river. We will make this a group
decision at the appropriate time.
The afternoon return run to Hampton Roads will take us
out on the southside of Richmond through
Chesterfield and Hopewell, traveling on 55 mph 4-lane
non-interstate routes. Eventually, we'll reach the
two-lane Rt 10. One 5-min detour to the modest City
Point Park running along the banks of the James
River below Hopewell will be a possibility at this
point. The group will then continue eastbound
towards and through the quaint towns of Surry and
Smithfield utilizing rural roads and split four lanes
through the counties for the remainder of the afternoon.
For those traveling the entire route starting and ending
in Hampton, we are anticipating this to be approximately
an 8 to 9 hour day, including stops for the enjoyment of
scenery, lunch, fuel, restrooms etc.
We look forward to good weather and a successful run.
This is a rain or shine event, and please remember that
participation in MAM events is
limited to classic Minis and variants only.
For additional information, please contact Howard
Collins @
miniac7@aol.com
May
1&2 - Cars and Camping, Newport News
& Williamsburg
Participation
in the annual European and British Car Show at New
Town in Williamsburg will include one night of Mini
camping at Newport News Park on Saturday night. Keep an
eye on the following web site to gain access to
on-line pre-registration for the car show http://www.wmbgbrit.com/events_club_trips.htm
September
18 - Cruise to Moss Motors, Petersburg
This
Saturday drive being mapped out by Jim Stansbury will
take us on county back roads adjacent to the Rt.460
corridor, culminating in a tour of Moss'
recently opened east coast distribution warehouse. http://www.mossmotors.com/sitegraphics/pages/mossmove.html
October 13
thru 16 - Mini 51 "Autumn in the
Appalachians", Erwin, TN.
Classic
Minis United (of which we are a Chapter) has
selected Erwin,
Tennessee as the stage for this years 3-day driving
adventure. Located in the northeastern corner of Tennessee
in the Appalachian Mountains you'll get to drive your Mini
on some of the most beautiful roads in North America. As
with all CMU events, the object is to drive, and
that's exactly what everyone will be doing. The event
will consist of drives each of the three days with
plenty of stops and things to see. There will also be a
scavenger hunt, swap meet, beer tasting and some fun
things at night that will be announced when everything is
confirmed. For additional event information, please visit
the CMU web site at http://www.classicminis.org/mini51.htm
November 27 -
Turkey Run IV, Eastern Shore of Virginia
This
will be a full day drive nearly up to the
Maryland state line and back, paralleling Rt.13 on
back roads in both directions as much as possible. Scenic
stops will include but not be limited to visits
to Assateaque Island http://www.assateagueisland.com/ and
Chincoteague Island, http://www.chincoteaguechamber.com/ where
we will have lunch.
And finally, as a friendly reminder, participation
in MAM events is limited to classic
Mini's only. If you are Bi-Minual like I am, please do as
I do, and leave your new MINI at home on the day of the
event.
