We eased into our first driving event of 2017, with 6 cars occupied by 8 hungry drivers and riders. After a cool but sunny dawn, we got the weatherman’s promised warmth. In all, it was an almost perfect early spring day for a drive, evidenced by the dropping of several convertible tops.
Our destination was the perennial favorite Silver Spoon Café in Cold Spring NY. They were expecting us, and we were seated by 9:45, and drinking coffee by 9:48. The food was good, the service was exemplary, and as is our habit, we exited the café only to spill out onto the sidewalk to continue our chatter.
We were happy to be able to drive so early in April, and while we’ve said it before, we’ll say again that our intent is to schedule one drive per month for the remainder of our Northeast driving season.
Larry’s 1972 Chevy Nova
Jim’s Datsun 280Z
Ralph’s Buick Skylark
Bill’s 1961 C1 Corvette
Rich S’s Shelby Mustang
Your author’s 1993 Mazda Miata
Along Seven Lakes Drive in Rockland County NY
The Breakfast Club
In front of our host cafe (hostess graciously agreed to pose with us)
We had an excellent turnout for our early October outing, with 16 like-minded friends willing to venture out in spite of a gloomy forecast (for the record, it didn’t rain during the drive). All in, we had 12 classic cars, 2 modern Volvos, plus a motorcycle! Several first-timers seemed to like it well enough that they’ve threatened to show their faces again.
You could be forgiven for looking at the photos and thinking that this was a meeting of the local Porsche 911 club, what with four of them (three red) among our assortment. We still had a fine mix of American, British, Italian, Japanese, and other German cars, old and new.
Our ride this day took us north from the Sheraton in Mahwah, along Greenwood Lake, and eventually to New Windsor, NY, where we dined at the Ikaros Diner. The diner staff had a table waiting for us, and somehow, in spite of constant blabbering, we also managed to consume food and coffee.
The diner’s parking lot made for an excellent staging area for group photos. (Thanks to Bill W and Andy M for the panorama photo of us). We must be doing something right, because at the end of the event, most everyone wanted to know when we’re going to do this again. It must be the coffee.
Ken’s RED 911
Peter’s RED 911
Dave’s RED 911
Ted’s NON RED 911
Jeff’s BMW Z3
Enzo’s Alfa Spider
Nick’s Mustang
Bill’s C1 Corvette
Sal’s E30 BMW 3-Series
Tim’s MG-B/C/V8-GT
Your author’s Miata
Red Porsche in front, red Porsche in back
Porsche, Alfa, Porsche, Mustang in Miata mirror
“I turned left when you went straight”
Proof that men…
… talk with their hands
The Z3 serves as a nice foreground
As does Richard’s Jaguar F-Type
“I gotta get over there, they’re talking about me”
Our final drive of the 2015 season took place on Sunday, November 15. The day dawned sunny, dry, and as the weatherman might say, “seasonably warm”, with midday temps approaching 60 degrees. The emails with regrets I had received during the week led me to believe that we would have a light turnout. This was incorrect, as we had 11 cars and 15 guys, not too shabby! As has been the tradition this year, two gents new to the group joined us for the first time. We must be doing something right.
Your blogger’s 1993 Miata
Bill W’s 1961 Corvette
Sal’s Z4M
Larry’s 1994 Camaro
Rich L’s Jaguar F-type
Ralph’s 1966 Buick Skylark
Bill’s Boxster
Rob’s Z3M
Ted’s 911
Rich S’s 1974.5 MGB V8
A Buick all-aluminum V8
John M notes match between names on tire and hat
Julio’s BMW 6-series
“When are you going to finally buy that Alfa you want?”
Almost too nice to get into our cars
We pushed off from our usual Mahwah Sheraton Crossroads departure point at 9 a.m., one hour later than usual, in deference to the shorter November days. Heading down Route 287 South, yours truly was all too happy to cruise in the Miata with the top down, but not too many other convertibles took advantage of the sunshine, at least not at first.
Beautiful day for a cruise (photo courtesy Rich S.)
Our destination for the morning was Stella G’s, an excellent breakfast joint in Hackettstown, NJ. We’ve been there before, but not this year. The drive consisted of three roads: Route 287 South to Route 23 North to Route 517 South. A new tradition is the now-obligatory pit-stop, christened the “Bill Whited fuel and bathroom break”. This time it was a Quick Chek. Your scribe observed that once we stop and let everyone start yapping again, it can be problematic to get the boys back into their cars.
After a beautiful cruise down Route 517 (we will NOT mention that the chase car made a wrong turn and ended up on Route 80), we were at Stella G’s at exactly 11 a.m. Customer Service in the state of NJ can indeed be spoken about in the present tense, as proven today. We called Stella G’s twice to ask them about seating 15 arrivals, and even though they do not take reservations on the weekend, we walked in at 11 a.m. sharp to find tables reserved and set for our large crowd. The food, coffee, and service were excellent as they always are at Stella G’s (thank you Kate!).
Stella G’s, Main St., Hackettstown – worth the trip
Too busy eating to talk
Stuffed French Toast
Downtown Hackettswtown; charming place
We were having too good a time. It was difficult for the group to leave the restaurant, and leave Hackettstown, knowing that we would not have the opportunity to do this again until the spring of 2016. Since time moves faster the older we get, it remains an unspoken truth that our first drive of the New Year will be here soon enough. To a man, we can’t wait.
