The Princess and I begin planning the next years run the day
of the last one….it’s a process. Very
complicated, confusing and secret….kinda like figuring out where our taxes go
each year? This year we wanted to utilize
parts of last year’s route because many had commented favorably about it. We wanted to use the same restaurant to end
the event for the same reason. Craig,
the owner of Butcher Block Buffet in Stephens City, VA, had taken care of us
very well last year so we wanted to return this year. So all we had to do was find somewhere “car
people” would like to visit near the Winchester, VA area. I think we were lucky to find a good
destination again this year in Vintage Motorcar Company, LLC. After some preliminary communications we
spoke with the owner Paul Rose, who after consulting with his staff agreed to
host our cruise on November 24, 2012.
His business is normally closed on Saturday so to host our event he
would have to make special arrangements to accommodate our schedule….Thanks
Paul!
Some of us left Stafford, VA at 7:30 and cruised to the
starting point, Burger King in Manassas, VA.
It was cold. We left at 9AM with
19 cars and headed to Inwood, WV. It
would be an 85 mile trip on the Interstates but we took all back roads and the
mileage was only 74 miles! When we
cruised through Haymarket, VA we picked up 3 more cruisers and now we were 22
cars. Then in Marshall, VA we picked up
4 more cars and we were 26. We made a
pit stop at JJ Corner Store near Berryville, VA for fuel and stretching where
we picked up 4 more cars and cruised to Inwood with 30 cars. So in the group we had Ron from Richmond and two Mopar guys from Charlottesville and hot rodders from other parts of Virginia....It was very cool cruising and also a bit colder too.
Tony tried to make his part of the trip a little longer but
finally made it to the restoration shop with the rest of us, I think those
Mopar guys should come with a GPS….grin
Paul, his son and some of his staff made us welcome to his business and
took the time to walk us through their incredible shop. It always amazes me when we visit a shop like
Vintage Motorcar Company of the detail of the restorations. The takedown of the cars is in itself a
task. But they have to catalog and tag
all the parts and determine what level of restoration needs to be done to each
part. The little parts that must be
rebuilt or replaced and sometime built from scratch are often overlooked by car
owners. We usually just see the paint
& bodywork or the interior or the engine….but so much more is involved with
a quality restoration. After spending a
few minutes with Paul it was obvious that Paul & Co. knew what they were
doing. The depth of work and high bar of
achievement they attain is nothing short of astounding. As Paul says ‘he doesn’t build cars to be
judged second….it’s the best or nothing!” Paul took his time explaining to us about the
detailed workings of his shop and how he reaches the level of quality that his
shop represents. He was very low key but
authoritative….like a professor. He
asked for questions and would have had an engaged audience for hours. But we needed to move on so at 2PM Paul ended
his presentation. We all thanked him and
began wakening our cold beasts to motor down the road. We don’t usually endorse the places we visit
but Vintage Motorcar Company, LLC will be an exception. If you have need of a quality restoration no
matter how extensive or simple it is….you need to call Paul and go see
him. You will not be disappointed.
Did I mention it was cold….?
I have been bragging all summer about how cool the truck runs and I
cleaned a mass of debris from the front of the radiator last week while
repairing the leaking trans cooler. It
was blocking about ¼ of the radiator surface….so now it runs cooler. But….Saturday the engine temp would not get
to 100 degrees! So the heater was
blowing lukewarm air at best, like my heat pump at home. This should be an easy fix….always something!
We arrived at Butcher Block Buffet around 2:30 and promptly
began to chow down! Craig had
sequestered part of the back room for us and the grazing began. The food at Butcher Block is what I call
comfort food….not your little finger in the air type of cuisine but genuine
country cooking. I like this kind of
food and everyone that commented to me about the food agreed. That’s why we came back again! Craig also arranged with the folks at the
adjacent Comfort Inn to allow us to park our hot rods in their lot so they
would not be subjected to door slams and zipper dragging….Thanks for that Craig
About 3:30 we said our good buys and began our cruise home,
and it was getting colder. Along the way
home Sally took some photographs of us driving our cars, that is always a neat
thing.
One of the couples that usually accompany us on our adventures
was celebrating their 50th Wedding anniversary and could not be with
us Saturday. But….we were invited to
their anniversary party that evening so we cruised directly to Aquia Harbor, VA
and the Country Club located in the community.
We met Jim & Linda, Lou & Arlene, Fred & Debie and Dan &
Ramona at the Country Club then we all wished Ron & Jean well and helped
them celebrate this milestone….something the Princess and I will do in a couple
years too!
This was a great end to the day….we motored home and
discovered we had driven about 210 miles for the day….in the cold….I hear that
the weather will be a little colder tomorrow and snow on Monday!
You can check out the pictures below....I took the first set, Sally Shifflett took the second and Carmen Billings took the last set....enjoy!
You can check out the pictures below....I took the first set, Sally Shifflett took the second and Carmen Billings took the last set....enjoy!
