Sometime in the late summer of 2009 a couple of local friends
were trying to figure out how to lengthen the cruise season and decided to make
a country cruise sometime after Thanksgiving.
Most of us had some kind of “event” planned for Thanksgiving that involved
family but usually by Saturday the family was gone so we decided to make our
run the Saturday after Thanksgiving….and so it has been since then. It has evolved from a drive in the
Countryside with a nice restaurant at the end to visiting a vehicle restoration
shop or museum, then a meal to end the day. All this while cruising the lesser traveled
roads in the magnificent Virginia countryside.
On past cruises we have visited the Car and Carriage Caravan Museum, that
is part of Luray Caverns in Luray, VA.
We also visited White Post Restorations in White Post, VA. Then last year we visited the Vintage
Motorcar Company in Inwood, WV. This recipe
seems to be working because on the first Over The River And Through The Woods
Run we had 17 special vehicles on that inaugural run. This year we had 57 cars cruising around
Virginia!
We try to make the start point as centralized as possible as
vehicles are coming from all over Virginia and a couple from WV. This year we had a group of Corvette drivers
from MD! We drove 30 miles and some
drove 90 miles….to the start. Some did
not want to make the trip to the start point, but joined in along the
way….that’s ok too. They just don’t get
the information package that the people do at the start. Based on the loop we were going to travel
this year our “centralized” starting point would be Opal Virginia. Opal is not much more than an intersection of
Rt. 29/17/15. With two large gas
stations, a couple fast food eateries, Clark Brothers Gun Shop, a truck stop
and a really neat barbeque restaurant.
We would use the McDonalds/Sunoco location to launch our adventure this
year.
Our group of three vehicles left the Eustace Rd. WAWA at 7:30
and cruised the 30 miles to Opal. We
arrived at Mickey D’s about 8:15 and the other cruisers began arriving soon
after we were parked. We all milled
around talking to old friends and making some new old friends….the group kept
growing till we were 40 cars! Ronald
McDonald kept the natives happy and entertained till it was time to launch….the
adventure began precisely at 9AM.
Our first destination was the Liberty gas station in Luray, VA
which was 49 miles away. We wound our
way through the countryside and picked up another 9 cars when we reached Rt.
211. Then up to the top of the first
mountain from Sperryville. Next we
proceeded under Skyline Drive as the road begins its downward spiral to the
Shenandoah Valley and the town of Luray.
Cruising through the valley past Luray Caverns to the first stop at the
Liberty gas station, where we picked up another 6 cars from the Valley Mustangs
Unlimited Car Club from Harrisonburg, VA.
There were two other local cruisers waiting when we arrived….we were now
57 cars! As soon as everyone was ready
we left on the next leg of the cruise, a 22 mile jaunt to Broadway, VA and the
W.W. Motorcars & Parts shop.
The town of Broadway is nestled in the foothills of the
Appalachian Mountains between the Shenandoah National Park and the Monongahela
National Forest….it is a very picturesque area.
Broadway is a quaint little town that is somewhat typical of this part
of Virginia. The many towns on old Rt 11
that parallels I-81 are like this too.
One of the attractions for this year’s cruise were the old comfortable
stores near the restoration shop that have treasures just waiting to be
discovered by travelers. Some of the
ladies get bored with the “car” stuff and like to shop….so this year we made
sure the ladies would have an alternative to sitting in the shop office waiting
for the guys to get done. The Princess
found a cool sign that has ‘Over The River And Through The Woods’ painted on
it….the name of the cruise….what a concept!
She had to have it. It could have
been much worse! I’m ok with a
sign….just glad she didn’t find a “special” collection of Princess Bling…. In case you haven’t noticed, we stay away
from the big city Bling stores….the little craft shops are ok….grin
The restoration shop is a sprawling affair that has been
expanded over the years as the need arises and contiguous buildings become
available. The main part of the shop was
a grain elevator many years ago and the owner tells me the whirling grain has
left tracks in the wood structure in places….how cool is that? And when the fire department needed to expand
their facilities the owners annexed the old fire house building across the
street to become a new/old part of the enterprise. The whole complex just blends into the town
and keeps the small town USA ambiance intact!
Except for the left side of a Nash Metropolitan that is attached to one
of the buildings…..grin Although I have
seen something like that in Wardensville, WV.
One half of a 55 Chevy resides on the side of a carwash in that little
town!
The owners, Mr. & Mrs. Wenger, graciously opened their shop
on Saturday, even though they are usually closed on Saturday. The owners and a small army of their
employees took groups of 10 or so around the complex and showed off the skill
sets they have available. They had
someone in every building all the time; they got us in and out by 1PM! It was quite impressive. You can tell the expertise and skill they
have for their craft by the examples they are working on or have
completed. You can tell the pride they
have in what they do by their willingness to share their shop with us. You have to remember we are a tough
crowd….most of us have done or are doing what they do every day! If you are contemplating a project you might consider
contacting them; http://www.wwmotorcars.com/
Dave W. from the Mustang club had arranged a local TV station to
film our departure from WW Motor Cars and accompany us on the next leg of our
adventure. We said our goodbyes to the
staff at the shop and began our 17 mile stretch to Harrisonburg, VA and the
Wood Grille Buffet Restaurant.
Everything was going according to plan till we got in
Harrisonburg and we were going to turn onto Rt. 33 E. There was no sign identifying Rt. 33! My GPS was telling me to turn but I didn’t
see a sign. We had been tricked a few
times by the GPS before so I kept going straight. Dave W. then took over the lead; since he is
from the area and he wasn’t lost! We twisted
and turned our way to the restaurant but some of the others had the same
experience of not seeing the Rt. 33 sign.
That is one of the pitfalls of running with so many people through
cities and all the traffic lights. You
will get separated and all of a sudden find yourself the leader of the
pack. If you are prepared that’s ok….if
not then you scramble for the directions and try to come back into the
fold. We had two small groups get
separated. Raymond, from the Mustang
club, talked one of them back to the restaurant, the other found it’s own way
back….whew! That is one of the things
that stresses me out….people getting lost.
We now have a group of people that will be making sure that doesn’t
happen again next time.
The managers of the restaurant had reserved a room for us so we
could dine together as a group…..that worked out great. The TV crew filmed the presentation of a
$1000 check to Fisher House Foundation from the Valley Mustang unlimited Car
Club. It was given to our group, Cruisin
For Heroes, and we will forward it to Fisher House Foundation. Besides enjoying our special vehicles the
reason we cruise is to raise awareness and money for Fisher House
Foundation. It was very much appreciated
that the Mustang club voted to make such a large donation to Fisher
House…. Their club challenged other
clubs to step up and support Fisher House Foundation too.
After an hour of sampling the irresistible massive selection of
the buffet, I think everyone’s ‘full’ button had popped out. So….we waddled out to our vehicles and said
our goodbyes. Then assembled to begin
our 42 mile cruise to the last stop of the day near O’Neal, VA and the Sheets
gas station at the intersection of Rt. 29 and Rt. 230. Some of the cruisers took different routes
home, whatever was best for them. That’s
the way we roll…. The cruise over the
mountain near Massanutten was uneventful and we soon arrived at the last pit
stop intact. After fueling and saying
more goodbyes, we cruised the last 68 miles home. What a day.
I’m reminded that although we own the vehicles we drive….we do
share them with all that see them whether we intend to or not….they evoke
memories they want to recapture….it makes their life just a little bit better. I love this hobby.
