Sunday, November 29, 2015

Over The River And Through The Woods Run 2015


Saturday, November 28, 2015 we launched at 8AM for the 7th annual running of our Over The River And Through The Woods Run.  In years past we would begin the run at a ‘meet-up’ place that was kind of geographically centralized for the prospective participants….so some would not have to drive much further than the others….we always tried to make it fair for everyone.  We would leave as a group from the meet-up and cruise to a restoration shop.  Then from the shop we would cruise a short distance, usually less than 20 miles, to a restaurant for a late lunch.  Then we would disperse individually from there to our homes.  Last year after we left the meet-up location with about 30 cars we arrived at the restoration shop and there were about 20 more cars already there!  Since the restaurant wasn’t a buffet, this made for a very bad experience because they didn’t know the final number of 70 people that they would have to serve until about 15 min before we arrived….it was a bad deal.  So this year we had the start/meet-up location at the restoration shop then cruised to the restaurant so we would have a good number for the restaurant about 2 hours before we would arrive there.  We will only use buffet restaurants for this run in the future. 

So the people began to arrive at B & R Customs, 202 Freedom Ct., Fredericksburg, VA, before 9AM and continued to join us till right before the leave time of 10:30.  The owner of B&R, Dave Burrage, and some of his staff welcomed us all with hot coffee, donuts and cold soft drinks.  They were available to answer any questions about the services they offer and talk about some of the vehicles they were working on.  Their shop is always very clean and tidy, a sign of an organized mind.  They provide a needed service for those of us with ‘special’ rides….not every shop can or will work on the old ones as well as new ones. So many shops just cater to daily drivers and not special rides.  If you need something done to your ride you may want to consider checking out B&R’s services. 

Soon it was time to begin our cruise to the food!  We left the shop and made our way to the first pit stop in Ferncliff….about 47 miles….for most of us.  Some took a little side cruise (Lou, you have to give up the hat).  I didn’t think about the restrooms at the pit stop, I just checked them for being clean and asked the owner to make sure they would be clean on the 28th….but it didn’t register that they were single bathrooms.  We had quite a line waiting to get in the men’s room.  When everyone’s bladder was empty and their gas tank full, we departed on Rt. 250W and followed it for 27 miles till we came to Charlottesville, VA and the Wood Grill Buffet.  We have used this restaurant a few times before and knew what to expect.  The Princess & I checked it out a couple weeks ago to make sure they weren’t renovating it or doing something else that would be a surprise.  We also reserved a private room for our group which was nice too.  The food quality is always excellent and the food choices are amazing.  The service can be overwhelming when 40 people show up for lunch but our waitress was on top of it and in the end most everyone wobbled out like the Willy Wonka Blueberry girl….I think they were happy.

We all said our goodbyes and trickled out of the parking lot toward home.  Some would do some shopping on the way home but most just headed for the barn.  Our 81 mile trek back to Stafford was dotted with light rain, not enough to get the road wet but just sprinkles on the windshield.  A fun day on the road….we have one more event this year then the truck will take a rest till March.  The event that we have left is Dan’s 6th Annual Santa’s Helpers, Toys For Tots cruise.  We will be cruising to the National Museum of the Marine Corps to drop off toys and so our kids/grandkids can meet Mr. & Mrs. Santa….don’t miss it!  

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