Mark and Mary Ann Harris
A tale of three friends will begin the story of the Chesapeake Bay. Well, actually six friends, as in 3 couples, who hosted the Last Dance crew for some memorable experiences. The photographer somehow missed capturing an image of Mark and Mary Ann Harris during the visit to Charlottesville. So, the image at right is a more recent one, taken during their trip to Scotland.
In his invitation to Charlottesville, Mark commented that it was a perfect time to visit because the town was beautiful due to the outburst of spring that was occurring. And, there were multiple car shows that weekend. The link with the Harrises is that Mark purchased a 1963 MGB from Glen, which he had owned for 37 years. It went to a very good home.
The beauty of spring in Charlottesville, Virginia, was experienced fully with a walk through the Harris' yard. The Azaleas were magnificently filled with blooms.
Colors burst forth everywhere, loudly announcing that spring had arrived. Mark's priority for this year is to find methods and means to keep the deer from eating the Hostas.
Early, early on Saturday morning, the weekend of cars began with Cars and Coffee in the parking lot of a bakery. The delicious baked goods, and particularly the hot coffee on a cold morning, made for a great venue to view and tell stories about cars.
The ride to Cars and Coffee for Mark and Glen was a supercharged MGTD. It was purchased by Mark's parents before he was 16, and became the beginning of Mark's collection, which includes the '63 B, MGA twin cam, MGBGT, and MGC. The cars are rotated in a tightly fitting garage so that all of them get exercise. The TD was in the front of the garage and was also placed at the front of the show.
An eclectic group of cars arrived for the early morning event. The hood of a 1910 Franklin provided a hand warmer after a very open ride to the show.
Franklins had air-cooled engines and aluminum bodies. The engine design is unlike any other in having the exhaust and intake valves concentric. Then, there is an additional exhaust valve at the bottom of the cylinder.
If that design is hard to visualize, detailed drawings can be examined on the quilt . . .
Late Saturday morning the crew joined a British car road rally, on winding, smooth, narrow roads, for a trip to a small town fair. Since four people cannot fit in any of the MG's, Mark cranked up his 1966 GTO for a trip to Middlebrook. The GTO was out of its element in the tight kinks along the route, but when the road straightened out, the ride got exhilarating.
Middlebrook is a small town - the industrial, businesses, and residential areas are located on one street about 5 blocks long. The fair was a hoot. Many crafts and food booths with accompanying Blue Grass music.
And, there was a washing machine. Why would auto enthusiasts be interested in a washing machine?
It is gas powered, of course! The display also included the attachments for a butter churn, and meat grinder. Every homemaker's dream. Well, at least for those living in rural areas with no electricity.
The car show part of the event was held along the main street, between the general store and the old Ford garage. Again, a wide variety of cars were in attendance. Next to the Viper coupe . . .
. . . an Edsel.
The British contingent were well represented.
Not far from Middlebrook, one of the Shenandoah Valley British Car Club members, Ken Brasfield, invited everyone to his home for drinks and storytelling. The guys spent all their time in Ken's 130-year-old restored barn, which he calls The Auto House . . . for good reason.
The inside of the barn is a combination shop and display for his collection of MG's. Every gear head's dream. The green MGB is supercharged and has over 70,000 miles since being restored. An immaculate MGA is at right.
Ken saw this MGC (6 cylinder Austin engine) on a flatbed truck in Louisiana. It was ratty and beat up, on its way to the crusher. He talked the truck driver into hauling it to Virginia. The results of the rebuild are beautiful.
Then, there is the MGB V8. MG squeezed a Rover aluminum engine into the engine bay. The engine is still in use by Rover today in the Land Rover. The most interesting aspect of fitting the V8 to the MGB is that the aluminum V8 weighs less than the cast iron 4 cylinder.
Charlottesville is where Thomas Jefferson chose to build his home and where he built the University of Virginia, still displaying and using the buildings he designed. Mark, who spent a number of years on the faculty at UVA, took the crew for a tour of the campus. The great lawn is between two sets of buildings housing faculty and honor students, as was his original design.
The side facing the lawn has large home-like units for faculty divided by multiple, small dorm rooms for students. Jefferson believed that housing faculty and students together would provide for learning opportunities outside the classroom.
The opposite sides of the buildings are filled with arches and rows of student rooms.
The rooms are still furnished as they were in Edgar Allen Poe's time. In fact, this is his room. A visit to a grad student's room confirmed that each room has a working fireplace, bed, desk, and an armoire. The grad student shared that she had to walk across the street to the library to take a shower.
Much of Jefferson's architectural designs combine beauty and practicality. An example is the serpentine wall on campus. The curves add lateral strength, allowing the wall to be built only one brick wide.
After a peaceful Sunday morning walk through the University of Virginia, what do you do for afternoon entertainment? Well, there was a car show at the Moose Lodge.
While there was a British contingent on hand, most of the cars were American Iron, such as the matching blue SS 396 Chevelle and SS 396 Nova.
The era of the muscle car had Detroit cramming large engines in some of their smaller, lighter cars.
This is an original condition (unrestored) 1964 Corvette. It was actually found in an old barn where it had sat for decades. It has less than 20,000 miles.
Glen's favorite turned out to be a British car, a Mini that has been modified by chopping a section out of the middle. The owner calls it a Micro Mini.
Peter and Didi Chapin
During Loop 1, Last Dance was anchored in Snug Harbor, a small bay in the Georgian Bay/30,000 Islands, Canada. A small boat approached and the crew was apprehensive that they might be asked to leave. Peter and Didi pulled along side, then said, "We see that you are Loopers. Do you need anything? Want to stop by the house for breakfast tomorrow?" An unexpected experience.
Breakfast and conversation continued through lunch at the cottage and then dinner at Gilley's. A new friendship was launched.
Peter and Didi completed the Great Loop on a 53' Selene and had great stories to share of their trip and detailed knowledge of Georgian Bay. On Peter's suggestion, the crew paddled and portaged kayaks across Franklin Island, one of the most memorable experiences on the Loop.
Peter and Didi's home is just outside Charlottesville, sitting on a gorgeous piece of property overlooking the Blue Ridge Mountains. It was a great retreat to spend some time catching up on new stories since our last visit.
The Chapins continued the historical education tour, taking the crew for a visit to Monticello. Jefferson's home gives a view into his architectural genius and into the history of the time.
One of Jefferson's favorite places at Monticello was the small building in the garden overlooking the mountains.
Peter suggested that the Last Dance crew should enjoy the same experience.
Car experiences continued. Didi's new car is a Tesla, an all-electric car - no internal combustion engine. Just 400 quiet horsepower accelerating the vehicle and passengers with Ferrari-like quickness. Handles as good also, while giving the ride of a true luxury car. Peter is plugging in the wall charger.
The Frunk. With no engine, there is a trunk in the back and one in the front - the front trunk. The rainy day produced no great photos of the Tesla outside, so these garaged photos must do to convey the story.
Steen and Trudy Baerentz
Charlottesville is miles inland from any waterway and in the mountains. So, how did the crew travel to such altitudes? Steen and Trudy most graciously loaned the crew their car.
For a number of years, they were also DeFever owners, cruising on a DF 49 CMY. We met at a DeFever Rendezvous in Cabbage Key, an island north of Ft. Myers.
They have a home on the sparsely populated Northern Neck of Virginia, an area filled with creeks and bays, perfect for visiting by boat.
A few good words with a close-by marina, where they once kept Shenanigans, provided an affordable place to leave Last Dance for the forage into the state. The shortest way to travel from Baerentz home to the marina was by boat - a cable ferry. Even when you are in a car you can travel by boat.
A cable is attached to both shores and lies along the bottom of the creek. The ferry's engine pulls the cable through, moving the ferry and providing direction at the same time.
The Baerentz' continued the historical education of the crew with tours of the Northern Neck. One stop was a visit to Christ Church, the oldest Protestant Church in America. The structure is architecturally significant in the types of details used in the design.
The pulpit has three levels, with the speaker's importance signified by the height. The sermon was delivered from the highest position. Proclamations and new laws were read from the second. Announcements were read from the lowest level.
When Christ Church was built, church membership and attendance were required of everyone. Taxes had to be paid to the church. Nonattendance was punished by a fine of 50 pounds of tobacco or 10 lashes with a whip.
Jefferson was an advocate of the separation of church and state, and wrote legislation that provided religious freedom in Virginia. While far from Charlottesville, the Northern Neck displays some Jeffersonian history.
History combined with a great meal. Lunch at the Lancaster Tavern, opened in 1790.
As Last Dance cruises north, the opportunities to share experiences with good friends proves to be the highlight of the journey.
