Hampton Roads Club Mini

 

I'll be at South of the James at 4ish and hit the road at 4:30. I don't care if it's just me or 50 other MINI's. It's a good route and I'm always up for that. But if ya'll can make it, by all means do so!

Either way, I'll be at the diner by 6:30!

Well, if ya didn't go ya missed a great dinner at the VA Diner. We only had 7 MINI's show up of which 4 made the drive over. We started out at the old South of the James lot and headed out through the back roads. Running through the small communities of Rescue and Battery Park and some nice water views. After that we headed up to Smithfield and made a left onto Jericho rd. Not really sure why it's still paved with bricks, but always makes for a nice ride. Following that we headed across Rte. 258 and headed to the backroads. Going past some nice farmland and houses, but most of all there were some nice corners thrown in for fun. Finally, it was onto Rte. 460 for a straight 4 lane run up to the Diner.

Once we met up at the Diner we had time to chat for a while before getting our table. We did meet up with a gentleman from the area with a nice red R56. We chatted awhile about all the great attributes of MINI's and he has definitely logged some miles in his. He said he travels with his dogs, one of which is a Rottweiler. That alone should fill up a MINI! Hopefully he'll stop in and join up soon. ODDKIN stopped in as a surprise and had dinner with us. I can't vouch for everyone else, but my fried pork chops were great, Dave had grilled pork chops and they didn't stay on his plate long either. Christy ordered the scallops. At first she ordered the small portion of 4 ounces, but was quickly talked into the larger portion (dad had a hand in that). They were great, I did get "1" as she threatened me with a fork if I reached for more. I didn't. As the waitstaff were picking up the plates at the end of dinner, I did notice most were pretty empty. Seems the VA Diner was a good choice and their home style cooking was a favorite. If you're ever in the area, I'd suggest stopping by.

As we departed, a ferry run was planned back across the James, but alas, only us and Dave and Kathy in Apollo took that option. The plan was to hit Bruster's for some ice cream, but as we enjoyed our ferry ride it was becoming obvious to Dave time was against us. It appeared the ice cream would have to wait until another run comes that way. However, the ferry ride was very cool and relaxing after what was one of the hottest days in a while. I had the great idea to make a trip down the Colonial Parkway, but it was closed right at the entrance by Jamestown festival park. That too, would have to wait for another day.

So with all said and done, and full bellies, we motored home. We didn't have as many join us at the diner, or on the run, as I had hoped, but we did get to spend some quality time with HR MINI members, hopefully recruited a new member, had a good ride over and back and had a darn good dinner.

I'll get my pics posted up soon.

Sorry Dale, If I had known you were planning on a Parkway run I could have warned you off. It seems that a boat did a hit and run on some bridge supports at Queens Creek. The Parkway is closed until they can determine if it's still safe to drive on, but the news that I heard sounds bad. a VDOT inspector said it was lucky that the bridge hadn't collapsed   They haven't found the offender as of yet, but I'll bet his boat is a MESS !!

Had hoped to see a few more members attend this dinner, but Kath and I enjoyed the company a lot and it was a nice way to finish off what was a very stressfull day. I'm sure you know what I mean. Thanks again for all you do to help arrange these get togethers    Had a look at Apollo in the daylight this morning. We killed a LOT of bugs last night, and need to clean the car AGAIN  

You could try my wip....? 

http://www.bloodvayne.com/hrmini/index.php

Still has a workload ahead of it. But it is usable after you register.