The Back Porch is located at 808 Belvedere Clearwater Road, Belvedere, SC (map), it can be found by taking Exit 21 of the I-520 loop in South Carolina or just let Siri, Google or the[...]
The “event” hotel is the Quality Inn & Suites in Robbinsville, NC. The rooms are small and it is kind of pricey for what you get, but it is luxurious compared some of the other[...]
Who: Cathy and Sonny Black, Brian and Donna Bogardus, Kurt and Karen Breitinger, Mike and Shirley Dyer, Larry and Rita Garner, Jeff Kelley and Gary Lynn, Glen and Deb Link, Dennis and Karol Mason, Hal and Trudy Scott, Darryl Shipman and Sherry Moore, and Tom Varallo.
Thanks to Kurt and Karen Breitinger for planning this dinner meeting. We all talked, ordered, and ate a tasty dinner before adjourning to the parking lot to hold a quick meeting.
Treasurer’s Report: The balance started at $1056.91, and added $10 in dues (New member Pat Charlotte), and deducted $50 to Alzheimer’s Association for flowers for Dennis’s Mom, ending balance is $1016.91.
Club Business:
As of now, Brian & Donna are still planning the Deals Gap/Leaf Peep drive on Friday-Sunday November 1-3rd. We will be spending Friday and Saturday night there and head home on your own whenever Sunday. (This drive will be held unless Brian and Donna sell their house before then) See the website for updates, and more info.
Karol is planning a drive for 21 Sep, and had intended to plan a drive to White Hills Farm in Dearing, GA. But it looks like they go to the Augusta Market on Saturdays so we may not be able to get into the farm that day. Look to the website for updates.
Please remember to RSVP to our events – it makes it difficult for the planner if we don’t know how many will show – especially for smaller venues. Your RSVP is greatly appreciated, so please don’t forget.
Ongoing:
See Dennis Mason for name tags, if you so desire.
Club merchandise is available: Pins are $3 each; “Support Vehicle” car magnets are $25 per pair, canvas tote/shopping bag $20 each. The 3” window stickers have come in and are available now.
Coffee mugs and other items are available from http://www.cafepress.com/masters_miata Communigraphics in North Augusta has our logo, for $8 you can have it embroidered on just about anything.
This is not an actual photo of the number of cars that showed up to kill bugs, but it felt that way to the organizers…who at the start were way too busy handing out dot stickers and route maps and removing any previous bug splats off the noses of cars and then again at the end with judging and handing out prizes to take any photos, so if you did take pictures, could you kindly email them to masters.miata.club@gmail.com, so I can add them to this post.
When: Saturday, August 17, 2019 Where: Greg’s Gas Plus, Sonic and the dark back roads of South Carolina in between Attending: Sarah Acord, Donna & Brian Bogardus, Don & Kaye Boltz, Ellie & David Brock, Pat Charlotte, Shirley & Mike Dyer, Brenda Hays & Guest1, Glen Link & Deb Tonini, Dennis & Karol Mason, Trudy & Hal Scott, Stacey & Cindy Timmerman, Margie & Bill Vandermaas, Ralf & Annie Wilms and Sue & Dave Woomer.
There were 3 cars already parked in the usual spot by the time we arrived at Greg’s Gas Plus.2 And soon after Miatas started rolling in. And rolling in. And rolling in. Quickly we filled the left side of the parking lot. They still kept coming and now they were lined up in a double row on the left side of the building. It has been a few years since we have had this large a turnout. Departure time was set for 8:15 and just about the time everyone were heading towards their cars to leave, an 18-wheeled behemoth inched its way into the parking lot to fill up the business’s gas tanks leaving barely room for the first 4 or 5 cars to get out.
Consequently, when we did leave, where we normally lead the troops, Donna and I ended up about car number #4. Cars #5 & 6 were not too far behind us, but after that the next 8 had to wait a bit to leave the start point as random OTMs3 came along on SC230. We were not too worried as I had gone over the route with several people and we did hand out a copy of the map for the technical 6 right turn route. When the light rain started after about 10 miles of the first leg, most everyone shrugged it off, but it started to come down a little harder as each of the next few miles were driven. When we got to the turn onto SC23 we caught car #2 with it’s roof up already and could see car #3 pulled over and raising theirs. A little further down the road we found the lead car pulled over and car #2 pulled over with them. So now Donna and I were in our usual spot, in front, with the rest of the 13 cars stretched back beyond our visible horizon. About then the rain tapered off to nothing and nearly all the folks who stopped to put their tops up, just left them up rather than stop again.
The rain, besides the damp car interiors and occupants, had little effect on the overall outcome of the Bug Splatting Contest because it seems that most of the insects came out of hiding after the rain stopped. At turn No. 4 onto Sweetwater in Car #10, the Timmermans, noticed that the cars ahead of him continued on straight. I guess the lead car of that, as it turns out 4 car group, either missed my briefing or didn’t look at the map or both and they all went the more pedestrian and 2 mile longer route to end up at the Sonic with everyone else.
The big, and I mean literally big, winners of the night were the Dyers as they claimed the beautiful Biggest Bug Trophy to take home with them. There were a couple other cars who had very similar sized splats on the front, but Mike & Shirley also had a quarter-sized, still twitching, partially flattened mayfly on the lower bumper that put them over the top. Glenn and Deb earned the Fewest Bug honors by arriving at the finish with as clean a car as when they started and if I didn’t know it was impossible, I would swear they must have activated a Star Trek-like front shield. The Vandermaas’s, er, Vandermaases, oh never mind, Margie and Bill did a direct flight path crossing with a formation of miniature housefly looking insects to take home the Most Bugs prize. Trudy and Hal Scott were awarded the Closest to the Dot prize for there own squashed mayfly that was within a couple inches of their green Avery dot.
Because the Rally Masters had a little bit too much fun in the Dollar Store there were also four Door Prizes up for grabs for the rest of the folks who didn’t claim any of the “major” prizes of the night. The Timmermans took home a pack of edible glowing worms.4 The Boltzes left with a wooden 3-D puzzle of a spider that they didn’t have before. The Brocks were the lucky recipients of a Matchbox-sized Chip Foose modified VW Beetle. And Ms. Acord received a possible cheat for a biggest bug win next year with a prize that consisted of life-size plastic Palmetto Bug dining on a fried egg.5
Where: Ferrando’s Pizzeria & Italian Restaurant in Aiken
Who: Donna & Brian Bogardus, Karen & Kurt Breitinger, Shirley & Mike Dyer, Brenda Hays, Gary Ly, Margie & Bill Vandermaas, Annie & Ralf Wilms and Sue & Dave Woomer
Treasurer’s Report: This covers the months of June and July. The balance started at $1026.91, and $30 in dues for new and renewing members was added, so the ending balance is $1026.91.
Club Business:
• The President opened the meeting and welcomed our 4 guests/prospective members – Reese & Tara and Steve & Robin.
• The next couple of events were fleshed out.
• The President then lost control of the meeting for several minutes, as these things are wont to do, before finally adjourning it.
Ongoing:
• See Dennis Mason for name tags, if you so desire.
• Club merchandise is available: Pins are $3 each; “Support Vehicle” car magnets are $25
per pair, canvas tote/shopping bag $20 each. The 3” window stickers have come in and are available now.
• Coffee mugs and other items are available from Cafe Press
• Communigraphics in North Augusta has our logo, for $8 you can have it embroidered on just about anything.
Upcoming Events: Please remember to RSVP to our events by commenting on the event post or directly to them via email or phone – it makes it difficult for the planner if we don’t know how many will show – especially for smaller venues. Your RSVP is greatly appreciated, so please don’t forget.
17 August
Bug Splat
Brian & Donna Bogardus
5 September
Dinner Meeting
Kurt Breitinger
1-3 November (maybe)
Deals Gap trip
Brian & Donna Bogardus
The Secretary was not present for the meeting, and after the President claimed that he would remember what went on, quick thinking Gary Ly decided to act as Recording Secretary by hitting the record button on his phone. He missed the Treasurer’s Report, but for those of you who couldn’t be there and really miss the “excitement” of a Club Meeting, below is 5+ minutes of audible bliss:
Members Attending:Ralf & Annie Wilms, Tom Varallo, Stacey & Cindy Timmerman, Dennis & Karol Mason, Brian & Donna Bogardus, David Adcock and Sarah Acord. Guests Attending: Pat Charlotte
After Rally Master Stacey gave his Driver’s Meeting there were seven cars ready to roll. We were missing the Masons though. Soon, the texts rolled in that they were a little late getting going and would meet us in Edgefield. Over a half dozen Miatas set out on a zig-zaggy route through the back roads of Edgefield County that only a person who grew up around there would know, fortunately Stacey was just that person.
When we got to downtown Edgefield, Stacey directed the larger half of the cars to a spot close to the square for parking. Ralf, Annie, Sarah, David and Pat were going to leave after the breakfast. The three of us whom agreed to be in the “show” were directed to a spot, just off the square and right next to our breakfast spot, the Park Row Market.
In typical Club fashion, we dragged three of the 4 tables outside on the sidewalk together so we could chat, eat and chat some more. The Masons showed up after everyone had finished eating and soon after we pretty much started to split up to walk the square and ogle the cars.
Thanks for setting this up Mr. Timmerman, let’s do this again next year.
Apologies to the Wilms as I forgot them in the original posting. It is not like their car was discrete and forgettable, it is YELLOW and I didn’t spent 15-20 minutes discussing Oregon with Ralf, it is just that there is a hole in my head where the rain gets in…
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