Green Mountain Classics Annual Barn Cruise; Saturday morning started off hot and humid with threatening skies but a group of undaunted Misfits gathered at Bill's for a pre BBQ cruise. Bill was ready to go with plenty of time to spare as the weekly WCFR Bondo Boys radio show was cancelled due to an inadvertent lockout at the station. Audrey and I arrived in the always-top-down TR to find Bill warming up the 66 Impala with Dinah and Richard in tow, Pat in his rubber-burning red LITNIN Chevy coupe, Ed with his white Monte Carlo accompanied by Doug and Ginny. They brought the Jeep instead of the 400 Trans Am or the COOL04 Corvette because of a Keene area forecast of severe storms with golf-ball-size hail. Donna and Tim made a rare appearance in there blue ODONNA Corvette while Rick fell in line with his potent red Camaro.
Another all too occasional cruiser was Everett in his red RATPWR 57 Chevy and Bill's neighbors Mike and Sara in their WHPLSH Chevelle. Its reported this is for sale if you're looking for a clean and very fast Chevy product. Ron attended in his original maroon Oldsmobile Cutlass and finally Jim took a day off from work and fell in line with his red OOOOYAH Corvette at his usual position as tail-gunner.
We set off at the scheduled departure time of 11:00 West on Rt 10 to Gassetts and a right on Rt. 103 North into Ludlow. The ski-starved tourists milling around the shops didn't seem to notice us proceeding slowly through town. We need a few more raucous hot rods added to the line of sedans to stir things up in these sleepy little villages. Emerging on the other side of town it was on to Mount Holly and a direction reversal on Rt 155 South for the return trip. As we made the turn we spotted a stain on the pavement left from a broken British MGB clutch belonging to Barry and Donna from a couple of years ago. The sky darkened even more than before and there was obvious rain looming on the horizon. Bill led us into a merge with Rt 100 South and a tour of the Weston green. As we crested the hill out of town the skies opened with an easy but steady rain. As usual, we find it drier to keep moving in the rain than to stop and raise the top.
Approaching Londonderry the skies brightened a bit but the conditions reversed just as we pulled into the little plaza at the base of the Bromley Mountain Road. Now in a driving rain, Jim found refuge under the "Planet Gas" canopy to put his top up and Donna was raising her top at an adjacent gas station. That left us in the middle of the parking lot wrestling with a brand new yet cumbersome top surrounded by sedans with the windows up and defrosters on. After becoming soaked, we successfully deployed the roof and sought safety inside which instantly triggered enough humidity to completely fog over and obscure vision out every window. Underway again, Audrey acted as a defroster and kept the vision clear with a towel as we continued east on Rt 11 into Chester.
We were drying a little and the engine generating enough heat to keep the windshield clear as the rain subsided and a ray of sunshine broke out as we approached the smoke filled barnyard of Green Mountain Classic annual Bar-B-Q and car show. Paul and Ann arrived at the same time after Paul participated in the Shrine Parade in Hanover with his Clown Unit. If you ever get a chance to see the little 3-wheeled clown troop, Paul is the one in striped knee socks and green hair. Wally and Jo arrived a few minutes later in their raspberry LORRIE 55 Chevy with several other members of the "Car Nutz" from the Newport, NH area. The sun didn't last long as streaks of lightening crossed a rapidly darkening sky. As it has been all summer, the rain started and stopped and then set in at a moderate rate for a portion of the afternoon.
A large white tent with enough seating for everyone again filled the open space in front of the barns. The crowd was down a bit from previous years because of the impending weather but there were still plenty of cars filling the yard and enough people to fully occupy the tent with many more enjoying the cars inside the barns and outside in the yard. New this year was Curtis Bar-B-Q Catering cooking up a fine round of ribs and chicken. Dave and Barry were busy grilling hot dogs with side dishes and deserts of all kinds on hand to complete the menu. Plenty of good eats all afternoon while Rick kept the music going and entertained the crowd with banter and a truck full of door prizes.
Along with Gary and Lee (Lee is the webmaster of the Misfit Web site) we made the trek up the hill by foot in a light rain to the Gomez's future home. Located high atop a steep winding drive is about a 4-acre groomed flat that holds a three level home, a large barn and a placid pond surrounded by a tall forest that blocks everything except a view of Breezy Hill. It's like a different world up there yet it¹s only a short climb off of busy Chester Road. Morris and Bibens (Clive and Dave) are currently finishing a new foundation for a large addition along with new concrete floors in the garage bays under the house that will make the structure even more impressive.
Thanks to Mark and Geri and everyone who pitched in to help and contributed in any way for a very enjoyable Saturday afternoon at the Green Mountain Classics barn. The food was terrific, perfect accommodations, great company, classic entertainment and of course the cars were awesome.
Tom and Audrey
