East Coast Oil Leak Tour

Great! We’d love to see you.

Well, I just spun a rod bearing in my XK140 so I probably won’t make this one…

Ouch! Sorry that you won’t be able to make it.

This weekend we drove the E out to a place called Springfield Manor.
It’s maybe 10 miles north of Frederick, MD and is a perfect combination of Winery, Brewery and Distillery. And it’s a B&B.
The establishment hosts live music, vine and spirit tastings. Light food can be purchased as well as their own liquid products.
Maybe an idea for a day out sometime in the future.

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It was a perfect weekend for it. I spent much of the weekend teaching CPR and then spring cleanup of the yard, deck, etc. :disappointed: Looking forward to June.
While we’re on that subject, I need a firm number for evening restaurant reservations on the Oil Leak. Next week I will contact the restaurants and make those reservations at each of our stops. If I don’t hear from participants by next Monday, I will assume that you will not be eating with the group.

That’s the safest option Mark. I’ll drive down to Moss Motorfest with y’all but drive back that night. By doing it on an ’opt in’ basis you ssve yourself a lot of grief.

Pete

I was chair for the CJC concours for 3 years so I’ll add my 2 cents worth.
226A (Alternate) is officially called the Diamondback. It has over 100 turns, depending on how you count them. Since you are spending the night at the Switzerland Inn, I would recommend that participants tackle it in small groups, preferably in the evening or early morning, when it has the least local traffic. No guarantees but, unlike Tail of the Dragon, I have never seen any police presence on this road. From the Inn, the best part of the road is the top 5 miles or so. There is a very obvious church (the first one you’ll come to headed down,Turkey Cove Baptist) that is a good landmark for turning around and heading back up.
As you drive up from Ashville, I would recommend stopping at Mt. Mitchell, the highest mountain in NC. It is right off the Parkway and you can drive very close to the top.
Heading north on the Parkway from LS, the Cone Manor is about an hour up the road and a nice stopping point. I also like Linville Falls, which is quite impressive.
Back at the Switzerland Inn, for a guy travelling solo, their Diamondback rooms are more than adequate and dramatically less expensive.
As Peter has pointed out, obey the speed limits on the Parkway or be prepared to face the consequences!
Sorry you are going to miss our Concours but we usually take every room at the Inn and then some, so this way you will get to enjoy the Switzerland Inn, which is old school but very nice.

Finally, I’ve always thought I should write a book “Twisty Roads of the Blue Ridge Escarpment”. Going north on the Blue Ridge parkway in NC and VA, almost any “right hand turn” you make will lead you on some very entertaining, twisty roads as you travel off the edge of the ridge down into the “Piedmont”. The Diamondback is one of the better examples but a little time with Google maps and you will find many similar roads along the length of the parkway.

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Thanks, Harvey. Since it’s such a short drive from Asheville to Little Switzerland, the detours along the way would be good to make the drive interesting. I’ve driven most of the BRP and Skyline drive. Both are very scenic but after an hour or two, they get a little tedious, particularly if you get stuck behind a trailer or RV. We’ll be two nights at LS so that will give us ample time to try some of the local roads or just relax.

I hadn’t realized you’re going to be at LS 2 nights.

A longer loop that get’s you 2 twisty roads is to go south on the BRP, take a left on 80, go “down the hill” to 70, left on 70, left on 221, left on 226, and left on 226A, back up to LS.

Yes, the BRP is pretty much speed limited by the slowest RV :frowning:

The only truly British point of interest I can think of is Flying Circus in Durham but they will be closed on Sunday. Foreign Cars Italia in Greensboro is quite interesting and they may be open that Sunday.

If the crowd is really bored you are welcome to stop at the New Hill Garage (in New Hill, of course) and I can show you my 3 Etypes in various states of dis-assembly.

I may meet you guys in NC on your way to Greensboro. I live an hour from Greensboro and 30 minutes west of Raleigh. If there is someone who has can do “location sharing” with me on Google maps, I would be able to keep track of your progress and probably join you north of Raleigh.

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Harvey,

What kind of side view mirrors have you got there?

Hi Mark, we have no idea about restaurants in the locations we are visiting, so would therefore like to tag on your reservations, please.
Maybe we could include that in the Google sheet ?

Cheers … Ole

Saturday will be at the Brick Run Tavern in Petersburg, Sunday at the Charbar in Greensboro, Monday TBD in Asheville, Tuesday and Wednesday at the Inn in Little Switzerland. I’ll add you to the list, Ole.

Craig, I don’t remember specifically. The word Tex comes to mind. I can probably find a receipt if I look.

Hey Mark and everyone. Some good news. I reached out to the Switzerland Inn. Here is the reply I got!

Hi Harvey,

Thanks for the lead on the upcoming group in June. We will be happy to offer a $10 per night discount for the group. Just make sure they reference the "Oil Leak Jaguar Tour" in order to receive the discount. We look forward to your upcoming stay!

Regards,
Whitney

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BTW, the restaurant and bar at the Switzerland Inn are pretty much the only option without driving quite a ways. There is a sandwich type place that is nearby. Fortunately the restaurant food is quite good and the prices are pretty typical.

Thanks for doing that, Harvey. I made my room reservation at LS a couple of months ago. I wonder if they will retroactively give me the discount? Can’t hurt to ask!

They are pretty low key and friendly there. I’m sure they will.

If anyone run an automatic, I have two quart Valvoline type F transmission oil for free. Just let me know and I’ll bring it.

We’re just over a month away from the East Coast Oil Leak. Plans for lodging and evening restaurant reservations are firmed up. Participants can check the itinerary on the spreadsheet which we stole from the West Coasters and is administered by Bob Kwarkin. As far as I can determine, we will only encounter one toll on our route and that will be the first morning when we cross the Harry Nice bridge across the Rappahannock River on 301. The cash toll is $6 while the EZ Pass fee is $4.50.

Just out of interest I looked to see where this bridge was and found this information about work being done, this was as of Dec 2018. Hopefully the work will complete on time…just fyi folks…hope the trip goes well and good weather…

One lane will remain open in each direction during the work.

Construction began in April 2016.

This maintenance project was scheduled for completion in October 2017. Work has been extended to April 2019.