North Shore Drive and Picnic

     The sun refused to shine on our North Shore Drive and Picnic, reminiscent of the Cape Ann Tour a couple weeks back. None-the-less, a few brave souls brought their cars to Topsfield. We even had a guest rider for part of the ride in "Buddy", a beautiful golden retriever.

     We took off heading north into Boxford and on to Georgetown. Maybe it was the grayness of the day, but the greens along the way looked extra vibrant. The ponds were calm, and the flowers brightened up the day.

     It was a bit of a "dog" day all around in that Steve and Sue Lindquist's chow had to make an emergency visit to the vet, so they joined us about half way through the ride in Georgetown. We motored back down to Topsfield, and turned east on Linebrook Road. The roads on this trip were very English country-side, narrow and twisting with lots of curves.

     On to Ipswich and into Essex, then through Beverly and into Manchester-by-the-Sea. The gray day kept the roads fairly quiet, and Tucks Point Park was all but deserted. And we were by the sea. A little wiping with a towel from Craig Harms, and we had a dry picnic table with great views. The lunches were eclectic from ordinary sandwiches to Indian style tuna fish to pastrami style turkey roll-ups to luscious fresh cherries and a cantaloupe and watermelon mix.

     For those who still had a little room left, we motored into downtown and Cap'n Dusty's. This North Shore landmark has superb homemade ice cream in a ton of flavors. We walked across the street to the park and chatted at the inner harbor, while local passers-by viewed the remaining "cool rides".

     This drive was the first event for Ned and Ellen Sparrow's recently purchased TR7. Other than gray skies and just a few drops, the weather did co-operate. The ladies held the men in check, and even the convertibles had their tops up to ward off the chill.