Niagara Road Tour - July 25th - July 27th, 2009

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What a weekend! What do you get when you mix some gorgeous Corvettes, a beautiful sunny day and a winery or two? Well, a whole lot of fun of course!

We were a couple of small groups of cars leaving Ottawa on Friday but by the time we crossed the border at 1000 Islands and met up with each other near Collins Landing we were a caravan of nine. The first leg of the trip was wet and really kind of miserable but by the time we hit Mexico, New York is was hot and sunny (does anyone else see the irony of that?!!) We enjoyed lunch on the patio in Oswego and chatted up the locals about their Harbourfest Festival (apparently it's a great time). By the time we hit the road again the roofs were off, the shorts came on and out came the tank tops. Travelling through rural northern NY on highway 104 allowed us to see some wonderful scenery and enjoy great roads (boy, those crazy Americans sure know how to do their highways up right!). The border crossing to get back into Canada was the only downside to a great day. It took nearly TWO hours! That's because we hit it on a Friday afternoon at 5 p.m. Funny, how when it's your day off you don't think of those things until afterward. We arrived in St. Catherine's just in time for steak, ribs, and chicken for a group dinner with the ever-so-friendly Niagara-on-the-Lake and Sudbury clubs.

Saturday we scattered to the four winds. Some of us went on an organized winery tour, others went on an UN-organized winery tour and yet others just went for a lovely drive. By all accounts (really ... you have to hear the stories in person) everyone had a smashing good time and I don't think I've every seen so many smiles!

Sunday was the actual car show day and roughly 275 cars of various makes, models, years were on site at Reif Estate Winery (www.reifwinery.com). But by far and away the prettiest cars there were the 'vettes. Klaus Reif honoured the gang with a special vintage of both a red and white wine. I'm sure he did a wonderful business that day as they were going out the door by the case load (you know who you are!). There were some great prizes and the 50/50 crew did a bang up job as the winner took home almost $1000.00 (unfortunately it wasn't any of our group). By the time the day was over - and although we were looking mighty ragged - there were some pretty happy campers. The highlight of the day came when Mary Jane had to do some gymnastics to rescue the keys from inside her car that "mysteriously" got locked inside. For some reason, any photographic evidence of this little escapade has also "mysteriously" disappeared.

This is an extremely well-run and well-organized show so make sure you book it in your calendars for next.