It was good to be on the road again, on a mostly sunny Spring morning and looking forward to catching up with Club members, new, long standing and from out of town – Chris and Cindy Dale from Christchurch, and their daughter who had just graduated from Auckland University. I was driving the “Mighty B” as the SL was still off the road, a topic of much discussion.
The car park at the BP on the Northern Motorway was definitely the place to be if you were driving a Mercedes. Debbie arrived top down but other members were lacking in commitment! We welcomed our new members … and it was great to see some members of longer standing back driving with us again – I didn’t say older members!
Pree handed out the directions for the run through to Westbrook Winery, and the cars headed out onto the motorway. This was much better than navigating traffic lights when we always get separated. Coming towards the end of the pack, however, we observed a few u-turns and one driver was heard to mutter that he needed a new navigator!
The group stayed together and arrived in good time for lunch. We were well settled in by the time Chris and Angelique arrived, for the formal start time of 12.30 for lunch.
We were impressed with Westbrook. The food – a mix of platters and pizza – was plentiful and tasty. We will likely return. The conversation was good and Chris was pleased to discover that they have port on offer, but only by the bottle!
On the way out there was an opportunity to buy some wine and have a discussion about Ross’ continuing issues with his R107. After which we slowly made our way back towards the western motorway and back to town.
Not a particularly extensive run but a lovely day out, with good companions and food. Look forward to seeing everyone again soon, and to a good summer of motoring.
Thanks to Pree for organising.
Philippa West
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