Garage & Garden Tour 2008:

The group met at Tom�s West Bay in Traverse City at 10:00am on a beautiful albeit chilly morning for a leisurely drive to Leland where all enjoyed a wonderful Sunday brunch. at the Bluebird Restaurant.

We then departed around 12:30 for TLC Tomatoes, 4030 N. Setterbo Road which is one mile south of St. Wenceslas Church in Leelanau County. Our hosts toured us through their hydroponics tomato and lettuce operations, a most interesting insight to this unique operation.

Then off to the �garage�, where we visited Kathryn & Mike May, who are known throughout the world for their collection of Stanley Steamers. They had a beautiful display of not only their �Steamers� but many items of antique and vintage fair for all to enjoy. Our gracious hosts had maps prepared and invited all to drive by Trillium Hill on the way home as the trilliums were in full bloom.

What a wonderful way to spend a spring day!!

Northport (Woolsey airport) Fly-in: 

This is sponsored by the Northport Lions club as fund raiser. It is a great place to take the family for a pancake breakfast and enjoy old planes and cars brought together at the Woolsey Airport.

The best part is that the show is free! And the pancake breakfast proceeds go to a worthwhile cause.

Airport Background: supplied by Mike Jackson

The Woolsey airport fly-in/drive-in will be held August 16th, 2008, at the airfield that has been in existence since 1935. The airport has a very historic background.

The land on which the airfield is located was originally part of the Woolsey family farm. Byron Woolsey�s son Clinton was a pilot with the U.S. Army Air Service and was one of the most storied pilots of his time. He was the flight instructor for Charles A. Lindbergh at Brooks field in Texas. In 1927 Woolsey was flying over Argentina as part of the Pan-American Good Will Flight, when his plane, The Detroit collided with the New York while attempting a close proximity landing. The two pilots of the New York parachuted to safety but Woolsey�s co-pilot was unable to exit the plane and Woolsey�s chute failed to open � both were killed in the crash.

After his death his father donated 80 acres of the family farm and Leelanau County contributed another 920 acres and the airport was built and dedicated in 1935. Present for the dedication were Lindbergh, Amelia Earhart, Billy Mitchell and Will Rogers.

Join us for the pancake breakfast at historic Woolsey � the pancake breakfast benefits the Northport Pilot�s Association. The hours are 8:00am until noon.

2010 TBBCC Fall Color Tour of Antrim County:

The 2010 color tour is now history. We started at Glen�s at Chum's Corners and went south and west, into northern Benzie and southern Leelanau County.....distance about 70 miles, ending at the Friendly Tavern in Empire. The tour took us through and around five villages, five small and large lakes, over a couple of rivers, and through the woods. It was a great trip, with some open roads, all paved, and some great curves. We had the required stop for pumpkins just east of Empire, and enjoyed the best burgers in Benzie County at The Friendly Tavern.

All enjoyed a top-down, sunshiny weather, which John had promised.

Please click on the two links for pictures of the gang enjoying their Little British Cars, and a few other odd makes.

Dennis

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Twin-Bay-British-Car-Club/113705195354674 (Click on photos)

http://public.fotki.com/DonaldL/color-tour-2010/

2010 Charity Auction:

The Twin Bay British Car Club has a history of giving. Over the years they had donated many thousands of dollars to local deserving charities. This month the club was proud to present a check for a thousand dollers to The Food Rescue of Northwestern Michigan. Receiving the gift were Bruce Byl from the Food Rescue and Northwestern Bank, along with Leah McCallum Director of Fund Development for Goodwill Industries of Northern Michigan. Presenting the funds from the Club was Angie Ross, the 2009 British Car Club President (center of photo).

Bruce Byl explained to the group, We rescue perishable and prepared foods from donors and deliver to organizations that serve the hungry in the area. It�s that simple! Through this effort the car club's donation will create as many as 5000 meals. Food Rescue of Northwest Michigan has collected and distributed over 280,000 pounds of food to date and are expanding on this success with the aid of donations from grocery stores, restaurants, caterers, bakeries, etc. as well as monetary gifts from individuals, businesses and groups like the Twin Bay British Car Club. You can get involved with the food rescue with your simple phone call to 995-7723 or you can easily find them on the web. www.foodrescuenw.org/

In better weather you'll see the Twin Bay British Car Club having fun touring our area in their handsome little vintage sports cars. The group plans and facilitates wine tours, car shows, picnics, dive and dines, technical seminars, charity auctions, wild competitions and more fun than semi-responsible adults should have. Always looking for new members and ownership of a specifically "British" car is not required only a sincere appreciation for the quirky little rides. Join the fun by calling current club president Don Shapton at (231) 269-3262 or a membership application can be found on our web site at: www.twinbaybrits.com

2009 Peninsula Wine Tour:

On Sunday July 28, the day started with sunshine. We had 23 cars and 47 people meet at the Campus Plaza to start the tour. We followed East Shore drive and found our way to Black Star Winery. Although not new to the area, they are new to the Old Mission Peninsula. Everyone bellied up to the bar and tasted some great wine.

The cars lined up outside made for very interested visitors. With the help of the local deputy Sheriff, we drove up Center Road all altogether. A scenic drive North on Bluff Road along East Bay was refreshing as it was scenic. The second stop on the tour was 2 Lads. They just opened last year and are already an area favorite. Know mostly for their red wine, the staff kept us interested with their fare. It was too bad they didn't allow us to keep our glasses like Black Star did. I'm sure many were tempted to "borrow" a couple. The view from the top of the hill was spectacular.

After tasting and buying, we headed out to Chateau Chantal. Our guide there walked us through the wine making process from start to finish. He was equally entertaining, from his perch on top of the wine cases, as he was informative. The wines were great, the discussion was interesting, and the cash register was ringing. From the beautiful vista of the Chateau to Bowers Harbor Park, we finished up with a pot luck dinner with great wraps from Bad Dog Deli, a Peninsula favorite. By the time we were finished, some clouds had rolled in and we departed the area just in time. Some say they raindrops while others made it home without any problems. A few put their hoods up to head home.

All in all it was a great day with great wine, great scenery, and even better friends. So, let's all raise a glass of our favorite wine and give thanks that we live in a great area like this.

Fred and Debbie Stoye

Annual Picnic 2009:

Again this year we were the guests of Don and Judy Shapton at their home and horse farm in beautiful rural Thompsonville. This has become a annual club event to share a meal with their friends in the country.

This year a cool evening greeted all who ventured out for this event. Don enlisted his son in law Todd Guernsey as chief turkey fryer. This year six turkeys were enjoyed by all. Many petted and enjoyed feeding the horses. The Shapton's specialize in raising Kentucky Walking horses. This year the traditional bond fire was enjoyed by all, even Craig gave it a thumbs up. There was even a special visit by MR. Toad who graciously accepted hand outs.

As the sun set all of the Little British Cars headed home to the security of a warm garage.

2009 Gala "Celebration of 10 years of fun and fellowship'

Our 2009 Gala was a huge hit thanks to an incredible effort by our own Bill Erickson. Bill designed a program that was funny, entertaining and informative. Titled " Quips,Quotes and Picks". It went through our 10 years by telling the story of each. Quoting passages from the clubs newsletters with funny stories, punch lined with several huge photos before the years president was introduced. Each of the presidents gave a short talk about the year that they presided over with lots of laughs and fun. After the presentation Bill created a sort of "hall of fame" at the top of the park by displaying the 50 giant photos for all to enjoy while we wandered and visited. Afterwards the photos were gifted to the presidents who were in them. A first class program by all accounts. Way to go Bill Erickson!

One of the many highlights of the evening was the appearance of Phil and Christine Cory, who have moved to Houston Texas with Phil's work. They came back for the Gala and it was great to see them. The food was fantastic and the weather was fine for traveling. A great night to share with a great club.

Our own madam president left the party that night, only to board a plane for a sunny climate the next morning. She at this moment sips drinks from a colorful glass with a tiny umbrella in it. Congratulations Angie and Jim. Get some sun for those of us who have to stay and keep the wolves from attacking the fort. A great year is in the planning by our new president and her VP, so go out and pat your little British car on the hood and tell her that it won't be long and we will be sailing around the Grand Traverse highways and byways with our friends from the Twin Bay British Car Club.

This year the club visited Darin Irvine's restoration shop. The event was very well attended with 24 members making the trek to Northport.

The day started with a tour of Darin's current projects. There was a 1963 Chevy II SS convertible street rod, a 1930 Ford Model A restoration and a 1954 Caddy sedan that most of us missed because it was in the paint booth. The Porsche special and the 1961 MGA Roadster (a project with J.P. VanRaalte) were of special interest to the sports car enthusiasts in the group.

Darin gave a demonstration of paint chip repair which was of interest to all, as our vehicles are not trailer queens. Darin had a fender section painted and set up for the demonstration, the test for us was to identify the vehicle that donated it. This paint technique is fairly straight forward, with only a few supplies needed. The most important part of this process is using a two part paint system, (paint and catalyst). If you use other non catalyst paints they do not harden properly, and can't be sanded level and polished out. The filled paint area is sanded with wet dry paper, 600 to 2000 grades and then rubbed out and polished. Care should be used in not getting to aggressive with this process as it may need to be repeated to achieve the desired results.

After the session ended many of the members retired to Fischers Happy Hour Tavern for lunch and fellowship. In case you wondered the donor car was a 1965 Jaguar MK X..

 Photos courtesy of Ted Hammond