Tidewater Region's 17th Annual Square Car Tour

[MattDoscher]

The Tidewater Region held its 17th annual Square Car Tour yesterday.  Nineteen antique vehicles participated, seven of which were pre-war including a 1914 Model T Ford Touring, a 1929 Buick Master, a 1929 Model A Ford, a 1931 Chevrolet Sport Coupe, a 1937 Pontiac Deluxe 6, a 1940 Oldsmobile Series 90, and a 1941 Packard Deluxe 110.  We began the day by meeting at a club members home for coffee, donuts and socializing and after a brief driver’s meeting by Matt Doscher we departed and were on our way.  Matt and Vickie Doscher served as road scouts in Vickie's '65 Mercury Comet driving several car lengths ahead of the group ensuring safe road conditions.  The tour was officially led by Terry Bond in his 1914 Model T Ford Touring.  Our route consisted of rural backroads through southern Chesapeake and Virginia Beach.  We had a scheduled pit stop at Munden Point Park to allow for folks to stretch their legs and enjoy the scenery.  Following our pit stop we motored in a northerly direction, dodging a few low lying spots in the road along our route containing standing water from nuisance tidal flooding from the Back Bay, and had to detour from the planned route due to a flooded out road.  We all made it to Blue Pete's Restaurant in the Pungo area of Virginia Beach for our lunch stop.  Everyone arrived safely and without incident and enjoyed a hearty lunch.  Thankfully the weather held out allowing for a picture perfect day!

 

A brief synopsis on what exactly a Square Car Tour is: 

 

Years ago, we began to notice that older cars were not touring like they once did, so we decided that Tidewater Region would create a special activity to help encourage use of the earlier vehicles.  Thus the "Square Car" tour was born.  The Tour is intended for good old fashioned "square" shaped vehicles, like the Model T's, A's, and cars that are generally more boxy and square shaped.  Of course we do allow those with modern cars to participate, but our only rule is that they need to bring up the rear, and try to keep up if they can.  (Terry Bond didn't have any problem keeping pace at almost 40MPH again this year)!  It's a simple tour, laid out on beautiful farm country back roads with very little traffic, no traffic lights, and as few stop signs as possible.  This corner of Chesapeake and Virginia Beach still have a lot of wide-open space and lots of scenic winding roads to choose from.  We usually start at the home of a club member who has room to gather for coffee and donuts before we start.  For those who wish to trailer in a vehicle we always ensure there is some room to park the rig.  We've had a lot of fun doing this - it's as casual as can be, with a lunch stop at a local family restaurant for a good meal and more fellowship.  We managed to get the weather arranged about right again this year, but except for some flooded roads that necessitated a slight detour, we did just fine.  Some of these roads we've covered previously, but we discovered that if you just drive on them from the other direction, it's a different road with different things to see!  It's great to slow down, enjoy the smell of the country (except where they were fertilizing a field), and enjoy the fellowship of our Tidewater Region members.  

 

Photo's courtesy of Matt Doscher and Bob Stein

 

 

Edited May 6, 2018 by MattDoscher
update (see edit history)

[Terry Bond]

We sure had fun and the weather was fantastic! We're already looking forward to the next opportunity to get the earlier cars out on the roads.  Thanks to Matt and Vicki for laying out a great route.  Out meal stop this year was a great seafood restaurant.  Nobody left hungry. 

Terry