2010 Annual Club Picnic at Hot Springs

Chuck & JoAnn Hamilton again led us on our annual drive to Hot Springs on the nice summer day of July 10, 2010. We were joined by members of the Appalachian British Car Society who met us at McDonalds in Greeneville, Tennessee and drove with us down Highway 70 and on Highway 107 through the Cherokee National Forest and the lush green hills of Madison County, North Carolina.


The weather that morning was perfect for top-down driving, cool but not too cool under clouds, and warm but not too warm in the sunshine. Gerry & Becky Mitchell brought her new Mini Cooper convertible, and Peter & Pat Davis came in their Jaguar XKE hardtop. The other ten cars were all MGBs belonging to Al & Liz Bauerle, Barry & Dani Black, Mark & Karyn Bourne, Greg Bowman & son Sam, Juan Dominguez, Herren Floyd,
George & Teresa Greene, Paul Kern & fiancé Glenice Mathews, and Paul & Michelle McRoy.





After the picnic lunch at Paul McRoy's suggestion, we decided to drive a little further into the Pisgah National Forest where we could walk a few hundred yards up a rather steep hill to the top of Max Patch and take in a full 360-degree view of the surrounding mountains.

By then the temperature had gotten quite warm; some would say hot. Some of us hardy souls decided to take the challenge anyway and made it all the way up to the top. The view was magnificent. Someone thought they could hear the Sound of Music playing. A kind stranger took a picture of us at the top so we could prove "we done it".


We drove back to Hot Springs to enjoy some ice cream at the Sweet Imaginations Café before heading for home. Some of us drove back together along very scenic Highway 208. I think the annual drive to Hot Springs is one of our club’s favorite drives, and this one turned out to be a real adventure.