Everything! Getting Bene loaded onto the ship heading for Southampton, England was a nightmare. It seemed like the gods were set against us making this European tour. First there was the covid delay then multiple ship reschedules/cancelations, a ship fire at the port and finally a moratorium preventing the loading of Ro-Ro cars. Bene ended up in a container at considerably higher cost but it did arrive three days before our plane landed. Whew. By this time I was anticipating every possible disaster from the car not clearing customs to shipboard damage to breakdowns etc on and on.
Our English friend and fellow Morgan enthusiast Geoff Roberts took us to the terminal to collect Bene. We saw it parked behind a chain link fence with other cars. There was no obvious entrance or office so Geoff parked some distance away and I walked back. In the lot there was a fellow with a high-viz vest. I handed him the papers and pointed to Bene. “Oh yes…right this way.” First a walk around: NO DAMAGE! A quick look inside showed that the battery jump starter I fitted was stolen. Not a big deal but what were the odds that it would start after 5 weeks sitting in a Newark parking lot (raining most days) and a month on shipboard?
Pull choke, turn key … Rrrrooom! Started on first crank! A miracle. And that set the tone for the entire remainder of the journey.
Our first stop was at Melvyn Rutter’s garage and Pit Stop B&B where we stayed two nights. Gave the car a once over and enjoyed catching up with our old friends Melvyn, Sindy and all the family. We also participated in Melvyn’s “Bonnets Up” event at the garage on Saturday and met old ¾ Group friends Brad and Linda King (who say hello to all of you back in New England). We set off for the channel tunnel on our own (a big deal since I always avoided driving in the UK without someone to follow) and arrived early. The wait was interminable. They were running three hours behind schedule due to holiday traffic (holiday?). It was hot and the line to clear customs (Brexit you know) and board just inched along for well over an hour. All of us with old Morgans dread this. It was a perfect scenario for a boil over but the temp needle never touched H (yes, it does workJ).
We stopped in many places and visited many old friends. And, as always, were fortunate to meet many interesting new people. Of the Morgan diaspora three encounters stand out. First stop was Lille France where we met and stayed with Christophe Molina of the French club. Christophe, Valerie, and their family were terrific. Christophe deserves the Worldwide #1 Morgan Enthusiast award! He has an indomitable positive spirt that is contagious, His ’65 4/4 is used regularly and he arrived home the day before our visit from a tour in Switzerland with his SS engined three wheeler. Christophe organized a dinner at a typical northern French restaurant with us and four local Morgan enthusiasts. Excellent!
After taking the ferry from Rome to Barcelona (A fire somewhere on the ship required all passengers to muster and don life jackets adding a bit of excitement)
We met with Eduardo and Maria Sanchiz of the Spanish Morgan Club. Truly enjoyed their company and wished we could have spent more time. Eduardo’s +8 was being serviced so they led us on a drive up the mountains to Montserrat in his Porsche. Barcelona and Montserrat were probably the high point of the whole trip. Spain deserves more time. Regrettably we had our return flight booked and had to head back to the UK. (Update: We returned to Spain in 2024. See https://madaboutmorgans.com/the-last-last-tour/ ).
Alexandre Podda, of the French Morgan Club, met us in Toulouse. Typical of the hospitality we encounter in the Morgan community Alexandre took us on a walking tour of the city and then led us through the countryside to Chateau Lareole. All this after having just returned from a business trip to Los Angeles the day before!
After Toulouse there were stops in Bordeaux, and several towns along the Normandy coasts before returning to Melvyn Rutter in England. Kathi made regular entries on her blog so if anyone is interested in seeing more pictures of more destinations and adventures check it out: Bene Road Trip Tumblr.
So what went wrong? Nothing went wrong; ever. Even the weather cooperated: not a single rainy day. A bit of an anticlimax but sitting at home now after five weeks circling Europe I have no complaints.