Whew! That was a wet one!
CCA’s Hagerty Spring Thaw started in Harrison Hot Springs for 2023, with an ‘unofficial’ Thursday night dinner at the Black Forest Restaurant. It was schnitzel, german pilsner, gewurztraminer, and fantastic friends for the pre-event gathering.
The next morning, with it damp in the parking lot, we held a quick driver’s meeting in the ballroom and headed out to see if we could seek some sunshine. If you were near the back of the pack, as I was in the ’58, you did get to reach for the sunglasses a couple of times, but the front of the pack were using their wipers for the entire day. We traveled from Harrison Hot Springs to Hope, through to Princeton and up to Tulameen for an out-and-back. A large portion of the group dined at Thomasina’s for lunch…which if you haven’t done yet, plan a trip!
Following lunch, we continued on to enjoy some CCA favourites. There was Twin Lakes, the radio telescopes, a pass by See Yah Later wines and eventually our overnight in Penticton. It was here that the parking lot became quite the interesting party, and the VW Camper Van was crowned the perfect sweep vehicle. While a Caterham 7 was having some engine work completed, the VW van was able to open the awning, and provide rain-free-coverage for the team. The rain wasn’t putting off any of the fun, though, as the parking lot party continued well after dinner with gourmet popcorn, Caterham 7 fixes, and great conversation.
As I began the day two drivers’ meeting, a welcomed text message came through from our photography team. “sunshine in Kelowna” was the message, and we simply had to jump in the cars to get there! Saturday was Westside Rd, the Salmon Arm & Armstrong loops, Barnhartvale Rd, and for some of us a new road – Duck Range Rd.
Sunday we enjoyed a fantastic drive down the Duffey to Pemberton, where the sun was out, the parking lot dry, and the barbeque lunch was enjoyed with t-shirts and sunglasses on. The perfect ending to an almost perfect weekend!
Please enjoy this photo preview from our photography team. This year Andrew Snucins and Andrew Holliday have combined forces as Meshed House Creative, and we are so thrilled to have them both as our photography team.
