October 25, 2003
The 25th of October - a perfect day for a fun drive north from Victoria to see the fall colours and visit with friends. In spite of the perfect weather only four cars made it to the not too early (10:30) Saturday morning start at the Canwest Mall parking lot. The Cuthill's in the grey 61 P1800 were first on scene and soon joined by Peter and Paula Landsman in their very shiny yellow ES. To represent the sedan side of the Volvo motorcar industry, Rob Thornton along with trusty navigator Cliff de Schepper drove a 77 244 - or should it more properly be known as the 248? Rob is quite the adept mechanic and has managed to do a very neat job of sliding a Ford (Fjord?) 5.0 litre V8 under the hood. The only give away is the dual pipes out the rear of the car. Lydia and Roland do Schepper balanced sedan the representation with their 85 245.
After a short drivers meeting where Bob Cuthill went over the route instructions, the entourage was on their way. The route took them up the Trans Canada Highway and the first part of the Malahat. A turn to the west put the group on the Shawnigan Lake road where the fall colours could really be appreciated. By this time the V8 had surged into the lead, but only for a short time. Just north of Shawnigan Lake the two 1800s followed the directions to bear right towards Duncan and watched as the lead car continued strait ahead. But by the time a few miles had rolled by and the crew crossed the Trans Canada again for some more scenic back roads, the 248 had caught up again. The pace remained leisurely around the east side of Duncan and up to Maple Bay and their destination, the Brigantine Inn.
Waiting their on the deck overlooking the bay was our local contact and host, Brian Volstad who had prepositioned his slick black Bertone in our reserved parking area beside wife Aude's bright red 850. Joining the intrepid troop for lunch were Henning and Monica Kristensen - former proprietor of Duncan's Dancia Motors, and Rich and Susie Cote - current proprietor of Dancia. After introductions all round and a goodly amount of time just sitting and enjoying the view lunch was served. It was interesting to note that although Peter Landsman had dealt often with Henning Kristensen over the years, this was their first face to face meeting. And it was also a chance for Rich Cote and Susie to meet some Volvophiles from a little further afield.
The time for goodbyes came all too soon. While there was no specific itinerary for the trip home, several cars did decide to do a bit of exploring to the marinas south along the shore from Maple Bay. All in all it was a fun day and although attendance was not overwhelming it was a successful first fall fun run. I know your author is looking forward to next fall and an opportunity to explore some more of the lesser travelled roads on the island.