derBayerische March/April 2023 - 7

T H E 2 0 2 2 N O R T H O F T H E B O R D E R T O U R
Coincidentally, it also happens that the
first day of the tour was the last day of
summer, and since the seasons were
transitioning, I had my fingers crossed
hoping for sunny summer weather.
There was no rain as previously predicted,
but the temperature plummeted
from a comfortable mid-70s to the
mid-50s and windy.
Beggars can't be choosers, so as
I arrived to lead my last NCC Tour for
the foreseeable future, I found those
who had arrived early congregating
inside " Dessert First " instead of outside
by their cars. Despite the name,
" Dessert First " is actually a thriving
dockside coffee shop that sells
a variety of cakes and pastries.
In warmer months they open up to let
the salty sea air pass through the cafe, but today the storm windows were in
place to keep the wind out and the heat in. Evidently they are open all year
round! The combination of the coffee's sweetness and its caffeine made a
perfect antidote to my late-night arrival from NYC and took the edge off
the chilly weather. After snacking, we moved outside and held the drivers'
meeting quickly before setting off for the Mason-Dixon Line.
It turns out the Mason-Dixon line is quite far away, so after an hour's drive
past farm fields and bridges over saltwater marsh inlets, we stopped for a wellearned
seafood lunch in Chesapeake City at Schaeffer's Canal House on the
Chesapeake and Delaware canal. A few days earlier (when the weather was
warmer) they assured me we would have a prominent view of the canal.
It wasn't the best day to be out on the deck, but the cool and clear weather was
perfect for a dish of seafood jambalaya & cream of crab soup as we watched
■ Woodside Farms in Hockessin, Delaware has some damn good ice cream
served right on the farm. Photo by Robert Hopkins
barges, boats and even a
two-masted sailing vessel
pass by (I think two masts
means it's a schooner?).
With our appetites
sated, we continued northbound
and finally crossed
over the Mason-Dixon line,
leaving the coastal flatlands
behind. We celebrated our
soon-to-be crossing with
some ice cream at Woodside
Creamery followed by a
drive on Route 82, which
weaves alongside the Little
Brandywine River before
reaching our hotel late in the
afternoon, just in time for a
photoshoot.
The next day dawned similarly, but thanks to the previous day's driving it
was a relatively leisurely morning. We met at the hotel parking lot and hit a
few more scenic roads before hopping on the freeway for the rest of the drive
to Simeone. We arrived a few minutes before the 11 am start of Demo Day.
With those minutes to spare, folks took the chance to check out the car exhibits
positioned around the perimeter of the museum. Simeone has several famous
Bavarian-related cars you may be familiar with: a pair of BMW 328s, the
Mercedes that won the first race at the Nurburgring in 1929, a Gullwing SL
race car, and a Porsche 917. This particular Demo Day's featured marque was
Bugatti. I don't mean VW-made EB110s and Veyrons. I mean the lightweight,
old-school Ettore-built Bugattis of the pre-war (WWII) variety!
In case you aren't familiar with Ettore, he was a mechanical genius born
into a family of artists. His cars were as stunning as they were fast in their
■ The gang parked at Woodside Creamery, ready for some ice cream. Photo by Robert Hopkins
March I April
7

derBayerische March/April 2023

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