Georgia Polar Bear Run - Sponsored by GTA
The Tenth Annual Georgia Polar Bear Run is done, and was another
great success, thanks to all who got involved and supported the
event.
We saw someone at this event that had missed a good number of
Polar Bear events in the past, but is always welcome: he's big,
he's yellow, he's our old friend, Mr. Sun. He poked his
head over the Starbucks roof about 9 AM and stayed with us through
most of the day. Welcome back!!! We hope to see him with us at next
year's event, as well.
The unofficial count for the day was right around 90 cars. In the
days leading up to the event, I had received many regrets that the
drive was scheduled too close to Christmas Day, so I was prepared
for a much smaller turnout. But while some regulars went out of
town for the Holidays, others came to us from far-away places.
Friends from Williamsburg, Virginia; San Diego, California; and
Honolulu, Hawaii joined us to share the Polar Bear experience.
A special mention goes to our Polar Bear regulars from Tennessee
and North Carolina, who forsook all After Christmas Sales at home
to join us on this special occasion. Talk about being prepared - I
was told that during their drive to Roswell, the group from
Knoxville had brake problems on a TVR, but had a spare car along,
so that nobody had to miss the drive. Good job!
While Triumphs, as usual, came in the largest number (18), the
makes & models in attendance were many: Porsche, Austin Healey,
MG, Mini, Alfa Romeo, Opel, Pontiac (Fiero & Solstice),
Mercedes Benz, Audi, Citroen, BMW, Volkswagen, Miata, Avanti,
Buick, Corvette, Mustang, and a 1964 Ford Econoline van.
The star of the Starbucks parking lot was a 1954 Kaiser Manhattan
sedan owned by a new friend from the Roswell area. Although he
wasn't able to join us on the drive, he elicited the most
"What is it?" questions from the crowd in the parking
lot. We look forward to seeing him again down the road.
About 200 people converged on the Barnsley Gardens Resort for
lunch and a little history. The resident historian, Clent Coker,
was roaming around the historic area to explain the detailed
history of the Barnsley family, fortune, and estate. Mr.
Coker's grandmother was born on the Barnsley property, and he
has been instumental in preserving the buildings and stories for
many years.
Some missed the history lesson in favor of some fellowship around
the fireplace in the village's Beer Garden. In all, we seemed
to have a pretty good day.
Special thanks to Jim & Connor Orr, Mike & Sue Hurst, Jeff
Roundtree, John Drosdick, Linda Stamps, Tony Lewis, Ray Sinclair,
and my wife, Joan, for helping with the planning and execution of
this event. And thanks to all who helped to spread the word and/or
came out to participate.
Next year's Polar Bear Run is already in the planning stages,
and will be scheduled for Saturday, January 8, 2011 (instead of
Christmas Day 2010). Watch for details, which should be released
early in the fall.
2009 Route Plan
