rcollum

Attendance at Katie's is never zero. I've been there, and met friends there, even when it's snowing. No snow today, but it did rain all morning. The rain kept away the majority of the exotic cars, but Katie's remains a big social gathering, even without as many interesting vehicles. --Bob Collum

It’s September, with just over two weeks to our next event – Get Your Lotus Out. In a departure from previous GYLO events, we are starting later (11:00AM), including a cookout, and asking people to bring their families. We have rented a shelter with picnic tables at the park, and Mark Franke will be earning his keep, cooking hamburgers and hot dogs. Please check your personal calendar, and RSVP to this post (or email me) with your headcount – we need to know how many people to expect, to buy the correct amount of food. We will provide the burgers and dogs, and will have water for the group. We ask attendees to bring a side dish or dessert to share. (Note: Fairfax County Parks prohibit alcohol, so please bring soft drinks if you don’t want water.) I hope to match or exceed our best showing of Sevens (three) at this event! --Bob Collum

A cool, crisp Sunday morning at Cameron's. This is a much smaller get-together than many, but the quality of people and cars is very good. Unfortunately, mine was the only Lotus there today. --Bob Collum

It was 59 degrees when I left the house, going to Katie's. The sky was clear. Less than a mile from my house, I was enjoying the open sky, and when I arrived at a stoplight, I looked up and saw a meteor streak by overhead. That's the kind of day it was! (See the McGovern Party thread for how we spent the afternoon - http://www.usa7s.net/vb/showthread.php?11644-2017-McGovern-Lotus-Party-Saturday-Aug-26-Ellicott-City-MD ) --Bob Collum

Kevin & Denise McGovern host this party every year, and it's always good. This year, the weather was SPECTACULAR! ...and, we had good attendance, too... Kevin McGovern had his Prisoner Seven there. Norm Beaver was there with his Seven, and Michael D was there (I didn't see what he drove). Scott drove his 914. I drove my Seven, and new-to-the-area Gavin Slade brought his Seven. --Bob Collum

This party is Saturday, 08/26/17, starting at 2:00PM. I'll have my Seven and my Elise there. I know of another Seven that will be driving over from Fairfax with our group. Hope to see you there! --Bob Collum

Anyone on the Virginia side who'd like to drive over as a group - several of us are meeting at the Blue Iguana. We will leave for the McGovern party at 1:00PM. The Blue Iguana is at - 12727 Shoppes Ln, Fairfax, VA Please be sure you have RSVP'd to Kevin McGovern - they need to be sure they order enough food. --Bob Collum

Three Lotus attended today's Fairfax Circle C & C - my Seven, Bob Scates' Esprit, and Annie's Esprit. (I did not get any pictures of Annie's car, because she arrived right after I left)... --Bob Collum

Twice a year, we get as many Lotus together (of course, including Sevens and variants). This time, we are holding it at Turner Farm Park, in Great Falls, along with a cookout. The event will be held Sunday, September 17th, 2017, from 11:00AM to 3:00PM. Please RSVP with a headcount, so we know how many hot dogs and burgers to supply. We ask that attendees bring a side dish or dessert to share. We will supply bottles of water; bring whatever soft drinks you like; this is a Fairfax County park, so alcohol is not allowed. --Bob Collum

A beautiful morning at Katie's. Two Sevens there - mine and Michael D's. (His is still for sale!) An interesting Triumph drove thru -- I hadn't seen it before. On the drive home, I found myself following a friend's Diablo. (I probably wasn't going to be passing him!) --Bob Collum

There is still time to sign up for the 2017 DC America's British Reliability Run (ABRR), if you have a car that qualifies - it must be a British car, at least 25 years old. The event runs for three days - Friday thru Sunday, October 13th thru 15th. If you don't have time, or don't have the proper car, I invite you to participate in other ways. I will attempt to post a few pictures every day, to note progress of the event. You can also donate to our team (Classic Team Lost), at this link - www.razoo.com/story/Yzkddg The charity being supported is Our Military Kids. Here's a link to info on that charity - www.dcbritishreliability.org/our-military-kids --Bob Collum & Debbie German, Classic Team Lost

I've been asked to post a thread seeking participants for a local charity event involving old British cars and three days of driving - the first DC-area American British Reliability Run. If you have an older Seven (or other older British car), you should consider entering this event. Several of my friends in the Philadelphia area did one of these events last year, and had a great time. Here's a link to some info (with pictures) on the PHL event: www.hemmings.com/blog/tag/americas-british-reliability-run/ Here are more details on this year's DC-area ABRR: Attached is a one-pager describing the 3-day, 750-mile DC ABRR that will run Oct. 13-15. It is limited to 50 British cars at least 25 years old. Further details are available at www.dcbritishreliability.org. The main point of the exercise, as with all ABRRs and their British predecessors, is to raise money for a children's charity, in this case Our Military Kids, which works with the children of military families with a parent on deployment to a nasty place. See www.ourmilitarykids.org. Each team in the DC ABRR is being asked to give it their best shot to raise at least $1K for the charity. DCABRRLetterhead_1pager_small.pdf (147.78 KB)

GYLO 14 (The 14th semi-annual Get Your Lotus Out event) Sunday, September 17, 2017 11:00AM – 3:00PM The NoVA Lotus Picnic @ Turner Farm Park Great Falls, VA For our 14th Get Your Lotus Out event, we are breaking from tradition. We are still trying to get as many Lotus cars and people to show up, but we are moving the starting time to 11:00AM, holding the event in a park, and making it a cookout. (All forms of Sevens are welcome.) To do this, we have rented the park's shelter and two small grills. Turner Farm Park is off Springvale Road, near Georgetown Pike (193), just 1.7 miles from Katie's. We will provide the burgers and dogs. We ask two things of attendees - 1.) RSVP with your head count, when you know you will attend (so we have an accurate count for food). 2.) Bring a side dish or dessert to share with the group. Turner Farm Park is a Fairfax County Park, so no alcohol is allowed. I will be sending out an email announcement, and you can respond to that with your RSVP. [if you are not on my email list, and would like to be, email me - robert(underscore)collum(at)hotmail(dot)com.] Families are welcome. We hope to see you there! --Bob Collum

A nice turnout this Sunday. Bob Scates brought his Esprit. A really nice resto-mod Camaro was there. --Bob Collum

Right, Mike - it's a Nissan Pao, and it's for sale! It did have a French license plate below the rear bumper, but the RHD setup was the giveaway that this is a JDM car. There's ALWAYS something new & different at this Cars & Coffee!

What a difference a week - and weather - makes! While we had a fabulous turnout last week, along with excellent weather, it rained last night, and it was overcast this morning. That meant fewer people at Katie's - but it was still good. --Bob Collum

A pretty good turnout at Cameron's this Sunday. Annie made it out with her beautiful Esprit. Quite a variety of cars there. --Bob Collum

Some notable, beautiful vehicles... --Bob Collum

Proof positive that it was a circus today at Katie's... That's a fiberglass replica of a VW bus, driving on its side. Made by the same guy (SpeedyCop) that brought you the Toyota van with the Cessna airplane body. Both are 24 Hours of Lemons racers. Michael D. was there, with his Caterham Seven still for sale... --Bob Collum

OK, here are some more pictures of that same car today... --Bob Collum

The Nomad is a resto-mod, done by a previous owner. Several body mods, including a frenched-in radio antenna nacelle, with a Chevy 350 and Corvette Rallye wheels.The current owner said it had sat for many years, and needed a lot of cleaning up and detail work to get it roadworthy again. He said he plans on re-painting it in more-original colors. (I like it as it is.) --Bob Collum

Torrential rain pretty much all day Friday meant there were flooded-out roads around the area Saturday morning. We had some people show up at Katie's, anyway. We were fortunate that it didn't rain at all from 5:30AM to about 7:30AM. Attendance was light, but we still saw some interesting vehicles, including a '56 Chevy wagon we'd never seen before! Kevin K showed up, but without his Kurtis... --Bob Collum

It rained last night. Quite a lot. Good: At 70F, it was 9 degrees cooler this morning than yesterday morning for Katie's. Not as good: The roads were a bit damp, and it was humid. Still, the faithful came out. We had a pretty good turnout today - very diverse. You can't much complain about having a Lamborghini Murcielago, a painfully-original VW bus, a genuine '32 Ford roadster, a bagged vintage Caddy, and a Beck Spyder, all at the same place. --Bob Collum

I was away at the beach the last two weeks, so it was good to get back. Today was an excellent example of what is so interesting about Katie's Cars & Coffee - terrific cars & people! Side note: Michael D was there with his Seven... and it's for sale: http://www.usa7s.net/vb/showthread.php?11646-2000-Caterham-DeDion-For-Sale --Bob Collum

I'd say that the Fairfax Circle C & C is 'back'. We had about 20 cars there today. I met Mark Franke there at 8:00AM. (Cameron's, the coffee/chocolate/bakery there, doesn't open until 8:00AM, so this is not an ultra-early event.) --Bob Collum