we had a couple of false starts (which is to say, weather postponements), but the AONE Just-North-of-the-Border Tour finally took off on June 28th. About ten cars — all but one of them Alfa Spiders of one form or another (see below) — gathered on Saturday morning in Seabrook. (Seems like, no matter what we do, we always get about ten cars on AONE tours — not the same ten, by any means, but always ten. Why is this?) After the obligatory driver’s meeting and a pit stop at the McDonald’s next door (what else are they good for?), we set forth.

Unlike one AONE tour in recent memory at which we had Alfas from all six New England states, this time all of the cars bore Massachusetts plates, without exception. So it was truly an over-the-border tour for all of the participants! These comprised Peter Walker of Beverly (white ‘77 Spider), Tom Ducibella & Angela Nannini (beige ‘69 Spider), Michael and Debra Leccese of North Andover (red ‘78 Niki Lauder edition Spider), Vern Brown & his son Tim of Arlington (green ‘76 Spider), Jim Miga of Winchester (red ‘66 Spider), Doug Sondak of Acton (dark blue ‘69 Spider), Dan Donovan of Paxton (metallic burgundy ‘88 Spider), Gene Durso of Leicester (who rode with Dan), Dave & Vi Pratt (red ‘61 Spider), and Gary Hiniker & his son Aaron of Bedford (no, not a Spider — not even an Alfa — a ‘00 Ferrari 360 Modena — Gary’s an AONE member, however, currently looking for a nice ‘80s Spider — and in this case I won’t refer to his non-Alfa as a Lesser Car).

Despite a little mist on the windshield on the way to where we all met, the weather cooperated fully — a low ceiling, but the roads stayed completely dry. It was one of those days when half of the Spider tops were down and half stayed up.

The itinerary was as simple as could be: Take NH Route 107 from Seabrook for about 40 miles northwest into the country, until we get to Deerfield. Sounds boring, but, as our event planners said, "Route 107 is a wonderfully twisty road, recently paved, and averages around 40 mph, with periodic brief looks at tiny New Hampshire towns and rolling countryside." It was all of that, although perhaps we might have appreciated it a little more if the dense, humid air hadn’t stifled our vision as much, but it was still a very pleasant drive. And it gives us an excuse to do it again!

About halfway along the route, we stopped at a little farm stand, where several of us bought some juicy fresh-picked strawberries, which were approaching the peak of the growing season. Ultimately, we ended up in the quiet town of Deerfield, home to the Lazy Lion Café, which Tom & Angela had visited a few years ago, and which Tom & Peter had, uh, rechecked a few weeks back when they were laying out the tour. The Lion had a long table set up with pots of coffee waiting for us when we went in. Their menu offered something for everybody, and our whole crew loved their homemade food, gourmet desserts, cheery interior, and excellent service. Next time you find yourself a little north of the border, check ‘em out!

To backtrack a little, at one point along the route we motored past a bicyclist who waved and gave us all a thumbs-up. That was nice, we thought-someone who appreciates fine Italian automobiles. Later, when we were leaving the restaurant, there was a metallic blue Fiat 124 Spider in the parking lot that hadn’t been there earlier. It belonged to the bicyclist! He had cut his bike ride short, went home, turned on his computer, googled "New England Alfa Romeo club", and up popped velocissima.com, where he saw our tour announced on the home page ("Hot!"). He then discovered that we were lunching at the Lazy Lion, a place that he goes to frequently himself. So he fired up his 124 and joined us for some post-lunch tire-kicking. Nice to meet you, Joe — join us whenever you get a chance!

Tom and Peter had a post-lunch route sketched out that would loop people back toward Seabrook that some of us took, while others motored off in alternative directions toward the various parts of Massachusetts that we called home. A fine time was had by all, and our thanks go to Tom and Peter for setting this up. Why not break the "ten Alfa" syndrome and come along on the next AONE motor tour?

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