By Frank Anigbo

Photos by John Rowntree and Frank

THE MORNING OF SATURDAY, MAY 17TH, dawned for much of Southeastern Massachusetts and nearby Rhode Island with a fine mist in the air and wet grounds, remnants of overnight showers. By the time most of our cars assembled at the designated meeting point in Tiverton (Rhode Island) at 10:00am, the wet mist was gone, although the sun was held well at bay by an unyielding blanket of blue-grey clouds.

Despite the threat of rain on the day, twenty Alfisti in 10 cars, almost all vintage, turned up for our first-ever tour of Southeastern Massachusetts and some of the best bits of Rhode Island. We had four GTVs, two Spiders, the Berlina of Mark Patterson and Ruth Slocum, Avi and Daria Grunin’s stunning 1959 Giulietta Sprint, a 4C Spider and the 164 of John and Roberta Rowntree.

We set off on our tour in convoy after a brief driver’s meeting, along roads that hugged the coastline as closely as possible on our way toward pretty Little Compton (Rhode Island). I write as I stare at a map that tells me we drove from Little Compton to Pottersville, up to Adamsville and a right turn toward a place called Macombers Corner, then Central Village to Handy Four Corners. We were now in Massachusetts and came closest to the ocean at Horseneck Beach, a planned short stop.

Bright and warm sunlight had made its appearance by the time we left Horseneck Beach at about noon to head back inland on roads most pretty and dotted on either side by orchards and pastures, pretty New England houses, and little village stores. Dartmouth, Massachusetts, is a picture-perfect postcard of a town, as is Westport, through which we journeyed westwards toward our destiny with lunch.

Just before our ending point at Partners Village Store. in Westport, Ted Keon’s prugna (prune-colored) GTV lost the will to continue, courtesy of a lying fuel gauge. That situation was remedied quickly with a portable fuel container and a ride to a nearby gas station.

With the day now bathed in beautiful sunlight and summer-like warmth, we sat at outside tables at Partners and enjoyed one-another’s company, with delicious sandwiches and soups and cookies and other pleasant things.

Participants

Frank, Axel and Inez Anigbo - 1971 1750 GTV
Avi and Daria Gruning - 1959 Giulietta Sprint
Mark Patterson and Ruth Slocum - 1971 Berlina
Ted Keon - 1974 GTV
John and Liz Nicosia - 2020 4C Spider
Larry LoPresti and Michelle Dextraze - 1977 Spider
Mike Hollinger and Barbara Callahan - 1967 GTV
John and Lauren DeWaele - 1972 GTV
John and Roberta Rowntree - 1992 164 L
Dan and Debra Donovan - 1988 Spider
Walter Piescik - Giulietta Spider (met us at the lunch spot)

See the original announcement