Photos by Cheryl Ieradi, Dave Burcher, Steve Perry, Kevin Murphy, and John Rowntree
Day 1 — Friday, October 23
By Sam Surprise
It was a chilly, crystal-clear fall morning as ten Alfas and three Lesser Cars gathered at the Maine Classic Car Museum in Arundel, Maine, to begin our three-day adventure. Nineteen AONE members toured this amazing facility. The 50 classics displayed cover 130 years of automotive history and are in excellent condition, but the star for us Alfisti was the ‘39 Alfa 6C 2500 Berlinetta designed by Vittorio Jano. Perfection.
After a few hours of conversation and tasty pizza, we fired up our trusty steeds and headed west. Via hill and dale, we hung with the curves and cruised, lawfully, along the straights passing villages like Limerick, Goodwin Mills, and Higgins Corner, with a stop at East Sebago Beach. And then a romp around Long Lake, ending for a most excellent evening meal at Yolk in Windham. What a day, and that was only Day One!
1939 Alfa Romeo 6C 2500 Sport Berlinetta
Enjoying the collection
Jonathan Bernstein’s ’69 Duetto
Some of us with our Alfas
1967 Iso Grifo GL Series 1
1965 Goggomobile TS-300
1947 Delahaye 135M Cabriolet
Sebago Lake
Steve and Nancy Perry’s ’69 1750 GTV
Jonathan Bernstein’s ’69 Spider
Our tour leader, David Burcher’s ’84 Spider
Day 2 — Saturday, October 24
By David Burcher
The unseasonably balmy weather continued on Saturday morning, allowing for miles of top-down smiles as our group of dedicated Alfisti regrouped at Throttle Car Club in Scarborough for a private tour with Steve, the facility manager. This members-only luxury social club is dedicated to all things automotive and run by a team of passionate car enthusiasts, including our own AONE member Jamie Nonni. His beautiful blue Giulietta Sprint Veloce greeted us in the parking lot, adding just the right amount of Italian panache to an already impressive facility.
After touring the private members' lounge, game rooms, climate-controlled storage facilities, and detailing shop, we fired up our trusty steeds and ambled over to nearby Hank's Home Cooking for a leisurely lunch of seasonal, farm-to-table fare.
Having refueled both ourselves and our Alfas, we reconvened at the Harraseeket Inn before embarking on the next leg of our journey to the historic Pemaquid Point Light in Bristol. Running point, our fearless drive leader, John Rowntree, guided seven Alfas and a handful of lesser vehicles on a spirited 118-mile drive along winding back roads through Wiscasset, Waldoboro, and Bremen before arriving at scenic Pemaquid Point. Commissioned by President John Quincy Adams in 1827, the iconic lighthouse has stood watch over Maine's rocky shoreline for nearly two centuries. Its dramatic setting offered sweeping coastal vistas and the perfect backdrop for some memorable photographs.
Reluctantly leaving the breathtaking views behind, we headed back to our home base in Freeport for dinner at the Broad Arrow Tavern and some well-deserved rest, bringing a wonderful day of driving and camaraderie to a close.
The Throttle Car Club
Steve giving us the club tour
Jamie Nonni’s Giulietta Sprint Veloce (AONE member and an owner of the Throttle Club)
Interior view of the Sprint
Veronica Kury-Spence’s 2024 Stelvio
Group photo
Lunch at Hank’s
Pemaquid Lighthouse on the edge
View from the ‘best’ side
Exploring
Spiders ready to go
Day 3 — Sunday, October 25
By John Rowntree
We rose on our third bright but chilly morning to find light frost to clear, while we gathered in the Harraseeket Inn parking lot. We offered some goodbyes as a few folks headed home, while waving hellos to Bill & Joann Anderson, who arrived to join us.
Our morning tour retraced most of our Saturday tour along US 1. Being late in the season delivered light traffic to be enjoyed with gorgeous fall foliage, smooth roads, and top-down driving temperatures for all three days. We went south again at Waldoboro but further east, touring a loop through Friendship (home of the Friendship sloop) and Cushing before heading to Rockland for lunch at Archer’s on the Pier for a harborside view.
From lunch, we only had four miles to travel to the Owl’s Head Transportation Museum, located at the county airport. We toured their outstanding collection of autos and planes before saying our final goodbyes and heading home.
Ready for a cold start, bit of frost lingering
Rob Rizzo and Joyce Pisarro with their 2021 Giulia
Bill and Joanne Anderson, new arrivals, long time AONE members join
Working harbor of Friendship
1957 Giulietta Spider race prepped – no sale at annual auction in August
Stutz Bearcat
1930 Packard Super Eight
Planes mixed in among the cars
Model T collection
Nat and John, the only participants to do every part of the 3-day event
This event took a bit of planning. It was mostly our Maine members using their local experience and contacts to welcome us to their favorite roads, restaurants, and places to visit. We met on zoom nine times starting in March to make decisions and plan. We had twenty people participating, driving 378 miles while touring, enjoying five meals together, and touring two significant museum collections. Of course, we can’t pick the weather, so we were lucky on that score. Participants were from New York, Florida, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and Maine.
Maine Tour Participants
Steve & Nancy Perry - ’69 GTV 1750
Dave Burcher - ’84 Spider Veloce
Sam Surprise & Karen - ’87 Spider Veloce
Bob Umberger - 2024 Tonale
Robert Rizzo & Joyce Pisarro - 2021 Giulia
Jonathan Bernstein - ’69 Spider
R.J. Horwitz - ’84 GTV6
Veronica Kury-Spence - 2023 Stelvio
Bill & Joanne Anderson - ’88 Milano Verde
John Basel - ’67 GT Junior
John Rowntree - ’87 Spider Veloce
Nat & Cheryl Ierardi - Lesser Car
Steve & Doris Tennenbaum - Lesser Car
Kevin Murphy - Lesser Car