MAFCA 2014 National Convention

Well, Miz B stayed home for this journey.  We flew from Columbia, SC to Atlanta and met up with Jim and Holly Cannon at our Delta gate.  We had a nonstop from Atlanta to Tacoma/Seattle.  Wow, was that a long flight!

We were anxious to meet up with Orville and Sharon Booth.  They had driven their A, pulling their "sleeping trailer" behind from Columbia to Puyallup, making several stops along the way to visit with family and see some more of the National Parks they had missed on their other two cross country Model A adventures.  They arrived in Puyallup early, logging 5,595 miles between home and the convention!

The week was filled with MAFCA Board activities and some nice sightseeing.  On Sunday afternoon, we were off to Tacoma and a boat ride to Tilicum Village.  There we feasted on wonderful fire roasted Salmon and enjoyed a presentation by the native Indian tribes of the area.  On Monday, we drove the rental car from Puyallup up to Snoqualmie Falls.  We enjoyed a fabulous brunch at the Salish Lodge. Coming home we stopped for Mount Rainier cherries.  We grabbed a quick supper and were off to the Welcome Ice Cream Party at the Fairgrounds.  Tuesday was a day of seminars.  We attended one regarding Canadian manufactured cars and another on Town Sedans.  Both were very informative.  Wednesday, we joined Orville and Sharon on a Model A ride up to Fred's garage.  Fred is a local club member with a nice collection of antique cars.  There we were treated to a fabulous view of Mount Rainier and enjoyed a great barbecue lunch on the grounds.  Thursday, we were off again with Orville and Sharon traveling in the Model A for the Grand Tour.  Which was basically a big circle that took us to Marymount.  This is where there is a huge collection of automobiles, owned by the LeMay family.  There is a museum in Tacoma - Americas Car Museum, which houses even more of the LeMay collection.  There are over 3,500 cars in the collection.  Friday was a very long day in the MAFCA Board meeting.  We finished early - about 3, so we had a bit of time to relax before the banquet that evening.  The banquet was great - Orville and Sharon won the "Greatest Distance Traveled in a Model A to get to the Convention" Award.  It certainly was well deserved!  Many folks left the evening with trophies in hand for their beautiful Model A's.  The convention closed on a high note with all looking forward to the 2016 Convention to be held in Loveland, Colorado.

Will Miz B get a new "hat"?

It's been quite a while since I've posted an adventure with Miz B.  On Thursday, I'll be going up to Cashiers, NC with a group of folks in their Model A's.  We've been planning this trip since the middle of summer, when the temps were quite warm.  We had our thoughts on the beautiful fall colors and cool crisp temperatures.  At this point, it looks like we will definitely see some of the color, as most of the leaves are still on the trees and the colors are pretty vibrant.  The temps are definitely going to be crisp and quite cool.  It looks like we will have rain on our trip up, but the rest of the weekend will be beautiful.  Better make sure I load up the windshield with plenty of Rain X, as Miz B has no windshield wiper!

Miz B seems to have developed an issue with her right rear tire.  It looses air pressure between drivings these days.  I'll have to keep my eye on it over the weekend.

I am also going to see if I can make a different type of top covering system for the little car this week, in preparation.  I'd like to be able to have a full top cover, including clear vinyl front, side, and rear windows that can be used in rainy weather.  I'll probably incorporate the use of zippers at each door opening to make ingress and egress easier.  This would keep more air out of the "cockpit" area and thus keep the riders warmer and dryer going down the road.  I will also make sure that the "tail" of the cover covers the top drip rail of the rumble seat, as water tends to slide off the top at a quicker rate than the rails around the opening can handle.  This means that the interior of the trunk tends to collect water.  It's carpeted in there and that makes for a very soggy mess!

I'll post photos of the cover, if it is going to work. 

More about the top cover to come later