Yesterday (Sunday) SLTOA did its third annual Veterans Day Drive, down to Chester via a combination of Bluff Road and some more challenging routes, across the river to Perryville, lunch at Stonie’s Deli and then home.

We done good: about 15 SLTOA members and 10 cars, constituting a pretty eclectic mix: three TR6s, a TR8, one each Spitfire and GT6, plus a Morgan, Corvette, BMW Z3 (the “Triumph Support Vehicle” or TSV) and a Ford Fiesta.  Combine with good weather and equally good road conditions and we had a ball; plus, we raised a fair amount of money for The Purple Heart Foundation, this year’s designated veterans’ support organization.

On the down side, once we got south of Prairie du Rocher, we found IL 3/Bluff closed, apparently due to bridge replacement on the Kaskaskia.  On the plus side, two members immediately fired up the map functions on their cell phones and came up with a detour that put us back on track for Chester and the requisite photo stop at the Elzie Segar Memorial Park where we posed with the statue of Popeye.  In fact, the detour route proved so enjoyable it’ll get added to next year’s route.

All in all, a great day for a bunch of British sports car owner/enthusiasts to get together for a drive, good company, excellent scenery and good food.  Thanks to all who showed up and particularly all who contributed to The Purple Heart Foundation.