MG Oil DRIPS 

About 35 club members and their families gathered at Champion Park in Cedar Park for an enjoyable picnic lunch on Saturday. Doug Breneman and Rick South flipped burgers, while Nancy Breneman, Karla Vining, Liz Cook, Carrie South, Joe Vining, Eric Van Note, and Bev Van Note all pitched in to help in various capacities. Thanks to everyone for their efforts and to all attendees!

To the best of my knowledge, there were five MGs in the parking lot: the Zeiers' TF, Eric's TD, and the Brenemans', Whitesides', and Souths' MGBs. Forgive me if I overlooked anyone! 

Joe Vining interspersed calling out numbers for various door prizes with a short business meeting. The big news is that we have a full slate of officers for the coming year! Bev  Van Note will serve as president; Rick South volunteered as vice-president; and Denise Whiteside and Scott Hardy will reprise their roles as secretary and treasurer, respectively. Karla Vining will take over Bev's previous duties on web site content,  keeping newsletter articles coming your way!

---Photos submitted by Bev Van Note, Joe Vining, and Eric Van Note

On Saturday March 22, the Sweet Rides Car Show was held at the First United Methodist Church in Round Rock. All cars were welcome, and they were divided into 5 classes judged by both spectators and participants: hot rods, muscle cars, early & late classics, and sports/exotics.  On a whim, Joe Vining and I decided to attend, so there were 2 MG’s entered, my 51 MG-TD and Joe’s 61 MGA. The show was great, and we met lots of nice folks. One award was presented for each class, and CCMGC’s very own Mr. Vining won the Sports/Exotic class!

So does this mean Joe has the sweetest ride in the club? You’ll have to attend this free show next spring to find out!

---Submitted by Eric Van Note, photos by Eric Van Note and John Vivona

We had a great turnout for our drive to Dripping Springs on March 1. Nothing was dripping except maybe a little oil here and there! The weather was gorgeous as 19 attendees in 11 vehicles, including 7 MGBs and 1 TC, made a circuit from Bee Caves to Dripping Springs to Wimberley to Driftwood. One family from PA who recently purchased an MG back home even took time out from their vacation to join us in a rental vehicle. 

Unfortunately, just as we were making the last turn toward our mouth-watering destination--Salt Lick BBQ--we were foiled by a road closure due to a gravel truck accident. With a few quick recalculations on Trish's part, the remaining intrepid travelers detoured to Mandola's instead. 

As announced at the February meeting yesterday, the club is seeking input from our members in order to aid in future planning. 

To that end, we've prepared a short, anonymous survey to better understand what members want from the club.  

To complete the survey, go to https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/JH35N5L (This is an updated link because we maxed out the number of respondents on the earlier link.)

This link was also distributed by email. Please send in responses by February 23. Ideally, we'd like to hear from each member, not just each household.

Thanks for your input!

So ever since Katy, you’ve been thinking about going to Crystal Lake, IL for NAMGBR 2025? You’d love to see how Chicagoland puts on a show, but don’t know how you’re going to get there? You thought you’d make the long trek to Calgary in 2023, but didn’t and now you have regrets? Well, you’re outa luck, because our drive to the Land of Lincoln will be THE WORST ROAD TRIP… EVER!!

We hear you asking, “Why is it going to be THE WORST ROAD TRIP… EVER!!"?  Well, for one thing, you could make the trip in two days. Just hit the interstate and the cruise control on your MG and wake up in Chicago two days later. But no, not us! We’re going to take six friggin’ days! And those nice, comfortable interstates? Fugetaboudit! We’re going to take those miserable, two-lane, twisty roads that will make every day about 30 hours long!

What else, you say? How about the scenery? We could choose to view the enchanting expanses of suburbia, with their arrays of neat strip malls and outlet stores. But instead, we’re going to expose you to fences, pastures, trees and hills. For mile after mile after endless mile.

But surely it gets better when it comes to food, right? HAH! No more Chilis and Applebees for you! You better like those run-down local diners, with their “character” and “diverse” menus. And fast food? What advantage does a local drive-in have over the consistency and predictability of a McDonald’s or Chick Fil A?

How about hotels? If you just hit the interstate, you could comfortably overnight in, say, Springfield, MO and cruise into Chi town the following day. But with us, you get an endless procession of roadside flop houses in every flea-bitten town in flyover country.

So if we still haven’t convinced you that this road trip is entirely underwhelming, just check out this proposed itinerary:

If you’re still thinking of going to NAMGBR 2025, and if we haven’t convinced you that our route there will be THE WORST ROAD TRIP… EVER!!, then you have our deepest sympathy. If you would like to further discuss this or your other poor life choices, please contact Scott Hardy at scott.b.hardy@gmail.com and we will be glad to offer you a consultation. Offer only available until the end of April, 2025.

Several CCMGC members attended the TMGR Gathering of the Faithful in Blanco, Nov, 7-9, for which the local hosts were our very own Scott and Trish Hardy. Although the weather was rainy and overcast on Friday, keeping some from participating in the various poker runs, weather was gorgeous for the show at the courthouse square on Saturday. A total of 10 club members' cars were entered in the event. Food, drinks, and friendship were plentiful all weekend! 

Three of the 8 MGs entered by our club members were winners, including  the following:

Tom and JoEllen Luin, 1st place, Premier class

Michael Blalock, 2nd place, MG-TF 

Greg Grohoski (new member), 1st place, MG Midget chrome bumper

My apologies for not getting more pictures. If anyone has any they'd like me to add, please send them my way: vannoteb@swbell.net.

---Submitted by Bev Van Note; additional photos submitted by John Rogers

Nineteen CCMGC members with four MGBs, one Midget, and an assortment of lesser vehicles drove to Shiner on Sept. 14, where we joined several members of the Houston and San Antonio clubs for bbq lunch and Shiner beer. Joe Vining led the northern contingent of 11 club members, while Scott Hardy led the southern group of 8, rendezvousing at Rockne. Along the way, we stopped at St. Mary’s Catholic Church in Praha, known as the queen of Texas’ famous painted churches, built by Czech and German immigrants in the late 1800s and early 1900s. Although it was a hot day, we tremendously enjoyed the company, the occasional breeze, and, as always, the cars--with only one minor fuel pump issue along the way! Great drive!

CCMGC rocked Rockne.

We added some exterior color at St. Mary's, but couldn't rival its interior.

Then we kicked back at the Spoetzl brewery!

---Photos submitted by Karla Vining, and Eric and Bev Van Note

Fifteen CCMGC members gathered in their Little British Cars at Kenny Fort Pub in Round Rock on Aug. 17th for a traditional English Breakfast. We enjoyed swapping stories, checking out each others' cars, and sharing  tech tips. We had MGs ranging from T-series to Bs, from 1948 to 1978, represented. Thanks to all those who made it out for this event! 

--Photos submitted by the Van Notes and the Vinings

Eighteen club members enjoyed the third installment of the Gregarious Garrulous Garage Guys and Girls on June 22.  (I mean, seriously, shouldn't we rename it 5Gs, ladies?)

Terry and Sandra Lawell were our gracious hosts, and all enjoyed  garage chat, oohed and aahed over Terry's cars (how about that Jag?), and basked in Sandra's fabulous garden . New club member Michael Blalock introduced us to his TF. 

Following the visit, many of the attendees enjoyed a barbecue lunch at County Line on the lake. Great turnout for a great garage visit!

---Submitted by Bev Van Note; photos submitted by Bev Van Note and Denise Whiteside

Seven members of the CCMGC attended TMGR’s GOF in Corsicana, May 16-19: Tom Luin, Joe and Karla Vining, Bruce and Denise Whiteside, and Eric and Bev Van Note. Although the rain on Thursday night had been perilous for some, most of our group enjoyed a caravan from Round Rock on a beautiful Friday afternoon. We stopped in Rockdale for Mexican food, arriving in time for pizza in the parking lot that evening.

The show Saturday morning was in downtown Corsicana, where several blocks were set aside for our little British cars. As the day warmed up, attendees appreciated the shade trees lining the main shopping district, while enjoying dozens of classic cars paralleling historic store fronts. 

A sandwich lunch and business meeting were held at a church meeting space convenient to the show. Some members enjoyed a rallye that afternoon, while others chose to beat the heat by driving through Corsicana’s historic carriage district or relaxing in their hotel rooms.

The Saturday evening banquet was held at the Corsicana Opry. Several members participated in the live and silent auctions, and we all congratulated Tom Luin on his second-place win in Premier Class. The Lucas gods were with us on the drive home on Sunday, which was pleasant and uneventful.

And no, Joe didn't really break down in front of the auto parts store. That photo op was just too good a visual gag to pass up!

--Submitted by Bev Van Note