Unfortunately none of us got any photos of the rally but we had a great time. Club member Jim Sweet has submitted the following information about the day.
By 10:00 am August 10th
Classic Thunderbirds were lining up in front of John and Oleta Sailors’ home in
Hillsboro – seven T-Birds all together, plus a Subaru – all awaiting the rally
instructions. Beginning at about 10:30,
off we went at one-minute intervals on this journey through parts of
Washington, Multnomah and Columbia counties.
With my son Jay as navigator, we were the first car out. The sixty-some very cleverly-written
instructions and clues, covering approximately 55 miles, guided us over hill
and dale, through farmland, forests, and industrial areas, along
straight-aways, and twisty-windy roads (lots of those!). We even crossed a bridge to tour an
island. One of the T-Birds – I won’t
mention any names – toured somewhat more of that island than was intended by
the instructions, as we – errrr -- they missed the sign holding the clue to the
next turn! Although that T-Bird was the
first to start the rally, but because of that extended island tour, it was the
last to arrive at the final destination.
One team, hopelessly lost, opened their “panic envelope” giving them the
location of the final destination. Well,
two ‘Birds didn’t make it all! In fact,
we heard that one never even made it out of Washington County, claiming to have
had some mechanical issues…
Adding to the fun, and to ensure no one took
any short cuts, the instructions included many often-cryptic clues to things to
find and identify along the route. One
example: “Wave to Mike and Nancy. What car do they have in their driveway?” As many driveways that we passed had cars in
them and I, for one, had no idea who Mike and Nancy were so my navigator and I
had no idea what we were looking for.
Until, that is, we saw that beautiful red and white ’57 Mercury in a
driveway. Wait, was that John and Howard
standing there? (Yes it was…)
The final destination was
a (intentionally not named here) pizza restaurant. Where else would such an event end up but at
a restaurant? During our lunch John
awarded an AAA Safety Kit to the drivers of the two cars which correctly
identified the most check points and clues along the route.
All in all, the rally was
a great event, fun for all, and a fine day to take our Thunderbirds out for a
drive.