LETTER SENT REGARDING MOA VI DEPOSITS

Ken and Elaine spent time together last week reviewing the itinerary, hotels,  and timeline for deposits for participants. eMails were sent to those people who we believe to remain on the list. Should you not have received an email today, and you are still interested, please contact either Elaine or Ken. 

On MOA III  we went up the East coast of North America with the theme being the Tale of Evangeline and how it tied Louisiana, USA to Nova Scotia, Canada.

The theme for the East Coast MOA VI will be the conflict of war and how it evolved into the North America of today. We will visit some sites of the French/British War of the mid seventeenth century, the American War of Independence in the latter part of the seventeenth century, the British /American War of 1812 to 14, and the US Civil War. We will visit the birthplaces of the two countries of North America, and their capital cities and in some cases we will visit the city where the wars began. These cities include Boston, Philadelphia, Washington DC, and Ottawa.

We will visit early villages of both countries including a 1700’s colonial village known as Williamsburg in Virginia and a Canadian Loyalist Village of the early eighteenth century known as King’s Landing in New Brunswick. Two other highlights of the trip will be a visit to the Biltmore Estate and a visit to a small house on Prince Edward Island where Anne of Green Gables was written.

MOA VI begins in Savannah, GA. on Thursday Sept. 10^th 2015 and ends in Norfolk, VA on Sunday Oct. 18^th, 2015. Between these two dates we will have visited 5 Canadian Provinces and eight US States and driven as far north as Ottawa Canada, and driven 5000 miles. The timing of the trip is hoped to capture the beautiful fall colors in New England.

Deposit information has been sent in the email.

MOA VI UPDATE

We are continuing to work on the route for MOAVI and more people are interested in the trip.

So if you have decided you are no longer interested, please let me know. Ken has a few more days to complete the route, then we will be able to give you a better idea of the overall route and sights and overall dates for the trip in Fall 2015. (Sept/Oct).
Specific details will be available after your final payment and hotels are booked.

Our logo is being designed around Steve Roake's Morgan. This picture is the primary feature of the logo- "we are following Steve". See the blog on Steve Roake a few posts ago (can't figure out how to link this)

Happy New Year

It has been awhile since we have posted anything about MOA VI, 2015. Ken has been working diligently on the routes and has completed  (draft) up to Day 32. Only 10 or so days to go and with the Holiday activities over, he will soon finish the remaining days.
As before, if you determine you will not be able to make the trip, please let us know as soon as possible. as we do have a waiting list.
Meanwhile, Happy Morganning.

SOME CANADIAN HISTORY AND MORE

Hi MOAer's,

Ken is working away and soon will have completed the first 4 weeks of the route.

Only 2 more to go.

As we will be stopping in Kingston and Ottawa Ontario, as well as traveling though eastern Canada, he thought you might like some history of the area in advance. 

If you have other information to share, please let me know so I can post it 

Again, if you have decided you are not interested in the trip, please let us know so we can remove your name from the list. It is a long list, and we don't want to discourage people from attending if there actually are places available.

Happy Morganning..

Elaine and Ken

 Some interesting facts (from Canadian perspective) on the WAR OF 1812

Constructing Canada's Identity

• The War of 1812 is an important milestone in the lead-up to the 150th anniversary of Canada's Confederation in 2017.

• Canada would not exist had the American invasion of 1812-15 been successful.

• The end of the war laid the foundation for Confederation and the emergence of Canada as a free and independent nation.

• Under the Crown, Canada’s society retained its linguistic and ethnic diversity, in contrast to the greater conformity demanded by the American Republic.

Establishing borders in North America

• The Treaty of Ghent re-established the borders between British North America (Canada) and the United States to their 1811 configuration. The Treaty called for a joint British-U.S. boundary commission that would confirm the border between Canada and the United States in the years following the war. This boundary between neighbours is now the world's longest undefended border.  

Building a peaceful North-American relationship

• The end of the War marked the beginning of two centuries of peaceful relations, close cooperation and friendship between Canada and the United States.

Historical Legacies

• The War was an important chapter in Canada's military history, with many modern reserve regiments from Ontario, Quebec and Atlantic Canada tracing their origins to this conflict.

• The Rideau Canal was conceived after the war as a military supply route linking the Ottawa River with Kingston and providing a more secure means of transportation for troops and supplies from Montreal to reach the forts and dockyards of Upper Canada.

Important figures

• Laura Secord never made chocolate. She was a Canadian heroine of the War of 1812. Her warning British forces of an impending American attack contributed to the British and First Nations victory at the Battle of Beaver Dams in which an American attacking force of nearly 500 soldiers was taken prisoner.

• While Laura Secord is the best known heroine of the War, many other women risked their lives helping the British cause.

• Statues of Major-General Sir Isaac Brock, Lieutenant-Colonel Charles Michel d'Irumberry de Salaberry, and Laura Secord—all important Canadian figures in the War of 1812—are part of the Valiants Memorial in Confederation Square in Ottawa.

• Major-General Sir Isaac Brock was appointed to the Order of Bath for his success in the capture of Detroit, but died at the Battle of Queenston Heights before learning of his new honour.

• While Tecumseh is the best-known Aboriginal leader of the War of 1812, Mohawk War Chief John Norton often led more warriors into battle.

Economic consequences

• Throughout the War of 1812, many gunboats and large warships were constructed at the Kingston Naval Yard, an important British warships building facility on Lake Ontario. Other dockyards were located in York (Toronto); Amherstburg, in Upper Canada; and Île aux Noix, on the Richelieu River in Lower Canada.

• During the War, the British and Americans issued "letters of marque," which allowed private ship owners to become privateers to prey on enemy commercial shipping. Many ship owners made a fortune selling the ships and cargoes they captured.

Other interesting facts

• The British purposely chose to dress their soldiers in red coats so they could be seen by the enemy from a long distance. Enemies had to wait until the redcoats were 100 metres away before shooting at them with the day's inaccurate firearms. Untrained foes were intimidated by the advancing redcoats, usually overestimating the size of the advancing British force.

• Many of the Upper Canadian militiamen who helped defeat American invasions were recent American immigrants to Upper Canada.

• In Lower Canada (Quebec), French-Canadian militia played a vital role in defending Canada against invasion – most notably at the battles of Chateauguay and Crysler’s Farm where numerically superior American forces were defeated and the capture of Montreal prevented.

• Without the alliance with First Nations during the war, the defence of Canada would probably not have been successful. First Nations played instrumental roles in many important victories including Michilimackinac, Detroit, Queenston Heights, Beaver Dams, Chateauguay and Crysler’s Farm.

• In Canada, many Black volunteers fought in the defence of Canada fearing that the invading Americans would return them to slavery. One notable unit was the “Coloured Corps” which fought at Queenston Heights and was partially made up of persons who had escaped slavery in the United States.

• The defeat of the American invasion would not have succeeded without the combined efforts of the British army and Royal Navy, assisted by English- and French-speaking militiamen and First Nations allies.

• The Treaty of Ghent did not immediately end the war. It did not come into effect until it was ratified. Since overseas communications were slow and carried by boat, it took several weeks for the document to reach the United States, where it was ratified on February 16 and came into effect on February 18, 1815. In the meantime, battles were fought in New Orleans and at Fort Bowyer, in Alabama.

• There were no anaesthetics during the War of 1812. Many soldiers wounded in battle had arms and legs amputated by army surgeons while being held down firmly as the limb was cut off with knives and saws. To prevent the injured man from biting through his tongue in pain, a lead musket ball or bullet was held between his teeth. The phrase "biting the bullet" originates from this practice.

• A trip from England to Canada that takes several hours today by plane, could take as long as three months by sea in 1812.

TELL US ABOUT STEVE ROAKE

We named this event the STEVE ROAKE MEMORIAL MORGANS OVER AMERICA VI for many reasons .

Steve worked closely with Jeremy Harrison on creating the route for Morgans Over America I in 1990. www.morgansoveramerica.co.uk.  Subsequently, Steve planned the wonderful routes for MOA II, III and IV. He did a superb job of including scenic routes, interesting historical sites, parties with other Morgan Clubs, making each trip unique and an awesome adventure. 

He hosted us at his Dry Creek home on several of the trips.

When Ken and Elaine decided they would plan MOA VI, Elaine mentioned to Steve  that we would be doing another trip. Steve expressed that he didn't believe he would be strong enough to go. Sadly,  Steve passed away April 14, 2011 not long afterward.  At Steve's Celebration of Life, Elaine, who was the Master of Ceremonies, just felt it was the right thing to do and ended the event with the announcement that MOAVI would be in memory of Steve. 

A little about Steve for those who didn't know this wonderful man:

Steve graduated from Notre Dame in 1960 with a Degree in Architecture. He worked in Manhattan for several years, moved to San Francisco, and opened his own office a few years later. Steve left his mark in San Francisco, designing award winning residential complexes. In 1979, he bought land in the Dry Creek area of Sonoma County; he designed his dream home and moved to Sonoma County in 1998.

Steve was well known and liked for his casual sense of humor, diversity of interests and his zest for life. His interest in classic cars led him to collect a number of beautiful cars which he enjoyed driving. Steve was active in many car clubs, including the Antique Automobile Car Association, Franklin Club, Kaiser-Frazer Owners' Club, International, Morgan Club, Freewheelers, Lincoln Owners Club, Antique Studebaker Club, Classic Car Club of America (CCCA) and Nor-Cal Region of the CCCA. Steve also served on the Board of Directors of both Classic Car Club of America and Nor- Cal Region CCCA. Steve toured extensively with other car enthusiasts and he hosted many tours, designing the routes and setting up the logistics for participants. Steve had the great honor of being invited to show his 1931 Studebaker President All Seasons Roadster at the Concours d'Elegance 2010 in Pebble Beach last August.

Steve was charming and talented and generous with his time and private philanthropy and enjoyed sharing his excellent culinary talents with his friends. 

Wonderful Response

Thank you to everyone who indicated your desire to complete the entire trip of Morgans Over America VI, and to those who indicated they either wouldn't be able to do the entire trip, nor commit to any of it at this time. Although I have yet to hear from a few people on the list, it is looking like a decent size group of people.
Since the blog is one method we will use to communicate, THIS POSTING IS A TEST, to see if you receive an email from the post. So please forward it to me when you receive it. You have my email from the prior emails. If forwarding it is too complicated, just send me an e-mail "I received it", or similar.
Happy Morganning

DAY 6 and More

Thanks to everyone who has responded to my email of Saturday night. If you didn't receive an email, please note so in the comments section of this blog, as you are not on our "interested list".  For those who haven't answered, please do your best to answer. If we have 15 cars or 40 cars makes a big difference in hotel selection.

In reviewing Day 6 of the route that Ken has made, I note that there is an optional side trip to White Sulfur Springs, WV. When we were there on MOA IV, we managed to take a picture of all of us in the circle in front of the Greenbrier Resort http://www.greenbrier.com http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Greenbrier .  We personally would like to go there again. Some had dinner at one one of the restaurants $$$$$, but there are dress codes, and blue jeans are not a part of it, and a jacket and tie is. The dress codes are clearly marked on each restaurant should you wish to wander about and to have dinner. Also most require reservations.  If there is enough interest, we can make group reservations.  Not to worry about this all yet, but you might want to see if you are interested.
There are also The Bunker Tours http://www.greenbrier.com/play-here/the-bunker.aspx  which might be interesting as well.

We also did our laundry in White Sulfur Springs- I think Steve K has a story about that. Speaking of laundry, we make an effort to have hotels/motels every 3-4 days that have self serve laundry, or else have laundromats in the town. Occasionally, if in a location for 2 days, we send "out" our laundry so we can spend time visiting, rather than doing laundry. We also have "laundry parties".
We will have MOA regalia as well- shirts, fleeces, hats, badges that are included in the registration fee, with optional items to purchase. If dressing MOAish, you need fewer clothes to pack in your limited space.