A FEW OPENINGS FOR REGISTRATION FOR MOAVI

We continue with a few openings for Morgans Over America VI which will start September 10, 2015 in Savannah Georgia and finish 40 days later in Norfolk, VA. If you are interested, please leave a comment below and we will get in touch with you. We have heard that people did not put themselves on the list because at the time, there were no openings. Deposits ($1000) must be received by April 30, 2014 for you to be included on the trip 

Much of the trip is following important places from the US Civil War as well as seeing the beauty in these areas. 
Some of the places we will visit include Savannah Georgia, Charleston SC, Blue Ridge Mountains, Watkins Glen NY, Ottawa Canada, Quebec City Canada, many towns in New Brunswick Canada, Prince Edward Island Canada, then head down back to the US during the fall colors through  Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Boston Massachusetts, Newport Rhode Island, Philadelphia Pennsylvania, Washington DC, and Williamsburg Virginia, finishing up in Norfolk, Virginia. Most days travel range from 100-200 miles although there are some less and a couple more.  US travel is not particularly conducive to staying somewhere and going out and returning the same day. Where that situation exists, we have scheduled 2 or more nights.

If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to ask. 

Update on Deposits

Elaine has emailed the bank information for transferring the MOAVI deposits to those who have responded that they wish to attend MOAVI. There are a few people on the list whom I have not heard back from yet, so don't know their status. 
We will have participants from UK, France, Sweden, US, Canada, Australia, and the Kiwi's are thinking about it waiting for shipping information.
Some of the participants are prior MOAer's, MONZA participants and some new to the group. We welcome the new people to the group, as well as those of us who have travelled together. 
Ken and I will come up with a timeline as to when information will be available on shipping, insurance, hotels, regalia, deposits and any other information you will need. 
We are getting excited about the trip. 

DEPOSITS NEEDED TO RESERVE YOUR SPACE

We have sent out notices to people on the MAIN list asking if they are still interested in MOA VI  OR NOT, and deposits are due. 

If you thought you were on the MAIN LIST and you didn't receive a recent email from Elaine, please let me know (either email, or comment below)

Once we have heard back from the MAIN LIST people, and if we have not met our 25 car goal, we will contact those on the waiting list, and those who have recently expressed interest.

By April 30, 2014 we will have our group that will be going on MOAVI, the entire route. 

We are so looking forward to this amazing trip.

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.