Amelia Island Noggin and Cars and Coffee

The MOGSouth Friday ‘Noggin’ before the Amelia Island Concours is starting to become a recurring event for the club now that we have done it for a few years.  And, this year’s edition, 10 March, at Sliders Seaside Bar and Grill, Amelia Island, was our best, yet.   We had a record number of participants and really couldn’t have asked for a better location. (Perhaps a bit more parking but . . .)

(‘Noggin’ Definition – A small quantity of alcoholic drink, typically a quarter of a pint.  ‘I imagine you all go round to the pub afterwards for a quick noggin and a chat’). 

Many folks we expected, but some we didn’t. (It was a big Porsche weekend and there were a number of competing Porsche activities.)  Interestingly enough, all those with mixed affection (affliction?), e.g. Porsche and Morgan, came by for the Morgan Noggin.  Perhaps Porsche overload, I don’t rightly know?? But, they were very welcome!!

Sliders, the chosen watering hole this year, was extremely accommodating.  We had a large expanse of tables, almost a complete room to ourselves and a good number of very attentive wait staff.  Sometimes with a big crowd you have to be patient as the staff never seems quite prepared.  This time, however, they were great!  I don’t think I ever had an empty glass. And, the beer was always cold.

It was great to see our MOGSouth friends and welcome new ones.  Much of the MOGSouth region was represented.  We even had a few MOGSouth members come quite far (e.g. Jim and Karen Besst from Ohio) to join us.  Some usual attendees were unable to join us due to medical issues and they certainly are in our thoughts!

In attendance were Chuck & Karen Bernath (FL), Jim & Karen Besst (OH), Mark & Andrea Braunstein (FL), Austin & Jenny Britton (FL), Robin & Christine Bycroft (FL), Rick & Sam Frazee (FL), Ken & Pat Kreuzer (SC), Peter McManemy (FL), Brian Miller (AL), Skip & Jill Nunnally (AL), Allan & Mary Ann Rae (Canada via FL), Bruce & Delores Reynolds (SC), John & Debbie Stanley (FL), Nancy & Robert Ullerich (SC), Joe & Sharon Topinka (VA & FL) and Ray & Susan Morgan (GA).

The Amelia Island Concours d’Elegance is usually on Sunday, with a Cars and Coffee gathering for non-Concours collector cars on Saturday.  This Cars and Coffee event is scheduled early and ends early, around 1PM, as the Cars and Coffee uses the same golf course holes (holes 17 & 18) that they use for the Concours.  The popularity of the Cars and Coffee event in the past few years has necessitated the creation of an overflow area, in addition to the main show field, called the MotorXPO (golf course hole 2).  This year all the Morgans were to be located in the MotorXPO.

Usually, the organizers want to get the collector cars off the main show field so that the Concours cars can get settled in on Saturday afternoon.  Well, it turns out that the Concours d’Elegance organizers, in their wisdom (?), moved the Concours d’Elegance up a day, to Saturday, due to the expectation of substantial rain on Sunday.  This moved all the Cars and Coffee cars from the main show field into the MotorXPO overflow area.

The MOGSouth plan for Saturday, 11 March, was to have all the Morgans rendezvous at a location close by and then travel in convoy to the Cars and Coffee location.  We have found that if we don’t arrive as a group, we get scattered and parked wherever they have a spot.

This year, we all arrived at the Surf restaurant parking lot at 8AM and proceeded, in convoy, for about a mile or so to the Cars and Coffee event.  We entered the event and were told to proceed down the middle of the golf hole (golf course hole 2) and we would have spots at the end of the fairway.  There were already cars lining both sides of the fairway, all the way down.  I guess we were none too early.

After a few minutes of idling, however, we were told just to stop in place.   They decided were best situated down the middle of the fairway.  Apart from the lack of shade, I don’t think we could have gotten a better parking spot!  All the spectators had to come by the Morgans as they went up and down to see the other cars.   We got lots, and lots of attention.  We had about a dozen cars on the field.  Cars from the 1960s, 1970s, 1980s, 1990s and 2000s. A great display!

Cars in the Morgan ‘conga line’ were those of Chuck & Karen Bernath and their son Rob, Jim & Karen Besst, Mark & Andrea Braunstein, Rick & Sam Frazee, Ken & Pat Kreuzer, Peter McManemy, Brian Miller, Skip & Jill Nunnally, Allan & Mary Ann Rae, Bruce & Delores Reynolds, John & Debbie Stanley, and Nancy & Robert Ullerich.  Peter Olsen, Tom Perkins, Tony McLaughlin, Ray Morgan, Stu Mosbey and Austin & Jenny Britton came by to say ‘hi’ and support the club.

A great MOGSouth weekend and there is no doubt why it is becoming a recurring event for the club.  Undoubtedly we will do it again next year.  Plan on it!!