By Phil Bostwick
Photos by Ted Keon, Gene Durso, and Dave Pratt

Twenty intrepid Crusaders in eleven Batmobiles braved overcast, fog, Irish mist, gusty winds and occasional showers to participate in the sixth running of the AONE Cape Crusade on Saturday, October 22, 2016. Although the Yankee Weather Man failed to provide them with an Indian summer day with bright sunshine and blue skies, the roads were mostly dry and spirits were mostly high as they met at the Dunkin' Donuts store in Patriot Square, Dennis, MA, at around 9:30 a.m. to partake of donuts, coffee, car talk and a photo op. The Crusaders and their Batmobiles were:

Meg Anderson and Peter Walker - 1977 Alfa Romeo Spider
Judy and Gene Durso - 2016 Alfa 4C
Debbie and Dan Donovan - 1988 Alfa Veloce Spider
Andrea and Greg Stidsen - 1974 Alfa GTV 2000
Ted Keon - 1974 Alfa GTV 2000
Douglas Fields - 1971 Alfa Spider
Mary and Philip Kotsios - 2016 Alfa 4C
Jean Ann and Phil Bostwick - 1972 Alfa GTV 2000
Frank and Axel Anigbo - 1977 Ferrari 308 GTB
Vivian and Dave Pratt - 2005 Porsche Boxster S
Roberta and John Rowntree - 2009 VW TDI

A little after 10 a.m., all hands were on deck and a drivers' meeting was held. Traditional high tech, digital GPS maps (see example in photos) were distributed and reviewed by the navigators. It looked like the sun was breaking out, so the parade left Patriot Square and headed — via back roads — to Orleans. That prompted the sun to disappear and not reappear until after lunch. Undaunted, the Crusaders dragged the main in Orleans, rounded the Orleans-Eastham rotary, and headed on back roads by Cape Cod Bay, the marshes, First Encounter Beach (where the Pilgrims in the Mayflower's long boat first encountered the local Cape Cod Indians), past the Wellfleet drive-in movie screen (one of the last remaining drive-in movies in the U.S.) to Route 6. At Lecount Hollow Road they turned toward the Atlantic Ocean to drive north up Ocean View Drive. At White Crest Beach they parked their cars to view some hardy surfers riding the waves in a grey-green Atlantic that looked decidedly cold. No Great White Sharks appeared to ruin the surfers' day so the Crusaders saddled up and pointed themselves north toward Newcomb Hollow Beach. All the rest rooms being padlocked, no comfort stop was taken and the Crusaders put the pedal to the metal around Gull Pond in Wellfleet to come out again on Route 6.

After a slow drive through the historic and beautiful town of Wellfleet, the Crusaders took back roads north near Cape Cod Bay toward Pamet River. These roads being nearly uninhabited, the pace was quickened until the leader met a black and white coming at him on the other side of the road, resulting in a throttle shutoff and a downshift. No harm, no foul so it was back on the throttle and up the hill and dale until the parade arrived again at Route 6 near Truro Center. A brisk drive up Route 6 through Truro led to a turnoff on the Shore Road (Route 6A) into Provincetown. The view of the Pilgrim Tower as one comes down the hill where P-Town comes into view is a scene that never gets old. Because the lower half of Commercial Street is under construction, the Crusaders drove up Bradford Street and turned left at the Town Center to drive slowly up Commercial Street through bags of pedestrians, cyclists, hand-holding partners and other tourists. The locals gave thumbs up to the parade cars with shouts of, "Nice Wheels!"

As they reached the end of Commercial Street in Provincetown, the Crusaders took the back route to Race Point, passing the tiny Provincetown Municipal Airport and ending up at the Race Point Coast Guard Station and beach. The forecast gusty winds did not deter, so the parade did a U-turn and headed down Race Point Road to Route 6. A brisk drive south down Route 6 through some showers led the Crusaders to their appointed lunch reservation at the Wicked Oyster Restaurant in Wellfleet. Due to the famous Wellfleet oysters being afflicted with norovirus (which occurred just before the annual Wellfleet Oyster Festival when 75 people became sickened), all raw shellfish was banned, making clam chowder, salad, cheeseburgers and similar fare the lunch du jour. The restaurant provided us with a private parking lot for the cars and a separate room for our lunch.

All in all, it was a most successful drive and outing which seemed to be enjoyed by all. The sun finally came out as everyone left the restaurant. Any crusaders who stayed on the Cape until Sunday were greeted with a beautiful fall day with plenty of blue skies and sunshine. Many thanks to all the participants who braved the weather to attend.

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