I wanted to give the southern members a glimpse into the Winter highlights of members in the Lake Ontario Region. In a typical year my cars will rarely be driven after the middle of October. They will hibernate in my garage until sometime in April, once I am convinced there has been enough rain to wash Winter’s salt off the roads.

For some Regional members, six months of Rootes car use isn’t enough, so these Snowbirds migrate south, towing their cars, to enjoy the Winter in places like Florida and Arizona. You may see the odd Canadian or New York license plate at a southern car cruise night in February. As I’m not 100% retired yet, I have to cope with Winter.

A drive on the lake

Within the last year I accomplished two things: First, installed a gas furnace in my new detached garage to keep my toys cozy and warm while they rest. Second, something I have never done before is take an early March top-down ride in my Tiger on the frozen lake beside my house. It couldn’t have been a nicer day – Sunny, no wind and 17°F (-8°C).

Normally our lake is covered in snow and only ATV’s and snowmobiles can navigate it, but once every 10 to 15 years or so, conditions are just right for a few days where there is little or no snow, and a regular car can drive on it. I couldn’t resist, and convinced Cathy, my wife, to go for a drive. The Tiger started right away, and off we went. My son followed us in my 4 x4 pickup, just in case I got stuck. It was a great drive, a bit freaky going over the black ice pockets, but it was 18” thick. Apparently 8” is all that is needed to support a car.

However, a week later? Not so good. I guess that was too late to remove the fish hut by truck.