When you click on links to various merchants on this site and make a purchase, this can result in this site earning a commission. Affiliate programs and affiliations include, but are not limited to, the eBay Partner Network.
A warm, humid morning at Katie's. Just what you'd expect for July in Northern Virginia. You'd also expect a lot of nice cars at Katie's -- and you'd be right!
Especially nice was the wood sculpture of Bob Morris' Godsal - a one-of-one roadster, now being restored up in Wayne Carini's shop. More on the Godsal: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Godsal
I just got may laptop back, so trying to catch up on posts. On July 13th, we had a 'bumper crop' of Lotus... A couple of Elises, including mine. A couple of Exiges. Even rarer, we had the FWD Lotus Elan M100, and - rarest of all - Steve's Lotus Omega, 4-door supercar from the early 90's. (Twin-Turbo V6, 377hp, 177mph, uses the same transmission as the Lotus-fettled Corvette ZR-1 of the same era.)
Another busy Saturday at Katie's. Beyond Bob Morris' Kaiser Darrin, and a particularly nice Jaguar XK-140, it was a pretty good day for French cars. We had two Citroens, including a Citroen SM. Check out the mushroom-shaped brake pedal - part of the hydraulic system, which also operates the hydropneumatic suspension. A Peugeot completed the French car trifecta.
A beautiful morning at Katie's. Mostly my friends' cars. David Sunter's new Ferrari 488. Bob Morris' Morgan. The Cosworth Vega Club showed up, in force. Jim Sprague's Alvis.
There was a car accident (possibly several) on 193 near Katie's this morning. I hope everyone is OK.
We had a very early crowd, but the lot filled in a bit slower, since many, many people had to take alternate routes to avoid the enormous backup on Georgetown Pike.
First - there is a regular police presence at Katie's now. This is because of problems caused by 'bad actors'. If you know someone who likes to do the engine revving, burnouts, and speed runs down the local streets - please encourage them to stop that behavior, or ask them to stay away. It's completely possible that we could lose this venue, based on the behavior of a few.
Below is a picture of someone pulled over by a Fairfax County policeman. I don't know why he was pulled over, but be aware - the police have been alerted to watch this crowd carefully. I saw two speed traps within a mile of Katie's when I left the venue today.
Finally - the subject of parking. I'm told there are at least 500 parking spots at the venue, and we regularly exceed that number of cars. The simple solution - if you want to be able to get a parking spot at Katie's, get there between 6:00AM to 6:30AM. That doesn't appeal to you? In that case, you could show up between 8:00AM and 8:30AM, and you MIGHT get a space. Be aware that the Katie's Cars & Coffee is designed to be done by 9:00AM, so that local businesses can have parking for their customers.
When I exited the parking lot this morning, I drove up to Georgetown Pike, and there was a line of cars parked on the exit road, next to the Post Office. A truck delivering produce to Katie's was forced to unload his truck at the top of the entry road (because an entire lane of this two-lane road was blocked by parked cars). This turned the road into a one-way, exit-only road. If you parked on the entry road - PLEASE STOP. You blocked off not only an entry, but a route that has been used RECENTLY by the EMS unit across the street, for emergency medical work. I hope this street can be marked as a no parking zone ASAP.
If we don't make sure we rectify the problems that are happening at this venue, we are NOT going to like the changes these problems will cause.
If you are reading this, chances are you are not part of the problem, but there are people coming to Katie's whose behavior is a problem. We now have a police officer on site (paid for by Mike, owner of Katie's), to help rein in the few who need to prove their manhood by high-speed runs, engine revving, and burnouts on Georgetown Pike and Walker Road.
Another problem that is getting worse, is parking along the road into Katie's, between the Post Office and the bank. This road functions as an entry and exit, and is not wide enough for parking. When people park along this road, it becomes impossible for two-way traffic. Keep in mind that, in the event of a medical emergency, this is how the ambulance would get to our parking lots, and I have seen the ambulance here onsite at least twice in the last year. Don't be the person that parks in the entry road, and chokes this main thoroughfare down.
Please do what you can to help alleviate this problem. These are serious problems, that could cause us to lose Katie's as a Cars & Coffee venue.
07-06-2019, 06:03 PM
