main street provides the parade route for 20 floats [trucks pulling thinly-disguised trailers], including the town band. Everyone on the island shows up to watch; since the motel borders the parade route, we all stood and applauded every float, including the Town Band and the Little Miss Vinalhaven contestants. We then started to tour the improvised fairgrounds when I had to respond to an EMT call out, abandoning my guests at their motel.
Local parking ticket.
2012 4th of July Parade, Vinalhaven, ME.
Apologetically, I returned later, stuffed everyone into the Rover and we toured one of our empty beaches. Maine has white sandy beaches, but they’re far southwest of this part of Maine. Our beaches resemble the recent shots of Mars—not the white cliffs of Dover. I think we were enjoying the beach walk when another EMT call out came in; L-R: Thompson Smith, QE I and Jeff Aronson hit the beach. we had the chance to see how well the Rover could handle a dirt washboard lane and a town road at speed. Conveniently, this EMT call occurred right in front of their motel. Hopefully I made up for this interruption when we went across the street that evening for a lobster dinner (Vinalhaven has one of Maine’s largest lobster The perfect lobster at the Harbor Gawker fleets) and some pretty good restaurant, Vinalhaven, ME. breakfast sandwiches the next morning before my guests fled the island. I’m optimistic that I can do better the next time someone accepts an invitation. People who don’t see Land Rovers very often find the Series II-A interesting and entertaining. All kids adore it—it’s the same shape they learned to draw in kindergarten. Jesse Burke, N. Conway, NH, visited
L-R: Jeff Aronson, Adrienne LaValley in the QE I.
the island and stopped to chat about Series Land Rovers. Caitlyn Cadow, Cambridge, MA, a member of the 2006 and 2010 Winter Olympic Women’s Hockey teams, stared at its dirty interior and could only sigh, “oooh, you have jump seats!” Cinematographer Claudio Rietti and actress Adrienne LaValley came up from New York City and found themselves enjoying an island tour in the Rover, blissfully ignoring the mess in the car. This month I’ve been asked if the QE I would serve as a wedding conveyance for a young bride. She’s been a long time summer resident so she, too, forgives its faults—but I will try and clean it up in time. Driving a Series Rover, or for that matter, a Range Rover Classic, Discovery I/II or any Defender, you’re free from the ever-increasing and somewhat dubious regulations bedeviling automobile manufacturers like Land Rover. In the near future, all automobiles will be required to have a rear view camera and screen on their center dashboard. You would think this an unnecessary contrivance—after all, every car already comes with a rear window, standard. You could turn around and look out the window before backing up, right? Unfortunately every new car must also come with billboard-size headrests because of rear end collisions caused by too many idiots texting instead of, say, looking ahead at the road while driving. So now you’ll need to have a rear view camera and screen. No wonder no one wants to become an automobile mechanic any longer—who wants to replace a dashboard that has more electronic gizmos than the average Best Buy? Driving my II-A off island I realize that I must be more careful than ever because basically, no one pays attention to their driving anymore. I carry a cell phone, look forward to calls, texts and photos, but I don’t even like to talk on a speakerphone while driving [honestly, it’s hard to hear a phone in a II-A anyway]. I’m with Autoweek’s Dutch Mandel who wrote, “Driving is a privilege, not a right. Yes, you have the right to travel across the country freely, but not without promising that you won't put me in jeopardy when you hit the streets. The only way--the only way--you can do that is if you pay attention to moving, two-ton vehicle at speeds faster than any animal on the planet, on roads congested beyond belief and with all of your faculties. To suggest otherwise is disingenuous.” Insideline.com listed its “Top 100 Auto Styles”. The list was certainly suspect; there’s no mention of the Range Rover, the Jaguar XKE wound up as #7 and the Lamborghini Countach came in #1. Far back at #78 the site paid tribute to the Defender 90, calling it “rugged simplicity raised to a high art. Flat aluminum panels and the nose of the world's strongest bulldog over two straight axles with tall wheels—it's Winston Churchill equipped with four-wheel drive.” Maybe if I cleaned my II-A the Series Rover would have made the list. ///
Rovers Magazine
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