By Frank Anigbo

Photos by Frank, John Rowntree, and Tom Ducibella

A DRIVING TOUR OF CAPE COD in mid-November was always going to be a dare of the weather gods. But it appears that we were judged worthy of one more hurrah because Saturday, November 11, arrived with plenty of warming sunshine, calm winds, and not a drop of rain for miles around.

Judging by the number of cars and people who signed up for the 2023 revival of the Cape Crusade — an event that was once a staple on AONE’s annual calendar — people were hungry for the postcard-picturesque environs and slow pace of autumn on Cape Cod.

Twenty cars and thirty-five participants in a surprising number of vintage Alfas (and some modern cars) descended on John and Robin Devereux’s garage at a quiet industrial estate in Falmouth. We were greeted by the sight of John’s striking 1974 French Blue GTV parked just outside the large open bay door to his garage, alongside a tall AONE flag in case anyone should be in doubt that they had arrived at the right place.

Inside John and Robin’s garage was a veritable feast for the senses and bellies, in the form of John’s collection of classic and modern cars, and a table overflowing with edible delights. Parked all around in the morning sunshine were our cars with variety aplenty and something to delight everyone.

Most of us got there by 9:00 am to enjoy coffee and pastries, look at cars inside the large and immaculate garage, and wander around outside before we were all summoned to a brief drivers’ meeting and distribution of tour maps just after 10:00 am. Then we were off, with John leading in the blue ’74 GTV and Frank Anigbo, the event co-organizer, bringing up the rear in a lesser car — but thankfully one of agreeable Italian parentage.

Falmouth is a surprisingly big place, and John in the lead car took us through many of its nooks and crannies, from an impossibly pretty and meandering coastal road to the hip center of Woods Hole dominated with all things WHOI (that’s Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute to you!). Quaint New England homes, orange fall foliage, a lighthouse, and a harbor still dotted with a few boats made for a pleasurable tour of one of Cape Cod’s most varied towns.

We finally left Falmouth for neighboring Bourne an hour or so into the event with a drive along the Cape Cod Canal before turning into the Bourne Recreational Area with a close-up view of the Bourne Bridge trusses running alongside our convoy. It was a welcome rest stop to stretch legs, take photographs, chat a bit, and use rest rooms before commencing the second leg of our drive to Barnstable Village.

We left the Bourne Recreational Area with Frank Anigbo taking the lead for the drive from Bourne to Barnstable, along the Cape Cod Canal to Sandwich and the start of perhaps the prettiest stretch of road on Cape Cod — Route 6A, also known as Old King’s Highway. We drove along 6A, with half the cars separated from the convoy at some difficult junction along the way. Thankfully, the lead group came upon a convenient parking lot at which we waited for a minute or two to reconnect the two halves of our pretty train.

Then on past Sandwich and into West Barnstable, under a train bridge that on this day we were not lucky enough to catch the Cape Cod Scenic Train go clattering overhead, and into Barnstable Village where we were greeted by an abundance of historic homes, most built by sea captains for whom Barnstable was a natural base given the proximity of Barnstable Harbor, which was often the first port of call for ships arriving from Europe before they made their way to Boston Harbor.

An Alfa Romeo flag planted by the wooden fence that ringed a small field signaled that we had reached the parking area of our final destination. It also helped that Gary Prime’s red 4C was already parked next to the flag. Gary, having been separated from the convoy somewhere in Falmouth, had decided to skip ahead rather than traipse all over the Cape trying to find us.

Our final destination was Frank and Karen Anigbo’s garage, with two of its three barn doors thrown wide open and trays of sandwiches beckoning everyone inside, provided they could get past the Maserati Mexico and Ferrari 330 GT parked in front to provide spark for conversation about what the lesser Italian manufacturers where up to in the mid-1960s.

The 2023 revived edition of the Cape Crusade ended with club members enjoying each other’s company in the relaxed atmosphere of a garage with the sorts of things that interest and bind us, and grateful for one more drive in fifty degrees of sunshine on a mid-November afternoon. Car life doesn’t get much better.

We will do this again in 2024, perhaps a tad earlier in the year next time.

Cape Crusaders and their Chariots
Walter Piescik and Guest - 1966 Duetto
Beverley Fisher and Tina McCurdy - 1973 Giulia
Steve and Nancy Perry - 1969 GTV
Avi Grunin - 1968 GTV
Dan and Deb Donovan - 2018 Giulia
Ted Keon and Guest - 1974 GTV
Glenn and Lauren Randall - 1969 Spider
Gary Prime - 2018 4C
Tom Ducibella and Angela Nannini - WRX
John and Roberta Rowntree - 1987 Spider
Meg Anderson - 1977 Spider
Peter Walker - Fiat 500 Abarth
John and Lauren DeWaele - 1972 GTV
Mark Patterson and Ruth Slocum - Berlina
Paul Ripley - 1987 Spider
John and Robin Devereux - 1974 GTV
Cedric Emac and Guest - 1996 GTV (Euro only!)
Fred Dalrymple - 1969 Spider
Frank and Axel and Inez Anigbo - 1967 Maserati Mexico
Karen and Zoe Anigbo - 1971 GTV