A Simple, Engaging Sports Car

I found that even though I am a terrible photographer, the essence of my Miata shines through the photos I took throughout the summer. A simple, pure, engaging sports car can remedy most ailments of the soul through the basic, joy-filled interaction it offers its driver.

This is the barn in the vineyard where I lived and worked. The Angels on either side of the door are necessary to support the driving style encouraged by the red stripe.

This is the brick road of the walking mall in Charlottesville, VA. I am petitioning for extra points because of the many, varied stares that my car drew from the pedestrians in the background. I am still laughing about this picture. Again, I have a lot of fun in my car!

Alexandra and I traveled all around the area claiming points. We headed to my good friend’s horse farm in Dickerson, Maryland, we also decided to return to the vineyard via the ferry over the Potomac River, back to Route 15 in Leesburg, VA. After traveling down a long, terribly bumpy single lane road we landed at the ferry dock, which looked like somebody’s front yard. The landing was quite a few miles away from anything else, including an ATM, which we needed because they didn’t accept credit cards. Alexandra and I had three of the five dollars necessary to make the crossing so I knew that we were going to have to rely on the generosity of a stranger to help us get across, lest we spend the next hour getting back to an ATM. So, being the car-nut I am, I profiled all the cars in the queue, passed all the SUVs and immediately approached a Volkswagen Golf with a bike rack on top. Sure enough, the kind lady driving the car was thrilled to hear of our adventure and willingly gave us one of her commuter coupons to get across the river. She took the photo of us in front of my car while on the ferry. She didn’t want to be in the picture but I offered her a complimentary tasting and tour at the winery for her and her family. We all talked on the ride across the river and realized that we had made each other’s day. Spreading of joy is really why I own my little car and this picture perfectly captures that story. Life is good!

This is my favorite picture of the year because of who’s in it. This is Francis, the five-year-old son of the vineyard manager/winemaker at our winery. This May, he helped plant the five and a half acres of new vines located behind my Miata. His parents have been best friends of mine since way before he was born so I think of this as a picture of my nephew in front of my favorite car, resting in front of his family’s passion, the vineyard. Needless to say, he was thrilled to be in this picture. Francis carefully followed my Challenge progress all summer and helped me select the best pictures to send to you all at Moss. His proud face says it all. I love this picture.

By Andrew Lauria