Cupid, draw back your bow
And let your arrow go
Straight to my lover’s heart,
for me Nobody but me…

Story by Jeffrey Aronson / Photos by Brenda Salmon & Jeffery Aronson

Ah, love, as crooned by Sam Cooke decades ago. Where does one find amour today?
Why, in the woods of Maine on Valentine’s Day weekend.

February 14, 2009, positively oozed romance. From a crisp morning temperature of 14 degrees F, the warmth in Unity, ME, rose to a balmy 27 degrees. The sun shone brightly, the winds died to gentle zephyrs, and the hum of heater blowers bathed the men and women present in the glow of Valentine’s Day.

Bruce Fowler, Unity, ME, a long-time Land Rover owner/enthusiast, once again organized this three day event. Avid winter campers could “enjoy” the outdoors on land surrounding his house; other less intrepid adventurers succumbed to charms of the “official host hotel,” the Holiday Inn in nearby Waterville. (…)

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Story by Hallie Vail / Photos by Michael L. Palmieri Photography
[Hallie Vail, Springfield, MA, mixes graduate studies in education with Land Rover studies in off-roading. She took to the woods this fall and had a ball –ed.]
Graduate studies can tie you to the library and really sap your energy. A few New England events, alongside group trail riding in late summer, jerked me back on track to living and breathing Land Rover.
Rewind several months - I hadn’t done much “rovering” since Winter Romp 2008 in February. At that event, I made it 30-feet along the trail when I shattered the rear differential of my Range Rover Classic. Not to worry, it was a quality learning experience scooping shards of metal out from the pig and we always find ways to thoroughly enjoy Winter Romp.
Fast forward to late summer – still not much to tell. (…)

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Story by: Jeffrey B. Aronson Photos by Calef Letorney & Jeffrey B. Aronson
Forget March – February is the cruelest month. Yes, it’s short and for many people, it includes a vacation weekend to buy cars in honor of forgotten Presidents. There’s a small sop to romance with Valentine’s Day. It’s also brutally cold [whoever heard of a February thaw?] and this year, much of the continental US witnessed its first major blizzard. Forget frozen pipes! Forget the pain of the simplest errands! It’s February and time for off roading. There are numerous events around the country held this time of year, but for the northeast corners of the US and Canada, it’s hard to beat the Maine Winter Romp.
For 11 years, Bruce Fowler of Unity, ME, has lent out his time, Land Rovers and his land for the President’s Day weekend event. (…)

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By Amy Sawchak
[Amy Sawchak, Middletown, NJ, rode in a lead Rover at the Maine Winter Romp. Here’s her impressions of her first off-road event -ed.]
If you’ve never been to a Land Rover rally I suggest an extra pair of trousers to keep handy with you before the ride of your life. Bumpy, jumpy, mudslinging, tree bumping, bass thumping trails may cause your pants to fly off or leave a little Land Rover trail of your own. A winter Rover rally is not for the thin skinned, poorly dressed, insider! I found out from first hand experience that a weekend romping around the woods in Maine is not for the weak hearted.
The Maine Winter Romp was my first rally and also the first time I broke ground in Maine. Needless to say, by Sunday I was in love. Maine plus Rovers equaled a kind of magic that made us all hang our heads out of the windows like a dog enjoying summer, despite the winter temperatures. (…)

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Story by: Hallie Vail / Photos by Graham Letorney
Last year, I spoke of Winter Romp and its excessive extracurricular activities. There’s no need to speak of them this year but I must first off clear my name to anyone who was in the side room at Big G’s Sunday morning. Contrary to John Cranfield’s accusation, I did not single-handedly keep the entire hotel up all night; there were other perpetrators but I will keep it at that to save their reuputations.
Winter Romp has sadly come and gone. I no doubt had my countdown, told all my friends, and even convinced two gals to hit the trails with me: Steph, who now has a few rallies under her belt and Amy, who had never been to Maine or been acquainted with Rover owners other than me. With the help of Rovers North they can let everyone know first hand what they thought, hopefully nothing too detailed! As for me, even though I had the time of my life, I always come away with something more than some good chuckles. (…)

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By Jeffrey B. Aronson
A friend in Vermont once asked me, “Why do you own such anti-social cars?” Her statement stunned me. “Antisocial? Moi?”
Perhaps she had a point with my ’80 Triumph TR-7 Spider; after all, it will only seat me and one friend. Given my short list of friends, that’s often proven to be more than enough. You do sit quite low to the ground and you enter by stretching yourself over wide sills. If you’re not medium height, lithe and athletic, you’ll never look or feel good about entering or exiting the car. If you’re female, you’ll likely feel on display. If you’re tall, you’ll not feel too good once you’re scrunched up inside the car. There’s also no visible evidence of safety or convenience; the cupholder is actually the person next to you, to whom you ask, “Would you hold this cup for a moment?”
Then there’s the styling of a TR-7, “the shape of things to come” that came and went. (…)

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