A late breaker! We just recently learned from our friends at Fiat Lancia Unlimited (FLU) about an annual car show that's sponsored by the Connecticut Council of Car Clubs ("4C's") at the New England Air Museum, located next to Bradley International Airport in Windsor Locks, Connecticut. This year's 19th Annual 4C’s Auto Show & Aircraft Exhibit is this Sunday! Many of you remember the fun trip we made back in early 2002 to this, the largest air museum in the northeast and sixth largest in the nation (if not, click here). So the plan is to repeat the run, and this time there's a car show at the end!

We’ll start off by rendezvousing in Sturbridge, Massachusetts for a scenic trip down into Connecticut, traveling entirely on sparsely trafficked secondary roads in the northeastern corner of the state. What could be better than a late Spring early Sunday morning romp through the country with a bunch of Alfas? The route takes us through woods and past lakes, farms, and tobacco sheds and is really quite pleasant. It’s a 42-mile itinerary that’s actually a fairly direct route between Sturbridge and Bradley, and beats any Interstate route hands-down.

If you’ve never been to the New England Air Museum, you’re in for a real treat. The museum features many rare and special planes. It really is an incredible place—when we went three years ago, we all swore that we'd go back and spend more time. Well, now's our chance! More details can be found at the New England Air Museum web site. You can stay at the museum as long as you’d like before heading back. For the return trip, we’ve planned another route that parallels the trip down a little further south and is just as pleasant and scenic, dumping you out on I-84 just below the CT-MA border.

The Agenda:
8:00 - Meet in Sturbridge, find coffee and other facilities
8:30 - Leave Sturbridge on the scenic tour
9:45 - Arrive at the Air Museum
10:00-3:00 - Enjoy the car show and explore the museum
5:00 - Museum closes

Directions: Our launch pad will be the parking lot of the Oxhead Tavern in Sturbridge, MA (part of the Sturbridge Host Hotel). To get there from the north, take the Mass Turnpike (I-90) to Exit 9 onto Route I-84. From the south, take Route I-84 East. Take Exit 3B on I-84, which ramps you onto Route 20 West. The Oxhead Tavern driveway is approximately one mile down on the right, between McDonald’s & Burger King. Watch for the sign. (Please note: These directions are three years old but are believed to still be accurate; beware.) For the route down through Connecticut and back, printed directions will be handed out.

For those who wish to attend but would rather just meet us at the museum for the car show, plan on being there at 9:45. Check the New England Air Museum web site for directions or use the map below:

The car show will start at 10 am. There is a mere $5 per car charge that includes entrance to the museum for the driver and all passengers (we think)! Visitors will be treated to a collection of antiques, classics, special interest cars, sports cars and street rods. Dash plaques will be awarded to the first 200 cars. Participants and spectator choice awards will be made. A DJ will be on hand for your enjoyment. For lunch, your options will be an onsite caterer, packing your own lunch, or going to one of the nearby restaurants. There's a bit more info at the 4C NEAM Car Show web site. This is going to be fun!

Located in the heart of Hampton Village, this 300-year-old establishment is famous for its fresh seafood, steaks, and great appetizers. The seafood chowder is a first place award winner, and the atmosphere is cozy and comfortable. There’s also a Sunday brunch in which we can partake. For more info on our hosts for the June gathering, visit the Widow Fletcher's Tavern web site. The phone number is 603-926-8800.

We had nice turnouts for our first two monthly meetings, and this time will give all of you northern New Englanders an easy chance to attend a club gathering. We’re looking forward to hanging out with a bunch of AONErs from New Hampshire, Maine, and northeastern Massachusetts who don’t often get an opportunity join in so easily!

The idea of these meetings is that they be informal gatherings to which you can drive your Alfa, grab a little chow, talk over ideas for club activities, talk Alfas, eyeball Alfas, and generally have an enjoyable time with your Alfa buds on a regular, scheduled basis. The location of our meetings varies, in order to give everyone in the region a chance to attend some of the get-togethers without having to drive too far. Next month, we’ll be back out west of Boston.

Hey, it’s Fathers Day Weekend—you call the shots! Come out to the Collings Foundation Headquarters in Stow, MA on June 18th or 19th when the Collings Foundation opens its aircraft and automobile museum collection for the weekend to the public. For those of you who missed it in the past (and even those of you who didn’t!), this is a real treat!

AONE members are planning a caravan! So far, nearly a dozen AONE members (and some spouses) are signed up to caravan out to Watkins Glen, NY on September 8th to participate in the largest event featuring ALFA in the Northeast since our highly successful Giulietta Giubilee last year. ALFA is the "Tour de Marque" for this year’s Watkins Glen Grand Prix Festival, and members who sign up will participate in many special events, including a tour and lunch at Watkins Glen International Speedway, parade laps on the track, three laps of the old 6.6-mile long road course, and special reserved parking in downtown Watkins Glen for the Vintage Race Re-enactment. All of these events occur beginning at 8:00AM on Friday, September 9th—hence the need to get out there on the 8th.

On Saturday the 10th and Sunday the 11th are the SVRA Vintage Races at the track, which is a major take-in with many different classes competing wheel-to-wheel, and The Collier Cup. There will also be many vendors from all over the country to tug at your purse-strings, and a classic car show in which those participating in the prior day’s ALFA event are invited to show their cars (and it gives you great parking while at the track!).

As if all of this weren’t enough to give you a total overdose of your favorite obsession, the picture-perfect setting of Watkins Glen, crammed with old (and not so old) sports cars and racers, beautiful twisty roads dotted with wineries, lakes, and waterfalls make for a heady brew, so you’d better bring someone sensible with you to make sure you come back!

The Watkins Glen Grand Prix Festival is a terrific weekend of vintage racing and other forms of celebration, all held in historic and scenic Watkins Glen, NY. It’s always a real happening, and this year Alfa Romeo is the featured marque! Attendance will be high and accommodations are filling up fast, so click here to download a brochure (2MB PDF file) and make your plans!

One last thing—the New York Club tells us that they have twelve cars committed to this event (and more coming), so there’s another reason to make the trip! Your club needs you to help make AONE….A-ONE!

The early-autumn Italian Car Cruise that's become a tradition! For more info, visit the Pasta Fazoom web site or contact Cal Crouch at 315-691-9718 or calvincrouch@hotmail.com.