fter arrival at the Glen on Thursday around 6pm, the caravan (what was left of it) broke up and we all went to check in at our respective inns/motels/cabins. We would all meet up again the next morning for the start of the day’s events.

Our cabin (a large one that we shared with Gene and Judy Durso) overlooked Seneca Lake from about 150 feet up the side of its steeply-sloped shores, and it was a beautiful sight the next morning (once the fog lifted) as the four of us scurried out to our dew-soaked ’74 Spiders (one yellow, one green). The cars were joined by Vic and Gail Cerami’s red ’66 Duetto; they were staying at the same establishment and had joined us for dinner the night before. Breakfast was accomplished expeditiously but with big portions at Savard’s, and then we refueled at the local Sunoco. Gassing up at the pump next do us was a pretty GTA, driven by one of the New York Alfa club members. I figured I had to introduce Diane and myself, especially when a familiar voice called out a "howdy" from next to the car—it was Marcia Douglas, one of the event volunteers who had offered to be my navigator on the first Roadster Tour I attended back in ’03. Seems Marcia likes Alfas, as this year she had hitched a pretty sweet ride. By the way, if you’re ever in the Glen on the morning of this kind of event, the Sunoco station is the place for viewing great cars. Somehow, although the highest octane they carry now is down to 93, that brand still sticks with us older drivers as the last one to water down their brew.

Once we had left the station and headed south on 14, we found ourselves in the company of may other Alfas, so we just followed them when it came time to take the back roads over to the Wings of Eagles Museum, our starting point for the day. There, we parked in a field of Alfas too many to count (see last month’s cover photo), for we had to get on with the tour inside, where several WWII and later military aircraft were in various stages of restoration. Finally, we were all called to the large meeting room, where tables of pastries of every description, juice and coffee, and a drivers meeting commenced, conducted by John Merrill, Chairman of the Tour. It was going to be a fun, fun day. Once dismissed, the group, which now appeared to be close to 150 to 200 people, spilled out into the huge parking area, and after a while headed out convoy-style toward the Glen, but this time all back roads. It’s hard to imagine, but can you picture somewhere around 80 Alfa Romeos, in convoy formation, driving con brio through a hilly, dew-laden morning countryside, the sun warming all? With the top down, you could look forward and look back, and see nothing but a line of Alfas in each direction. How can this happen? What about other traffic? Not to worry—this time the "Boys in Blue" were at every intersection (not that there were many) to block traffic and wave us through—like we were being encouraged to pour it on, you know? Truly amazing. We arrived at Watkins Glen International, parking in a big field near the Glen Club restaurant, where we were treated to a huge brunch buffet that lasted upwards of an hour. Now, we were just two hours into the Event, and already we had had three breakfasts. Would we still fit in our cars without re-adjusting the seats? I was becoming very impressed with how this Event was being run, and how smoothly it was being coordinated with the venues, and the other events going on in town as part of vintage grand prix weekend.

After brunch, it was out to the cars and onto the track for several "parade" laps around WGIS. Wow. Maybe there should have been a "caution" car to lead us. That is, unless they wanted to see how fast we could go (just kidding!). Passing, re-passing, nipping the apexes and winding-it-out were the order of the day. I understand that one or two of the more exuberant drivers may have received the dreaded black flag! Who knows? Track rumors flew as fast as the cars. Needless to say, we arrived at the end of this exercise a little winded, but happy to be heading out again over the beautiful New York back roads to a point where we entered the old 6.2-mile circuit that was used in the 1948-`52 period. In other words, the "open road" race over town streets thru the Glen and country roads dotted with hay bales, hairpins, esses and the occasional railroad track. There were many cars in our "group", however, and this really seemed to keep speeds down on this stage. Just as well, since at one point, Diane and I noticed that the crowd went into an ecstatic roar when we passed thru town. I was basking in the limelight until we realized that the focus of attention was not moi, but a golden retriever that had its head sticking out the sunroof of a 164 behind us and appeared for all purposes to be the driver!

After our laps, we were all led to a nice, grassy, shady town park, complete with bandstand, just off Franklin Street, where we parked car-show-style for the rest of the afternoon. Vic Elford was sitting up in the bandstand, talking with a few that had already gathered for a charity auction in this one of many events. We ran into esteemed gearless leader Tom Lesko here, and after photos of the cars, we wandered a block up to Franklin Street where, due to the one-day suspension of the open container law, the party was in full swing. Diane and I ran into the New York club guys (George and Barbara Linton, Vic and Gail Cerami, Fred Frye, et al and their mates in front of one establishment that had placed a remote keg and tap out to the sidewalk in a gesture of pure sympathy, as anyone could see how thirsty this crowd had become from all the driving in the beautiful open air. Three cars had been selected by the Tour officials to display in front of the county courthouse just across the street, and I am happy to report that two of them were AONE members’ — Tom Freiberger’s Montreal and Steve Thomas’s Duetto. Gene and Judy met up with us, and after a while we just walked around the town, taking in the crowds, the vendors, and the cars. Later, we drove up to the Seneca for a customary round and dinner. We (I mean, Gene) also got a bunch of pics from the Seneca driveway of the vintage reenactment race.

The next day, our gang headed up to WGIS to watch the qualification races and take in all the vendors’ tents. Here, we again ran into Cal Crouch, and lo and behold, from out of nowhere, Directors Brian Shorey and Andy Kress appeared in the vendor tent section near the paddocks. What a treat to see all these AONE members at a distant venue, especially when you never know who is going to be able to make it. As the day wore on, Diane and I, and AONE member Steve Thomas and his wife Diana, hopped in our spiders and headed out to visit the distant Belhurst Castle winery, near Geneva. We barely got back in time to change for dinner, which was served aboard a cruise on Seneca Lake. Joining us were about a dozen members of the New York club—we had a blast. Next time, we gotta sing something besides "New York, New York", okay people? After the cruise, Gene, Judy, Jim Lehman and his wife Cindy convoyed up to the Seneca with us for a nightcap. After considerable urging, I tossed a nickel in the nickelodeon and treated everyone in the place to some rather loud ragtime piano. Oops. But the place was hopping and no one hardly noticed, lucky for me.

The next day was a long drive home, but we managed to spend part of it at a beautiful winery on Lake Cayuga where food, wine and live music were served alfresco (gee, I always wanted to use that word!). I know, but it was a beautiful place. We will never forget this weekend—our only complaint being that it ended too soon. Which brings me to the end of this report, which is way too long, but not long enough to describe all of the fun and experience of this event. We’ll be back next year!