By Frank Anigbo
Photos by Frank Anigbo, Axel Anigbo, Tina McCurdy, Taylor Keon, and Jim Scutti

THE WEATHER FORECAST for Saturday, May 31, showed a low percentage chance of rain, a week before the day. And with every passing day the chance of rain went up, yet I remained staunchly optimistic that the weather forecast would be proven inaccurate — because I said so. The day finally arrived and it rained. Actually, “deluge” would better describe it. Absolutely chucking buckets of water, from late Friday night until dinnertime on Saturday. That’s New England weather in springtime. Despite the downpour on Saturday — the day of the big weekend drive — the assembled group of 24 attendees in 13 cars made a memorable time of it.

It was a three-day weekend that began on Friday, May 30, and ended on Sunday, June 1. Friday couldn’t have been more beautiful for those of us who arrived early enough to make half a day of it. Our base was the Kitzhoff Inn in West Dover, an authentic and rustic log-cabin-style inn built to host weekend skiers visiting nearby Mount Snow Resort. We spent Friday evening reacquainting with old friends and meeting new ones, chatting about the Formula One season, and playing board and table games.

We awoke to a hearty breakfast at the inn as rain fell heavily on our cars parked within view from big windows in the dining room. We delayed the planned driving start time of 10am-ish in hopes that the heavens would finally run out of water. The rain seemed to pick up in intensity instead. Oh well, our cars don’t melt in the rain (just go with it…) and neither do we, so the decision was made to get on with the drive, rain or whatever else gets thrown down on us!

A few brave souls turned up in classic Alfas, including two GTVs, a Montreal, and a Duetto. Several newer Alfas made sure that this was unmistakably an Alfa Romeo club event. Other participants understandably elected to leave the more fragile classics home and came instead in modern “lesser” cars. Although it should be said that Beverly Fisher’s Fiat 500 Abarth can hardly be considered “lesser” given its familial affinity to our beloved Alfa Romeo.

Despite the heavy rain, we set a pace befitting of a tour on Vermont’s amazing roads. I had actually forgotten just how beautiful a drive in Vermont can be but was reminded as we navigated through quaint villages, often following a meandering river, past farmlands of lush green and on winding mountain passes and fertile green meadows. And yet it poured, so much that the wipers on my 1969 GTV actually got faster than I ever knew it could wipe in nearly 30 years of ownership.

We arrived at our lunch restaurant in Middlebury about two hours (or was it three?) after we set off, a restaurant kindly recommended by Dave Pratt’s niece and Vermont resident. Lunch was a welcomed casual affair in a private dining room. We departed Middlebury for a 7:30pm dinner at the inn, each driver free to drive any of two beautiful routes back to West Dover and at their own pace. The evening ended with relaxation at the inn’s living room and conversations until late into the evening. A small group of us rigged up a replay of the Spanish F1 Grand Prix qualifying session.

The AONE Vermont weekend ended after breakfast Sunday morning, followed by a photoshoot with our cars, a custom at the Kitzhoff Inn which is frequented by enthusiast car and motorcycle clubs.

Attendees

Frank and Axel Anigbo - Alfa 1750 GTV

Steve and Nancy Perry - Alfa 1750 GTV

Douglas and Janet Fields - Alfa Stelvio

Tom Freiberger and Marilyn McQuaide - Alfa Montreal

Greg and Andrea Stidsen - Alfa 164 Q

Mike and Diane McGeough - Alfa Duetto

Jim Scutti - Alfa Giulia TI (modern)

Gary and Tereza Prime - Alfa 4C

Rob Rizzo and Joyce Pisarra - Alfa Giulia (modern)

Beverly Fisher and Tina McCurdy - Fiat Abarth

Tom Ducibella and Angela Nannini - Subaru WRX

Ted and Taylor Keon - Austin Mini (modern)

Glenn and Lauren Randall - Audi Q7