2008
Spring Tour
Spring Tour
MID-ATLANTIC REGION VMCCA
10th ANNUAL SPRING TOUR
WELLSBORO, PENNSYLVANIA MAY 1-3, 2008
by Roger & Christine de Socarras
Our Annual Spring Tour to the Grand Canyon of Pennsylvania was a great
success thanks to the hard work of Rickie & Bill Beardmore and Bobbie Cox
& Darcy Erion. We all missed Bobbie and look forward to seeing her soon.
The historic Penn Wells Hotel & Lodge was a great place to stay in town,
conveniently located near stores for the ladies to shop, a nice selection of
restaurants, wash area for the guys to keep the cars spotless and a
hospitality room with goodies for us to congregate. Our tour directors even
programmed beautiful weather as we enjoyed three days of touring.
Thursday’s tour started with temps in the high 30s and frost on some of the
cars. Pairs of blue herons (Pennsylvania state bird) were seen along the
marsh area on Route 287, and the Victorian “painted ladies” were beautiful in
the Village of Bath. Our first stop was the Glenn Curtiss Aircraft and
Motorcycle Museum in Hammondsport, N. Y. An aviation pioneer and
inventor with 87 U. S. patents, he made the first pre-announced public
airplane flight, developed the first flying boat and held motorcycle speed
records. A treasure trove of exhibits from the Civil War to 20th Century life
include clothing, firearms, furniture and, of course, various modes of
transportation. The coffee and donut stop hosted by Darcy made sure that
we wouldn’t starve before lunch.
10th ANNUAL SPRING TOUR
WELLSBORO, PENNSYLVANIA MAY 1-3, 2008
by Roger & Christine de Socarras
Our Annual Spring Tour to the Grand Canyon of Pennsylvania was a great
success thanks to the hard work of Rickie & Bill Beardmore and Bobbie Cox
& Darcy Erion. We all missed Bobbie and look forward to seeing her soon.
The historic Penn Wells Hotel & Lodge was a great place to stay in town,
conveniently located near stores for the ladies to shop, a nice selection of
restaurants, wash area for the guys to keep the cars spotless and a
hospitality room with goodies for us to congregate. Our tour directors even
programmed beautiful weather as we enjoyed three days of touring.
Thursday’s tour started with temps in the high 30s and frost on some of the
cars. Pairs of blue herons (Pennsylvania state bird) were seen along the
marsh area on Route 287, and the Victorian “painted ladies” were beautiful in
the Village of Bath. Our first stop was the Glenn Curtiss Aircraft and
Motorcycle Museum in Hammondsport, N. Y. An aviation pioneer and
inventor with 87 U. S. patents, he made the first pre-announced public
airplane flight, developed the first flying boat and held motorcycle speed
records. A treasure trove of exhibits from the Civil War to 20th Century life
include clothing, firearms, furniture and, of course, various modes of
transportation. The coffee and donut stop hosted by Darcy made sure that
we wouldn’t starve before lunch.
We then traveled to Corning where many members participated in a guided tour of the Corning
Museum of Glass to see the world’s most comprehensive collection and discover the
mysteries of glass. They were impressed with glassblowing demonstrations inside a working
glass factory and enjoyed the innovation center viewing glass inventions that have changed
our lives. The museum’s gift shop is also exceptional with eight boutiques with treasures from
around the world.
Other members continued on to the National Soaring Museum in Elmira, home to the largest
collection of gliders and sailplanes in the world. Located on the top of Harris Hill, it is the
perfect spot to watch sailplanes soar overhead and to experience the history, thrills and
adventure of glider flight over the Finger Lakes. Inside you can sit in a World War II glider or
cockpit of a manual flight simulator to test your flying skills or try out their computerized flight
program to land a modern sailplane.
Friday was a beautiful day for a drive with summer like temperatures. We toured Pennsylvan-
ia’s Grand Canyon with stops along the way at Wolfe’s General Store to check out the Orvis
fly rods, fishing lures, etc. and later Oregon Hill Winery known for their Pennsylvania Mountain
Wines. Upon entering Tioga State Forest in the morning, three turkeys and later deer (not the
reindeer tree) crossed the road in front of us. We saw two cable cars along the route and
wonder how many trips it takes to get everything to their homes after a day of shopping! We
enjoyed reading the Burma Shave era signs put up by Pine Creek Association along the road
bringing back memories of when we were youngsters touring with our parents.
Then we proceeded on to Leonard Harrison State Park and Colton Point State Park for great
views at the overlooks and to enjoy our very good box lunches prepared by The Native Bagel.
It was here that you could take the West Rim tour on a 22 mile hard packed dirt road. We don’t
know how many cars followed that route but a large group did stop at the Sunset Ice Cream
Store across from Mountain Trail Horse Center before going on our wagon ride.
Our group boarded three covered wagons, each pulled by a pair of Perchuron horses bred for
moving heavy loads. The two hour ride along the floor of the Grand Canyon followed Pine
Creek providing a totally different view from our morning drive. As we traveled past fly
fisherman and kayakers, our guides told us how the logging industry harvested the hemlock
and pine trees for timber destroying the forests and many of the Canyon’s features years ago.
From 1933-1942, the Civilian Conservation Corps worked to restore, maintain and improve the
nation’s natural resources so we can enjoy the beautiful Canyon area today. We were fortu-
nate to see a bald eagle surveying the water and us from atop a tree. A short time later, a rare
palomino trout was spotted in the creek not far away from several fishermen. We returned to
the Pavilions at Colton Point State Park to end the day where a great chuck wagon chicken
dinner was enjoyed. Complete with all the fixins’ and rousing fire, it was catered by the couple
who own the Horse Center.
Many of us got a slow start on Saturday but managed to stop at some gift shops on the way to
the Pennsylvania Lumber Museum. This outdoor museum depicting the Pennsylvania lumber
industry was very informative in preserving the heritage of the Commonwealth’s prosperous
lumber era when white pine and hemlock were the wealth of the nation. Thousands of
artifacts from everyday tools to a logging locomotive are displayed. The Barnhart log loader
was particularly interesting with a rotating cab, stationary boom, pulley and cable. Walking
among the weathered wooden buildings of the logging camp and sawmill was the highlight of
the tour. A hearty lunch of homemade soups, sandwiches and desserts, like those served to
the CCC crews, was enjoyed in the Mess Hall complete with an old cook stove and long wood
benches and tables. After lunch, we traveled to Coudersport for the 42nd Annual Maple
Festival in the center of town. Booths featured maple products, various vendors, flea market,
music and more. Festivities were in full swing upon arrival, and our cars became part of the
attraction.
Leaving the Festival, we returned to get ready for our banquet dinner at the Penn Wells
Hotel. The buffet dinner was outstanding, and everything was delicious. Our business
meeting was held afterwards. To sum up, 30 cars traveled the tour route with a total of 62
members, friends and family participating. Undaunted by problems with their car’s engine on
the way to Pennsylvania, Darrel & Ramona Wilkinson from Indiana decided to rent a car to
come tour with us and had a great time.
Again, our thanks to our tour directors, Rickie, Bill and Darcy, for a job well done and making
sure everything went smoothly. We know what it’s like to plan a tour hundreds of miles away
from home. Although we have driven our antique cars numerous times throughout the area,
we saw many new sites on this trip and enjoyed our first tour to the Grand Canyon rim
complete with wagon ride and chuck wagon dinner.
Museum of Glass to see the world’s most comprehensive collection and discover the
mysteries of glass. They were impressed with glassblowing demonstrations inside a working
glass factory and enjoyed the innovation center viewing glass inventions that have changed
our lives. The museum’s gift shop is also exceptional with eight boutiques with treasures from
around the world.
Other members continued on to the National Soaring Museum in Elmira, home to the largest
collection of gliders and sailplanes in the world. Located on the top of Harris Hill, it is the
perfect spot to watch sailplanes soar overhead and to experience the history, thrills and
adventure of glider flight over the Finger Lakes. Inside you can sit in a World War II glider or
cockpit of a manual flight simulator to test your flying skills or try out their computerized flight
program to land a modern sailplane.
Friday was a beautiful day for a drive with summer like temperatures. We toured Pennsylvan-
ia’s Grand Canyon with stops along the way at Wolfe’s General Store to check out the Orvis
fly rods, fishing lures, etc. and later Oregon Hill Winery known for their Pennsylvania Mountain
Wines. Upon entering Tioga State Forest in the morning, three turkeys and later deer (not the
reindeer tree) crossed the road in front of us. We saw two cable cars along the route and
wonder how many trips it takes to get everything to their homes after a day of shopping! We
enjoyed reading the Burma Shave era signs put up by Pine Creek Association along the road
bringing back memories of when we were youngsters touring with our parents.
Then we proceeded on to Leonard Harrison State Park and Colton Point State Park for great
views at the overlooks and to enjoy our very good box lunches prepared by The Native Bagel.
It was here that you could take the West Rim tour on a 22 mile hard packed dirt road. We don’t
know how many cars followed that route but a large group did stop at the Sunset Ice Cream
Store across from Mountain Trail Horse Center before going on our wagon ride.
Our group boarded three covered wagons, each pulled by a pair of Perchuron horses bred for
moving heavy loads. The two hour ride along the floor of the Grand Canyon followed Pine
Creek providing a totally different view from our morning drive. As we traveled past fly
fisherman and kayakers, our guides told us how the logging industry harvested the hemlock
and pine trees for timber destroying the forests and many of the Canyon’s features years ago.
From 1933-1942, the Civilian Conservation Corps worked to restore, maintain and improve the
nation’s natural resources so we can enjoy the beautiful Canyon area today. We were fortu-
nate to see a bald eagle surveying the water and us from atop a tree. A short time later, a rare
palomino trout was spotted in the creek not far away from several fishermen. We returned to
the Pavilions at Colton Point State Park to end the day where a great chuck wagon chicken
dinner was enjoyed. Complete with all the fixins’ and rousing fire, it was catered by the couple
who own the Horse Center.
Many of us got a slow start on Saturday but managed to stop at some gift shops on the way to
the Pennsylvania Lumber Museum. This outdoor museum depicting the Pennsylvania lumber
industry was very informative in preserving the heritage of the Commonwealth’s prosperous
lumber era when white pine and hemlock were the wealth of the nation. Thousands of
artifacts from everyday tools to a logging locomotive are displayed. The Barnhart log loader
was particularly interesting with a rotating cab, stationary boom, pulley and cable. Walking
among the weathered wooden buildings of the logging camp and sawmill was the highlight of
the tour. A hearty lunch of homemade soups, sandwiches and desserts, like those served to
the CCC crews, was enjoyed in the Mess Hall complete with an old cook stove and long wood
benches and tables. After lunch, we traveled to Coudersport for the 42nd Annual Maple
Festival in the center of town. Booths featured maple products, various vendors, flea market,
music and more. Festivities were in full swing upon arrival, and our cars became part of the
attraction.
Leaving the Festival, we returned to get ready for our banquet dinner at the Penn Wells
Hotel. The buffet dinner was outstanding, and everything was delicious. Our business
meeting was held afterwards. To sum up, 30 cars traveled the tour route with a total of 62
members, friends and family participating. Undaunted by problems with their car’s engine on
the way to Pennsylvania, Darrel & Ramona Wilkinson from Indiana decided to rent a car to
come tour with us and had a great time.
Again, our thanks to our tour directors, Rickie, Bill and Darcy, for a job well done and making
sure everything went smoothly. We know what it’s like to plan a tour hundreds of miles away
from home. Although we have driven our antique cars numerous times throughout the area,
we saw many new sites on this trip and enjoyed our first tour to the Grand Canyon rim
complete with wagon ride and chuck wagon dinner.
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