Northeast Regional, Clifton Park, NY Sept 30- Oct 1 2017

[JohnD1956]

Sept 29- Oct 1 2017 

NORTHEAST REGIONAL MEET

 Clifton Park, New York
 

The Upstate New York Chapter is pleased to host this year's Northeast Regional in Clifton Park, New York. Just a short driving distance from the foothills of the Adirondacks, this location offers you the opportunity to enjoy Upstate New York during one of its most beautiful seasons. Come join us for this exciting three day event. There are many points of interest just a short drive away; the State capital, Saratoga Raceway and Lake George to name a few. Our driving tour on Sunday will introduce you to even more of this historic area. So make plans to join us this fall. The registration form is at the end of this page. Instructions on how to complete it are also included. 
 

Here are complete event details

 

MEET ITINERARY  

Friday 9/29: Plan to arrive early for a self guided tour of the Saratoga Auto Museum. Participants will be directed to the museum where reduced admission of $5.00 per person will be charged at the door. In addition participants will be given a list of other area attractions all within 40 minutes drive from the host hotel. There are lots of things to see and do in our area so be prepared to explore.
Saratoga Auto Museum Website

Friday Evening: Dinner Cruise to PJs-Bar-B-QSA. This is an informal restaurant which appeals to the classic car crowd. It specializes in BBQ with a menu that’s sure to please. Interested participants can line up at the host hotel prior to the 5:30pm departure for the ½ hour drive to the location, or just meet us there. Participants will order off the menu and pay as you go. And yes, there should be ice cream available. PJ's Bar-B-QSA Website
 

Saturday 9/30: The Buick Only car show will be held on the site of the host hotel. The show field will be available for entry around 8:30 am and open to the public at 9:00 am. There are 9 classes for vehicle judging and awards plus a Display Only Class. Arrive by 10:00 am for the peer judging. There will be three awards per class. Awards are scheduled for presentation at 2:00 pm. NOTE: Pre-registration before September 15th enters you in an exclusive contest for one of five $20.00 gas cards! Lunch vendors will be on-site, with additional food vendors within walking distance. Plus there will be a hospitality room with light snacks. Entertainment and announcements will be provided by DJ. The show ends at 3:00 pm, but stay as long as you like. Bring your Buick related toy cars and models for display.

Saturday Evening: cocktail hour and banquet at the Hilton Garden Inn. Scroll down for complete details. 
 

Sunday 10/1:  Please join us for a day-long “After Tour”. Line up at the host hotel for a 9:00 am departure. Plans are for a relaxed jaunt around the area to some unique attractions. Participants can join for all or any part they wish. There will be a lunch stop included. All attractions are pay as you go and everyone is free to choose where they want to participate. We do plan to travel country roads and stop occasionally for some photo shoots. The all day tour will include roughly 80 miles round trip and contain about 4 hours of driving. The tour will conclude at the host hotel. If you prefer the ¼ mile type touring, you’ll find the meet location is about 40 miles away from the Lebanon Valley Speedway. We expect they will be open for that weekend as evidenced by information on their website. This is not a BCA sponsored event. 
Lebanon Valley Speedway Website
 

BANQUET AND HOTEL INFORMATION

  

HOTEL INFORMATION

Host Hotel: Homewood Suites : Clifton Park Center: 42 Clifton Country Center Road, Clifton Park, NY. All rooms are suites in this hotel, with kitchenettes. Kings and doubles available. Hot continental breakfast included. Non guests can purchase the breakfast for $6.96 + tax. Car show site and preferred meet parking lots. $135.00 + Tax per night, with rates extended to Thursday and Sunday nite. Reservation code: BCS  
Homewood Suites Website

Overflow Hotel: Hilton Garden Inn: Clifton Park Center: 30 Clifton Park Center Road, Clifton Park, NY. Attached to the shopping mall. Standard rooms with amenities. Restaurant is on-site, but breakfast is not included. $125 + tax per night, Thursday through Sunday night. Reservation code: BCA
Hilton Garden Inn Website

Call 1 800 HILTONS for either hotel. Note: there are other conventions and activities occurring in this area on the weekend of our event. Therefore we recommend you book your rooms as early as possible

BANQUET INFORMATION

Cocktail hour begins at 5:00pm at the Hilton Garden Inn right next door. The hour will feature a cash bar with light hors d’oeuvres and plenty of friendly conversation. Please join us for cocktails whether or not you attend the banquet which follows. 

Banquet: The banquet begins at 6:00pm, and is a sit down dinner. Participants have a choice of one of the following three entrees:
     1) Sliced New York Sirloin: Rosemary and Garlic seasoned, Mushroom Demi, Grilled Zucchini, Oven Blistered Tomatoes and Roasted Fingerlings.
     2) Chicken Marsala: Sauteed Scallopini, Cremini Mushrooms, Shallots, Sweet Marsala Wine sauce, Asparagus, and Creamy Polenta
    3) Honey Soy Glazed Salmon: With Mango Chutney, Basmati Rice Pilaf, and Stir-fried Carrots and Peppers

 All meals include a salad, dessert, and iced / hot tea or coffee and water. Soft drinks are available at the cash bar. There is no formal program, just a good time with our friends. Dress is casual. 



 

DOWNLOAD REGISTRATION FORM HERE
(please save to your computer before downloading)

Registration form instructions
 For your convenience, the registration form found here is an executable PDF. You can either: Print this form out , and complete it by hand. Or, complete it on your PC (if you have Adobe Reader). Once completed, please print the form and mail it with your payment to: 
Christine Timber, Registrar 
12 Austain Ave
 Albany, NY 12205 
NOTE: if the form is completed using the computer, you will need to add the vehicle registration fee based on the fee schedule shown. However, you will only need to include the number of banquet meal choices and T shirts (by size). There-after the banquet and t shirt totals along with the grand total will be automatically calculated. Thank you.
 

 

 

 

 

 

Content copyright 2017. Upstate NY Chapter Buick Club of America. All rights reserved.

Edited May 7, 2017 by JohnD1956 (see edit history)

[ted sweet]

nice

[JohnD1956]

TTT. 

[philip roitman]

Sorry we wont be able to go. I had already made a reservation at the host hotel and had to cancel it yesterday. We finally realized that the Saturday of the show is the Jewish Holiday Yom Kippur and for that reason we can't attend. Was thinking of travelling up for the tour Sunday but, that would be too much in one day. Have fun and hopefully next year we can attend. we were really looking forward to showing the Electra that I finally brought home last night. This is our new touring car for the BDE and AACA Tours.

[JohnD1956]

3 hours ago, philip roitman said:

Sorry we wont be able to go. I had already made a reservation at the host hotel and had to cancel it yesterday. We finally realized that the Saturday of the show is the Jewish Holiday Yom Kippur and for that reason we can't attend. Was thinking of travelling up for the tour Sunday but, that would be too much in one day. Have fun and hopefully next year we can attend. we were really looking forward to showing the Electra that I finally brought home last night. This is our new touring car for the BDE and AACA Tours.

Wow! Nice acquisition!  Gotta live dem Queens!

[Buicknutty]

 Great looking car, Philip!

 Keith

[JohnD1956]

Only 9 days away.  There have been 59 pre registrations as of yesterday.  And we are into the final preparations to host the party.  Now it is keeping fingers crossed for nice weather!   

[JohnD1956]

As of this am, we have 27 cars on the Friday Night BBQ dinner tour.

[Buicknutty]

 We were sure glad that it wasn't this weekend! I'm keeping as many fingers crossed as I can for nice weather and trouble free driving for all.

 Keith

[JohnD1956]

Thanks Keith.  The forecasts are still pretty far out but looks like the heat wave breaks Wednesday- Thursday, and then expectations are for sunny 3 days and nights in the mid to high 60's.

 

 

Edited September 26, 2017 by JohnD1956 (see edit history)

[JohnD1956]

Thursday evening, and some travelers have arrived... Registration and check in opens tomorrow at noon.  It's Buicktime!!!

[JohnD1956]

Friday night, and wi cars for the dinner cruise. Thanks to Keith and Glenda for this picture

[JohnD1956]

Well, after two weeks of hot summer weather, yesterday was sunny and cool. Today was rainy and ice cold. Consider that Monday thru Wednesday we hit 90°+ and today it struggled to go over 55° if we even hit that! 

Still we had all but three pre registrants check in and we may have got to 75 cars total. Pics after I get a chance to process them.  But tomorrow we are expecting eleven cars on the After Tour. It is supposed to be sunny and 70°s.  But no matter, the heater works. 

Edited October 1, 2017 by JohnD1956 (see edit history)

[Buicknutty]

 Just got home a little while ago. Thanks to John and everyone else for their efforts! We had a great time, and were quite sorry that we couldn't join them on the after tour, but we had to get home for Monday!

 Keith

[JohnD1956]

Thank you Keith, and all who participated.  What could have been a disaster based on the rainy and cold weather, instead turned out to be a nice success.

 

However,  once again I am disappointed in my own pictures.  I have come to the conclusion it is the operator of the camera, not the camera itself, as someone took my picture with my own camera and it came out good.   So I can post some slightly blurry pictures of the show day cars, but I do have some good shots of the after tour day.  Just need another day to go over this stuff as I have some other things to tend to today.

Edited October 2, 2017 by JohnD1956 (see edit history)

[jscheib]

John,

 

Just let me say, as the NE Regional Coordinator, your committee has done an outstanding job on this event.  I am sorry that more Buick people did not take advantage of the work effort of your team.  While we stayed at the host hotel, I understand that both where equally gracious in their hospitality.  And the rooms were very comfortable and accommodating.   Despite the cold damp(perhaps I detected even a bit of rain) weather, I think everyone had a good time.  The hot apple cider that was served at the hotel was very helpful in warding of the chill.   I only wished for  a bit better weather so we could stay by the cars more to discuss them with the many guests a saw walking the show field, and the owners of the other cars.  

 

I am sorry that we had to take a mini-after-tour on our own as we had to be in Hartford by 5:oo PM had had to depart the lunch stop at Prospector's no later than 2 PM.  Glad you had a rather large contingent at lunch as we passed you going the other way.  We enjoyed a ride from there east into VT and then south and east.

 

My  computer  will not let me open the "small galleries", so I hope you can post the photos on the web site.

 

On behave of the attending chapters let me again thank your committee for al their fine efforts.  Hope to see many of the soon or into next spring's events.

 

John  Scheib

 

[JohnD1956]

Thank you John.  Your thoughts are genuinely appreciated!

 

Meanwhile, since so many of my photos lack clarity, I tried to reduce them to see if they will show any better, so here goes an experiment.

 

 

[JohnD1956]

[JohnD1956]

 

 

By the way, these two 67's above shared more than their year of manufacture. The blue one on the left ( which looks green in this photo) was driven from Ohio, by Jim and Sherry Kovalo.  The maroon on on the right was driven from New Brunswick Canada by Dave Mc Allister and Linda McLeod.  Those who followed the National Meet may recogonize the maroon one  as Dave and Linda received the Long distance award at the Brookfield WI National.

 

 

Okay, the blue one below is not a Buick, but it was still a very nice car!

Edited October 3, 2017 by JohnD1956 (see edit history)

[JohnD1956]

And the Electra's just keep showing up everywhere!  Love these two:

 

 

And this 65 Gran Sport was totally awesome!  Note, I said that about a blue car!!!

 

 

 

This 67 Was the long distance award winner Ray and Kathy Vrablic, coming from Mokena,  Illinois!  Ray and Kathy also went on the after tour! 

 

 

If there had been a hard luck award, I'd have voted for this 64 Riviera guy!  First his signal light swith broke and he could not turn off the pass side turn signals.  Then he had his trunk open which apparently ran the battery down, but at some point he closed the hood hard and a piece of trim latched onto the understructure of the hood, so it wound up taking an hour for the Buick guys to figure out why the hood would not open just to get a jump start after the show!

 

 

This Opel guy called and asked if he could be in the show, and if so which class.  Honestly, we had not thought of adding a class for Opels but I told him to bring it anyway and put it in his year of manufacture class.  I guess he was thoroughly appreciated as he was an award winner.

 

Two more award winners below.  Dave Shipman and Russ and Susan  Bushnell!  Two awesome cars!

Edited October 3, 2017 by JohnD1956 (see edit history)

[JohnD1956]

This Riviera was the project car for our Chapter Director who succumbed after suffering a heart attack in Allentown.  His wife Lynda drives it often.

 

This 72 Skylark  belongs to Duane and Pam Dodds, and is a Senior Gold winner from Batavia in 2007?

 

 

 

Tony was trying to sell a project car, not this drop dead gorgeous 73 Electra

 

This sweet Roadmaster belongs to Paul Cialone! 

 

This is the second time Keith has had to press the Rendevous into service because of issues with the 69 Electra.  I think the Electra is just playin him!  But the jokes on the Electra.  The Rendevous is a nice little package anyway, and probably gets better gas mileage.

 

Here is another just beautiful "new"  Buick. This little Electra is so clean! 

Edited October 3, 2017 by JohnD1956 (see edit history)

[JohnD1956]

 

This 72 is owned by  Simone.  It was a class award winner and the town Supervisors Choice Award winner.

 

 

This GN belongs to Chris, our Meet Chairperson. Chris also lost her husband, Jim Barber, tragically a few years ago and continues to drive and display Jim's Kwik GN.   The Green  GS is our current Director Tony's car.

 

 

That little guy above is someone near and dear to me. My Grandson Anthony!

 

 

This 2012 Regal GS was equipped with a factory performance enhancement kit, which purportedly was available as a dealer installed kit for 2012-2013 Regal GS and T Types.  It was also a stick shift car and super clean! 

Edited October 3, 2017 by JohnD1956 (see edit history)

[JohnD1956]

Here's just a few more that are somewhat special to me.

 

 

If you ask Anthony where is the GS?  He will trace the letters on the side and trunk lid.  He looked a little confused when I point out Tony's car beside mine.

 

 

He does the same thing with the Super.   And when the calendar that my eldest son's girlfriend turned to pictures of the Super, he pointed it out and asked, Super?

 

LOL... Just love all my grandkids!

 

 

 

With the show site just 7 miles from my home, thanks to Ed Allmond, Dave Shipman and David Millard for helping me get the fleet over here.  I did put them in the display class so if it rained I would not have to wipe em all down.

 

Here are the last two special ones:

 

 

Yes, it may have rained, but all these folks are truly Buick people!  It was my fortune to be in their midst!

[jscheib]

John,

 

I think the photos are just fine, and they reflect the variety of cars in the show.  The "haze" on the windows is the result of the weather.  But the people on the field indicates the dedication of Buick owners.  I had to remove rain twice on two cars, and glad I had help from my wife and Dan Hoffman, my hauler (if you ever need cars moved, he is your man)

 

John

[JohnD1956]

Here's a few pictures of our small after tour.  We had 11 cars signed up but started the day with 6.  One more was to meet us at the first stop, and another was to meet us at the lunch stop.  It was brisk at the start, maybe in the high 40's,  but it was a cloud free sky!

 

The initial route was the same as the one used for Friday's dinner cruise.

 

And you may remember this building from previous posts

This is the Canefield Casino Museum,, in Congress Park, Saratoga Springs, NY.  The Museum opened a 1/2 hour early for us to tour, and reduced their entry fee by 20%.  There's quite a bit to see inside.  We spent an hour here.

 

 

 

 

 

Yes, it was a real casino at the turn of the 20th Century.   Something to see for yourself if you are ever here.  But part of the show was outside:

 

 

But eventually we had to depart.

 

 

Next was a nice ride to the Saratoga National Battlefield

 

 

 and then a tour of the Museum building with focus on the Revolutionary War. 

 

 

[JohnD1956]

I need to go back and take this part of the tour privately.  there is so much to see here that one could probably spend a day here alone.  We decided in advance to only review the museum building and then make two of the 10 stops within the park which have historical significance.

 

 

 

 

 

[JohnD1956]

Unfortunately, Steve and Margaret, in the 27, broke down within the park.  At first they thought they ran out of gas.  But later determined that they had a clogged fuel filter.  The leader volunteered to go home and get a gas can, and then meet us at the lunch stop.  Meanwhile 5 of us went forward to visit the Saratoga Monument in Schuylerville, NY.

 

 

 

[JohnD1956]

Then it was off to lunch.  The road we took is rural.  Very rural!  So rural that when Pete and I did the dry run of this tour, with Pete's dad, who has lived within 20 minutes of it his whole life,  Dad said he had never seen this road.  The county had just paved it recently and this was the one spot where one gets alongside the Hudson River.  So naturally we stopped for pictures.  Not one car passed us.  We spent 11 miles on this road afterwards and only passed one truck.  It is a very laid back drive.

 

Unfortunately we arrived one hour late and passed John and Bea Scheib enroute, when we were supposed to meet them here.  Also, unfortunately,  we had a bit of trouble with the Restaurant regarding the fare for the day.  But all in all, it was a pretty good lunch.  Here Marty in the 75 Regal and Pete, the leader had to break off for other priorities. 

 

 

[JohnD1956]

So we were now 4 cars.  The next part was a trip around my favorite road.

 

 

 

[JohnD1956]

After this I got us all lost when I missed a road sign on the way to the Waterford Museum.  But we did get to the Museum eventually and it was nice with some interesting displays, not the least of which was the fact that the building was moved to this spot in 1966, when it was in the way of a shopping center development.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

This Mannequin represents Mr Hugh White and his war uniform.  The Docent claims that Mr Wight was a lieutenant in the service because he was considered tall.  Tall men were promoted to their positions because being tall they could shout orders over the heads of the general troops.   

 

 

Waterford NY is at the confluence of the Mohawk and Hudson Rivers.  There is a lock system here now to get to the Mohawk.  And there is this original Lock from the first Erie Canal, which I heard was hand dug across NY state.

 

 

After this stop we went to the Cohoes Falls. 

 

 

Then we headed off for Ice Cream.  But when we arrived we discovered the parking lot was full, and it was the last day of the Drive In's  season.  The line ran almost to the street, so we decided to call it a day.  We had left at 8:30am and here we returned to the hotel at 6pm

 

 

 

And then, just like that, it was all over! 

 

[Thriller]

Had to be a hardtop or convertible to finish the tour it would appear. 

 

[smithbrother]

WOW, had Ben been there, he would have been the LONE RANGER.

 

A VISOR less event. 

 

Dale in Indy 

[Buicknutty]

 Wow, what a great looking tour. Too bad for us that we had to head home. In that countryside even the wrong turn you made wouldn't of been a bad thing!

 Thanks for sharing all the pictures, John.

 Keith

[MrEarl]

Great pictures and narrative of the trip! Gorgeous '54 Roadmaster in gray!

[MRJBUICK]

Just wanted to say thanks to all those who put on a GREAT regional.

My wife and i really enjoyed the weekend, sorry we had to leave the tour after lunch but our visit to New Hampshire was calling us.

thought i would give you a view from the pace car,

following all the cars especially the 27 was such a treat.

cant wait till you guys do a National!!!  lol

Marty and Grace