Updated 6/25/09

New Jersey

FLASH:

IT'S NOW OFFICIAL! WE ARE SCHEDULED FOR A DAY OF TRACK EVENTS, AT THE NEW "BLUEGRASS MOTORSPORTS PARK", ON TUESDAY SEPTEMBER 1ST, 2009.

REMEMBER, THIS IS A THREE "CARAVAN" JOINT VENTURE, NE-PA & NJ CAPTAINS WORKING TOGETHER TO MAKE THIS ONE OF THE BEST NCM CARAVANS EVER!

Please email me at njcapt09@verizon.net with your information for track sessions: Paced laps four laps (4) for $20.00, Drag Strip runs three (3) for $15.00 (1/8th mile).

Plans are set as follows for our caravan trip starting on Sunday August 30th, and ending on Tuesday September 8th. We hope that you can join us for the whole entire trip.

There will be two jumping off points in New Jersey, one in the southern part and one in the northern section.

SOUTH...Cracker Barrel Restaurant Route 73 MT Laurel, NJ, they open at 6:00 AM with plenty of parking, plenty of food & bathrooms. We hope to depart from there at 7:30 AM with a police escort. Destination from there is Carlisle Fairgrounds for Corvettes at Carlisle.

NORTHERN...Bridgewater Marriott, 700 Commons Way (just of Route 22), Bridgewater, NJ, they will open at 6:00 AM for us if enough of you wish to partake in a well stocked breakfast buffet. Again, there will be plenty of food, bathrooms, and private parking just for our Corvettes. My wife and I will be staying there over night and hope to see many of you at breakfast. Departing at 7:30 AM we will be completing our first journey to Carlisle Fairgrounds to join our southern group as well as those who spent a lovely corvette weekend in Carlisle. Please remember to contact me if you will need a special parking pass for your Corvette on Sunday 08/30/09. Cost will be $14 per corvette and there will be a special place for New Jersey Corvette Caravan People.

Departing from Carlisle will on your timetable, don't for the crowd stays for the giveaway at 3:00 PM, traveling out the turnpike to our first evenings stay in New Stanton, PA. This should be about a 2 hr and 45 min drive.

Monday morning we will depart for our long leg to Florence, IN and the Belterra Hotel Casino and Spa.

Tuesday morning we will be going over to the Blue Grass Motorsports Park for our track runs. Later that evening we will be gathering for the banquet dinner followed by a 50' 60' 70' dance party.

Not early, Wednesday morning our group along with the caravan from NE and PA will depart on out final leg down to the NCM and our hotels in Bowling Green, KY. This is less than a three hour drive so we should arrive early in the afternoon. A Police escort has been arranged to lead us into the museum. YES, there will be hundreds of CORVETTES on this final leg which should be a sight to see!

The NCM has planned many events that are available online at their web site, so be sure to look them over.

I have been told by some of you that your departure date will be Saturday 09/05/09, however, for those of you that will be able to stay with us for the entire trip we will be departing Bowling Green on Sunday morning 09/06/09 for a side trip up to Effingham, IL home of Mid America Motorworks. They have extended an invitation for us to join them for lunch and a tour of their facilities. We will be staying overnight in Effingham on Sunday 09/06/09.

Monday morning 09/07/09 will depart for St. Clairsville, OH for our last evening on the road.

Tuesday morning we will depart on our last leg of our journey home.

The National Corvette Museum sends me an updated list several times each month with new listings of people that have joined the 2009 Corvette Caravan. From this list, emails are sent out with all hotel information as well as questions and answers for costs, meals, etc. This should be your first step in the process...to join the NCM 15th Anniversary Corvette Caravan. Jeff Duda, our co-captain and I are looking forward to seeing all of you on what will be a TRIP TO REMEMBER.

So please do not put it off any longer, register now for a special journey and meet other Corvette people from all over the country.

I can be reached at njcapt09@verizon.net

John Jack, New Jersey Captain

February 2009 Update:

The dates for the New Jersey '09 corvette caravan are Sunday, August 30th through Tuesday, September 8th, 2009. Included in this is a lunch at Carlisle Fairgrounds during Corvettes at Carlisle weekend, a stopover at a Casino, and a full day at an eight event road course.

We have made plans for a dinner with music, dancing, and a chance to mingle with other Corvette people from other states as well as from a country located below the equator. All this is before we arrive in Bowling Green, KY. Once there, we will have a chance to tour the worlds only Corvette assembly plant, welcome other state arrivals, and enjoy some parking lot entertainment as well as food and beverages. Side tours as well as a special package are in the works for the ladies. There will be Museum Events for all to enjoy as the planned expansion should be completed by our arrival. On the drive home, we have been invited to tour and have lunch at the Mid America Motorworks in Effingham, IL.

Travel time should be limited to starting about 8:00 AM and arrival at our destination no later that 5:00PM each day. Yes, there will be food stops as well as fuel stops for all. A driver's handbook will list hotels/motels, town locations, gas and food locations, hospitals and additional points of interest. This way you can drive at your own pace as you will know how and where your next stop will be located.

A caravan is a group of people or vehicles traveling together from place to place, although, not in a continues line. That would be impossible for us to obtain. If you were able to participate in any of the earlier caravans you know that words do not fully explain just how much fun these events are. If you have not been fortunate to travel with a caravan before, then this is your time to join in and have the time of your life.

The National Corvette Museum sends out an updated list of new registrants every week, and you can expect an email from me with details of exact stops, complete with hotel/motel information, after the NCM receives your Caravan registration. Additional information can be obtained by sending an email to njcapt09@verizon.net.

I hope we have given you enough information for you to start your process of registering with the National Corvette Museum. This is the first step on your journey to a trip of a lifetime, one that you will never forget.

As always, your friend,

John Jack
Captain- New Jersey

Having traveled the New Jersey route listed below I just want to say what a fun time my wife and I had meeting all of the people at the various stops. We have tried to schedule breaks with plenty of the big three ... Food ... Lodging ... and Fuel. The dates for our caravan trip are departing Sunday morning August 30, 2009 and returning home on Tuesday September 8, 2009.

There will be two departure points from New Jersey, each with easy access to the PA Turnpike. One will be in Deptford, NJ and the other will be in the more northern section at an as yet unnamed location. We are checking with the NJ Dept of Transportation for road construction guidelines for the summer of '09.

Our first stop will be at the Carlisle Fairgrounds, where Corvettes at Carlisle will be in full swing. Entering at gate #3, we will have a special parking area. You may browse the fairgrounds and grab a bite to eat. There are 82 acres of nothing but Corvettes, Corvette parts, and Corvette related items, all of which should whet your appetite to return the following year.

Departing after lunch we will head out to Greensburg, PA for our first night's lodging which is for August 30th. We will post a list of hotels/motels in August as they will not make bookings over one year in advance.

On Monday morning we will depart for our next leg down to the Belterra Casino Resort and Spa in Florence, Indiana, where we will stay for two nights on August 31st and September 1st. From here it is only a short run over to the Kentucky Motor Speedway in Sparta, KY where we will run on their mile and a half track on Tuesday September 1st. This date should be finalized in early fall.

Wednesday morning we will depart on the shortest leg of our journey down to Bowling Green, KY. Our plans at this time are to have a special dinner, complete with music, for our arrival the first evening.

The National Corvette Museum's plans for the three day anniversary bash will not be complete 'til after the first of the year, thus, I can not advise you on them at this time. Also, when the assembly plant opens the bookings for plant tours, we will let you know as I am certain that the time slots will fill up very quickly.

The lodging dates for our time in Bowling Green will be September 2nd, 3rd, 4th, and 5th. We will depart on Sunday morning September 6th for Effingham, IL, home of Mid America Motorworks. Here we will be given a complete tour of their facilities as well as lunch for our caravan. After completing our day here we will head out for our nights lodging in Effingham, IL. This will be on Sunday night, September 6th.

The ride home from here would take over 14 hours with only quick stops adding to the time required. Thus the reason we are scheduled to take two days to return home.

Departing Effingham, IL we will head to St. Clairsville, OH, where we will spend the evening of Monday, September 7th.

Awaking on Tuesday morning we will begin our final leg of our journey back home.

For the driver's handbook, we are planning to list Chevrolet dealerships, hospitals, fuel areas, as well as food locations. And, yes, car wash or water hose connections at each stop. Please remember to check here for a complete list of hotels/motels for each stop. However, since Bowling Green, KY is a special place familiar with Corvette happenings, now would be a GREAT time for you to call and make your reservation for September 2nd 3rd, 4th and 5th, departing on Sunday September 6th, 2009.

Stay tuned as additional information becomes available.

If you would like to reach me just drop me a line at: njcapt09@verizon.net

As always, your friend,

John Jack
Captain


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