Carlisle, PA
August 24-26, 2007
My favorite of the year!
Wednesday August 22
Departing Maine.
Thursday August 23
Arrival in Carlisle, after a night with my folks in Philadelphia.
While waiting for our tent to be set up, I did some sightseeing around the fairgrounds.
I was also waiting for frequent co-pilot & bodyguard Gary Readio to arrive.
Chip's Choice this year featured "Cover Cars" - Vettes that had graced the covers of magazines.
Spectacular flame job on a spectacular car!
Dennis & Cindy Manire's banner is covered with autographs, including Sandy's...
Chuck Mallett's latest monster - a Saturn Skye with Corvette power!
Friday August 24
By 9:15 we were open for business.
A few minutes later, Corvette Chief Engineer Tadge Juechter stopped by for
a visit. We talked about the fun we had on the Corvette Quarterly Ride & Drive
back in May in Maine.
Richard Fleming's Grand Sport replica.
The day ended with the Burnout Contest. Corvette Plant Manager Wil Cooksey may
not have been the overall winner, but his performance was certainly the talk of
the event! Click on the photo to see more.
C5/C6 Dinner
Wil tells about the burnout contest, the inside view.
Jim Danahy, new Corvette Chief Engineer for current products.
Vehicle Line Executive Tom Wallace.
Walt Thurn shooting Dan Adovasio, Tom, Jim and Jake Drennon.
The 50/50 we did at the dinner produced $738 for the American Cancer Society!
Saturday August 25
Gary already hard at work (on the donut) at 6:11 am!
By 6:47 the sun rises through the haze.
While Gary minded the table, I walked the field
looking for my Celebrity Pick.
Another spectacular paint job!
Sometime overnight someone thoughtfully applied a band-aid
to sooth Wil Cooksey's burnout boo-boo.
The view of the field and grandstand from the top of the C5/C6 Registry Hill.
Photo in the C5/C6 Registry tent on top to the hill that
appeared in the Registry magazine.
Another Registry magazine photo from the hill.
Lance Miller and Dave McLellan at the autograph table.
There it is! Lee Boyer's '61, my Celebrity Pick. I believe this is the car Sandy
would have picked: Our first Vette would have been a red '62, if we could have
found one. Instead we got a black '63. This car sort of combines the two.
Lee has owned it for 32 years!
That evening, a wicked thunderstorm hit the area, and there may have been brief tornado activity. Gary & I were just leaving the Olive Garden in Mechanicsburg when it hit. This is what the drive back to Carlisle looked like.
What we didn't know until later that evening via email chatter was the damage wreaked on Carlisle and the fairgrounds!
Sunday August 26
At the fairgrounds, there was ample evidence of the force of the storm. The rumors that abounded were wildly exaggerated. Fortunately, the storm hit around 7, so most of the participants had left for the evening and the vendors were secured for the night or the damage would have been much greater. The Carlisle staff and many volunteers did a tremendous job of cleaning up the debris overnight and are to be commended. There were some injuries; miraculously, none were serious.
Click photo to see more pics of the damage.
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About 11:00 Gary performed his preflight and taxied away for his ground level flight to MA for FAA business.
The event concluded once again in front of the stage with Gate City Corvette
Club, represented by Dan Feidler and Carol Michalik, presenting me with a
check for $8300, the proceeds from their annual fundraiser in NH.
Lance Miller added some kind words of support.
Time to head home.
That's a bunch of North Shore C.C. people waving!
Having gotten a relatively early start, I managed to get
all the way home to Maine, 1:00 am.
Thanks to the hospitality and support of
Corvettes @ Carlisle and the C5/C6 Registry,
we were able to send $1,252.00 to the
American Cancer Society's Harrisburg office!