If anyone is going to SS this Jan., I'm getting a room block at the old Holiday Inn for $79 that includes breakfast. It will be under "Pony Drive". Wait until Sept. 12 before you call for reservations, as they will need to send me the contract and I'll get it back to them. (It's now the Inn & Spa @ SS)
For those that have been there, you know how much fun i is and for those that haven't, it's time to go!

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Pony Drive 07 

Day 4- Sleepy Hollow!   

          We left Scranton in nice weather and hit fog banks along the way. There were patches of colorful trees as we climbed in and out of the hills, making for a nice drive. We arrived at Sunnyside, the home of Washington Irving and all of us toured the house and grounds. The house was a piece of American History where his family lived there until the 1940’s, preserving a lot of the originality.

          From there, it was downtown Tarrytown for lunch along the main street. Weather was perfect and the food was excellent. While there, Tom & Sally Talbot from Ct joined us for the drive to Mustang’s Unlimited. He has a Fox-body he bought new and is still driving and enjoying it.

          We sailed up the Sawmill Pkwy to I-84 and as soon as we got into CT, the world came to a halt. MU was planning on pizza at 5, it was 3 and there was only 65 miles to go. At 5, we still hadn’t gotten past Danbury, at 6, we were only a few miles further and made it to MU at 8:30. 5 ½ hours to go 65 miles! I’m glad I don’t have that commute! As if the traffic wasn’t bad- Once we got onto open roads, my car was sputtering. Looking down, green stuff was pouring out of the heater box! A quick use of Dale’s knife and the heater was by-passed, as few bottles of Dasani and we were off again!

          The folks at MU were great- I got parts I needed and some of the others also got parts. Remember them if you also need parts. They have been a great sponsor of the Pony Drive since 2004.

Day 5 – Great weather again.

          Heading to Sturbridge Village only took about 45 min. We headed to the front gate and spent the next few hours touring 19^th Century America. Some even stayed longer to see more of the Village. Others headed downtown and had lunch of a porch overlooking the main drag.

          The hotel was right across the street and it’s the nicest one so far on the trip. It’s a Best Value now but is changing to a Motel 6. I would have recommended it, but they had a problem with our lack of 15 rooms. They wanted to raise everyone’s rates by $20, but backed down. They were full that night and ignoring the fact that they made and extra $50 per room for those that we did not have, they tried to extort us before finally backing down.

          After to requisite Wal-Mart stop, we came back and cleaned up the cars a bit. Mike & Susan were fantastic helping me do mine. He had these new cleaning clothes and the car hasn’t looked this good in awhile. t was a quite afternoon, capped by the Cracker Barrel ending. Tomorrow- the MCCNE show and Mystic Seaport.

Day 6 – More of that grey, wet stuff!.

          We started out in the now-normal yucky weather. We were met along the way by MCCNE members Carl and his son Tom, who lead us to the show in Warwick. It was extremely windy at first, but started to get better as the show went along. Things were looking up until Dave Dixon saw that his sending unit was leaking slightly.

          As anyone would do, he tapped the lock ring to tighten it and the entire unit fell out. Since he had just filled the tank, about 12 gallons of gas poured out, running down the gutter behind all of the other Pony Drive cars! So we had to push each one forward to clear the danger and then call the fire dept. Who says we don’t bring excitement where ever we go!

          From there, we headed to Mystic Seaport and the “Chowdafest”. As soon as we hit the CT line, the sun came out and it warmed right up. In 2004, we had rain here, so we didn’t get to visit the ships. This time, we had plenty of time and nice weather to really enjoy the stop. Dave had headed back to Sturbridge but was able to repair the sending unit, so they turned around and had time to also see the Seaport. The food was great, including the Chowder and all got to spend time exploring the sights. On the way home, we went thru town and then pointed the front bumpers back to Sturbridge.

Day 7 –  Even more of that grey, wet stuff!.

          We started out again in the now-normal yucky weather. Heading towards Bennington, we did get to travel the Mohawk Trail thru the mountains of NW Mass. We even drove thru Florida, Mass. The scenery was beautiful with leaves starting to change.

          Arriving in Bennington, out first stop was Hemmings. Janet Thompson had arranged our stop in 2004 and did another great job for our visit this time. Bob was the museum guide and when we remarked about the Hertz car on display, he told us that they did not make a convertible. Funny- Ken & Jane were driving one! Ken had to go get it and park it in front of the Museum to prove they really did exist!

          Next stop was lunch at the Bennington Station and then on to the Bennington Museum. Inside, they also had the Grandma Moses art gallery, which everyone enjoyed.

          The Mid-Town Hotel this time was a real surprise- neat place and every room had a plasma HD TV. We took over the hallway and had a party that evening. They were used to old cars coming in and were the only one in town that had been willing to work with us for a good rate.

Day 8 –  Surprise- Sunshine!

          Heading west towards NY, the day started out cool, but the sun was out. Unfortunately, as we continued southwards, guess what rolled in- more yucky stuff.

          We got to the FDR home and had some time before our tour. There was a good looking diner a block back, so off we went. The Eveready Diner was even better inside- a perfect place for our group. We explained to them our time frame and they really delivered- out n time for the tour!

          Just before we got to the Diner, my sister, Mary showed up with her daughter, Farah to join us for the day.

          The tour was fantastic and the house was better than expected. Imagine being able to walk the halls and rooms where a President lived and entertained royalty and dignitaries. The room Queen Elizabeth stayed in even had twin beds! Since the house had stayed in the family for so long until becoming a National Park, so much of the furnishings are the originals.

          Next stop was Rhinebeck Ford and the Mid-Hudson Mustang Club.( Bob Martin from the Orange Co MC also came up to visit us at the dealership.) They had 2 cars meet us just south of town with a Police escort to the dealer. (We always did like Police escorts!) They went all out- banners, DJ, food and lot of raffle goodies, most from Roush. Everything went to 3 of the local children that were battling cancer. Faith, an 8 year old, got to meet Bailey. She had such a fantastic smile and really brightened the room with that smile and her curly hair. Did I mention it was raining?

          As for the raffle, it was a battle between the Mich members- Dale and Mike. Dale won out with winning on 5 out of 6 tickets and Mike won 3 items.

          From there, we headed over the Hudson River to the Skytop Motel in Kingston.

Day 9 –  Cloudy and sort of wet!

          We headed south and did a tour thru the countryside- High Falls, Rosendale where the cement for the Brooklyn Bridge was mined, and on to New Paltz, with Huguenot houses dating from 1692. We toured some of the houses and the old store that still had the gun ports to fight off the Indians.

          We hit the P&G Pub for some really good food and then, after filling the cars tanks, it was off to Orange County Choppers. We traveled the old Albany Post road to Montgomery and first stop was the OCC shop. Tommy Joyce did a great job explaining their operation. Unfortunately, everyone else had just left for South Africa. He showed us some of the bikes they had completed, including the one for Pope John Paul II. The workmanship was unreal, making the bike more a work of art that transportation. Before we left the shop, Bailey had an opportunity to meet Jane in the OCC office.

          From there, we went to their store and most were able to pick up mementos from the visit. Again, Bob Martin from the local club met with us. Being a weekday, the other members weren’t able to come along.

          Next stop- site of the 1969 Woodstock festival. Waiting for us were Meghan and Samantha to give us a tour of the new facilities. Ken & Christie Surerus had negotiated a free tour for us. They have named it Bethel Woods and they have done a fantastic job with the buildings, the landscaping, and programming there. It has become more than jus a historical site and has greatly enhanced the culture of the area. The venues are varied, bringing in something for everyone, as well as promoting the community and surrounding area. My sisters frequent the Farmer’s Market on the grounds.

          I had also asked my brother-in-law, Bob to come out with us, as he was there in 1969 and could give us a real idea of what it was like back then. My other sister, Linda came along and brought Mom out to see everyone. She was going to join us for a few days, as she missed her old friends from 2004.

          As all headed to the Hill’s Inn, Bailey and I went off to visit his sister, Sassy. He hadn’t seen her in 4 years, and since it’s their birthdays this month, he wanted to visit since he doesn’t get to NY very much.

          Dinner was at the Roscoe Diner (there’s a lot of diners up here!) and I even got a visit from my other niece, Brittany, her brother Kyle and Farah came along, too. On all the other trips, Pony Drive members have visited relatives, so it was my turn this trip!

Day 10 –  More cloudy and sort of wet!

          Becky from Scranton had joined up with us again and Gordon and Sharon had come down from Canada. Our PD family was growing again.

          After a big breakfast at Hill’s, we headed out to drive along the Delaware River to PA. It was still somewhat wet and foggy, but there was a lot to see along the way. Stopping in PA at an Advance Auto store, we met some of the Orange Co MC members that happened to see all the cars in the lot.

          Further along, it really started to rain so we hit a Perkins for lunch. It did get a bit better as we went further South towards Lancaster.

          Once at the hotel, everyone decided to go to a Lonestar for steak. Great devices, those GPS units, but they don’t tell you the place has closed! It was then off to a Longhorn and since I was riding with Mike & Susan (remember, my heater wasn’t working), we were to follow Dave & Peggy, since he had no taillights. I told everyone to follow Ken, but they didn’t listen and we were back to herding cats again! We did finally find it!