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CLC NATIONAL CAR SHOW-CHERRY HILL, NEW JERSEY
AUGUST 12-16, 2008
Club members, Norman & Linda Penfield, Russell & Paula Vopelak, Dennis Guthrie and Sara made the trip to Cherry Hill via the eastern seaboard scenic route. Leaving early on Sunday the 10th, we drove to Chesapeake, Virginia and stayed overnight. Monday morning we drove to Lewes, Delaware and took the Cape May Ferry which was a beautiful scenic ride with many photo opportunities. Our next stop was Atlantic City. We toured the boardwalk and had an excellent dinner at Phillips Seafood. We took a quick return trip to the boardwalk Tuesday morning before heading to the show. Budd and Darr Neidig went on the New Jersey Pine Barren Driving Tour and reported that it was an excellent experience.
WOW! What an extravaganza complete with Cadillacs, Cadillacs, Cadillacs, entertainment, informative seminars, and tours of the area. The host hotel was the Crowne Plaza which accommodated 408 cars for judging and many more for display. A variety of seminars were held on Wednesday afternoon including a youth seminar on the history of Cadillac. We have to make sure the love and interest in Cadillacs continues to future generations.
Our group went on the Allentown Classic Motor Cars Tour. These cars are part of the private collection of Nicola Bulgari, an Italian citizen who LOVES American cars. This collection consists of an incredible variety of American cars, including Nash, Buicks, Fords, etc. We also toured the restoration area and saw several cars at different stages of the restoration process. Just locating parts requires a full time employee. A welcome reception was held at Taylors Restaurant on Wednesday evening where we enjoyed a festive evening seeing old friends and meeting new ones.
Early Thursday morning we left for our tour of historic Philadelphia which was awesome. They are not kidding when they say historic. At every turn, there is a priceless treasure of American history. If you play trivia and the question is who invented something, the answer is probably Benjamin Franklin. We also learned he was quite a ladies man! We saw the Liberty Bell, Independence Hall, Christ Church, the home of Betsy Ross, the United States Mint, and much more. This was an exceptional tour with cameras clicking constantly.
Dinner was at the Lobster Trap where we sat outside with a view of the Delaware River. It was so relaxing and beautiful with small sailboats in an array of fun colors that made us want to join them for a cruise. We settled for another fun evening of food and drink with old and new friends.
Friday morning, we went to Hershey, PA. Think chocolate. We drove by the chocolate factory on the way to visit the AACA (Antique Automobile Club of America) Museum. Even the street lamps are in the shape of Hershey’s kisses. Parked in front of the car museum was the Hershey Kissesmobile which was created to celebrate their 100th anniversary in 2007. A few of us ladies would have been happy to jump off the bus at the chocolate factory! But, we toured the museum and it was very interesting with 3 floors of automobiles, motorcycles, buses, and other memorabilia. Once again, the cameras were snapping shots right and left. If any of the group missed me for a few minutes, I was in the museum snack area. I just could not leave without having a giant Hershey bar!
In the evening, we attended the General Motors 100th Anniversary Reception. Cadillac is continuing to be innovative, sporty and exceptionally beautiful with several new cars being previewed for Spring 2009, including a Hybrid Escalade.
Obviously we were quite busy with many entertaining activities leading up to the “BIG SHOW” on Saturday. Russell Vopelak, a member of our Allante Atlanta Club was chosen as one of the judges. Saturday evening, we attended the Golden Jubilee Awards Banquet in the Grand Ballroom and it was grand! Norman Penfield, our club president won a first place award. This was the first time his “Fan C” Allante took home the gold and he was thrilled.
All good things must come to an end and this was definitely a good trip. We caravanned until we stopped for lunch. It was wonderful to have another chance to talk about all the fun we had before taking our separate routes home…tired and filled with happy memories of yet another spectacular Allante adventure.
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