RTP Corvettes

NASM/USMC Museum/Potomac Mills Sojourn

September 10-12, 2010

ITINERARY

Friday

12:00 noon                Depart RDV spot, Sonic Drive-In, 12508 Capital Blvd, Wake Forest, NC  27587).

En route time approx six hours

Hotel:  Hampton Inn, 4050 WestFax Dr., Chantilly, VA (703.818.8200)

Near A&S Museum (http://www.nasm.si.edu/) complex near Dulles IAP

7:00 pm                      Backyard Grill, 13999 Metrotech Dr, Chantilly, 703/802-6400

http://www.backyardgrillrestaurant.com/chantilly

Saturday

8:00-9:00 am         Hot breakfast @ Hotel

9:00 - Noon             Tour Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Air & Space  Museum (Personal Pace)

http://www.nasm.si.edu/udvarhazy/

Noon -1:30 pm       Lunch (Dining available on site, but lots of places nearby)

1:30 -5:00 pm         Tour wrap-up, depart for hotel

7:00 pm                     Dinner: TBD

Sunday

8:00 - 9:00 am           Breakfast

9:00 am - Noon         USMC Museum (http://www.marineheritage.org/) at Quantico MC Base, Quantico, VA

Noon - 1:30 pm          Lunch at Potomac Mills

1:30 - 5:00 pm           Shopping at Potomac Mills Shopping Mall

5:00 - 6:00                  Dinner at Food Court in the Mall

6:00 pm                        Depart for home at personal pace

CORVETTE® OWNERS DRIVING EXPERIENCE AT MICHELIN®

Join us at Michelin’s Laurens Proving Ground (LPG) for a day of Michelin®-Corvette love!

On Saturday, June 5th from 9 am to 4 pm, Michelin® will host Corvette® owners from around the Southeast at our test track in Laurens, SC:

• Experience the facility where Michelin tests and develops the tires that are fitted to your Corvette cars.
• Enjoy a parade lap around on of LPG’s many tracks.
• Learn driving tips from a Pro Driver from one of Michelin’s Driving School partners.
• Test drive and compare the MICHELIN Pilot Sport PS2 versus the MICHELIN Pilot Sport Cup tires.
• Purchase new MICHELIN tires for your Corvette and get them fitted right on site.
• Participate in other activities at the facility.

A catered lunch will be available (hamburgers, hot dogs, chicken, etc.) for $10.00 per person.

If you would like to buy MICHELIN® tires for your Corvette®, you can purchase them on-site or call 800-722-3234 to pre-order and ensure that we’ll have your tires on-hand. It is highly recommend that you pre-order if possible.

Click Here to Register for the Corvette Driving Experience

If you have any questions, please call Frank Sancineto at (919) 604-6978

See you in Laurens!

Click here to see a map with the track’s location.

By providing the information on this form, you agree to receive advance notice of offers and/or new product information from Michelin North America. NOTE: Michelin has a very strict privacy policy. We do not sell or rent your personally identifiable information to third parties.

As shown at the last couple club meetings, we have had a t-shirt created for club members wanting something less formal than a polo to knock around in.  The following images show the t-shirt front and back with close ups of the logo on the front and the large image on the back.

The shirts are $15.00 each.

Please send an e-mail to Frank at NCMAmbassador@rtp-corvettes.com with size(s) and quantity if you would like to place an order.  If you would like to have a t-shirt for the ‘Vettes Doin Charleston’  trip in April, please submit your order no later than March 31.

The following images show the t-shirt front and back with close ups of the logo on the front and the large image on the back.

Due to popular demand we’ll be returning to “Chocolaterie Stam” in Chapel Hill again this year.

For those of you new to the club there is a brief on the history of the company and a review from the N&O below.

We are confirmed for Sat Mar 27th at 1:30 p.m. (and non club guests are welcome).

As with last year there will be a $10 person fee, the fee includes: A 15-20 minute presentation / Q&A session by Bob, the owner, if there is interest. Unlimited chocolate samples for consumption on site. Please note his selection includes a number of sugar free items. Unlimited coffee / chocolate drinks made at the store for consumption on site. Unlimited gelato samples for consumption on site. Joe or Diana will be collecting the $ 10 per person fee at the door so Bob can focus on taking care of the club members.

Location:Chocolaterie Stam 1820 Martin Luther King Boulevard Suite B-10 ( In Chapel Hill North Shopping Center) Chapel Hill, NC 27514

Directions from Raleigh / Apex / Cary: Take I-40 to Exit 266 (Hwy 86 / MLK Blvd) turn left towards Chapel Hill, crossing over I -40. Proceed to third light, which is Perkins, and turn left. Take next left into the shopping center. Stam will be on your right across from the ABC Store and Blockbuster. (Bob suggested that we may wish to park on the side lot on the left just past Blockbuster)

History As early as 1817, an ancestor of the Stam Family ran a bakery that over time would develop a reputation for pastries and chocolates. In 1913, Jacobus Stam, upon urging from his clients decided to specialize in chocolates exclusively. Hence, Chocolaterie Stam was created. Three of his four sons, Frits, Wim and Jaap, and one daughter, Fredi, decided to join their father in the chocolate business in the late 1930’s and 1940’s with each developing their own branch of the Chocolaterie Stam family tree. Frits’ business turned very successful and was joined in 1978 by his second eldest son, Ad. The youngest of Frits’s seven sons, Ton, felt that America would appreciate his father’s chocolate as much as Netherlanders do. Now Americans can experience a nearly 100 - year Dutch tradition of fresh cream and nut filled chocolate bonbons from Chocolaterie Stam. Greg Cox, N&O Restaurant Critic and Food Writer …. in Chapel Hill, Bob Droog’s childhood memories of eating exquisite chocolates while growing up in Holland have culminated in the opening of Chocolaterie Stam in Chapel Hill North Shopping Center. Those chocolates had been made by the original Stam shop in Amsterdam, and memories were all Droog had of them until about a year ago. That’s when he saw a Food Network show featuring Chocolaterie Stam, and he learned that the Stam family now owns a handful of shops in Holland and Iowa (where subsequent generations of Stams have since settled). Droog got in touch with the company’s owners, and persuaded them to allow him to open the first non-family-owned franchise with his wife, Lee Ann. As a result, Droog can relive those sweet childhood memories any time he wants, sampling to his heart’s delight among some 80 confections — the orange peel chocolates he fondly recalls from childhood, or chocolates whose cream filling magically melts before the chocolate outside, or caramels, or truffles. He can sip ultra-rich hot chocolate as he boxes up mix-and-match selections for customers…or European-roasted coffee,and so can we.

Coastal Carolina Corvette Club is holding their 3rd Annual ‘Vettes Doin’ Charleston all Corvette show  The show will be held  from 10am-3pm on April 17, 2010 at the Tanger Outlet Center in North Charleston.   The show is put on to benefit the National Corvette Museum

RTP Corvettes have a block of 15 rooms reserved for club members at the newly renovated Hampton Inn Charleston Airport/Coliseum.   You’ll be able to see some of the renovations in the pictures on the Hampton Inn website.

Click here to go to the reservations page:  Hampton Inn Charleston

In addition to a great weekend in a beautiful city with all our Corvette friends, the Blue Angels will be performing at the Charleston Air Expo on Saturday.  If you recall, the Tanger Outlet Center is located very close to Joint Base Charleston (formerly Charleston AFB) and we should get a good view of some of the air show ourselves.

Here is a link to the air show website: 2010 Charleston Air Expo

CCCC put on a terrific show last year so let’s have a large contingent of RTP Corvettes members at the show!

Frank Sancineto, Fred Blinne and Alan Winston of of RTP Corvettes presented a plaque to George Anderson for Sir Walter Chevrolet’s support to our club’s efforts.

Sir Walter has hosted our annual car show, provided the venue for our annual chili cook-off and most recently, the Adams Polishes detail clinic.

The club sincerely appreciates all the support.

Thanks, George!

Our annual Christmas party and Yankee Gift Exchange will be held at the Angus Barn at 5:00pm, December 6, 2009.

Here’s our menu from the Angus Barn:

Entree Choices:

Filet Mignon

10 oz. bacon wrapped filet served with a side of Bordelaise sauce

Fresh North Atlantic Salmon

12 oz. pan-seared and served with garlic dill butter

Herb Roasted Tuscan Chicken

Stuffed with prosciutto, mozzarella, asparagus and served with green beans and red new potatoes

All entrees are served with fresh baked bread and your choice of a Garden Salad, Spinach Salad, Caesar Salad or Soup of the Day.

All entrees also come with your choice of Baked Potato, Stuffed Potato, Sweet Potato, Garlic Mashed Potatoes, Thick or Thin Cut Fries or Rice

For dessert you can choose from Chocolate Chess Pie, Cheesecake with Fresh Fruit, Pecan Pie, or Ice Cream

Coffee and Tea are included with the meal

Beer, Liquor or Wine can be ordered for an extra charge, if you’d like.

The cost for the meal is $45.00 per person.

Click here to be taken to the event registration page.  Once there, click on the ‘Register’ button to let us know you are coming and your entree choice(s).

After you’ve registered, please send your check made out to RTP Corvettes to P.O. Box 13435, Research Triangle Park, NC 27709.

After dinner, we will hold our Yankee Gift Exchange.  The maximum value of the gift is $25.00 and does not necessarily have to be Corvette related.  The gift exchange was a big hit at last year’s party!  Please call Kalani Parker if you have any questions on how the gift exchange will work.

The club picnic was a great success. Beautiful weather, great turnout and excellent food!  Thanks to everyone who attended.

Here’s a few pictures from the picnic, but be sure to check out all the pictures over on Flickr.  Thanks to Dean for the fine photography work.

We gathered at Hendrick Chevrolet in Cary to begin the Caravan to Bowling Green with overnight stops in Concord, NC and Sevierville, TN before reaching the Corvette Mecca which is Bowling Green, KY on Thursday September 3.

The Wake County Sheriff’s Department was kind enough to give us an escort out of town to the county line with their big, black and very bad Z06.   Many thanks to Sheriff Harrison and Deputy Harding for the kind treatment.

14 Corvettes from the Triangle, Sanford and Wilmington headed south on I-85 & I-40, picking up Pete along the way and made it to Concord just after noon.  We found the party had already started in the parking lot of the Hampton Inn and we fell right in.  A quick bite of lunch and we were off to Lowe’s Motor Speedway for some hot laps.

We formed up at the track, got some quick instructions, did the group picture and off we went!  Many thanks to the Queen City Corvettes for all their good work at the track.

After everyone had their laps (and got their adrenaline charged heartbeats back to normal) we all headed back to the Hampton for some dinner and comparison of notes of the day’s activities.  Mostly, it was ‘HOW FAST DID YOU GO???’

Here are a few pictures of the day’s events for your viewing pleasure. 

[View with PicLens]

There are many more pictures to see by clicking on the Flickr sidebar on the homepage of the web site and then selecting the Caravan sets shown on the right side of the web page.  Have fun!

Wednesday morning saw almost 150 cars heading south on I-85 from Charlotte into South Carolina for a lunch stop in Landrum.  By this time were drawing quite a bit of attention with folks taking pictures on the road, from the road side and even a friend from the Cross Flags Corvette Club in Spartanburg shooting video as we headed towards our lunch stop! (Thanks, Marc)  We even had two, count ‘em, two news helicopters monitoring our movements through SC. 

Here is a link to the video from WSPA in Spartanburg: 

http://www2.wspa.com/spa/news/local/article/200_corvettes_invade_landrum/26147/

The folks in the deli at the Ingle’s grocery did a great job handling a horde of hungry Corvette drivers and passengers.  After a quick (relatively) bite of lunch, we were off to Sevierville, TN.  The drive through SC, back into NC and then into  TN was a beautiful one.  Once we all got to the hotels in Sevierville,  a great BBQ dinner was put on for us by Buddy’s BBQ with hand dipped ice cream sundaes supplied by Marble Slab Creamery.  Yumm!

Thursday started very early with a driver’s meeting at 7:15am in anticipation of a 7:30am departure for Bowling Green.  Excitemeent was building and everyone was anxious to get on the road.  Unfortunately, we had to wait a bit for the local police to arrive to shepherd us out of the parking lot and side roads in order to get us on the interstate in mostly one big group. 

After leaving I-40 in Lebanon, TN,  we headed north to Bowling Green on some of the smaller roads.   We got a nice tast of the countryside in rural TN and KY thanks to Frank picking this route.  The KY state police picked us up at the border in one of their Corvettes and paced us all the way into Bowling Green.  We stopped for a quick rest at the Harley Davidson dealership at I-65 in BG to get all of the clubs and groups lined up together and then it was off to tour the town ahead of our arrival at the National Corvette Museum.  We got a great reception as we crised en masse around the museum grounds with folks waving, taking pictures and generally making us feel welcome.  The parking lots were full of Corvettes, the grounds were full of Corvettes, the roads were full of Corvettes and it was a stirring sight! 

Many thanks need to be given to Frank, Laura and all of the other volunteers who made this a wonderful, efficiently run amd most important of all, fun trip!