VCCA Home Forums GENERAL DISCUSSION Forum Questions Tours

Mack , touring in NZ is just like where you are , same sort of organisation required , eg, are there public toilets at the lunch stop ? figure the logistics of refueling 65 cars at Kumara where there is only one gas pump !!
To any potential organiser , think of somewhere you would like to go, plan an interesting route off the main road , look for a nice place to picnic on the way , and an easy route home. If the others that come like it enough , they will want to do it again.
So we do a particular run each year , very restricted in numbers (88) and the winner (usually decided before the trip) gets to organise the trip next yr , same venue , different route . Lots of fun for a long weekend.

A good source for a good map is the County Engineers Office. DeLorme also makes county map books for each state. I have them for Ohio, Indiana, and Kentucky. P.O.Box 298, Yarmouth, Maine 04096 - (207) 846-7000 - www.delorme.com
The only problem is they don't poing out Ice Cream
stops. You'll have to find them for yourself.

See you down the back roads

Every state now a days has some kind of touring guide that you can get on line. Here in Connecticut all you have to do is log on to CT.gov and click on visiting on the main pge. You can then order on line a Connecticut Tour Guide with a state road map. It includes not only places to go, but also rest areas, restaurants, and lodging. They will send it directly to your home. It's all free. There are places here I never knew existed. I'm sure all states do the same thing."If it's free in Connecticut I'm sure it's free every other place on the planet." Try your state gov. web page. It's a good place to start.

The maps I mentioned in my last post are for county maps that show all the back roads. I like to travel the back roads as much as possible.

Back Roads, I had an inkling (for some reason) you might enjoy the "back roads"! DeLorme has a decent mapping program "Street Atlas U.S.A." I use the program to plot tour routes and to plot the point by point time and distance directions. Time and distance at your choice of speeds, I have the 8th edition, they come out with a new edition every year. I like their application mainly for the detail they have down to street level, The also have a feature that shows many retailers and all kinds of interesting places "Along The Way" is what they call it. They also can interact with GPS. I have considered getting their Topo maping program, they have a lot of interesting features 3D maps is one of them.

Dusty, Thanks for the input I would very much like to make a trip to N.Z. and tour your beautiful country side, Maybe one day the Lord of the Lottery will smile down upon his humble servant and say "YOU WON THE BIGGIE..WACKY ONE!" and we can make a few weeks holiday down under.

The best way to learn what and what not to do while putting a tour together is participate on a few and get a feel. Also when putting it together it does not hurt to have the Bride involved. There are many logistical concerns, such as eating, and bathroom stops. When it comes to restrooms the female opinion will differ from ours as to what is adaquet/clean. For a long time I never understood why tours are limited to a certain number of cars, but after trying to find a restaurant that can seat 75 people at the same time, I now understand why. Another thing is to try to avoid left hand turns (and traffic circles!), that is where separations occur. Make sure everyone knows to bring a set of Motorola "talk about" radios. they are cheap and work well. A good very good VCCA friend of mine and fellow 60 Impala owner summed it up best when he said "we could figure out a way to have fun driving in circles in a parking lot, as long as we had bathrooms (for the ladies) food and each others company." Come to think about it he is right.
John

Very good, John...and as to having the wives involved In my estimation that is one primary reason for the success of our Lone Star Region. The ladies participate fully and they are the cement that holds the whole mess together.

We use those Walk-about-radios and they do a good service. Each group can choose their own channel and keep in touch even when shopping until they drop!

Gator,
On October 24-28 the VMCCA is hosting "Orange Blossom Eastern Nickel Tour" for cars 1934 and older. The host hotel is located in Mount Dora Fla. You might want to look into participating, or at the very least getting the info after the tour. I picked up the flyer at the AACA General Membership Meeting in Philly this past February. I will send you a private message with the contact number. I am sure you need to be a member of the VMCCA, that I am not.
Mr Mack, how right you are about the girls! Every region that is successful is because the wives get along, it makes everyone look forward to getting together, it becomes more than just a car event.
John

Chipper, I was recently doing some heavy thinkin' and that is a hardship event for me. Old Zeke has some of that good 'speriance and I may have to call on him for some of his vast "tail waggin" touring tails, at least I don't have to worry about him blowing that durned bugle, maybe just a growl or two. Would you know if he or his faithful companion ,Paul, is hooked up to the WWW.com?

Are you getting all of these good ideas MM?

Gator, I surely am, I copy them to a Wordperfect file. They are some really good points.

Wackie wone,
Yes Zeke and Paul are web connected. I will send an email with their address.

John and Gator, By the information in the last Bulb Horn the magazine of VMCCA you would not need to be a member of VMCCA to attend one of their tours. They are working on a plan to advertise their tours in other club magazines to attract outside participation. Of course one thought is that you may want to join eventually.

See you down the back roads.

Hey All
This topic is of great interest! I went "on tour" with some people that have that "other make" of cars and it was great fun. There is one main hurdle to having a "Chevy" tour in the area that I live in, which is Saratoga Springs, NY. We don't even have a local chapter of the VCCA! So, to expand the topic and the converstation, how would we start a local chapter and then maybe, down the road, sponsor a tour?
John

Start by becoming a VCCA member and while you are waiting for your first G&D and your membership card, go over to vcca.org the main VCCA website and look for a region in N.Y. and also on the VCCA Board of Directors find your Rep. for the State, write them or email them and ask about a region near you, or how to start a region. look in the events section there and you may find a nearby event or meeting you can attend as a guest. VCCA can most always use VCCA members and Chevrolet fans to help with events

Mr. Mack, Did you get enough information to do what you intended to do? One thing I didn't mention that we do on the Early Six Cylinder Tour is give certificates for various things, Nothing serious except for the TOUR SPIRIT AWARD to the person that makes the tour what it is. Fun and fellowship. We have a **** Award, Found on road dead. Tour mechanic to someone that either worked on their car or that of another person to complete the tour.

See you down the back roads.

Back Roads, I got several then the thing just shut off. I will still need whatever anyone has, I probably will wait till after the middle of June, I have some tours and a couple of swap meets to do. Thanks for all your suggestions. Oh gosh, if I suggested a Found On the Road Dead award do you reckon someone would break out a rope?

You do not have to have a Region to sponsor a tour. The Southern Spring Tours and the National Four Cylinder Tours are held in areas where there is no Region. It helps to have a Region just from the manpower standpoint. There has never been a Region hosting the National Four Cylinder Tour, just a small number of people. The Southern Spring Tour this year is being hosted and put together by three members that live about 200 miles from each other. No Region doing the work or hosting.
CORDially,
Joe Smith
Board Memeber

No Joe you do not need to have a region to host a National VCCA Tour. We are about to have the 10th Early Six Cylinder Tour for 1929 - 1942 in Baldwinsville, NY. Of the 10 only one has been hosted by a region. Some have been done by one couple while others have been done by two or three couples. Only allow a quantity of participants that you can host with ease. I think we had about 30 on the first Early Six Cylinder Tour for 1929 - 1942.Just keep it simple and have fun doing it. I think you will find by the end of your tour someone will step forward to do it the next time. I hope this puts your mind at ease.

See you down the back roads.