[MSCW list] MSCW 2025 Excursion Drive #1 - Adirondack Foliage - a new kind of event!

[Timothy Metzinger]

An 'Excursion Trip' is a new kind of event for our group.  While scenic drives are generally short events, and destination drives may include an overnight for a specific attraction or event, an excursion trip takes some cars to a specific area to behave like tourists for a day or two - there will be at least two nights on the road.  Basically I'll publish an excursion, and we'll all go to the destination as a group.  But once we're there, folks are on their own as to where they stay, what they do, and when they go home.  I'll share my plans and folks are welcome to join me on activities or follow me home, but there's no requirement - leave early or stay longer as you see fit!

Our first excursion trip for 2025 (heck, the first planned excursion trip for the group) is a trip to the Lake Placid Area in late September for some Adirondack Foliage and the sort of fall you only experience in the mountains of the northeast.  I'm planning on making this a long weekend - departing on Friday and returning on Sunday.  The drive there should be lovely, with a route through the Poconos, a segment along the Hudson River, then past the lakes area where we stayed for the Star Trek trip to get to Lake Placid.  Once we're there, there are LOTS of things to do - there's hiking, visiting the old Olympic site (with mountain coaster, though the bobsled is likely NOT open this Fall as it's being renovated) more at https://www.lakeplacid.com/.  I plan on driving up Mt. Whiteface (https://whiteface.com/todo/whiteface-veterans-memorial-highway/) to enjoy the view and perhaps some stuff on the water as well.

The drive up from Frederick is 525 miles (with a couple bio breaks and a lunch stop), so we'll leave early and folks should plan on having dinner and then going to bed so they can be rested for the next day before heading home.  The days will be shorter (sunset at 6:45 PM on the 26th) so sleep should come easily.  I strongly suggest making lodging arrangements soon, as the peak foliage season may result in rooms being hard to find.  Be sure they're refundable, in case the weather looks awful our your plans must change.  There are lots of places nearby - Lake Saranac, Upper Jay, Elba - so finding a spot should be easy.   We'll have some plans for a rally point in the town for shared trips, and I'll consult Yelp and other sources to find good places to eat as well.

Logistics:
Excursion Dates - 9/26-9/28 (Friday-Sunday)
Assembly - We'll assemble at Nymeo Field (Harry Grove Stadium) in Frederick MD at 6:30 AM, in the parking lot across from the cemetary.
Departure - We'll depart Frederick on US15 at 7:00 AM (sunrise)
Time/Distance (to the destination area) - 525 miles.  With breaks and a meal, we'll arrive around 6:00 PM in Lake Placid.  Of course folks may split off the route a little early to find their own lodging.
Local Attractions and Events - https://www.lakeplacid.com is a good start.
Fees - Estimate $10 for NY tolls on I-87 - have an ezpass!
Food - on the way up, we'll stop at Ms. Fairfax near I-84 before we head north on US9W to join I-87.  I'll publish Lake Placid Restaurants to the group as the date approaches
Car limits - ten (10) cars initially, though more slots will be added if folks want to go.
Weather - Excursions are generally rain-or-shine trips, though if the entire period is going to be awful, it may be rescheduled.  In this case - we'd push back to 10/10/2025
Technology-  I will bring extra Midland GMRS radios.  If you want to bring your own GMRS radio, we will be using Channel 30 on Midland Radios, or 462.7000 MHz frequency and CTCSS 17 (118.8 Hz) for the privacy code.  In Glympse, we'll use the !mscw_cruise tag to keep track of each other.  I'll collect the radios when we arrive at our destination, and may loan them out again for side trips I lead.
RSVP via signup genius at https://rebrand.ly/mscw2025-ex-01.   Please sign up AFTER you've booked your lodging. Don't use Facebook to indicate you're going.
Visit www.midatlanticscenicdrives.com (two weeks before the trip) for maps and GPS files.

Also, I promise we'll have a short foliage scenic drive locally in early November.

Drive safely and HAVE FUN,
Timothy (Tim) Metzinger
Scenic Drive Coordinator - Mazda Sport Cars of Washington, DC
Current drive list - https://www.midatlanticscenicdrives.com/mscwdrives.html
Guide to our group drives - https://midatlanticscenicdrives.com/downloads/MSCW_Group_Drive_Guide.pdf
tim.metzinger at outlook.com<mailto:tim.metzinger at outlook.com>
703.963.3015