As I mentioned at the Utica meet, I'm looking to host a meet in the underrepresented North Country region of New York State. This meet would be based in Plattsburgh NY, with highlights including old and interesting bridges, roads near and straddling the Canadian border, the northern termini of both US 9 and US 11, the bridge to Vermont from Rouses Point, among others.
I'm looking to host this sometime in the spring of 2021, preferably mid May. North Country winters can go on well into April, so I don't want to schedule that early and risk getting snowed out, but May is generally pleasant. Obviously its way too early to set a specific date, but I mostly wanted to see what kind of interest there is. The North Country is a beautiful yet isolated region that many folks don't often get to, primarily because of its remoteness, so having a meet up here might get people to explore the region. Plattsburgh is one of the major hubs of the region, and contains many of the usual chain hotels and restaurants that most are accustomed to, and hotel prices typically aren't terrible.
Possible dates include:
May 1
May 8
May 15 (SUNY Plattsburgh commencement weekend; hotels more likely to be booked and expensive)
May 22 (Victoria Day weekend, shouldn't affect things too much but expect increased traffic in Plattsburgh and might put a damper on one of our stops)
May 29 (Memorial Day weekend, probably not the best)
June 5
Obviously I'm open to later dates, but early May tends to work best for me in terms of getting time off work to host a roadmeet. Plus, there is a walking tour scheduled and I'd rather walk in spring temperatures than summer ones. I still need to finish scouting the area (I have a rough itinerary written, but a couple stops may have to be scrapped). Hopefully this pandemic should be largely contained and things back to normal by the time May hits, but I'm still not opposed to hosting the lunch portion in a park somewhere in Plattsburgh and having folks bring their own food, even if we don't need to social distance.
Thoughts, concerns, feel free to chime in. Once I get an idea of general interest, I can start to flesh things out more. I'm hoping to do more scouting of the area within the next couple of weeks.
I am potentially interested! It would give me a reason to check out that part of Upstate New York.
The only concern I have is that I'm tentatively hosting a meet in the Outer Banks of North Carolina on April 24. (I say "tentatively", of course, because it all depends on whether COVID is under control by then.) If your Plattsburgh meet is scheduled for a date that's too close to April 24 (less than a two-week buffer), it might be tough for me to make it.
I think this is a fun idea and hope to attend. I'll have to see how everything shakes out and plan accordingly. I'm also hoping to take a cross-country roadtrip as soon as this COVID thing finally goes away (or gets to a new stable condition allowing significant travel again), so I'll have to plan around this.
I would definitely be interested in attending this meet as it would give me an excuse to do some exploring around the North Country which is really the only part of New York that I haven't traveled to. No preference on the dates right now as it's still early, but the options presented seem very reasonable.
I'm very likely if it falls between my dissertation defense and moving away from Albany. Waaaaaay too early to know, but if I'm free, I'll be there. Might be a good excuse to take a weekend to work on clinching Vermont roads, or just spend a day before/after hiking.
Quote from: A.J. Bertin on July 26, 2020, 09:08:51 PM
The only concern I have is that I'm tentatively hosting a meet in the Outer Banks of North Carolina on April 24. (I say "tentatively", of course, because it all depends on whether COVID is under control by then.) If your Plattsburgh meet is scheduled for a date that's too close to April 24 (less than a two-week buffer), it might be tough for me to make it.
I have your OBX meet in mind when choosing dates, which is why I deliberately avoided April (plus North Country weather in April is extremely unpredictable anyways). My preference is either May 8 or 15, FWIW.
Quote from: cu2010 on July 27, 2020, 06:21:37 AM
I have your OBX meet in mind when choosing dates, which is why I deliberately avoided April (plus North Country weather in April is extremely unpredictable anyways). My preference is either May 8 or 15, FWIW.
Oh cool... thanks so much! If it happens on May 8 or 15 and I don't have anything else in my personal life planned for around that time, there's a decent chance I'd be able to attend. If you were to put this up to a vote, I'd vote for May 15 just to give myself a nice three-week buffer, but if more people prefer May 8 (or that's the date you go with), I should be okay with that... again, as long as nothing in my personal life prevents me from being able to attend.
May 8 or 15 sound nice. May 8 especially would fit quite nicely if I did the cross country trip before Memorial Day, though the 15th is doable too (albeit not quite as nice). Or maybe it would be better to do that trip after Memorial Day instead. Who knows. I'm not planning anything (well, anything more than what I've already planned) until this coronavirus situation is stable enough for traveling to not be an issue - and even then I'll still be dependent on how the economic fallout affects New York.
As of right now, May 8 and 15 are both looking free on my end. May 22 I can say for certain is a no for me, but don't set it based on me.
I'm more inclined to choose the 8th over the 15th currently. May 15 is commencement at SUNY Plattsburgh, so hotels would likely be more expensive, plus increased traffic from out of town.
FYI, May 8th I believe is part of Mother's Day weekend.
Interested!
That said, I'll also raise the topics of the Outer Banks and the coronavirus. Personally, I don't plan on travelling anywhere that would require me to stay in a hotel until we're past the pandemic, so later is better as far as I'm concerned.
I will keep this in mind, I could finish of New York in terms of counties and can get a free stop over in PA on the way there and back but depends on my toy show schedule which should pick back up by then too.
Interested in any and all dates.
Now that we're in 2021, I'm starting to look ahead towards this meet more. Sadly, my employment situation changed between when I originally announced this meet and now, and as such, I'm not entirely sure what the future holds for me right now, but I will be more than likely moving to the state of Vermont. However, since Vermont is just a ferry ride's away, this meet is still on... depending on pandemic conditions, of course.
Regarding the pandemic, it is looking more and more like this, along with many 2021 meets, might have to be an outdoor picnic/bring your own lunch affair like most of the 2020 meets were. While outdoor dining would be an option at restaurants, Plattsburgh doesn't have a lot of space for it... to say nothing short of the fact that the economic conditions caused by the pandemic (along with NY's generally unfavorable business policies) has wreaked havoc on the restaurant industry in the North Country. So I will have to scout out a location with enough picnic tables for a gathering.
I'm still working on a route. There's enough to look at in Clinton County to put together a tour, but some of it is quite spread out... and if we were to include everything, the tour could run 6-7 hours easily. Since I want to include the Rouses Point bridge and some of the roads around (and straddling) the Canadian border, some of the stuff in the southern part of the county might get left out. The plan right now is to start with a short walking tour of downtown Plattsburgh and three historic bridges (and a historic train station), driving a bit to the southwest to see a couple old bridges en route to Dannemora before turning north towards the border. After seeing a few more historic bridges just off of US11, a trip to the northern terminus of US9, and a clinch of NY276 straddling the border, we'd go across the bridge to Vermont, stop and get pictures and a possible pitstop, then cross back into New York and begin heading south back towards Plattsburgh, heading out towards the Chazy area for a couple more old bridges before ending the formal tour at the Cumberland Head ferry terminal.
As for a date, I am currently leaning towards May 15th. Yes, it is commencement weekend at SUNY Plattsburgh, but with the current pandemic conditions, it is unlikely that it will be that much of a problem for us.
Thanks for this update!! I still very much want to attend this meet but I have two thoughts/concerns:
1. Will lodging in Plattsburgh be expensive and difficult to reserve if SUNY Plattsburgh's commencement ceremonies are that same weekend?
2. I'm hoping that New York State's quarantine-related restrictions on out-of-state travelers will have been lifted by then. If the restrictions that are currently in place are still in place at the time of this meet, it would not be feasible for me to attend.
Quote from: A.J. Bertin on January 10, 2021, 11:17:36 AM
2. I'm hoping that New York State's quarantine-related restrictions on out-of-state travelers will have been lifted by then. If the restrictions that are currently in place are still in place at the time of this meet, it would not be feasible for me to attend.
Speaking of quarantine restrictions, those will affect the dip into Vermont in the tour as well. I would think the most likely response when things begin to relax would be for Vermont to go back to their county-based system, which would complicate matters for tour participants. Given that NY won't even begin to start vaccinating people who aren't essential workers or age 75+ until April at the current rate of vaccination, I think it's safe to say that the pandemic will be far from over come spring.
I'm of the opinion that meets like this should be postponed until the nation gets a better handle on the virus, vaccination, reopening, and how the incoming Biden administration will impact all three.
Quote from: froggie on January 10, 2021, 10:35:04 PM
I'm of the opinion that meets like this should be postponed until the nation gets a better handle on the virus, vaccination, reopening, and how the incoming Biden administration will impact all three.
I second this opinion. Especially with the strict quarantine requirements in both New York and Vermont that are likely to continue well into the summer. Everything in Plattsburgh will still be there in the fall or next year, but people might actually be able to attend.
Quote from: cl94 on January 10, 2021, 11:10:44 PM
Quote from: froggie on January 10, 2021, 10:35:04 PM
I'm of the opinion that meets like this should be postponed until the nation gets a better handle on the virus, vaccination, reopening, and how the incoming Biden administration will impact all three.
I second this opinion. Especially with the strict quarantine requirements in both New York and Vermont that are likely to continue well into the summer. Everything in Plattsburgh will still be there in the fall or next year, but people might actually be able to attend.
Waiting until the Canadian border is reopened to non-essential travel (which could take longer than relaxation of NY/VT/rest of USA travel restrictions) might also boost meet attendance, since people could pop across the border while they're in the area. But there could be more than enough turnout even if it's mostly from NY.
At the same time, I think it's important to continue to try to be social. I'm not opposed to having a roadmeet in the style that we did in 2020, with picnic lunches and individual cars, but Plattsburgh is a bit too remote for that to work well.
A few of you make very valid concerns regarding quarantine restrictions... I'll definitely keep an eye on the situation and if it hasn't improved to the point where we can have a more normal meet, I'm definitely willing to postpone it to late summer/early fall, or even 2022.
Quote from: Alps on January 11, 2021, 12:33:09 AM
...but Plattsburgh is a bit too remote for that to work well.
This is key, IMO. Plattsburgh would fall under the category of "destination meet" for a lot of people, similar to the on-hold Outer Banks meet. It's a bit remote, but there are a ton of people who will use it as an excuse to visit the Adirondacks, North Country, and Vermont. There are also a decent amount of road enthusiasts just across the border in Quebec who might show up if the border is open.
Quote from: froggie on January 10, 2021, 10:35:04 PM
I'm of the opinion that meets like this should be postponed until the nation gets a better handle on the virus, vaccination, reopening, and how the incoming Biden administration will impact all three.
I wouldn't go that far on a nationwide scale. It really all depends on what each individual state is doing. Sounds to me like it would be easier to pull off a traditional type meet in, say, Florida, than in New York. I can very easily see New York tightening down on restrictions, but I think it's highly doubtful Florida ever will. I wouldn't even think of trying to plan a meet in Kentucky right now, due to the governor's track record of closing restaurants and the ongoing mask mandate.
Quote from: hbelkins on January 13, 2021, 07:16:09 PM
Quote from: froggie on January 10, 2021, 10:35:04 PM
I'm of the opinion that meets like this should be postponed until the nation gets a better handle on the virus, vaccination, reopening, and how the incoming Biden administration will impact all three.
I wouldn't go that far on a nationwide scale. It really all depends on what each individual state is doing. Sounds to me like it would be easier to pull off a traditional type meet in, say, Florida, than in New York. I can very easily see New York tightening down on restrictions, but I think it's highly doubtful Florida ever will. I wouldn't even think of trying to plan a meet in Kentucky right now, due to the governor's track record of closing restaurants and the ongoing mask mandate.
Pulling off a traditional meet greatly increases the risk of contracting COVID thanks to large groups of essentially - IRL - Strangers. If doing a meet - consider health risks!
So the COVID situation is improving, particularly in the North Country. Businesses are slowly reopening, gathering sizes have been increased (particularly among those with vaccinations), and we might be able to have a more "normal" meet after all.
However, the Canadian border remains closed... and with the situation over there, I don't see it reopening anytime soon. Since I'm sure Montreal would be a likely secondary destination for some folks, along with our Canadian friends who would otherwise attend a meet just south of the border, I feel it's in the best interest to postpone this meet until later in the summer, possibly August or September. What would work best for people?
I'd suggest waiting until there's an announcement on reopening the border before we try to zero in on a timeframe.
Given proximity to Canada - I'm in agreement with the postponement. Let them in.
If Canada isn't open, it only takes away Carl among likely attendees. Others would just have to focus on upstate NY and Vermaple instead of the Poutine Province. If you want to have the meet, have the meet, people will come.
I tend to agree with the folks who suggest postponement. I haven't looked at the current travel restrictions for New York State lately, but I have to assume it will still be prohibitive in May for a lot of people visiting from out of state.
It was suggested that maybe August or September might be a good time to reschedule this meet, but I would say it's too soon to tell whether that timeframe will be good.
Quote from: A.J. Bertin on March 25, 2021, 08:26:55 PM
I tend to agree with the folks who suggest postponement. I haven't looked at the current travel restrictions for New York State lately, but I have to assume it will still be prohibitive in May for a lot of people visiting from out of state.
Last I checked, the quarantine restrictions are scheduled to end April 1, though traveler health forms will still be required. No idea if Vermont will adjust, but fully vaccinated people are exempt from their restrictions.
Quote from: Alps on March 25, 2021, 08:22:02 PM
If Canada isn't open, it only takes away Carl among likely attendees. Others would just have to focus on upstate NY and Vermaple instead of the Poutine Province. If you want to have the meet, have the meet, people will come.
The south end of A-35 is only about 15 miles from Rouses Point as the crow flies. If the border were open, I think it would be worth checking out.
Quote from: cu2010 on March 25, 2021, 01:47:18 PM
So the COVID situation is improving, particularly in the North Country. Businesses are slowly reopening, gathering sizes have been increased (particularly among those with vaccinations), and we might be able to have a more "normal" meet after all.
However, the Canadian border remains closed... and with the situation over there, I don't see it reopening anytime soon. Since I'm sure Montreal would be a likely secondary destination for some folks, along with our Canadian friends who would otherwise attend a meet just south of the border, I feel it's in the best interest to postpone this meet until later in the summer, possibly August or September. What would work best for people?
I'm now fully vaccinated but would be fine with postponing until late summer/early fall.
Quote from: baugh17 on March 25, 2021, 09:38:21 PM
Quote from: Alps on March 25, 2021, 08:22:02 PM
If Canada isn't open, it only takes away Carl among likely attendees. Others would just have to focus on upstate NY and Vermaple instead of the Poutine Province. If you want to have the meet, have the meet, people will come.
The south end of A-35 is only about 15 miles from Rouses Point as the crow flies. If the border were open, I think it would be worth checking out.
I can just imagine that conversation.
"Where are heading to?"
"The south end of A-35."
"Why?"
"Because it's there."
(raises eyebrow) "Concentration is vital. You must be one with the road."
OK, maybe they wouldn't start referencing Star Trek V...
I'm more worried about being able to have gatherings at restaurants for a meet lunch, along with the ability to carpool (while the everyone-drives-and-attempts-to-follow worked okay in Utica, it might be a bit more difficult where it's much farther between stops)... plus I haven't really had the time to properly scout the area out lately. I'm hoping to do that soon.
That and I'm kinda hoping to be able to duck up to Montreal with the lady friend after...
Quote from: baugh17 on March 25, 2021, 09:43:22 PM
Quote from: cu2010 on March 25, 2021, 01:47:18 PM
So the COVID situation is improving, particularly in the North Country. Businesses are slowly reopening, gathering sizes have been increased (particularly among those with vaccinations), and we might be able to have a more "normal" meet after all.
However, the Canadian border remains closed... and with the situation over there, I don't see it reopening anytime soon. Since I'm sure Montreal would be a likely secondary destination for some folks, along with our Canadian friends who would otherwise attend a meet just south of the border, I feel it's in the best interest to postpone this meet until later in the summer, possibly August or September. What would work best for people?
I'm now fully vaccinated but would be fine with postponing until late summer/early fall.
Just curious what the status is since were now coming up on mid July and there hasn't appeared to have been any discussion on the topic since the end of March. Hopefully this meet isn't exactly dead in the water.
Given prior discussion, safe to say it's on hold since the border is still closed.
Quote from: froggie on July 14, 2021, 08:29:34 AM
Given prior discussion, safe to say it's on hold since the border is still closed.
Wasn't sure if that was still a factor, but I guess at the rate Trudeau is holding out on opening the border, it'll be a while.
I'm also patiently waiting for further updates regarding this meet (i.e., patiently waiting for the border to re-open, possibly increasing the likelihood that this meet will take place). I'm still hoping I can attend this one... whenever it's scheduled.
I haven't forgotten about this... I've just been extremely busy thanks to starting a new job, along with the ever-uncertain situation with both the border and the pandemic (NY has dropped all restrictions, but with the variants spreading who knows what'll happen), plus the fact that I've been dealing with some significant health issues, I'm probably going to have to push this out to next spring.
I want as many people as possible to be able to attend, which just isn't feasible right now.
https://www.wcax.com/app/2021/07/19/canada-let-fully-vaccinated-us-citizens-starting-aug-9/
Regarding crossing the border, fully vaccinated U.S. residents can enter Canada starting 8/9. No word yet on when Canadians can cross to the U.S.
I'm going to assume that this meet will not be happening in 2022 (at least, not this spring). For now, I'll cross it off the list. Of course, if anything changes, I can add it back to the list later.