2016 Northeast Rod Run - the FINAL one!

[Northeast Rod Run]

It looks like people are all currently driving in from all over the eastern half of North America, as they arrive in the northeast corner of the good ol' USA. This is so they can make it to Danbury, NH in time for the Northeast Rod Run 2016 annual kickoff on Saturday morning.

Be safe out there and we'll start things off right that morning!

[Northeast Rod Run]

With this year's cruise now in the books and us looking forward to setting up next year's run, I pulled the following off of our FB page, for those of you that joined us from here, but aren't on FB. We had over 50 vehicles join us in 2016 and it looks like our fundraising numbers are going to end up around $9000.00



This year's cruise was a bigger success than we could have ever imagined. Most importantly I have to talk about our fundraising efforts. By now, all of you that joined us this year, know why we chose to support a charity for this particular cancer and how close to home that it has hit us. We set a very aggressive goal (so I thought) this year and believed it was going to be a longshot to hit it. I honestly thought that my car had a better... chance of breaking down on the trip, then we had at hitting our number. I could not have been more wrong. We haven't even finished up with our current collections and I can already tell you that we have surpassed our goal by thousands of dollars!
We have been totally blown away by the support and generosity of EVERYONE that has helped us get where we are. Without every single one of you, this would not have been possible. There were some of you that had no idea what you were getting into before you joined NERR on Saturday, but you still contributed to the cause. You previously may have not known one other person on the trip, but you still contributed to the cause. Maybe you life has never even been touched by cancer, but you still contributed to the cause. You put your trust into people that you never even met and still decided to contribute to the cause. With so many scams and frauds out there these days, generosity like that is very hard to come by.
While on the cruise, I don't think a day went by, that Hollie and I didn't talk to each other about how thankful we were and how much we were moved by some of the personal stories some of you shared. Many of you told us about how cancer has affected your lives and I know that's not something that most people just start telling to a complete stranger. I personally feel honored to know that you felt comfortable enough to share something like that with us.
I know everyone did what they could, but I have to just give a special thanks to a few of you. I'll leave your names out of here (because I know that's not what you are looking for), but I want everyone else to know that we have a few people in our mix that went way above and beyond anything that could have ever been expected. As you've seen this year, we attract only the best people and I know, without a doubt, that they have the biggest hearts and will do almost anything for others.
Thank you once again and we'll see you all in 2017, as we continue to do what we do!
#nerr2016 #cruisinforcancer #noonefightsalone #LRF

[Northeast Rod Run]

Here was our last post on FB, to sum up 2016's cruise

Since we've gotten back from this year's cruise, I really haven't had time to catch my breath yet, but now that I'm sitting down with a beer, it's time to reflect on the trip.
I've already posted about how AWESOME our fundraising has been going for cancer research, but let's talk about the rest of the trip now.
Starting back in 2008 we had 14 cars join us, mostly friends of mine from a few different circles and what a great time we had. As this was originally be our last year, I figured what better way to end it, then to finish it all off at our best location from our first year (Bar Harbor), but the story changed.
We made 2016 longer than normal (with only 2012's cruise surpassing it in days spent behind the wheel), and really stepped up our attraction stops. We visited shops, museums, National Parks, breweries and plenty of other places in-between.
Everyplace I talked to, about setting up our visits, was told to expect between 25 and 30 cars. We ended up making 40 goodie bags and I think around 60 windshield banners (to go along with 60 event t-shirts). Knowing how previous years went, we figured there would be plenty of leftovers. I can't explain what Hollie Bovardi and myself felt when we saw the initial outpouring of support at Ragged Mountain on Saturday morning. We actually had to ration some of the stickers and banners, because we were afraid we weren't going to have enough, because people started buying two each, right off the bat. To say that we were overwhelmed might be an understatement, with NERR attracting over 50 cars this year (over 100 people), from all over the eastern half of the USA and Canada.
We have NEVER attracted one bad seed and with the numbers what they were this year, the trip was bound to have one. I can't say how much I was impressed to say that when it was over, we dodged that bullet again. I can honestly say that we've met a few more people that we consider more than cruise attendees. We call them friends.
The roads we traveled, the cars we cruised, the place we visited and the stops we had seen... They all become secondary to the people we have met and friendships we have formed.
Some of us have a shared bond through the love of our hobby, but there were some people on this cruise that had a little more than that. They had a bond that most of us will probably never understand. Those special individuals have a bond of fighting the ultimate fight and living life to the fullest because of it. Those individuals have all fought cancer and KICKED IT'S ASS! It is an honor to know each and every one of you, and to know this little trip helped you enjoy your life a little more for a few days is good enough for me.
Everywhere we went, people turned out to see what we were all about. Locals visited with their cars, while other travelers told us about their current toys. We even stopped at a gas station where some of us met an older woman and she told us about "back in the day", she used to be "that girl" with the short shorts, long legs and fast cars. She ran off a list of cars that would be impressive in anyone's book. We had police officers stop by, not to give us a hard time, but to visit, tell jokes and share stories of their own. We had hotel employees come out with their own cameras and take pictures, bring their families by on their day off, even hang out with us at night by the fire pit, after they bought us wood and the makings for s'mores. To see the smiles we put on other people's faces was priceless.
I guess we can say it was a success in every way. I can't wait to see what the future brings with NERR. Let's just keep the good vibes going and just remember on future trips.......
However people act while on our cruises, be it at our stops and especially at our hotels..... It all reflects on NERR and all of us as a whole.
thanks again for a great year and let's see where next year goes!
#nerr2016 #LRF #cruisinforcancer #noonefightsalone #nerr2017

[BluLightning]

Once again TJ, thanks and great job for setting this up! We've already started booking rooms for next year. See you then.

[Northeast Rod Run]

Thanks for coming out and taking a chance on us this year. Glad you enjoyed it!

You picked a great year to join up with NERR, because 2016 was our best year ever, not to mention that with over 50 vehicles it was also our biggest yet.

With this year's numbers and all the early interest for 2017, I'm actually thinking that we might have to start putting a limit on our attendees in the future

[Northeast Rod Run]