Registration Opens: Wednesday January 17
Visit the Club Reg link to sign up: 2024 PC NER Ramble Sign Up
NER’s Annual Spring Ramble is typically the region’s largest event of the year!
The event takes place 4/26-4/28 in Stow VT: The Lodge at Spruce Peak
Why should you join us for NER’s 2024 Annual Spring Ramble? It’s simply the best way to start the driving season! 150+ Porsches (some Ramblers do occasionally drive vehicles other than Porsches), 300 good friends, delicious food, and a weekend at a top-notch resort hotel. You’ll arrive Friday (or earlier at our inviting rate), and begin your social and partying activities before the serious driving commences on Saturday morning.
This year’s 38th edition will take us on lots of 2-lane country roads in the beautiful Green Mountains of Vermont. Come experience secluded roads and scenic vistas that pass by rushing streams, meandering rivers, peaceful lakes, and more than a few mountainsides. You may even have a chance to traverse a covered bridge or two along the way!
Our Overall Event Sponsor is once again European Performance Engineering in Natick, MA. Give these talented folks a call at (508) 651-1316 for anything from an oil change to a full street-to-track conversion. Or, visit their website at www.epe.com.
On Friday from 6:00–7:15 p.m., see old friends and meet some new PCA’ers at the Welcome Reception – sponsored again this year by Porsche of Warwick. We’ll be in the beautiful Junior Ballroom serving complimentary hors d’oeuvres and snacks along with a cash bar. So please stop by and say hello before you head out for dinner on your own. There are quite a few restaurants to choose from in Stowe (reservations are recommended) offering various cuisines and price points, or you can choose to eat on the property at the Alpine Hall or the Tipsy Trout. Menu and booking information for these 2 on-site restaurants as well as many more in Stowe are available on the www.sprucepeak.com website. Click on the drop-down “Dine” at the top of the page, and click on “Village Dining”. Toward the bottom of the listings is a box entitled “Explore Dining Options in Stowe”. Click on this box and you’ll be whisked to a page showing you restaurant hours as well as individual listings. Bon Appetit!
On Saturday morning, continental breakfast begins at 7:00 a.m. in the gracious Tamarack Ballroom. The mandatory drivers and passengers safety and route briefing will convene at 8:35 a.m., after which drivers will head out on a navigational, directions-based tour exploring the mountainous terrain surrounding Stowe, and concluding at our lunch destination in Burlington, VT.
Following the buffet lunch, you’ll embark on another navigational, directions-based tour that takes you back to The Lodge at Spruce Peak. Or, if you prefer to return sooner to begin your partying, visit The Spa (request our discounted rates – $25 off 50 minute or $50 off 80 minute spa services), hike, shop, or whatever, simply take the more direct route that will also be provided.
For anyone joining us for the first time – a hearty welcome. Your registration packet will include a detailed route to and from our lunch stop, that Peter Moll and his wife Sandra have travelled many times, revising and correcting along the way. Unlike most PCA tours, we drive on our own (not as a convoy), though you’ll typically find yourself part of a multi-car pod. Make a pit stop or pull off to take a photo when you want, and continue at your own pace. Want to spend time with some different Porsche models of varying configurations and colors? Just safely pull off the road and join the next pod to come along. However, if you decide to take an extended off-route excursion, and the sweeper car passes you by, you will have “officially” left the tour for insurance purposes.
At 6:00 p.m. Saturday evening, we’ll meet for cocktails and hors d’oeuvres back in the Junior Ballroom. Our plated dinner begins at 7:30 p.m. in the Tamarack Ballroom where we enjoyed breakfast. After dinner there’s time for more socializing. From 7:30–10:00 a.m. Sunday morning, a full, hot, buffet breakfast will be served back in the Tamarack Ballroom, after which you’re on your own again to head home, or stay longer and enjoy the charms of Stowe and environs.
Remember, this is a Tour, and we expect you to follow all the laws and regulations pertaining to the public roadways we’ll be traveling. We’ll be on many narrow, 2-lane roads, so please give pedestrians and bicyclers a wide berth. If you have the urge to exercise your Porsche more fully, we would highly recommend attending one of the many Driver’s Education or Autocross events hosted by the Northeast Region. IMPRUDENT OR DANGEROUS DRIVING BEHAVIOR WILL NOT BE TOLERATED DURING THE RAMBLE.
- The Friday rate is for your room only and includes all taxes and fees. Subject to availability, this same rate applies for 3 nights pre & post Ramble should you wish to extend your stay.
- The Saturday Package Rate includes your room, Saturday cocktail hour with hors d’oeuvres (cash bar after you’ve used your 1 drink ticket/person), Saturday night dinner (jackets for gents and festive attire for the ladies), Sunday morning hot breakfast buffet, and all service charges, gratuities and taxes.
- The resort fee is included in the room rate and includes free wireless internet, the fitness center, and parking.
- Your registration fee covers the Friday Welcome Reception with hors d’oeuvres and snacks, Saturday’s continental breakfast, Saturday’s lunch, your magnetic plastic name badge, the commemorative 2024 Ramble pin, and other costs incurred in organizing and running the Ramble.
- Unless you like being on a waitlist, register for one of the 150 rooms in our block when you receive your registration confirmation. Check-in is 4:00 p.m. and check-out is 11:00 a.m.
For 2024, our room block includes 4 different room types as listed below. Their website www.sprucepeak.com provides pictures and room details under the “Stay” tab at the top of the page.
A comment about significant increases in room, and particularly, food pricing. These increases result from 2 factors most of you will recall. Last year people were traveling more freely for the first time after extended Covid-19 isolation. As a result, while our late April weekend is typically slow, making our event attractive to properties, last year everyone was full, and wishfully projecting that would be their new normal. In addition, inflation was running rampant and venues were protecting themselves with a significant buffer. Since I believe that quality is remembered long after the price is forgotten, we chose not to compromise our standards for either accommodations or food. Based upon our negotiations for 2025, we expect pricing to ease somewhat for next year.
PLEASE DO NOT CALL THE LODGE AT SPRUCE PEAK TO MAKE YOUR RESERVATION BEFORE YOU HAVE REGISTERED ONLINE AND RECEIVED YOUR CONFIRMATION EMAIL. We will be matching registrations against the hotel-supplied rooming list on a weekly basis, and those registered will receive priority within our room block. A ROOM RESERVED WITHOUT AN EVENT RESERVATION IS NOT GUARANTEED. We expect to occupy our entire room block, so please make your reservations with The Lodge at Spruce Peak promptly after you receive your registration confirmation to avoid disappointment.
-Dennis Friedman
