CNJ999 wrote:Well...sure am glad I didn't plan on making the trip up to the Amherst Show today. The Hudson Valley in NY got 6"+ of snow, the roads are bad, and things are supposed to be worse across Route 84 in CT and up Route 91 toward Springfield, MA. Good luck to any of you trying to make the run and coming from a distance.
I did...and had a great time.
Caveat, I stayed overnight in Hartford because I knew I'd be too tired to make the trip from Long Island to Springfield and back in one day. particular after 6+ hours of tromping around an exhibition. The trip from Hartford to W. Springfield up I91 this morning...it wasn't that bad. Started around 8:15AM, the interstate was more or less plowed, I stayed in the right lane as much as possible, as I puttered along at 50mph on a 65mph road - dangit!
. Most people were going along 40-50mph in that stretch, I didn't much worry about those going faster than that, but I did give as wide a berth as possible to those petrified idiots putzing along at 25mph gripping their wheel for dear life- IME they have no winter driving skills, poor control and so end up skidding out and causing accidents.
Anyway, got to the Expo Center at 9:30 only because I missed the turn to 147 and had to double back thru semi-plowed secondary roads - GRRRR, West Springfield does not seem to be a firm believer in clear street signage. I wish the parking lot had been as plowed as the Interstate, as I, along with several other people I saw, managed to slip and fall (luckily it was into soft snow, so no damage for me). Later that ice turned to slushy puddles, real pleasant to walk thru (and you had to, to get between the different venues - although they did have tents over each entrance passage, these tents didn't extend across active roads for obvious reasons).
Exhibitors commented that attendance was down and I can understand that - I mean there certainly were lots of people, but it wasn't superpacked. Worked out great for me, as I was able to chat with a lot of exhibitors - and nit-pick too, especially the N-scale guys with the "Air Park" (I still think it looks more like a Air Museum) - haggle down prices on some items, catch a few interesting scenery and weathering clinics, give the CMRR guys a few bucks and a thumbs up, and take a lot of pictures throughout the four venues.
I headed out around 4:30PM after seeing everything I wanted to see, and exceeding my spending limit by 50.00 (those darn Sylvan models put me over the limit), trudged thru the slush, headed south on I91 and I95 - everything was pretty clear by then, so I was and pretty much everyone else on the road was able to sustain a "nominal" 65mph, as God meant it to be, stopped for gas in Hartford, dinner at Arby's in North Haven, and...got home without incident, did some chores, and finally typed this up. So the answer is: CNJ999 - you missed a great opportunity as the exhibitors were all there but the annoying dense crowds - not so much.