GenVibe - Community for Pontiac Vibe Enthusiasts

*UPDATED 6/11/19*

If you plan on coming, please let me know how many are coming with so we can try to keep an accurate headcount. I will be updating this post with more info as it is added.

Location: Bradford, PA 16701

Date: June 21st- June 23rd
-Most will arrive on 6/21. Our plans will be on 6/22. Departure on 6/23.

Lodging: Best Western (Bradford Inn)
Address: 100 S Davis St, Bradford, PA 16701
Phone: (814) 362-4501

Group rate is $103+tax. Please call and mention "GenVibe" to receive group rate. You have until 5/20 to reserve. After 5/20 the block will be opened. 25 rooms have been reserved. They are a mixture of king or two queen rooms. If you have any issues, please do not hesitate to reach out to me on here or Facebook or email.
**You may get a marginally better rate if you are military/government or have CAA/AAA.**

6/21: Free For All
- Everyone is arriving so pretty low key day.
- World Day of Music in Historic Downtown Bradford. 5pm-8pm. Not a group activity persay, but this is going on downtown, not far from lodging so could make a good evening activity to get out around town.

6/22: Group Time!

Zippo/Case Museum Chestnut Street Extension, 1932 Zippo Drive, Bradford, PA 16701
-- 10am start time for guided tour. Will go to about noon.
***If you have a Zippo lighter or Case Knife that needs repaired, bring it with you to drop off or repair and they will mail it back once repaired. They do offer a lifetime guarantee!***

- LUNCH! Will be ordering pizza from a local place called A Slice of the 80s. They will deliver to us at Kinzua Bridge. Everyone chip in a few bucks and we has food.

- Kinzua Bridge State Park 296 Viaduct Road, Mt Jewett, PA 16740
-- Cruise here after Zippo. Depending on this, we'd be here about 1230-1pm. This is a beautiful area for pictures with lots to explore. They are open until dusk. You can check out the visitor center, walk out onto the overlook, or even hike down into the valley. I have contacted them to schedule a tour when we get there, and to try to set aside a parking area for us so we can take some group photos. I'll end up doing the raffle for the lighters here. Also will be giving out GV19 stickerz. First come first serve.

We are on our own for dinner after the bridge. I'd recommend taking the short drive to Kane, PA to checkout the various new eateries they have...Table 105, Twisted Vine Winery, CJ Spirits and Distillery, Log Yard Brewing, Pepe's Pizza, Roma's Pizza. They are also home to the areas one and only drive-in movie theatre (Kane Family Drive-In). I am not opposed to going somewhere as a group, but figured no need to plan something just in case others want to do things on their own.


6/23: Goodbye!
- For those willing, we could do a short cruise to Kinzua Dam and along Longhouse Scenic Byway (if departure takes you that way and/or you want to check it out). Kinzua Dam is the largest dam east of the Mississippi. We yanked land from the Seneca Nation (and various other locals, some of whom I'm related to) through eminent domain when it was approved to build a dam here. Johnny Cash actually wrote about this in a song.

-Eldred WWII Museum is open 1pm-4pm on Sunday if you wanted to check that out.


Other Attractions: (could see before arrival/departure or if you want to go on your own)
- Kinzua Dam/Jakes Rocks/Rimrock/Allegheny National Forest Visitor Center
- Allegheny State Park
- Kinzua East KoA Campground
- Marilyn Horne Museum
- Penn-Brad Oil Museum
- Marilla Reservoir/Covered Bridge
- Bradford Landmark Society (Historical Society)
- Crook Farm (19th century farmstead)
- Arts in the Wild Festival June 21st-22nd (Kane, PA)
- Wilder Museum (Irvine, PA)
- Sprint Speedway (Go-Karts in Olean, NY)

Allegheny National Forest Visitors Guide

Facebook Event for GenVibe Meet 2019

I'll have to pass. I likely can't afford the five days away from customers to drive up, stay, then drive back.

Bookworm wrote: ↑Mon Feb 18, 2019 8:25 am I'll have to pass. I likely can't afford the five days away from customers to drive up, stay, then drive back.

bummer. a few other Tejans are planning on making it.

zbyers wrote: ↑Mon Feb 18, 2019 10:39 am

Bookworm wrote: ↑Mon Feb 18, 2019 8:25 am I'll have to pass. I likely can't afford the five days away from customers to drive up, stay, then drive back.

bummer. a few other Tejans are planning on making it.

Wouldn't be my first drive that way, or even my third. That's how I know exactly how long it'd take.

Interestingly enough, my last Vibe made the trip to Detroit at least twice (three times?). I just didn't drive it to Ottawa.

Sounds good so far have you thought about a home base where people could stay overnight yet?

Please disregard the location at the moment...We are possibly changing the location to one that will cooperate in the event of poor weather.

As for lodging, no we have not set up a block yet for the group.

Planning on a long weekend! Arriving Thursday evening, leaving Sunday morning.

vibenvy wrote: ↑Sun Feb 24, 2019 6:48 am Planning on a long weekend! Arriving Thursday evening, leaving Sunday morning.

Awesome!! More than welcome to come hangout with us for the day too

June 22 should work for me. I'll be just finishing a 45 day shutdown project at the BP refinery here in Oregon where I live. This will be a nice "well needed" break!

tpollauf wrote: ↑Wed Feb 27, 2019 10:37 pm June 22 should work for me. I'll be just finishing a 45 day shutdown project at the BP refinery here in Oregon where I live. This will be a nice "well needed" break!

Those shut downs are no joke. Our local refinery (United Refining) does theirs in like...March/April/May every few years. It's weird doing it in those colder months in the middle of nowhere PA!

Looking forward to seeing you at the meet.

Updated original post to include more finalized plans. Still working on additional details and will revert shortly. If you have any suggestions or anything, please let me know.

Also: will be giving away these fellas at the meet.

Updated with Hotel Info, Zippo Tour Time, and other general info.

Maybe get some updated towels printed also for the attendees !

Those would be awesome. Any info on who made those?

hotbug1776. He lives in Erie and made arrangements back then for the meet and got the towels made also!

Thanks for the info. Hotbug actually moved to somewhere in Ohio due to work. I will have to ask him for some info.

Just joined this community, I will be there.

Rturk wrote: ↑Mon Apr 08, 2019 3:35 pmJust joined this community, I will be there.

Awesome. Glad you can make it, and welcome aboard.

Feel free to make an introductory post in The Vibe Lounge with some pics of your ride. If you don't mind, you could also update your profile with your location.

Made some revisions 4/17/19. Unless others speak up otherwise, I have opted to remove visiting the Eldred WWII Museum. I've completed the "circuit" that would have been (about 1 hour between each place, so 3 hours of driving). While a nice cruise, it's probably just a bit too much, especially since most are already driving 6+ hours. Plus, we'd be crunched for time in the WWII Museum and that's a place you could spend all day in. Again, if others say otherwise, I can gladly add back in.

Less than 2 months out now! About 20 people have RSVP'd on the Facebook event. I will follow up with the hotel in about a week or so to determine if we need more rooms blocked off for us, or if they can extend the deadline if need be..

Looking forward to seeing everyone there. I'm having some other goodies made up too.

Little over a week away until hotel group code is expired and the rooms are back to the general public.

Please let me know if you plan on attending.

Group code has since been closed. If you book a room, let me know and i can work with the hotel to maintain the group rate and try to get you situated with us.

This sounds like so much fun. It's a really convenient location for the Canada folks, at least for me...it's about a 3 1/2 hr drive. Too bad I can't make it, as I have never been to a car meet!

annvibe09 wrote: ↑Tue Jun 04, 2019 5:16 pm This sounds like so much fun. It's a really convenient location for the Canada folks, at least for me...it's about a 3 1/2 hr drive. Too bad I can't make it, as I have never been to a car meet!

You should try and make it! A few other Canadians are coming down. They're from the GTA area, so must be relatively close to you.

As this date draws nearer it looks like I may not be able to make it The BP shutdown was delayed and may not conclude until the end of June. I'm still going to try to get the day off so I can make it. We'll see

tpollauf wrote: ↑Wed Jun 05, 2019 1:47 pm As this date draws nearer it looks like I may not be able to make it The BP shutdown was delayed and may not conclude until the end of June. I'm still going to try to get the day off so I can make it. We'll see

Being so close to some of your family, it would be a bummer if you couldn't make it. Hopefully you can sneak out for a day or two!

Link to local visitors guide for those coming.

https://visitanf.com/wp-content/pdf/visitor-guide.pdf

If you're coming and not on the FB group and need to get a hold of me, please shoot me a PM or an email.. z.byers88 @ gmail.

Looking forward to seeing everyone!

It appears that I may be in Detroit during that period of time, briefly, in order to assist my wife in house repairs, so my deceased father-in-law's home can be sold.

He died Good Friday, and it's been a cluster. The court doesn't help by wanting to set 'one month out' dates for everything, including things that _they_ should have done in the first place. We don't live in Michigan, which means that it involves a lot of travel every time they want my wife to show up for the Judge.

Bookworm wrote: ↑Tue Jun 11, 2019 7:07 pm It appears that I may be in Detroit during that period of time, briefly, in order to assist my wife in house repairs, so my deceased father-in-law's home can be sold.

He died Good Friday, and it's been a cluster. The court doesn't help by wanting to set 'one month out' dates for everything, including things that _they_ should have done in the first place. We don't live in Michigan, which means that it involves a lot of travel every time they want my wife to show up for the Judge.

Sorry to hear about your father-in-law. Those things are always a mess. Hopefully you can get it sorted out.

In the event of inclement as it is calling for rain for the next week totaling up to 5", we can make alternate plans to go go Eldred WWII Museum. Kinzua Bridge State Park does have an indoor visitors center, but most probably won't walk out on the bridge if it's raining dogs and cats. It gets very windy out on the skywalk, especially when weather is poor. Just thought I'd give a heads up in case any of you come.

Pretty nice turnout About 20-22 cars; 30ish people. We had 2 families from Canada, 1 or 2 from New York, 3-4 families from Michigan and Ohio each, 5 or so from PA. We even had a guest appearance from Victor who made the trek from Chicago, coming in at just about a 9 hour drive. Location was perfect as it was a 3 or so hour drive for many, who opted to make a day trip out of it. Lastly, we had PERFECT weather. A beautiful 75 degrees and partly cloudy, with a nice breeze.

Thank you to Ryan for snapping many pictures throughout the meet for us. Here is google photos link of some pics of the meet.

https://photos.google.com/share/AF1QipO ... FPWDlKTzFn

Shenanigans really started on Friday. I tried to drive dad's El Camino to work, it broke down so I took the day off. Ended with Jeff and family, Lucas, Wheeler, Neal and wife, Zane, and all of my family at my house. Jeff got lost on the way, and broke a weld on his exhaust. Dr. Zane came to the rescue and we repaired it enough to keep the car quiet and moving again.

Saturday, we started at Zippo where we toured their museum and saw their 500 millionth lighter, as well as the very first Zippo. Afterwards, we did a little shopping at their gift shop then went outside to take some pictures of the Zippo car.. Interesting fact: that is not the original Zippo car. The original was lost somewhere in the 60s or 70s. Long story short, due to the added weight, they kept blowing tires. They took it to a shop in Pittsburgh to have it repaired, but the quote was insanely expensive, for the small company at that time. So they decided to "forget" about it. In the 90s, they decided to try to find it...lo and behold, that shop had since closed and the car is no where to be found so they had a new one made.

After spending the time at Zippo, we cruised down PA Route 59S towards the Kinzua Dam. Here, we stopped at Kinzua Point and had some lunch provided by A Slice of the 80s, yet another local staple in the Bradford area. Took some beautiful pictures and enjoyed the scenery here.

After we were done here, we continued cruising back on Route 59N to Kinzua Bridge State Park. I grabbed the tour guide and requested the "abridged version" of the tour, pun intended. He gave us a quick tour out onto the skywalk. He explained that in 2003 it was being repaired when a small tornado came through and basically laid the bridge down on it's side. They reopened the park to visitors in 2011, with the visitors center completed in 2016.

A few afraid of heights even conquered their fears to venture out for the breathtaking views. Others meandered the gift shop and visitors center, while some hiked down to the bottom of the valley to see this monstrosity from below.

After finishing up here, we went back to Bradford to grab dinner at Lighthouse Family Restaurant where the staff inquired "Is it just convenient you all drove the same car?" We hung out in the parking lot playing catch with a baseball and BS'ing for several hours.

All in all, a great time was had by all and we couldn't have asked for a more perfect meet. I'd like to thank everyone who made the cruise out here. It is always great seeing new faces mingling with familiar faces. Let the meets keep on growing. See you at the next one!

Looks like it was a really good meet, Congrats and thanks for setting it up. I'm sorry I couldn't make it.


"Is it just convenient you all drove the same car?" Pretty funny. Actually though, it does seem pretty convenient

joatmon wrote: ↑Tue Jun 25, 2019 8:35 am Looks like it was a really good meet, Congrats and thanks for setting it up. I'm sorry I couldn't make it.


"Is it just convenient you all drove the same car?" Pretty funny. Actually though, it does seem pretty convenient

Thanks! Hopefully next year you can make it. I have no idea where the planners intended on planning it. I'm just along for the ride.

Actually, in this area, it could be a total coincidence that several Vibes showed up together. It's a GV Meet everyday in our driveway lol. Plus there are an insane amount around here.

Great meet and well organized .... but wish I hadn't had to work or I would have definitely been there. Kudos on all the pics taken and for the ability for us to view them here on the GV site! Also seeing how Carey and Nick dropped off the face of the earth (not really) thanks for taking over and forwarding all pertinent info to this site for us to stay informed and involved!

I wish I had been able to get there, but driving that far right now isn't in the cards. I still have the trip to Detroit to do.

tpollauf wrote: ↑Tue Jun 25, 2019 11:58 am Great meet and well organized .... but wish I hadn't had to work or I would have definitely been there. Kudos on all the pics taken and for the ability for us to view them here on the GV site! Also seeing how Carey and Nick dropped off the face of the earth (not really) thanks for taking over and forwarding all pertinent info to this site for us to stay informed and involved!

Thanks Tim! Those two didn't make the meet this year. Work and stuff got in the way for them. Will gladly try to keep you updated in the future too.

Bookworm wrote: ↑Tue Jun 25, 2019 6:50 pm I wish I had been able to get there, but driving that far right now isn't in the cards. I still have the trip to Detroit to do.

There is always next year! Not sure what Nick is planning for it. Supposedly one of the two Pontiacs- Illinois or Michigan. The Pontiac Museum in Illinois is opening up a second location in Pontiac Michigan so we would like to try and hit that.