985982017 Fall Foliage Tour
October 22, 2017
Matt Petitjean – Tour Lead
On a cool, but bright and sunny Sunday morning, 15 Model As plus a VW met at the Dunkin Donuts parking lot on the corner of Rt 10 and Rt 202. While some enjoyed coffee or a sweet treat, we prepared for our tour. We departed together and headed south past the New York Jets training facility in Florham Park and into the downtown center of Madison. As I turned onto Woodland Avenue, I glanced down at the tour sheet and noticed that the turn to Woodland was missing from the directions! I pulled over and jumped out of the car and saw 5-6 cars go straight through the intersection and miss the turn. With a few cell phone calls and some flagging down, we all got back on Woodland Ave to get back on track. Well, all but the VW – more on that later. With my nerves a little frayed, we wound through the quieter streets of New Vernon, and Green Village enjoying the beautiful homes and barns. As we entered into Morristown, we pulled into Jockey Hollow National Historic Park.
Throughout the Revolutionary War, Jockey Hollow was used by the Continental Army as its main winter encampment, and it housed the entire Continental Army during the Winter at Jockey Hollow, the harshest winter of the War, from December 1779 to June 1780. Jockey Hollow had hosted prominent officers before the winter of 1779-1780. Alexander Hamilton was likely quartered at the Wick House at least once during the War. Soldiers had to build their own huts including surrounding trenches for drainage. The huts, made of log, were 14 by 16 feet and 6.5 feet high. Twelve men often shared one of over one thousand simple huts built in Jockey Hollow to house the army. Inside the huts soldiers had a fireplace for warmth and cooking. To create a floor they packed the ground for an earthen floor. Soldiers also had to make their own furniture, including bunks and tables. Their bunks got covered with straw and each soldier was given one blanket. Soldiers huts were about 2 to 3 ft apart, with three rows of eight huts for each regiment. By 1780, soldiers had built about 1,200 huts in Jockey Hollow. (Source: Wikipedia)
We followed the slow winding 3 mile Tour Road, deep into the park. It seemed like we had the quiet road to ourselves. The hikers and park goers were fascinated with the long line of Model As snaking through the road which was lit up with fall foliage. When we stopped in the visitor center parking lot we were reunited with Fred and his wife in the VW (sorry Fred). After a short break and some time in the visitor center, we headed back out. The further we got into the tour, the bigger the houses seemed to get. We headed through Peapack and into Far Hills. The clean-up was still on from the Far Hills Hunt the day before. As we entered into the Great Swamp, we stopped for lunch at the Long Hill Tavern (Meyersville Inn). Everyone enjoyed lunch and headed back out into the Great Swamp. We ended the tour back on Main Street in Madison, were a few cars stopped for Ice Cream.
Thanks for everyone that attended, I hope you enjoyed the Tour.
Matt
