​SMOG WEEKEND

The Haunted Hotel

August 16-17, 2025

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Fellow Rogues, Scoundrels, and Highwaymen:

 

Each year in Vermont many individuals lament that they may not see many of the members of our "Vermont Group" again until the following spring.  That is certainly an undesirable circumstance.

 

Summer Motorcycle Overnight Getaway (SMOG) Weekends are the solution!  Each trip has a unique destination and a related theme.  We depart Gaby’s Café (gabyscafe941nj.com) in Frenchtown, NJ on Saturday mornings, travel great roads during the day on Saturdays, enjoy exceptional company at dinner on Saturday evenings, and then retrace the route and return home late Sunday afternoons.

 

On the SMOG Weekend of August 16-17 we will be guests at the 1867 Parkview Inn, a cozy, charming, and HAUNTED hotel in Owego, NY.  Listed on the Haunted History Trail of New York (click here), the property has been featured on national and local television and has garnered notoriety for its haunted happenings and mysterious stories of spirits, which have been confirmed by paranormal professionals.  Here are just a few:

 

• One spirit is that of a two-year-old named Marguerite, whose rocking chair was too close to a warming fire in 1909 when a blanket on her chair caught fire.  Sadly, the young girl lost her life from burns she sustained.

 

• Careful when you sit at the bar, you may rub elbows with the spirits of three cowboys who occasionally hang out there and are believed to have murdered a man in the building’s basement.  Not convinced?  A recent bathroom renovation there unearthed up some old bones, likely those that belonged to the victim.

 

• Walls do talk...  A secret and mysterious sealed-off room was found only within the last five years during some renovations and another room, referred to as “The Crying Room” was identified by a paranormal professional as the site of a child’s death long ago.

 

The Inn has operated for over 150 years and was restored to its former glory in 2019.  Click here to take a virtual tour of the room options available, none of which will set you back more than $200.  Conveniently, it also houses the Duggan House Restaurant and Pub which features a menu of homemade comfort foods and Irish pub favorites.  The Inn has only 16 rooms, so reserve yours now at owegoparkviewinn.com.

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It will be "kickstands up" promptly at 9:00AM on Saturday morning at Gaby’s Café (gabyscafe941nj.com) in Frenchtown, NJ and we should arrive the Parkview Inn in the early afternoon.  That will provide plenty of time for lunch, checking into the hotel, and perhaps for wandering around the local roads on our motorcycles.  The ride to Owego will be a leisurely and comfortable ride of approximately 200 miles on backroads of New Jersey and New York.  Route details to be provided as the date draws nearer. 

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If you are flying solo and want to share a room with someone Saturday night, let me know and I will put you in touch with other solo riders.

 

"How do I participate in this experience?" you ask.  Here are the three simple steps:

 

• Advise me that you will be joining us (just send me an email at the address appearing below);

• Make your hotel reservation (selecting the refundable option in the event the weather gods frown upon us); and

• Arrive at Gaby’s Café (gabyscafe941nj.com) in Frenchtown, NJ with a full tank of gas and be prepared for a "kickstands up" departure at 9:00AM.

 

Rain date? Think positively.

 

If you have any questions or plan to join us, email me at WanderlustRidersNJ@gmail.com.  (Be sure to include the "NJ".)

 

Fred Larcombe