Monday, July 21, 2008

On the road again, part deaux


Friday night at VA BBQ, it was hot....Most of the cruisers were regulars but a few were new to us. The primer brown 4dr Plymouth seedan was fresh, check out the access panel in front of the radiator behind the grille, different. AND it was a 4dr.... what's with the 4 dr deal? When we had the Nash 4 dr no one else had a 4 dr....now they are coming out of the woodwork? What's up with that? Mike made a new grille for his Anglia, it kinda finishes it off in the front! And Jim & Linda showed off their new parts under the hood of their 08 Vette. It's some very nice air brushing, check it out....especially if you have gone to sea in a boat! There was a mauve, did I say that?, Pro Street Chevy pick up that was new and nice. The parking lot quickly filled up and cars were parking in the bank lot across the street! It was hot! Ed & Carol brought their 39 Ford with the new wheels....after much angst, Ed finally got it right! Then during the pig calling contest Marla & the Princess discovered a new admirer....it seems there was a drunk or high derelict giving orders in the parking lot, telling people to leave?....hmmmmm! I guess I'll have to follow the Princess around next week to keep her out of trouble....we'll see? Then we cruised home in the heat....I love that car!

Saturday the 19th and the club went to two different car shows....our good friend Gary Sullivan (red 442) sent me the following;

Some of our crew decided to head up to Stephens City, Virginia for the Clem's Garage 12th Annual Car Show. This year, it was held in conjunction with the city's 250th anniversary. Jim and Maria in their '67 4-4-2, Tony in his '71 SuperBee and Gary in his '72 4-4-2 took a nice drive through the Virginia countryside. They arrived "late" at 9:10am, as they were the 234th, 235th and 236th car registered. All in all, close to 300 cars participated in the show. It was a really nice show, with the mayor of Stephens City and Uncle Sam showing up for the festivities. Our crew met up with friends Buck, Ronnie and Wayne from the Shenandoah area, and Wayne bought himself a beautiful '65 Malibu SS! A good time was had by all, even on a very warm day. Tony and Gary met up with some of the rest of our crew at the Burger King in Orange, VA for the evening's festivities.

The rest of the Stafford Classics road crew left Bob Evans for the show in Louisa. Jim & Linda in their blue Vette, Ron in his 28 Dodge, Dan & Ramona in their 55 Chevy and the Princess in her 33 Ford and our grandson, Gregory & I in the RedRat, left Bob Evans around 8AM and headed to Louisa, Virginia for the Que and Cruz. Ernie and his silver R/T met us at the show. It was advertised as a BBQ competition and car cruise....so we thought that it would be neat to be able to sample different BBQ and have a nice day enjoying the cars and friends..... It was hot....I mean take your breath away hot! I got nervous when we arrived because the road into the deal was gravel! We were directed to park on the grass next to a fine aggregate gravel path, that foot traffic and ATV's traveled on all day. We were also located across from the from the "Judges tent" that was on the other side of the path....complete with the grease and ash barrels....this is important later! We set up camp with all 4 canopies up and screened....but Ron couldn't be next to us because of a large bare dirt spot, so he was about 10' away from the rest of us...he later moved his chair in with us.... The day began unfolding and the heat was getting bad, by noon we had used half of water we brought! So we sat and survived the heat as best as we could....with the dust from the activity on the path getting all over the cars! We found out that we couldn't have any of the BBQ the competitors were cooking because of a health issue? We could only buy the food from the Fire Department stand? We paid $20 entry fee and usually with a fee that high you get some kind of lunch, not here! So we had to hike over the hill from where we were told to park and get lunch....even though there was enough to feed a small army right across the dusty path from us! What's wrong with that picture? We talked with Chuck and Cindy from Mechanicsville, Virginia that came to the deal, their cars are so nice and they are drivers too! We met a guy with a VW powered red MG....just like Dale's! Everyone got door prizes....I got a Lowes xl T-shirt!, Dan & Ramona got a really neat tractor supply hat!, Ron got....suprise, another tool set! and the Princess got a $25 Chilis gift card! and Ramona started whining that the Princess always gets nicer stuff.... A hat OR a gift card, hmmmmmm Then right after noon the ants came out, I guess they know when lunch time is too! Little teeny weeny biting ants.... everywhere! Inside bags, chairs, fans, coolers and crawling all over the Princess and her chair....AND the bug repellent, go figure! They must have seen this movie before! And it was hot! After the cooking competition was over and the BBQ pits were cooled down the competitors began a procession of ash dumping....in the aforementioned drums....across from us....where the wind carried the ashes onto and into our cars....can you say acid rain? The ash floated onto and into the cars, it will take days to clean it out the inside of the cars! The Princess told one of the judges to have the drums moved because of the dust (that's probably why she didn't get a big trophy!), he did....about 12' back from the original location! Thanks a lot! The Princess kept chasing the ants off everything and at 3PM the announcer said the awards were going to be given out at 3:30! So we all packed up our stuff and found out the awards were not being given out right behind us at the announcer stand but rather up over on the other side of the hill. Ramona and I decided to stay and guard the cars and the rest of the group went to the award ceremony! At 4:15PM the awards were given out, after one person fainted at 4PM, waiting so long in the heat! After the person fainted the Princess and Jim & Linda came back to the cars. Ron and Dan stayed and received all the trophies....I did not care who got what but thanks to Ron, that came back with an armload of trophies, we sorted it all out later at BK! The awards.... the awards were...unique! You have to see them on the webshots album! The Princess would not stay in the sun waiting with the ants so she drove out to the entrance and waited for the deal to be over! We all formed up and headed to the cruise in Orange at the Burger King on Rt. 15. On the way to BK Ron did not tell the rest of us that he was running a fuel gauge test....you know, let's see what happens when the needle gets to E....does it mean almost empty or hey you have 15-20 more miles left or does it mean really really empty like in how far can you walk!....grin We also had Jim answer the age old question of how many guys does it take to put gasoline in a 28 Dodge?.... you have to see the pic to find out the answer!

Since we had the above mentioned detour with Ron, Dan & Ramona went on to the cruise in Orange and secured 5 parking spots till we got there. There was a gaggle of Vettes parked near us at BK and soon Paul & Anita came with their cars. Then Gary and Tony arrived from Stevens City and later Bill and his noisy blue Buick cruised in. Chuck and Cindy came with their group to see the deal too! As always the cruise is well attended and with a unique variety of cars. The silver and red VW was really different, I have never seen an open wheeled VW like that. There was a red hi-boy with a GBP styled air cleaner/scoop that was way cool. Paul and then Tony learned about ATM dancing with the local PD! The Princess found a parking block that Dan could use to keep his 55 from rolling down hills....grin Then we found a girl that had funny socks....did I say funny socks? Anyway she matched her 09 Challenger, now is that cool or what? The Princess won a door prize so she picked something that Ron could use....hehehe There was a 32 champagne and red coupe that was very clean and just right and a GT-40 that was much modified? A whole herd of Mopar's that included a very unusual white '65 Dodge of Bo & Karen Sowers. Dan won the car trophy for the night so we headed home. This is the best cruise around, it should not be missed! DJ Ron is usually there but that night someone else was filling in for him....and she was a lot easier to look at than Ron.... The group all decided to run home together but got strung out and disconnected from each other on Rt 20. We need to prevent that from happening again. Ron continued to have trouble with his Dodge after it ran out of gas....he limped home and had someone else from the cruise follow him to Rt 1 in Fredericksburg. We can do better than that as a club, we will institute a 'tail gunner' policy with the last person to be responsible for any that are having trouble. There is more to it than that but generally that is what should happen. And the RedRat just hummed along....

Sunday....Dale and his son, Jim & Maria, Gary & Gary, the Princess and Gregory & I took a trip to Bert's diner in Mechanicsville, Maryland. Some of us had been there in March but we wanted to visit again. As before, Steve & Margret met us at the bottom of the 301 bridge with their red 34 Ford to lead us to Bert's. It is such a pretty drive through the Maryland countryside. When we arrived some Maryland rodders were already there....Roger and his blue Camaro....Alfred & Ginny with the Merc-illac that was a very cool custom that showed off building skills not often seen, please check it out on the webshots album. And then Bert and Margie's red 60 Chevy....yeah THAT Bert! We didn't know we would be treated to meeting THE Bert and his wife Margie. Yes.... the one that the diner is named after! He told us how the diner was built and the evolution of the building process, and that during the building and re-building they never missed serving one meal! He told how the diner was a teamwork effort with his wife and him, and how they had been married for 47 years! He reminded me of Rodney Dangerfield in the way he talked and his whole demeanor....it was a very special time with a local legend! We had a great meal, laughed a lot while Bert reminisced with us.... He told us that there was a 50's license plate from all the states in America and Provence's in Canada, I took a pic of the one from Newfoundland! Then out in the parking lot the event continued till Bert and his wife drove off in their Chevy....It was a really cool time....even though it was still hot! On the way back we were treated to some local cruisers....with real horse power! The Amish were evidently coming back from church and their form of transportation is horse and buggy! It was really neat to see them and I think they liked to see the bright cars....even though we were not plane. Gary got to practice his defensive driving techniques again dodging the horse douvers on the road! The trip back over the bridge again ( I don't like to talk about that) and cruising Virginia through to King George where we met Gregory's mom, our daughter Michelle, and handed him off to her! Our granddaughter, Haley, made some food for us in case we broke down on the way home....it was health food....one of the 7 basic food groups.... cookies, oatmeal cookies, sorry you weren't there Ron, not! But the plate was broke, the cookies all leaked out before we got home....grin Gregory said the RedRat is sure noisy but that's why it has such a great sound system, to be heard over the motor! A great weekend driving them cars 208 miles....what a concept!

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