Is it Monday yet? I need a rest!

Wow....what a weekend.
Friday night at VA BBQ and Dave brought out his yellow '69 Charger, I have not seen many yellow Chargers and his is a very nice example. The red '63 Vette is a real looker, it even has the 'skinny' red line tires that are period correct. And the 30 something green Olds....with the Olds (wink wink) motor, and up swept zoomies....different.! About 35 or so cars came through and since it's getting cooler some started leaving around 7:30. I think in a few weeks the evening cruises will be over. It's tough to sit in the chairs shivering and trying to have fun too? We found out why T-Bucket John is getting a little....irritable.... It seems he has quit smoking HOORAY....just don't poke fun at him too much for a month or so....sometime his humor is with his cigarettes, gone! hehehe You will be much better off for not smoking John....you may even decide to get a car with doors and fenders .... life evolves! grin

Sat morning and we leave Bob Evans for the Christ Episcopal Church show in Spotsylvania. This show is on the church grounds, with old trees and grass in the front and asphalt parking lot in the back. That's why we like to arrive early....to get a spot in front, under the trees....we don't need no steeken canopy! We parked next to a sidewalk so a lot of people walked by the cars all day long, a good thing! We also parked near a quilting canopy, the ladies in the church had set up a vendor deal and were selling quilts....Andrew, you and Angela missed an opportunity to mix quilts & cars! This show is a respected deal, many clubs support it. The Prince William Cruisers assist with the judging. The Culpeper Cruisers always attend in force and Saturday was no exception. There is always some cars that we have not seen before like the '55 Mercury Montclair or the '31 Chrysler supposedly owned by John McCain! The black '60 T-Bird was cool and the black '55 Nomad was very nice indeed. Please check out the pictures. A lot of Stafford Classics won awards with Dan winning the Best Engine award. I like the 50 something yellow Chevy PU, very clean and sharp! Jerry won the Best of Show with his yellow 41 Willys....that car is the neatest Willys I have seen...take a close look at it when it is at a show with you. The Princess won a trophy so she was happy....whew....She also got to tell Bill a story....again, ask her about it! hehehehe

The Princess and I left the show and headed for the BB&T on 610 in N. Stafford to pick up the people going on the Circuit Cruise....we were the only ones, again! We will not be doing the Circuit Cruise next year. We will cruise on Sat night to the different events but not 'officially'. Too bad! We had visited the Foster's Grille cruise on Rt. 17 last week so we tried it again this Sat. The Virginia Stockers hosts the deal and when we arrived Dave was still putting out the direction signs. Like I said last week the venue is perfect for a cruise in....plenty of room, grass to sit on, friendly people, cool cars, good food, restrooms, and the night lighting! The lights are so bright I didn't need flash for my camera! Check out the pics, the ones at the end of the album were taken with the parking lot lights only! NO flash! The pug with the bronze Prowler was there too, he brought the guy with the straw hat and the blonde lady to keep him company! I think there was 20 or so cars, a good mix.... The one that stands out for me, besides Jerry's Willys, was the black '57 Ford post. That car is so smooth and shiny, it looks like the paint is a foot deep! That red '63 Vette was there and a 70-71 Mustang GT 350 that was perfect! Fred brought his '66 Barracuda out and Willy had his black and purple '39 Poncho there. The people are friendly and not afraid to laugh at themselves or others.... Ask Mary how she wears Dave's sweatshirt! You had to be there! Car people talking about cars, family, politics, work (what's that?) and everything in between....a good evening. AND the food ain't bad either! We will be back!

The Princess & I drove through the fog to the Stafford Regional Airport and that black '55 followed us all the way! The 4th or 5th annual Wings, Wheels & Ducks event! The first few events were not very 'car' friendly, they were set up for bikes mostly. The next one was better for cars but not by much. Then Susan Caldwell got involved in last years but she didn't have enough time or authority to make it work well. This year it was great, we will recommend it for next year! The only thing needed is more porta-potties. Susan has the students from the SkillsUSA program help her at these events, as usual they were exceptional! Susan always gets Military groups involved with her deals and this was no exception....The Marines invaded! grin They brought two helicopters in....a VH-46 and VH-53 (?)....much noise and wind but they added a lot to the event. The Silent Drill Platoon was there and their performance is not to be missed....the rifles they toss around weigh 10 1/2 pounds! and they have a pointy end! Not for the faint of heart.... Susan parked us near the front because we had to leave before the end of the event to get to the SC picnic.

The pug brought his people and their Prowler....the event had over 70 cars and the weather was magnificent! There were some skydivers and a few unique airplanes. The DeHavilland Chipmunk and the Stinson L-5 was an example of 'back in the day' with airplanes. The young eagle program was giving free check rides to kids, which is a great way to wake up an interest in aviation.

The car variety was exceptional. from new tuners, Stuart's GT-40, Mustangs-A-Plenty, to a Model T- C cab truck and everything in between! That '59 Ford retractable won best of show, as it should! A late 20's touring car and Bob's '37 Chrysler touring....a '49-50 Pontiac 4 dr.... Radio station 95.9 was there keeping things moving, she is good! Some of us took a Que from Dan and had little ducks on our cars, somewhere! We thought since the show theme was 'Ducks' it couldn't hurt to have a little duck on the car. The Princess said she didn't need a DUCK on her car to win, she is so over confident sometimes. She said she was going to tell the judges a thing or two about the ducks anyway? So I put an Elvis duck on the RedRat,,,,just in case! A little honest pandering never hurt anyone, right? I also put a little container full of McCain-Palin buttons and stickers in front of my car, they were gone in an hr! And about 1/2 our Wounded Warrior Project brochures were gone too....a good thing! We waited for the Marines Silent Drill Platoon to complete and then it was time that we left for the picnic. John stayed behind to gather any trophies we may have won.

We arrived at the picnic that Ron and Jean had set up for us. The food was cooking and the whole deal was setup, way to go Ron, Jean and all! We met Lela and was introduced to her '68 Camaro....the car has a cool story, ask Lela about it when you see her at a show/cruise. Some made food others bought it....I made some mixed nuts, I thought it was appropriate!? The green cake that Lela made was to die for, they said she needed a trophy for the cake! The rest of the dishes that were brought were good too....the Princess brought KFC chicken....I have memories of home cooked food....I think? Anyway we were talking and learning about each other when John drove up in his T-Bucket. John brought his Mom....in the T-Bucket! She is over 90....in a T-Bucket! This sweet little lady just fit right in and our day was much better because of her! John also brought the trophies that some had won at the show earlier....Ron, Dan and I won a 'top 20' trophy/plaque. John won 'Best Rod', a neat little deal made from rocker arms! Susan has been giving unique trophies at her shows....it is something to look forward to! The Princess didn't win anything....she said there was a mistake....she wanted to call Susan and let her know there was a mistake. I told her she should have put a duck on her car, she told me what I could do with my duck! She accused John of keeping her trophy for himself! She is such a poor looser. Ron said we all need to make the "L" sign on our foreheads when we see the Princess! I'm not sure I'll do that....she is really annoyed. John also brought his famous macadamia cookies....he said he worked so hard to get them 'just right'? We spent the rest of the time talking about the people that weren't there....hehehe As the sun set we gathered up and left....another good day with cars and friends! What's not to like?