Staying close to home.

Friday evening and the usual suspects started rolling in to the VA BBQ in Fredericksburg, VA. As always there are some cars that we have not seen before. The blue ’71 Buick GS with the 455 was cool as was the beautiful dark green ’69 Road Runner with the redline tires. The green ’54 Packard was smooth and the black ’39 Chevy sedan that came in late was a driver like us, he even had a GPS on the dash! But the best car on the lot was the red ’62 Austin Healy 3000II….this car was done better than new, the owner should be very proud of this fine example of a British sports car of the early 60’s. The attention to detail was perfect….I hope he “fixed” the Lucas electrics so it is reliable now. There is a dark green AH 3000 I have seen around here that has been updated with modern running gear and suspension….I wonder if they know each other? The evening was perfect and we stayed visiting with people till we were almost the last ones to leave….nice.

The weather guessers were forecasting rain in our area by 2-3PM but it was coming from the S. W. and would get to the southern areas first. We had planned a run to Ruckersville, VA (S.W. from us) and their cruise but it was 70 miles away and didn’t start till 3PM. So we decided to go to something close so at least if we started to see dark clouds we could pack up and run for home, maybe before the rain got to us. So the Berea Baptist Church was having a small show and they were about 11 miles from home AND we could get back using country roads so the road spray would be minimized if we did have to run in the rain.

We left the WAWA a little after 8AM and Fred led us to the show….you remember Fred from our little excursion a couple weeks ago. We arrived and set up our camp and as I settled down was when I noticed trouble. Real trouble. The church was having an inside yard sale as well as a car show! There is something in a woman’s psyche that when she reads or hears the word “sale” the neurological pathway from the eye to the purse suddenly bypasses the “reason” stop for evaluation….it’s just a straight shot from I see to I buy….big trouble. And the Princess had an ally in Debie; we were in real trouble now. As soon as the Princess got a little settled down she got up, looked at me and in a voice that sounded like Linda Blair in the exorcist she said “give me money”! WOW I did the only thing any man could do in that situation….I emptied my wallet into her cupped hands and watched while they both scurried off to the “sale”. I’m doomed.

While they were gone I walked around the cars and took some pictures. There was only about 17 cars that showed up which is sad because it was a nice venue and part of the entry fee was a free lunch….except for the above mentioned “sale” it was a neat deal. The outside restroom was a fully equipped porta potty, the music was good and the fellowship was relaxing. As long as you didn’t get too close to Jim while he was reading and sounding out the big words you could enjoy the music just fine. It is interesting how at a small show I take more time to actually look at the cars and think about what I’m seeing….like the blue ’69 Chevelle. I have seen that car for a while now and never noticed the wood carb spacers! Yeah, wood! I asked him how long he had run the wood and he said 3-4 years! Very interesting….I hope someone doesn’t try to whittle a tunnel ram out of oak now….weird. I actually made a wood adapter in the last VW I built. I don’t remember why I did it but I ran it for a year or so with the wood between the carb and intake manifold. The green ’50 Chrysler was very clean and it’s flathead 6 reminded me of the Powell P.U. I had in the early 60’s that used a Chrysler flathead 6….a good strong motor. A red Cobra came to the party but just stayed for a short while….evidentially he was having trouble with the starter fighting with the F.I. computer for distributor advance….the computer was calling for too much advance while starting and killing the starters when they kicked back!? So he left it running while he walked around and talked! Finally he and his son buckled up and drove off. The orange ’70 Chevy P.U. of Bill’s is the kind of vehicle you can see and think, nice pick up, and keep walking on. Bill has done many detailed improvements to this truck that requires a second/third look. The interior, the bed, the engine compartment, the antenna and especially the exhaust termination through the rear fenders! This is a truck that will stand out when you really look at it.

The weather was nice and changing from overcast to bright sun but about 1PM the sky started to look consistently dark. The event organizers called the show around 2PM so we could get home before any rain started to fall. The two girls decided to go back to the “sale” and do some shopping shopping….it’s code for REALLY shopping, I think!? It’s part of their secret communication that keeps us mortal men guessing. So off they went to spend more money money (my code) to save money? HUH I guess we need more stuff so our kids will be able to have a really big yard sale when we are gone! So while the girls were gone the awards were given out….and the Princess won best of show! And I had to accept it for her since she was shopping shopping….I did my best “Princess” interpretation, I squealed and giggled while saying mine mine way too many times but I don’t think they thought I was really the Princess. grin We decided to hide her trophy inside her car under the first “sale” stuff she bought so we wouldn’t have to endure an acceptance ceremony….but she found it. After listening to way to many reasons why she deserved the award, we packed up and ran for home. About an hour later it started to rain, whew.