Molets and Mopars....

Friday evening we cruised to VA BBQ in Fredericksburg, VA and the weekly cruise put on by Fredericksburg Classic and Muscle Car Club. This was the first time this year that we have been able to attend because of weather or other commitments. I think it was the first time this year for a lot of other people too….there were over 50 cars in the lot! We set up near some friends and enjoyed the evening talking and reconnecting with people we only see at VA BBQ….that’s what cruises are for. The cars ranged from traditional to….different. The 76 Nova next to Fred’s ’57 Dodge was in the different category but Pete’s orange Camaro was very nice, as always and the red Austin Healy added some class to the event. I think the Redskin decorated H2 would be in the different group too….it was nice but I’m a Lakers fan….grin

Saturday we met another three car loads of people (this will be important later) at the WAWA and cruised to the show in Wilderness, VA. This is the 4th show for this group and since the proceeds go to Wounded Warrior Project we usually try to support it. If it doesn’t rain within a few days of the event they have it on the grass, which is very cool. This year there were about 38 cars attending on the grass which is more than last year when they were going against two very popular shows. This year their were two shows again that made attendance down, one was the ACCA show in Fredericksburg, about 16 miles away the other was the ODS show in Manassas, about 48 miles away. I know the Wilderness show was advertised first but others scheduled their shows anyway….I think everyone loses a little that way.

The restroom facilities are good and the food is good but this year they just had some kind of chicken and French fries….no hot dogs or hamburgers, I guess we just have to eat healthy or nothing? grin They had my favorite radio station at the event, WGRQ 95.9, and they added much to the day’s festivities. As I have often said that good music is the lubricant to any event and WGRQ helped us slide through the day! The entrance fee is $15 for the car and ONE person. One person, the driver, is all that is expected to be there? Since our hobby lends itself to being a “family” exercise it is curious why the organizers would penalize the entrants if they bring their spouse or kids or grandkids? If they want more money for WWP just charge more for the entry fee….many events are $20 this year. I think this cheapens the event to nickel & dime the entrants because they happened to bring their spouse! We have attended many events on the right side of the USA and have never had to pay extra for a spouse….even the National events expect you to have two people per vehicle….a family idea? The awards were given out around 3PM, the Princess won a very nice red, white and blue trophy….yea and verily there will be peace and tranquility in the Shotwell realm this week!

We all packed up and we cruised back to Stafford to rest up a little at home then we cruised to the Bruster’s Cruise in N. Stafford. I think the positive fallout of having three shows in the same vicinity is that the cruise would be very well attended by cars that would not normally come out on Saturday night for a cruise….It was! We parked then walked to Sam’s Pizza and had dinner with three other couples then returned to the cruise later. There were many cars we had not seen before like the champagne ’62 406 Ford, the red ’37 Plymouth 5 wc, and the 20 something Buick coupe. Bobby brought out his purple Ford PU with the dry sump NASCAR motor….very nice! But the coolest thing was the six couples gathered around in between the cars sitting in our chairs just talking….about cars, kids and most everything else….we were sitting far enough away from the PA speakers that we could hear ourselves talk and not be distracted by the music and announcements. Some people go to shows/cruises to get trophies, some go to show off their cars, some go to intimidate others, some go to have something to whine about later, some go to network for an advantage in some arena and some go to be with friends and talk about things that life is unfolding for them. I like the latter best and the older I get the less important the other stuff is…. It’s the way a cruise should be….like Edd Burns would say…. Baby it’s the ginchiest.