A Full Saturday

Friday evening we met at WAWA and cruised 50 miles to Colonial Beach, VA and the bi monthly cruise hosted by Colonial Beach Cruisers. We have attended this cruise a few times and always had a good experience but Friday was a little different. We arrived around 6PM and parked among the cars already there. Fat Freda’s restaurant is part of the cruise and as always we had dinner there. In the past the food and service was great but Friday the service was very poor. We waited about 1 ½ hrs to get our food! We waited so long for everyone in our group to eat that when we came out of the restaurant it was too dark to photograph the cars! The restaurant sold us our food for ½ off….but it can’t replace a missed opportunity to photograph the cars of Colonial Beach! We had brought a couple new cruisers with us and I don’t think they will be back. And I think we will eat before we get to the cruise next time.

Saturday we met at WAWA then cruised 14 miles to Fredericksburg, VA and Big Daddy Leather’s shop. This motorcycle accessory and biker meeting place is well known around these parts. The store is about ¼ mile from the MOST well know ice cream joint on the planet….Carl’s Ice Cream….but that ‘s a story for another time.

Today we were to participate in the first annual Dawgs for Paws poker run. The Lost Dawgs MC group had set up a poker run primarily for motorcycles but Mike, one of the insiders, had invited hot rodders to join in with the bikers. I liked the concept of riding with kindred spirits again….we sold our last Harley in ’05 after riding for 44 years….so the sound of shifters clunking and the squeak of leather was nothing new to us. I have always said that most bikers are a very intimidating bunch by design and that persona is nurtured by the bikers for the benefit of those not in the “group”. But if you bother to get to know most of them you will find that they are normal people doing something they are very passionate about. The Lost Dawgs MC is no exception. I know some in our group expressed a little apprehension when I floated the idea about running with a group of “bikers” on a poker run. But after spending an afternoon with a great bunch of kindred souls I think their mind has changed. We love our cars like they love their bikes and we all face the same hazards and uncertainties on the road. And we certainly enjoy the same freedom to run. Like I said, Kindred Spirits. And another reason I like to associate with bikers is that most of them have done their time in service to our Country and they are usually very Patriotic and their love of Country is conspicuous.

So our group decided that since Jim & Linda had the GPS we would ask them to lead us on our adventure for the day. The run was about 80 miles, start to finish, which was a nice length. Since the run was to benifit the regional SPCA shelters it made a lot of sense to make the run stops at one of the shelters! What a concept!? The first one was in Caroline County and was open so we could see/hear some of the dogs they had. The second one was in Fredericksburg and was nice new looking building but it was closed so we didn’t get to see any puppies. The third one was in Stafford but the shelter road was impassable for us so we never saw the shelter. The run ended up at Barefoot’s Seafood restaurant in Fredericksburg. The club had stop workers that were very helpful and informative to talk to….you could tell that they were well prepared for the participants. We checked in at the last stop early, around 1PM, so we ate while we waited for the winners to be announced around 3PM. They ran a 50/50 and various silent auctions. They gave out many door prizes….I was hoping I would win one of the bike helmets….so I could use it when I was the rider in the Princessmobile….I didn’t say that! They had music while we waited and free snack bar….have you ever eaten alligator sausage? It’s not bad, no bones but the gator teeth get stuck under my denture! grin One of the highpoints that made the afternoon much more fun was the Emcee….Mike Omeara from the Kirk and Mike Morning Show on 105.9. The guy is a hoot….I didn’t know it was him or I would have asked him to autograph Dan’s Speedo or something….


The club ran a well organized event and in the end they were able to donate $4,451 to the Fredericksburg SPCA shelter….a pretty good day by anyone’s standards! They had 74 vehicles (cars & bikes) with 97 registered participants….not bad for the first time! Of that 74 vehicles only 5 “special” vehicles….5! Not a very good showing for the hot rod community around here….when this event comes around again next year be sure to put it on your calendar, you won’t be disappointed.

After the main part of the event was over for us we cruised 39 miles to Orange, VA and the Orange County Cruisers monthly cruise event at the Burger King on Rt. 15. We have been attending the event for a few years now and it is always a fun and interesting event. DJ Ron keeps the music hopping and the event moving along all night. Yes Ron, I knew it was Marty Robbins singing White Sports Coat….I have most of his tunes on my mp3 player! I’m old remember?

This night the cars kept coming in….it’s difficult to tell exactly how many cars attend because some stay for an hour or so then leave. I think there were about 260 cars by the time we left at 8:30, not a bad night!? Sometimes this cruise has a lot full of pro streets but tonight that was not to be the case….just mostly road cars came to visit. It seemed like the Barracuda owners go the memo, I counted 7 of the little Plymouths. There was a line of 4 traditionally hot rodded 30’s Ford pickups that was very cool; I have seen them grow to 4 during the last 3 years. A white ’55 Chevy Cameo came and parked in the line to add some rarity to the night. But the star was the ’64 Olds Jetfire with the very intricate paint…some of the details hearken back to the ‘60s design schemes but the rest is refreshingly new….kinda new & old at the same time! The choice of the Jetfire is unusual as it was only built for a few years before morphing into the Delmont…. a very interesting car.

About 8:30 we pulled the plug on the cruise and motored home. It was a cool evening and the Princess let me drive! Whoopee….