Monday, April 2, 2012

Season Opener

The North Stafford High School, Skills USA show is the first major car event of the year in Stafford, VA and has been a “must attend” deal for six years now. This Saturday’s show did not frustrate that expectation! This show is put on by the students in the SkillsUSA program, http://www.vaskillsusa.org The students plan, organize, manage, secure resources, secure awards and most everything else connected with having a successful event. Herlong Associates Inc. http://www.herlonginc.com/ has been helpful with the event for the last few years. They are the liaison between the student’s educational environment and real world business reality. It seems to be a symbiotic relationship as Herlong Inc. gives back some of their expertise to the community through the students…. And the students that take advantage of this opportunity will be much better equipped contributors to our Society in the future….works for me!


This was the first ‘Official’ outing for our group, Cruisin For Heroes, and we sponsored the award for the longest miles driven, not trailered, to the event. An ex Navy type won it by traveling 155 miles to the show! We also ran a 50/50 for Fisher House and SkillsUSA. Cindy and the Princess had way too much fun with this thing….the Princess likes anything involving money or shiny things….opps! The winner, an Air Force type, won $196 and we split the remaining dollars evenly to Fisher House and SkillsUSA. A good day for both!

Besides being the first event of the year, the main draw for this show is the trophies they present. They are designed and manufactured by the students and are a coveted item to be sitting in your trophy space. This year’s offerings were no exception….you have to check out the pictures. The show also boasts a good food vendor, a limited menu but what they have is great! Clean restrooms in the HS building were appreciated as was the other vendors.


There were 147 registered vehicles that ran the gamut from 20’s antiques, traditional hot rods, street rods, muscle cars, military vehicles, race cars, modern tuners and new cars that still have that ‘new car’ smell! There was even a blue Toyota Celica that was hot rodded into a electric car!....the wave of the future? We’ll see…. My hands down favorite pick was the black ’66 Chevy crew cab pickup! These pickups are really an oddity but this one was done just right….check the pictures. The quality of the entrants made the judging very difficult I’m sure….but by 3PM the results were in and the award ceremony began. Another NSHS SkillsUSA show was in the record book….well done!

After the show some of us cruised to N. Stafford’s new/old cruise. The old Bruster’s cruise has been replaced by the new Home Depot cruise every Saturday from 4PM to 9PM. This was the first cruise at this location for the year and it was well attended by over 55 vehicles. The two Plymouth Valiants were really special, both convertibles....very nice. This may turn into a very good cruise because of the dining choices available within walking distance….and if ya need a few bags of mulch, the Depot is right there….what is not to like? The Princess was getting cold and wanted to go home….so we fired up the Cruise Missile and motored home. That truck presents a real conundrum for me; one of the things that was always elusive for me in a hot rod is now becoming a reality….the ride! The truck rides like a ’59 Buick, kinda floats around and just laughs at holes or bumps in the road….really different from the coupes. I think it’s something I can learn to like! We’ll see how this unfolds?

Sunday the Colonial Beach Cruisers ran their cruise to the USMC Museum in Quantico, VA….we didn’t have time to attend with them but I wanted to shoot some video of their cruise to share with all. We caught up with them in Fredericksburg, VA and took a short video as they left the parking lot of the FOE. They are a great bunch of cruisers….check out their shows and cruises when you can.  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KqpFUAR0y4E

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