Fourth of July 2012

 Our little group of intrepid cruisers left the WAWA in Stafford, VA at 5:30 AM, in the morning, 19 minutes after sunrise….it was early!  The Princess had been up since 3:30AM….doing Princess Stuff? What is up with that? If it takes me longer than 5 min. from eyes open to ignition key turning….call 911 because my hair blower has electrocuted me!  I’m just saying….

Anyway, we cruised for 37 miles and arrived in Culpeper, VA for the 13^th annual, Fourth of July Car & Bike show.  We have attended this show the last few years and it is always a fun time….except for the heat.  Most of the day is spent hiding from the sun and detecting a breeze.  We had all sorts of cooling aids…. large straw hats, massive quintiles of water and Gatorade, bandanas with crystals that when soaked in water swell up and then cool as they evaporate (I think mine was steaming when I wore it!?), little bottles of water with fans and misters built in to them, hand fans, sun screen and some things Steve wanted to do that I can’t explain.  But it was still hot….the weatherguessers said it was about 100 degrees with 700% humidity.  I think they lied! 

This event is one that we look forward to attending each year.  It is on one of the main streets in the historic town of Culpeper, VA.  There are always nice cars that we have not seen before and we get to connect with friends and spend the day catching up and sweating.  The show organizers always have a car they showcase….last year it was the air cooled VW….this year it was the early Ford Mustang.  There were some very nice examples of Lee Iacocca’s vision of the American Muscle car present at the show.  I liked the yellow ’69 Fastback.  Last year there were 220 cars registered, which was a record.  This year it was down to around 170….must have been the heat and or the effects of the massive storm that went through our area just 6 days prior to the show….some still don’t have power!

The show was a good representation of cruise in show cars in our part of Virginia.  They ranged from the orange Chrysler custom to the many Wheezers (VW) to Bill’s Model T race car.  I liked the yellow/red Checker with the injected Chevy big block!  Frank’s traditional hot rod (I refuse to call it a rat rod, it’s too nice!) was a crowd pleaser as was the red & white Wheezer with the Coke trailer.  The purple ’57 Merc was just too cool and I liked the “other” black ’49 Chevy PU!  My favorite was the green 1950 HHR….Please check out the pictures to share in the day we had in Culpeper, VA on the Fourth of July….Don’t miss it next year!

After the event a few of us cruised to Lou & Arlene’s place for a cook out….but we stayed inside….it was hot hot hot don’t ya know!  On the way back it must have still been hot because the first leader (with the state of the art GPS, in an air conditioned, comfortable ’08 Vette) led us thru a U turn in the confusion of getting Ron to an air pump….then the Cruise Missile had to U turn when I blew past our turn on 17!  I think it was the heat affecting the electronics and brain cells….that’s my story and I’m sticking to it!

The pictures are hiding at;  http://rides.webshots.com/album/583056934OevUZY