Strawberries anyone?

WOW.. ..I guess everyone got the memo to be at VA BBQ on Friday night! We have been going to VA BBQ for a few years now and I don’t know if an attendance record was broken Friday night or not but it seemed to me to be a record of some sort. All the normal parking spots were full and in addition to that there were cars in the front lot by Rt. 1, there were cars in the Bank lot across the street, there were cars parked on the street and cars were coming through and when they couldn’t find parking space so they just drove through! WOW! It was impossible to put a final number on the cars there but I know it was over 85! WOW! OK Sue.. ..are you planning for more parking next week?

The Colonial Beach club brought some very nice vehicles to share with us that included a white ’54 Packard convertible that reminded us of a more dignified and refined time in the recent history of the automobile. John’s white ’57 Ford convertible with all the “drive inn” accoutrements is a nice touch too. Although the girls that came with it were kind of snobbish.. ..I even offered to take them a ride in the RedRat and they just kept looking past me! John needs to find some friendlier girl friends! grin.. .. Roger brought his blue/purple ‘70’s Chevy PU with the rowdy big block, he says he is going to make some passes with it soon to see just how strong it will run, more later! And Al brought out his stunning orange/cream ’55 Chevy.. ..we missed seeing it since it got hit by a deer last year, it looks like nothing happened! Jerry & Dave were there with some more of the VA Stockers car club and many other local clubs were represented. The blue/white ’61 Ford T-bird was a treat too.. ..it has 2627 original miles! We put more miles than that on our coupes in a couple of months! I really like the black ’60 Ford Starliner, I would park it in my garage anytime! All the usual suspects were there including Wayne & Barbara with their noisy green ’39 Chevy, ask Wayne if he knows anything about drag racing! Be prepared to listen a lot! By some stroke of luck the Princess got the managers pick trophy.. ..The Princess is happy.. ..Life is good in the kingdom.

Saturday a few of us met at Mike’s Diner for breakfast then headed to Delaplane and the Strawberry Festival. Fred & Debie, Ron, Dan & Ramona and the Princess & me. Fred told of an alternate route that would have more “country” roads and less well traveled roads so he led to the Festival. We now have a neat way to get to Rt. 17 near Warrenton from Stafford.. ..It’s about choices! Please check out my pictures of the deal, I took a lot of the journey to help share the total event with all. We arrived and set up near the entrance to the vehicle display.. ..it was on grass, on a knoll and the view was magnificent and the breeze was constant all day.. ..or you could say it was perfect location/weather for the day! The event has a lot of vendors and other activities that compel non-car people to attend each year. The vehicle display is almost incidental in the event, which is ok with me. It is a display so no competition is involved which makes for a nice stress free day. The Bull Run Region AACA is the organizing group for the vehicle part of the event and they were well represented at the event by 17 cars. We like to travel with Fred & Debie because they are neat people and you don’t often see a ’57 Dodge on the road. The AACA group had a ’58 Dodge and many other Mopar’s.. ..I like the blue ’65 Dodge and the white woodie convertible was.. .. ..Special! The early Hudson and the ’57 Packard were very special too.

Being a Strawberry Festival there were a lot of “strawberry” things there, most of which were edible! Strawberry shortcake, strawberry cheesecake, strawberry Sundays and more. They had a strawberry eating contest.. ..the record is 9lbs in 7 ½ min, this weekend the winner consumed 7bls in 7 ½ min.. ..Burp! Funnel cakes, ice cream, cookies, and all kinds of good food. You had to be there. They had tours and entertainment galore but I stayed with the cars to talk to the people as they entered the event. It’s what I like to do, share my hobby with others. The Princess however decided to see how much money she could spend with the vendors.. ..I reminded her of the size of her coupe’s trunk and that might determine how much she bought.. ..It didn’t! She says that’s why we both have our own cars, she can fill up the passenger side with treasure! So we came home with more stuff that will end up on eBay someday, hehehehe I’m doomed! There were less people this year than the last time we went 2 years ago, but it is a two day event so maybe more came out on Sunday. Anyway we like it and will return next year again. We left around 2:30 and headed for Culpeper and the cruise at Arby’s.

We arrived at Arby’s early again and got to pick our favorite spot, in front of the big trees. We set up under the trees and soon Tom arrived and joined us. There were not as many cars as last month but some new ones came nevertheless. I think the Memorial Day holiday may have had something to do with the attendance. This cruise feels.. ..comfortable to us, we just seem to fit in well and as usual the Cruisers are gracious hosts. The cruise is the second and fourth Saturday of every month and you have to visit sometime, you won’t be disappointed. We left about 7PM.. ..a long day driving around giving people something to wave at!

Sunday morning we met with Dan & Ramona and headed to the Culpeper Cruisers annual show at the Culpeper skating rink. We arrived a little late and were trying to determine where to park and the Cruisers let us park in front of their club cars.. ..I think it was the most primo spaces on the lot! Thanks Cruisers! We set up and began meeting old friends and checking out the cars. Linda & I had to leave early so I didn’t get to take pictures of all the cars and I don’t know how many cars attended but I think it looked like 120 or so? I liked the green ’34 Chevy coupe and the copper/cream early 50’s Ford PU was very special. Many car clubs were represented at the show to include Custom Cruisers NOVA, PW Cruisers, Culpeper Cruisers, Stafford Classics, Stangs & Fangs and others. I liked the blue ’54 Chevy traditional custom.. ..no worry about reflections when taking pictures of that one! Hehehe We had to leave early due to a family emergency so Dan & Ramona brought the Princesses plaque to her later that evening. What a deal, she wins without being there, what’s up with that? As usual DJ Ron provides the musical atmosphere to be the social lubricant to keep things rolling.. ..HUH? Think about it! I’m told that the rain looked eminent so the Culpeper Cruisers got the show done quicker than advertised so people could get their cars safely home, a good call! As usual this is a well run & fair show that deserves your attendance when you can.. ..Next year??