Adaptability

Life has a way of testing us all....

Brent started planning this years Stafford Classics show at Mt. Ararat last year on June 14....during the last Mt. Ararat show! The venue is as perfect as you could ask for with the grass and trees....the relaxed atmosphere was appealing to all that attended and Brent wanted to duplicate that ambiance again this year. But as luck would have it the guy that was in charge of the rain took a vacation to Pango Pango last week and the deluge on Friday changed everything. Adapt or fail! Brent met with his key volunteers Friday night and decided that the grass area was gong to be muddy and sloppy, not a good place for very special cars to be! So they decided to organize the show on the parking lots of the church. This is where the first show had been held so they knew it would work....it just wasn't the first choice with the ongoing construction work at the church.

The Princess and I arrived at 6AM and many of the volunteers were already on scene and working setting things up! They are as great a group of volunteers that anyone could ask for! It took about an hour for most everything to get set up and the first attendees arrived about 7:30. I could tell Brent was stressing a little with all the questions and decisions that he had to make since everything changed. But he did have help from the Mr. Congeniality award winner, Dom. Brent could not have done it without Dom, just ask Dom....grin Brent runs a show like a machine....everything is executed in a very effective manner....he always has an answer for any question no matter how harried he appears, that is the mark of a good organizer.

Anyway enough of this gushy stuff....the show was attended by around 205 cars and over 250 spectators, spectators that were not attached to a show car! That is what made the show so interesting, the spectators that just dropped in to see what was going on! The Princess, Ramona, Bob and I worked the registration table and it was the fastest 5 hours I think I have ever spent doing something. When things slowed down a little I looked at my clock and it was noon! WOW So I got to see everyone that registered a car and our team enjoyed ourselves while we did our part to help the event unfold. I took some pictures after the registration was closed but like last year I was too tired to take a lot of individual vehicle pictures so I focused on overall pictures, please check them out, http://rides.webshots.com/album/572728281fmqCBF

There were many local clubs represented, Culpeper Cruisers, Prince William Cruisers, Stangs & Fangs, Fredericksburg Classic and Muscle Car Club and others. We appreciate their support of the Stafford Classics show. There was a wide variety of cars from Dom's Model T to a couple of new 2010 Camaros to a bunch of race cars to four Smart Cars! The Smart Cars were neat, all four of them only took up two parking places, hehehe

The judging was an ongoing effort that began when the car registration was posted in the windshield and was complete around 2PM. Brent promptly began the award program around 3pm. The award plaques were made by students at NSHS in the Skills program under the direction of Susan Caldwell and the trophies were done by Crown Trophy in Stafford. All in all the show was as expected.... GREAT! Next year Brent needs to focus on the no-rain guy hehehe

After the show seven of us met at the WAWA and took off to do some cruising. We went to the All American Street Rods cruise in Gainesville first. Since I didn't know where it was I called the owner to ask for directions....we went to the appointed location and found....nothing! We drove around a little and decided it was a lost cause and left for the BK in Manassas by the airport. We knew we could depend on it being in session as advertised. http://rides.webshots.com/album/572718422ydWjtu

When we arrived the lot was almost full....we had to park on the grass strip next to the road, which is fun trying to miss the water valve boxes and the dips in the sod! Anyway we set up our stuff and walked around talking to people and admiring the cars. As always there are a lot of nice cars at BK and they had over 150 coming in and out as well as parking for a while. Bull Run Street Rods has been hosting this cruise a long time and it is the best cruise in the area. The '57 Chevy towing the little travel trailer was interesting and the blue light circle thingies around the headlights of the C-300 was cool. There were 4 T-buckets in attendance, more than I have ever seen at a cruise at one time. The yellow 5 window had to bring extra parts? Was that so he could make it back home? Hmmmm There was an original '28 Ford Pickup, very nice. And I got to look closely at Nick's red Galaxie 500XL....I wonder if that is his engine size, 500....XL? Naw, it's more like 500-2XL hehehe A couple of nice '55 Nomads, I like the black/silver one. But the most interesting car for me was the yellow '59 Corvette. It had the period correct panel paint job....that style is thankfully not seen much anymore. It was a style that adorned everything from race cars to hot rods to customs to vans in the 60's....it's part of our hot rod heritage and I hope all that saw it appreciated it....it was far out man! Ed got to practice his Col. Clink butt chewing chat on a couple of teenagers that were playing with silly string around the cars and got it all over Jim & Linda's Corvette....sometimes kids just don't think. Just be careful Ed, they may be running the nursing home you end up in someday, grin! It was a busy day that ended up with a nice cool ride back to Stafford....what's not to like!

Sunday the Crazy Cruisers met at WAWA for their cruise to Tapahanock and Lowry's for a late lunch....or early dinner....or supper....or lunchdiner....I don't know what it should be called but we did it! On the way back the RedRat started pulling toward Fredericksburg and it wouldn't stop till we got to Carl's....it knows! It's a nice drive in the country with food as a destination while giving people something to wave at and putting miles on the hot rods. What cars are supposed to do! I have to change the rear tires on the RedRat, I have the pressure up to 15 lbs trying to get the last few miles out of the center but they sure do break loose easier....hehehe