The Princess got sick Monday and was off work and dealing with pain in her back all week so we cancelled all our hot rod plans for the weekend. Saturday she thought she was getting better so I took her in the RedRat to BK in Manassas, VA. We arrived a little early but the wind was blowing and it was cold so we sat in the car for about an hour before we decided to leave.
We decided to attend the Bruster's cruise in Stafford, VA and see how her pain did.... She started getting cold after we were there a couple hours and I could tell she was uncomfortable so we left early from there too.
I don't know if she is really sick or she just likes to ring that little bell she uses to get my attention! grin We will see how she mends this week and that will determine what we do next weekend.
Sunday, April 18, 2010
Sunday, April 4, 2010
Nothing but cruisin
Friday evening and we try to get to the first cruise of the year at VA BBQ in Fredericksburg, VA. I say “try” because it’s 16 miles from home but sometimes it takes a while to get there because of Friday night traffic on Interstate 95. Some of that traffic boils over onto Rt. 1 then gridlocks the traffic everywhere. It was worse than usual tonight because of the Easter weekend and people are traveling. The Princess didn’t get home till 5:30 so we got a late start. In spite of that we slithered out of Stafford to travel about 25 miles on meandering less traveled back roads and arrived at the cruise about 6:30. Some friends told us of taking over 3 hours to make the trip on the main roads….
As the night unfolded it was becoming obvious that we were going to have overflow attendance tonight! There were about 90+ cars visiting throughout the evening. The
youngest visitor was in a purple car of unknown manufacture with a questionable roll bar….she looked a little distracted but was nevertheless enjoying her cruise. There was a nice blue ’49 Chevy panel truck with a nifty graphic on the rear door and Allen brought his green Corvair convertible with the old California tag to share with us. Larry drove his Ford Model T tub with the Model T 4 cyl engine that has been hot rodded! Check out the pictures of this, I will be doing an individual article on this car sometime soon so look for it on my blog; http://autoessentials.blogspot.com/ I also 
liked the black ’38 Chevy flat bed truck and the green ’69 Roadrunner but my favorite was the green ’52 Hudson Commodore. It was the last year for the big luxurious Hudsons….after that they just built the Hornet, Wasp and Jet. We cruised home around the traffic that was still gridlocked at 9:30; I hope this is not a portent of things to come with the traffic on Friday.
Saturday we left the Stafford WAWA at 2PM sharp and headed to Manassas, VA and the cruise at BK on Rt. 28 by the airport. We arrived about 2:45 and the place was filling up! A year ago at the same time there might be 10 cars there, now people start coming earlier and earlier….if this trend keeps up it may turn into an all day deal?! The parking filled up and overflowed to the grass behind the parking lot on two sides! I have seen more cars there but I estimate when we left there were at least 160 cars, and we left at 5:30! I guess the warm weather brings everyone out.
There was a very nice blue & white ’55 Chevy big block,
just neat as a pin along with the green & white ‘52 Buick that looked just right. There were three Willys, Bill’s Orange one with the blown early Hemi, Jason’s brown one with the blown Chevy big block and the green one with the 2-4V Chevy big block. I also liked the red ’41 Chevy PU, it too was near perfect….but the coolest car for me was the red ’69 Camaro with the dark blue flames….the big block & engine bay was very trick, you have to check it out!
We left BK about 5:30 with Steve, Jimmy, Dan, Dale, The Princess & me and headed back to Stafford for the weekly Bruster’s cruise in progress. When we arrived there were about 60-70 cars parked with Gary announcing and playing music. We unpacked and set up under the awning of the emergency care place (closed) and settled in to complete our evening of fun with hot rods….but Steve was hungry! Now Steve is usually a nice guy but since he has been on that tofu, bean sprout and cooked yard bird diet he sometimes gets a little cranky when it’s time for him to eat! So Jimmy and I thought it would be better for all the people attending the event if we just took Steve to Sam’s for dinner….real quick….we had to quell the demons in Steve’s tummy. After we ate Steve was a happy camper again and the world was once again in balance. I didn’t begin taking pictures till it was almost too late….so I only got about ½ of the cars recorded….next time bring the flash & monopod!
There was the black ’59 Ford retractable from Colonial
Beach and JV, our friend who drives a car with no doors, T-Bucket! Al drove his black ’62 409 post to remind us what SS cars looked and sounded like back in the day. The red ’54 Ford with the 5.4 motor was really special but my favorite was the two tone green ’64 Plymouth….one of the cars I wouldn’t mind cruising in!
Gary Sullivan recognized Ron Phillips for his hard work and dedication to this cruise for the last many years. Ron is the reason the cruise enjoys the success that it does and attracts people from miles around. He is diligent every week ensuring sponsorship and setup for the event. Thanks Ron, for providing a place for vehicle enthusiasts around Stafford to hang out and enjoy our cars. The event closed down around 9:30 but a few of us hung around and talked till 11:30! It’s what we old people do since we have no life and we are not supervised well enough! Hehehehe -3=93
As the night unfolded it was becoming obvious that we were going to have overflow attendance tonight! There were about 90+ cars visiting throughout the evening. The
youngest visitor was in a purple car of unknown manufacture with a questionable roll bar….she looked a little distracted but was nevertheless enjoying her cruise. There was a nice blue ’49 Chevy panel truck with a nifty graphic on the rear door and Allen brought his green Corvair convertible with the old California tag to share with us. Larry drove his Ford Model T tub with the Model T 4 cyl engine that has been hot rodded! Check out the pictures of this, I will be doing an individual article on this car sometime soon so look for it on my blog; http://autoessentials.blogspot.com/ I also 
liked the black ’38 Chevy flat bed truck and the green ’69 Roadrunner but my favorite was the green ’52 Hudson Commodore. It was the last year for the big luxurious Hudsons….after that they just built the Hornet, Wasp and Jet. We cruised home around the traffic that was still gridlocked at 9:30; I hope this is not a portent of things to come with the traffic on Friday.Saturday we left the Stafford WAWA at 2PM sharp and headed to Manassas, VA and the cruise at BK on Rt. 28 by the airport. We arrived about 2:45 and the place was filling up! A year ago at the same time there might be 10 cars there, now people start coming earlier and earlier….if this trend keeps up it may turn into an all day deal?! The parking filled up and overflowed to the grass behind the parking lot on two sides! I have seen more cars there but I estimate when we left there were at least 160 cars, and we left at 5:30! I guess the warm weather brings everyone out.
There was a very nice blue & white ’55 Chevy big block,
just neat as a pin along with the green & white ‘52 Buick that looked just right. There were three Willys, Bill’s Orange one with the blown early Hemi, Jason’s brown one with the blown Chevy big block and the green one with the 2-4V Chevy big block. I also liked the red ’41 Chevy PU, it too was near perfect….but the coolest car for me was the red ’69 Camaro with the dark blue flames….the big block & engine bay was very trick, you have to check it out!We left BK about 5:30 with Steve, Jimmy, Dan, Dale, The Princess & me and headed back to Stafford for the weekly Bruster’s cruise in progress. When we arrived there were about 60-70 cars parked with Gary announcing and playing music. We unpacked and set up under the awning of the emergency care place (closed) and settled in to complete our evening of fun with hot rods….but Steve was hungry! Now Steve is usually a nice guy but since he has been on that tofu, bean sprout and cooked yard bird diet he sometimes gets a little cranky when it’s time for him to eat! So Jimmy and I thought it would be better for all the people attending the event if we just took Steve to Sam’s for dinner….real quick….we had to quell the demons in Steve’s tummy. After we ate Steve was a happy camper again and the world was once again in balance. I didn’t begin taking pictures till it was almost too late….so I only got about ½ of the cars recorded….next time bring the flash & monopod!
There was the black ’59 Ford retractable from Colonial
Beach and JV, our friend who drives a car with no doors, T-Bucket! Al drove his black ’62 409 post to remind us what SS cars looked and sounded like back in the day. The red ’54 Ford with the 5.4 motor was really special but my favorite was the two tone green ’64 Plymouth….one of the cars I wouldn’t mind cruising in!Gary Sullivan recognized Ron Phillips for his hard work and dedication to this cruise for the last many years. Ron is the reason the cruise enjoys the success that it does and attracts people from miles around. He is diligent every week ensuring sponsorship and setup for the event. Thanks Ron, for providing a place for vehicle enthusiasts around Stafford to hang out and enjoy our cars. The event closed down around 9:30 but a few of us hung around and talked till 11:30! It’s what we old people do since we have no life and we are not supervised well enough! Hehehehe -3=93
Monday, March 29, 2010
The 2010 season is underway....and it's cold!
Saturday, March 27, 2010 and we attend the 4th annual Skills USA show at North Stafford High School in Stafford, VA. This is usually the first show of the season around here so everyone looks forward to it and in fact it is the target completion date for some that work on their cars over the winter (don’t ask me how I know that). The show has been improving every year and the trend continues. The weather was sunny but very cold; a major change from last weekend where temps were in the 70’s and this weekend I think it was -265 degrees.
One of the nice touches at this show are the awards….they are mostly made by the
students at NSHS in Susan’s graphic arts class and they have never been a disappointment….this year they were a knockout! The students also run most of the show with the major sponsor, Herlong Associates Inc., assisting with MC duties. The students were selling hot coffee and food all day, the Princess says it was very good and the coffee helped dull the cold. There were a couple vendors and the Stafford County Sheriff Deputies with their Bustang, a s
eized vehicle from a drug bust that they have put into service to educate and illustrate one of the down sides of drug involvement…. you lose your stuff! And speaking about losing your stuff, the students set up a “jail” to raise money for Skills USA. The guy with the Model T and his crew had me arrested for something, I don’t remember what it was for but you know how those Model T guys always exaggerate everything….grin So I bought my way out of jail before I got time to sit down….I don’t know what kind of message it sends when the perp gets to buy his way out of jail? And how come it cost me $20 and everyone else it was $5-$10? I think the Princess had something to do with that!? Anyway it’s all in fun and for a good cause and If I didn’t give the $20 to Skills I would probably just bought something silly with it….like headlight fluid. The Air Force JROTC presented the Colors and we all saluted the Flag while the National Anthem was played….It gives me chills every time we do that!
Last year’s attendance was 170 vehicles and this year’s 158 registered vehicles may have something to do with the weather…. did I mention it was cold?
The vehicles were varied from the Model T to new Camaros and Mustangs. By far the most represented car was the Mustang…. there were plenty of old ones like Ray’s blue ’66 to Pete’s white 428R….it’s interesting to see all the different engine mods that can be done to the late model Mustang in the interest of lower emissions and fuel economy….yeah right! The Corvettes were well represented too including the yellow flamed one that I’ve seen for a few years now and it’s always a crowd pleaser. There were many “older” cars too….street rods and customs. The early Fal
con with the killer Ford motor and the yellow ’32 5 window coupe but the coolest street rod wasn’t a car at all….it was a ’34 Dodge school bus! Buddy & Cathy are from New Market, VA and we saw the school bus last year at their 3 day event in New Market. They hadn’t finished the interior at that time but now it’s complete and deserved the best of show it won Sat. They were on their way back from Myrtle Beach, SC w
here they attended the Run to the Sun event there last weekend. The bus is cool in every way; you have to check it out when it’s at a show with you. Another cool vehicle was Allen’s ’64 Corvair Greenbrier camper, I have never seen one before and his is in magnificent shape! And there were a couple tribute bikes for our fallen Heroes that were done nicely and much appreciated.
The awards were given out around 3:30 and I think the judging was done well. There was a good balance between new & old cars. Sometimes when there are so many “new” cars the old ones get overlooked but when you have the level of professionalism these judges displayed no one gets overlooked….it’s the way to do car shows if you are going to have judged classes. After the awards were given out the winners were asked to cruise to the award table to have their picture taken and some did burn outs after that…. Too bad I didn’t get an award….the RedRat likes to do burn outs…. Hehehehehe The best burn out was done by the dually pick up hauling the “Somegaveall.com” car on a trailer….it went from one end of the parking lot to the other with the smoke so dense you couldn’t see the car on the trailer! I took some video of some of the cars leaving and uploaded it to youtube..enjoy! http://www.youtube.com/user/502SizeMatters#p/u/2/BbogtpuOxjc
After the show we cruised to Bruster’s for their first cruise in of the season. A bunch of us had and early dinner at Sam’s Restaurant but when we came back to the cars it was really cold….so we decided to call it a day! Ron & Gary had a lot of cars at their cruise but it was just too cold for us. Maybe next weekend will be better…. Be sure to check out the 'Auto Essentials' blog to the left and the 'Chucks Photos' link. -2=96
One of the nice touches at this show are the awards….they are mostly made by the
students at NSHS in Susan’s graphic arts class and they have never been a disappointment….this year they were a knockout! The students also run most of the show with the major sponsor, Herlong Associates Inc., assisting with MC duties. The students were selling hot coffee and food all day, the Princess says it was very good and the coffee helped dull the cold. There were a couple vendors and the Stafford County Sheriff Deputies with their Bustang, a s
eized vehicle from a drug bust that they have put into service to educate and illustrate one of the down sides of drug involvement…. you lose your stuff! And speaking about losing your stuff, the students set up a “jail” to raise money for Skills USA. The guy with the Model T and his crew had me arrested for something, I don’t remember what it was for but you know how those Model T guys always exaggerate everything….grin So I bought my way out of jail before I got time to sit down….I don’t know what kind of message it sends when the perp gets to buy his way out of jail? And how come it cost me $20 and everyone else it was $5-$10? I think the Princess had something to do with that!? Anyway it’s all in fun and for a good cause and If I didn’t give the $20 to Skills I would probably just bought something silly with it….like headlight fluid. The Air Force JROTC presented the Colors and we all saluted the Flag while the National Anthem was played….It gives me chills every time we do that!Last year’s attendance was 170 vehicles and this year’s 158 registered vehicles may have something to do with the weather…. did I mention it was cold?
The vehicles were varied from the Model T to new Camaros and Mustangs. By far the most represented car was the Mustang…. there were plenty of old ones like Ray’s blue ’66 to Pete’s white 428R….it’s interesting to see all the different engine mods that can be done to the late model Mustang in the interest of lower emissions and fuel economy….yeah right! The Corvettes were well represented too including the yellow flamed one that I’ve seen for a few years now and it’s always a crowd pleaser. There were many “older” cars too….street rods and customs. The early Fal
con with the killer Ford motor and the yellow ’32 5 window coupe but the coolest street rod wasn’t a car at all….it was a ’34 Dodge school bus! Buddy & Cathy are from New Market, VA and we saw the school bus last year at their 3 day event in New Market. They hadn’t finished the interior at that time but now it’s complete and deserved the best of show it won Sat. They were on their way back from Myrtle Beach, SC w
here they attended the Run to the Sun event there last weekend. The bus is cool in every way; you have to check it out when it’s at a show with you. Another cool vehicle was Allen’s ’64 Corvair Greenbrier camper, I have never seen one before and his is in magnificent shape! And there were a couple tribute bikes for our fallen Heroes that were done nicely and much appreciated.The awards were given out around 3:30 and I think the judging was done well. There was a good balance between new & old cars. Sometimes when there are so many “new” cars the old ones get overlooked but when you have the level of professionalism these judges displayed no one gets overlooked….it’s the way to do car shows if you are going to have judged classes. After the awards were given out the winners were asked to cruise to the award table to have their picture taken and some did burn outs after that…. Too bad I didn’t get an award….the RedRat likes to do burn outs…. Hehehehehe The best burn out was done by the dually pick up hauling the “Somegaveall.com” car on a trailer….it went from one end of the parking lot to the other with the smoke so dense you couldn’t see the car on the trailer! I took some video of some of the cars leaving and uploaded it to youtube..enjoy! http://www.youtube.com/user/502SizeMatters#p/u/2/BbogtpuOxjc
After the show we cruised to Bruster’s for their first cruise in of the season. A bunch of us had and early dinner at Sam’s Restaurant but when we came back to the cars it was really cold….so we decided to call it a day! Ron & Gary had a lot of cars at their cruise but it was just too cold for us. Maybe next weekend will be better…. Be sure to check out the 'Auto Essentials' blog to the left and the 'Chucks Photos' link. -2=96
Wednesday, March 24, 2010
Local Hero
I don’t apologize for posting this blog entry that isn’t about cars….sometimes you must go outside the lines.
Monday, March 22, 2010 we attended a fundraiser for a wounded warrior by the name of Steven Kierman. Sgt. Kierman is now retired from the USMC and located in the Fredericksburg, VA area. The fundraiser was at a local restaurant, County Fare, located near the Stafford Courthouse on the corner of Hope Rd. & Rt. 1. The restaurant is owned by a retired Marine which gives the place a neat atmosphere and the food is simple but very tasty and the service is always prompt and attentive….the Princess and I eat there often. http://www.countyfarestafford.com/ The restaurant is usually busy but not crowded, except on Sunday morning, and then sometimes you have to wait a few minutes to be seated. Monday evening we got there about 4:45 and the place was beginning to fill up! After we were seated Jim & Linda came in and shared our table so they wouldn’t have to wait in line. We left around 5:45 and the line was almost around the side of the building! During that brief 3 hours they collected $13,000 for the Homes for our Troops organization that is assisting Steven with housing. The waitresses even donated their tips to the effort!
Regardless of your opinion of the wars we are engaged in you must support the men & women that are doing the bidding of our Country by putting themselves in harms way. Yes, they chose to be in the Military….but they did not choose to return to us injured. We must always hold all our Heroes in our prayers….in our hearts….and in our arms. And for the ones that come back to us with needs that they cannot attain themselves we need to support them whenever the opportunity presents itself, like this fundraiser for Steven. Separate yourself from some of that money you have been saving for a rainy day….these Heroes are having a really rainy day right now and need your help.
The link below is for the ‘Homes for our Troops’ site and it lists the needs to help build Steven a home….help if you can….it’s the right thing to do!
http://www.homesforourtroops.org/site/PageServer?pagename=StevenKiernan
Monday, March 22, 2010 we attended a fundraiser for a wounded warrior by the name of Steven Kierman. Sgt. Kierman is now retired from the USMC and located in the Fredericksburg, VA area. The fundraiser was at a local restaurant, County Fare, located near the Stafford Courthouse on the corner of Hope Rd. & Rt. 1. The restaurant is owned by a retired Marine which gives the place a neat atmosphere and the food is simple but very tasty and the service is always prompt and attentive….the Princess and I eat there often. http://www.countyfarestafford.com/ The restaurant is usually busy but not crowded, except on Sunday morning, and then sometimes you have to wait a few minutes to be seated. Monday evening we got there about 4:45 and the place was beginning to fill up! After we were seated Jim & Linda came in and shared our table so they wouldn’t have to wait in line. We left around 5:45 and the line was almost around the side of the building! During that brief 3 hours they collected $13,000 for the Homes for our Troops organization that is assisting Steven with housing. The waitresses even donated their tips to the effort!
Regardless of your opinion of the wars we are engaged in you must support the men & women that are doing the bidding of our Country by putting themselves in harms way. Yes, they chose to be in the Military….but they did not choose to return to us injured. We must always hold all our Heroes in our prayers….in our hearts….and in our arms. And for the ones that come back to us with needs that they cannot attain themselves we need to support them whenever the opportunity presents itself, like this fundraiser for Steven. Separate yourself from some of that money you have been saving for a rainy day….these Heroes are having a really rainy day right now and need your help.
The link below is for the ‘Homes for our Troops’ site and it lists the needs to help build Steven a home….help if you can….it’s the right thing to do!
http://www.homesforourtroops.org/site/PageServer?pagename=StevenKiernan
Sunday, March 21, 2010
The Madness Begins....
March 20, 2010….the weather is exceptionally nice, sunny in the 70’s….perfect! I planned to have our hot rods ready enough to go to the first cruise next Friday but the urge to get out of the garage was too great to ignore, so off we went to BK in Manassas, VA. This cruise is year around but I think the “official” new season kicks off today.
I think the m
ost unusual car was the white 1919 Ford center door, I tried to catch up with the owner but could not find him/her; I need to find out more about that car. Mike brought his red Anglia in then another red one showed
up. There was a Chevy 789 which is kind of weird, in a nice way. Larry & Shirley’s new silver ’32 roadster was very nice. A lot of old & new muscle cars rounded out the crowd. We left a little early but there were about 160 cars….as with most cruises some came and stayed and some came in, walked around a little then left. It was a great beginning to this season. One down….99 to go!
I will be sending out our show/cruise itinerary again this year every week, if you want to be on my “list” of email recipients of this mailing please let me know. Wherewereyouin62@comcast.net
I think the m
ost unusual car was the white 1919 Ford center door, I tried to catch up with the owner but could not find him/her; I need to find out more about that car. Mike brought his red Anglia in then another red one showed
up. There was a Chevy 789 which is kind of weird, in a nice way. Larry & Shirley’s new silver ’32 roadster was very nice. A lot of old & new muscle cars rounded out the crowd. We left a little early but there were about 160 cars….as with most cruises some came and stayed and some came in, walked around a little then left. It was a great beginning to this season. One down….99 to go!I will be sending out our show/cruise itinerary again this year every week, if you want to be on my “list” of email recipients of this mailing please let me know. Wherewereyouin62@comcast.net
Monday, November 30, 2009
Over the River and Through the Woods Run
Saturday morning and the weather was as the weather guessers had predicted….Gorgeous! It would be a grand day to participate in the ‘Over the River and Through the Woods Run’ of 2009! Five cars met at the WAWA in Stafford, VA and proceeded to the assembly point to join up with the rest of the cruisers. Along the way we picked up another car then continued to the beginning location near Warrenton, VA. At the starting point we topped off our fuel tanks and waited for the rest of the cars to arrive. Eight more cars were there by 10AM which made 13 special cars rolling on the beginning of the cruise. We traveled on Rt
. 17 till we got on Rt. 66, the ‘mother road’. We cruised Rt. 66 for 22 miles and it gave a lot of people a chance to see cars that they might otherwise never get to see. Since we cruise between 55 and 60 mph a lot of cars passed us. I actually estimate about 400 cars/trucks passed us….some honked….some gave us thumbs up….some took our picture….most just smiled. This is the reason we drive road cars….to share our hobby with others while we enjoy the thrill of driving a special car. We had a nice mix of special cars from the red ’29 Ford sedan to the blue ’08 Vette and most of the other decades between.
When we left Rt. 66 on Rt. 522, I must have been listening to the voices from the mother
ship or maybe it was the Princess yelling at me over the walkie talkie to turn or wait or speed up or slow down or look out and I took a wrong turn looking for Rt. 55! We ended up going about 12 miles out of our way. When I realized I was lost I did the unmanly thing of stopping and asking for directions (it’s those darned sensitivity classes). Fortunately we had two cars that knew where we were! Ted and Jim had their cosmic atomic powered GPS machines running and gave me new guidance. So after much ridicule about my navigation capabilities we gathered up and off we went, again. We had also picked up another car that met us while I was trying to get un-lost! Later on in the day I spoke with some cruisers that thought the “lost” stop was a planned stop and they liked getting out and walking around a while! Naturally I agreed and explained about the importance of planning, navigation and taking the needs of people in consideration when setting up a run like this and was glad that some voiced their appreciation of my hard work….grin As we were finding ou
r way back to the planned route we picked up four more cars on Rt. 55 making a total 17 cars cruising down the road. Finally we got to our first “planned” stop, Wardensville, WV. Some of us that have mileage challenged cars (gas guzzlers) have to fuel up about every 100 miles, so Jimmy and his blue ’71 Rancheroo and I eagerly waited for a vacant spot at the fuel pumps! After all the bladders were emptied and fuel tanks filled we cruised through some of the town till we got to Trout Run Rd. and began the…. interesting…. part of the cruise. This is a road the Princess and I had run a few times long ago while we were on the Harley….it is a great road for bike
s. But the road is narrow and there is no center line or side lines and for some areas there is no shoulder or guard rails! And it is a typical mountain road with many switchbacks and tight turns that those of us with chopped tops have fun navigating! I guess the best way for you to experience the deal is to put down your sun visor and crank up your seat as high as you can then drive on twisty roads….it does take some getting used to! And some of the cars were…. large like Dan’s black ’55 Chevy and Fred’s red/white ’57 Dodge so when they met oncoming traffic there was not a whole lot of room to pass! Anyway it was 40 miles of very precise driving and a lot of gre
at scenery. We worked our way down to Edinburg, VA and then back up over another mountain to Luray, VA and Sonny’s restaurant for lunch/dinner. I called ahead and Sonny had the tables set up for us and they coped with the number of people eating…I think it was 26! I think everyone enjoyed the food which didn’t surprise me! Sonny loaned me a piece of split wood so I could use it for a wheel chock! Real hot rods don’t need emergency brakes!
After we all ate too much som
e started to leave….some had other commitments that afternoon so they had to leave early. We all pretty much said our good-bys in the parking lot and left in small groups or alone. Our Stafford group continued on over the last mountain to Sperryville then on to Culpeper where we picked up Rt. 29 then Rt. 17 and back to Stafford. It was a 237 mile trip for us but some others, like Wyatt with his DeLorean who is from Annapolis, MD, traveled much farther. Except for Fred demonstrating how quick Mopar’s can be fixed….everyone had a trouble free cruise which is a testament to something? Good mechanics? Or only American cars? Or Dan's steam powered billet & chrome dilemma detector that he carries in his '55? Maybe the Earth/Moon/Mars alignment? HEHEHEHE Whatever it was, it worked! Be sure to check out the pictures http://rides.webshots.com/album/575711902fdDjYb
Except for the few times we will just drive around Stafford to give old people a bad name we are pretty much done cruising for the season. I need to get the cars ready for next year so they may be apart till February or so…. We attended 68 “car” events (shows & cruises) this year which is some kind of record for us….I don’t know if we will do that again next year, we’ll see. We enjoyed meeting new friends and deepening old relationships during the year. Also unless something extraordinary happens I won’t have any more blog entries till February/March.
Have a Merry Christmas, a Happy New Year and an enjoyable and productive winter….hope to see you on the road next year.
Chuck the Slacker & Linda the Princess
. 17 till we got on Rt. 66, the ‘mother road’. We cruised Rt. 66 for 22 miles and it gave a lot of people a chance to see cars that they might otherwise never get to see. Since we cruise between 55 and 60 mph a lot of cars passed us. I actually estimate about 400 cars/trucks passed us….some honked….some gave us thumbs up….some took our picture….most just smiled. This is the reason we drive road cars….to share our hobby with others while we enjoy the thrill of driving a special car. We had a nice mix of special cars from the red ’29 Ford sedan to the blue ’08 Vette and most of the other decades between.When we left Rt. 66 on Rt. 522, I must have been listening to the voices from the mother
ship or maybe it was the Princess yelling at me over the walkie talkie to turn or wait or speed up or slow down or look out and I took a wrong turn looking for Rt. 55! We ended up going about 12 miles out of our way. When I realized I was lost I did the unmanly thing of stopping and asking for directions (it’s those darned sensitivity classes). Fortunately we had two cars that knew where we were! Ted and Jim had their cosmic atomic powered GPS machines running and gave me new guidance. So after much ridicule about my navigation capabilities we gathered up and off we went, again. We had also picked up another car that met us while I was trying to get un-lost! Later on in the day I spoke with some cruisers that thought the “lost” stop was a planned stop and they liked getting out and walking around a while! Naturally I agreed and explained about the importance of planning, navigation and taking the needs of people in consideration when setting up a run like this and was glad that some voiced their appreciation of my hard work….grin As we were finding ou
r way back to the planned route we picked up four more cars on Rt. 55 making a total 17 cars cruising down the road. Finally we got to our first “planned” stop, Wardensville, WV. Some of us that have mileage challenged cars (gas guzzlers) have to fuel up about every 100 miles, so Jimmy and his blue ’71 Rancheroo and I eagerly waited for a vacant spot at the fuel pumps! After all the bladders were emptied and fuel tanks filled we cruised through some of the town till we got to Trout Run Rd. and began the…. interesting…. part of the cruise. This is a road the Princess and I had run a few times long ago while we were on the Harley….it is a great road for bike
s. But the road is narrow and there is no center line or side lines and for some areas there is no shoulder or guard rails! And it is a typical mountain road with many switchbacks and tight turns that those of us with chopped tops have fun navigating! I guess the best way for you to experience the deal is to put down your sun visor and crank up your seat as high as you can then drive on twisty roads….it does take some getting used to! And some of the cars were…. large like Dan’s black ’55 Chevy and Fred’s red/white ’57 Dodge so when they met oncoming traffic there was not a whole lot of room to pass! Anyway it was 40 miles of very precise driving and a lot of gre
at scenery. We worked our way down to Edinburg, VA and then back up over another mountain to Luray, VA and Sonny’s restaurant for lunch/dinner. I called ahead and Sonny had the tables set up for us and they coped with the number of people eating…I think it was 26! I think everyone enjoyed the food which didn’t surprise me! Sonny loaned me a piece of split wood so I could use it for a wheel chock! Real hot rods don’t need emergency brakes!After we all ate too much som
e started to leave….some had other commitments that afternoon so they had to leave early. We all pretty much said our good-bys in the parking lot and left in small groups or alone. Our Stafford group continued on over the last mountain to Sperryville then on to Culpeper where we picked up Rt. 29 then Rt. 17 and back to Stafford. It was a 237 mile trip for us but some others, like Wyatt with his DeLorean who is from Annapolis, MD, traveled much farther. Except for Fred demonstrating how quick Mopar’s can be fixed….everyone had a trouble free cruise which is a testament to something? Good mechanics? Or only American cars? Or Dan's steam powered billet & chrome dilemma detector that he carries in his '55? Maybe the Earth/Moon/Mars alignment? HEHEHEHE Whatever it was, it worked! Be sure to check out the pictures http://rides.webshots.com/album/575711902fdDjYbExcept for the few times we will just drive around Stafford to give old people a bad name we are pretty much done cruising for the season. I need to get the cars ready for next year so they may be apart till February or so…. We attended 68 “car” events (shows & cruises) this year which is some kind of record for us….I don’t know if we will do that again next year, we’ll see. We enjoyed meeting new friends and deepening old relationships during the year. Also unless something extraordinary happens I won’t have any more blog entries till February/March.
Have a Merry Christmas, a Happy New Year and an enjoyable and productive winter….hope to see you on the road next year.
Chuck the Slacker & Linda the Princess
Monday, November 16, 2009
Foster's finale
Ida….ida rather be driving the hot rod around than sitting home watching it rain! Hurricane Ida was dumping copious amounts of rain on us for four days! Saturday we wanted to go to
the last Foster’s Cruise in Stafford, VA but the roads were still wet from the above mentioned rain. The cruise started around noon and by 1PM the roads were dry enough to take the hot rods out. But the Princess had escaped to a local craft show and had not returned yet. She was performing one of our green contribution processes…. she buys stuff at craft shows and either gives it away or puts it somewhere in the house until she gets tired of it or can’t remember why she bought it and I get to sell it on eBay or at a yard sale! I think it’s called recycling? Anyway I got a terse call from Steve who was at the cruise asking “WHERE WERE WE!?” He said about 
20 cars were there and we said we would be there at noon and WHERE WERE WE?….I tried to explain about the puddles in the road and that the Princess was not here but I didn’t get a lot of sympathy from Steve….I knew I had to get to Foster’s….with or without the Princess. I cleared out the driveway, warmed up the hot rods and located the Princess….she would be home in a few minutes.
When we arrived there were still around 20 cars there and through the afternoon some
left and others came by….about 30 cars total. I’m glad Jerry brought out his hunting Willys, you have to ask him! The black ’37 Ford dirt track car was interesting, I have seen it at a couple shows this year. The black ’37 PU was way cool with it’s 6x2 intake! The nice red ’29 Ford sedan was interesting in that it runs a V-6! Not a bad idea considering the price of fuel nowadays! Of course I don’t have that problem since I drive a hybrid….burn
s gasoline & rubber….I call it my ecofastmover, hehehehe There were many car clubs represented at the small gathering which helped the communication between clubs….if nothing else it reestablishes old friendships….always a good thing. Most of us had something to eat at Foster’s and came back outside to network. The Princess got stuck inside….talking ‘bus’ talk with Ramona and another friend, Mary Ann. Since she would stay inside talking for days I decid
ed to liven things up a little so I fired up the RedRat and chugged out of the lot, past the dining room of Foster’s so the Princess could see me leaving! She gets so uptight about a little humor when it’s directed at her!? I think she was saying things that Princesses should not say? Anyway she told everyone in the lot what she thought of my feeble attempt at humor! I promised to take her to one of her favorite restaurants the next day to patch things up….She is such a pushover for food!
So Sunday we cruised to the Crabby Oyster near Dahlgren, VA for lunch with Dan & Ramona. The restaurant is clean the service is attentive and humorous, in a good way….grin. The food is always good and we recommend it if you want a no frills honest seafood dinner for around $50 for two. On the way back to Stafford the RedRat headed to Fredericksburg and Carl’s Ice Cream….A great ending to a mostly gorgeous weekend!
the last Foster’s Cruise in Stafford, VA but the roads were still wet from the above mentioned rain. The cruise started around noon and by 1PM the roads were dry enough to take the hot rods out. But the Princess had escaped to a local craft show and had not returned yet. She was performing one of our green contribution processes…. she buys stuff at craft shows and either gives it away or puts it somewhere in the house until she gets tired of it or can’t remember why she bought it and I get to sell it on eBay or at a yard sale! I think it’s called recycling? Anyway I got a terse call from Steve who was at the cruise asking “WHERE WERE WE!?” He said about 
20 cars were there and we said we would be there at noon and WHERE WERE WE?….I tried to explain about the puddles in the road and that the Princess was not here but I didn’t get a lot of sympathy from Steve….I knew I had to get to Foster’s….with or without the Princess. I cleared out the driveway, warmed up the hot rods and located the Princess….she would be home in a few minutes.When we arrived there were still around 20 cars there and through the afternoon some
left and others came by….about 30 cars total. I’m glad Jerry brought out his hunting Willys, you have to ask him! The black ’37 Ford dirt track car was interesting, I have seen it at a couple shows this year. The black ’37 PU was way cool with it’s 6x2 intake! The nice red ’29 Ford sedan was interesting in that it runs a V-6! Not a bad idea considering the price of fuel nowadays! Of course I don’t have that problem since I drive a hybrid….burn
s gasoline & rubber….I call it my ecofastmover, hehehehe There were many car clubs represented at the small gathering which helped the communication between clubs….if nothing else it reestablishes old friendships….always a good thing. Most of us had something to eat at Foster’s and came back outside to network. The Princess got stuck inside….talking ‘bus’ talk with Ramona and another friend, Mary Ann. Since she would stay inside talking for days I decid
ed to liven things up a little so I fired up the RedRat and chugged out of the lot, past the dining room of Foster’s so the Princess could see me leaving! She gets so uptight about a little humor when it’s directed at her!? I think she was saying things that Princesses should not say? Anyway she told everyone in the lot what she thought of my feeble attempt at humor! I promised to take her to one of her favorite restaurants the next day to patch things up….She is such a pushover for food!So Sunday we cruised to the Crabby Oyster near Dahlgren, VA for lunch with Dan & Ramona. The restaurant is clean the service is attentive and humorous, in a good way….grin. The food is always good and we recommend it if you want a no frills honest seafood dinner for around $50 for two. On the way back to Stafford the RedRat headed to Fredericksburg and Carl’s Ice Cream….A great ending to a mostly gorgeous weekend!
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