It was raining at 5:00 AM when we started to get ready to head out to the 19th Anniversary Cruise. We were not about to let a little liquid sunshine keep us from our “Home Town” today. There would be Cruisers out today from all over the US that we only get to see once a year when they come for this celebration. It would be the the 8th such event that Linda & I have done together. We have made a lot of friends over the years and were looking forward to seeing some that are only occasional Saturday Nite Cruisers.

Today, like last year, the cars that were in line at 8:00AM would be pre-registered to have the line move quickly once the gate opened at 9:00. The previous “Cruisers of the Month” would be directed in at 8:00 to take their places. This year would be the first year that they would not be located on the “Bricks” and the first time this egress was organized in such a fashion that all of the early arrivals were situated on “Trophy Row” about 15 minutes before the gate opened. Dave & Nikki would get all of the cars that were in line registered before the 9:00AM opening.

By 9:45 all of the cars that were in line along with cars that had arrived during the first big move were safely parked in “Trophy Row”, nearly 300 of them. Kudos to the Cruise Staff! What a great job. To make the day a little shorter and the fact that 19 Flags were going to be given out during part 2 the prizes were given out at arrival. Cruisers that had a colored dot, randomly placed, on their key tag picked up their prizes from Kathy who was at a table with them by the Cruise Office. Worked very well.

It was pretty neat that Linda & I had our Dart in it’s parking spot before the big “Move”, we were able to help out the staff by watching the gate at Block 4. It wasn’t long before Emil, KJ4GNH would park next to us with his “High School Flame”. Tom & Bunny would park next to him. This would be their first Anniversary Cruise as Cruisers. The have been before but it was prior to their migration to Florida. Charlie would arrive and he and Emil would go off to breakfast. Steve Mc, K4SKM would be at the table with Dave and Marc selling the T-Shirts, his Model A would be in the “Winners Circle” as he was voted to be Cruiser of the Month for June. Roger in his Camaro and Shane in his ‘57 Chevy made it to a spot just below the “Beer Tent”, Conrad would get a spot nearby them for his ‘57 Chevy pickup. Dave & Nancy were on the other side in his ‘55 T-Bird. Butch Johnston would have his Cruising with the Oldies WJBJ trailer at the bottom of Block 4. rebroadcasting Old Town Radio.

The cars continued to arrive in a steady stream. Linda & I would head on up to Checkers for a little lunch, it was going to be a long day. The sky grew very dark and it looked like we were going to get a downpour. We would take our meal and head back to the car but not before stopping by to see the cars that were parked in the extension east of Swing Town. We would find Steve & Amanda's 56 Chevy, Bob’s FIAT, Jim & Donna’s GTO Judge and a dozen or so more. This area is used when a lot of cars are expected. The 3 Amigos were in place, Cletus was next to the bleachers, Darrell had his ’66 LTD in his spot north of the stage. I think all of the “Redline Rodders” were in place, Bob M would have the ‘65 Rambler out. Mark would have his “Blown to be Wild” Falcon just where he likes it. Nick & Fran would have the ‘32 Coupe next to him and Bob would be in his ‘71 Camaro. Richard would have his ‘67 El Camino across from the Mike Kelly shack, I even spotted the Mike Kelly’s in town too! Good to see them. The lightening was crashing in the sky, it started to cool off and it felt like it was going to rain. We got to Block 4 and sat down to eat and the rain started, almost, a couple of drops fell, just enough to dance on the wax jobs of the surrounding cars. That was it. The Sun came back out and it was beautiful. Reports of very bad weather in Orlando and to the North. Mike, N4HHA called to say he was finally coming out with his ‘64 Corvair, that is as soon as the power came on at his house in Hunters Creek. “Red Racer” Ted, KE4TTE was in town by now shooting all the cars and people, with his camera. Laura, NO4OO. Checked in from the Hurricane expo in Polk county, she wouldn’t make it out tonight she had to go to work from there. Graham, G4HFG form Oldham England would check in as would Collin, 2E0RIG. T Rod, KT4ROD checked in on his way to work. The day was going very well and by noon the cars would already be parked in “Victory Lane” all the way to the A&W. Steam was on stage rocking the spectators.

Ralph, Tina & Angela from Bristol, England walked up to Emil, they hadn’t been to a Cruise in 3 years but were back today and it would be the first Anniversary Cruise for them. Every time they come to the states they come to as many Cruises as they can. He has a ‘71 Mustang that he cruises over there and the family loves to visit with the people that they have made friends with and the bit of “Americana” they get when visiting Old Town. Mike N4HHA would arrive in his ‘64 Corvair and shortly after that the incoming traffic was routed further down Deac Hundely Ave and made the turn to head up to “Victory Lane”. For a day that we would be in Town for more than 13 hours time was sure flying. We would head out to “Flippers” for dinner.

Trish, Gina, John and all the rest of the staff were very busy. Trish would take care of our expanding table. Mike, N4HHA, Emil, KJ4GNI, Charlie, Ted, KE4TTE, Tom, Bunny, Steve & Amanda, Linda and I would dine alfresco. The patio was packed as was the inside dinning area. The Tex-Mex Express was busy as well. Emil had to get desert to take home to ”Snookums”. The parking lot at the top of “Victory Lane” was starting to fill up there were nearly 500 cars in town and they were still coming. Jeff would have his ‘59 Edsel and “Big Jim” would have his ‘68 Chevelle parked next to Steve in the Winners circle. The Downshifters of Brooklyn were encamped in Block 4 of “Victory Lane” complete with their portable bar and were entertaining with Doo Woop music, see the video on YouTube. I would spot Doug & Trish in their '68 Bronco along with Tom & Chris in the Camaro behind Kid’s Town. Tony had his Mustang parked by the Tool Vendor on Block 3 and I would see Donna walk by at least once. The spectator crowd was quite large and then it looked like another downpour was going to beseech us once again. The Skies light up the thunder rumbled and spectators were telling us that they had just driven through a storm on their way and it was headed for us again. A triple rainbow would appear. We would get even less precipitation than we did during the morning storm. I am sure this weather was keeping some people away. Ed, WB8BHL would arrive and take some photos for us. The last 2 hours just seemed to disappear! The next thing I knew the gates were closed and the cars were staging for the parade.

It was just after 8:20 when Mesha & Dave led Steve McCullough, K4SKM in his 1929 Model A Sports Coupe for the first time as June "Cruiser of the Month" to Block 4 that becomes the staging area for the parade. He was followed by Jeff in his '59 Edsel and "Big Jim" in his '68 Pro-Street Chevelle, then the rest of the cars from the top 3 Blocks. Butch Johnston, who had been at the controls of the "Blue Room" all day, playing his mix of nostalgic music and announcing would play the National Anthem for this the 990th running of this tradition. The Cruisers made their way to the "Bricks" of "Deac Hundley Avenue", Butch announced the Flag Winners as the rest of the 602 cars in parade formation cruised past, delighting an extremely large crowd of cheering spectators along both sides of the Avenue. "Rain or Shine" every Saturday night of the year, there is nothing quite like it for the "Cruisers" and it is always a treat for those watching it from the sidewalks and boulevards.

Thank you Old Town for letting us, the curators of this "Rolling Display of Automotive History", the cars that are the "Stars", to be their guests this evening. Thank you to the Old Town Merchants Association and the Sponsors of this event, "Valvoline", the "General Store", the "A&W", "Out of this World Embroidery", "Wound 'N Around", Pepsi, Roberts Brothers, the Pearl Factory, the Gold Hut, the "Tropical Breeze" & "Flippers" just to name a few. Thank you to Allan, Ron, Gary,  Lee, Dave, Esther, Vic, Nikki, CJ, Mesha, Chrisanne, Deputy Asa and the entire Cruise Staff and fellow Cruisers for making our 341st consecutive Saturday a fun and safe one.

Get well Joe Rodhouse we all miss you! Hurry back Mike Singer!


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See you all "Out There"