Mike, N4HHA and Kristen, KJ4BST would stop by our house on the way to Old Town, I had a few door sills in my collection of Corvair parts and He wanted to see if any were better than the ones on his car. The weatherman had promised a 70% chance of rain and the skies over Old Town were pretty dark at 1:00. Steve Mc, K4SKM would already be on his way in the ‘64 Corvair so that he could be parked before the rain started. Emil, KJ4GNH would be in the line before 1:00 and would take a spot in Block 4 that he likes to call his own.

Lee would be at the Gate to welcome all. Dave was at the Cruise Office to register us. Nikki & Mesha were inside working on the new ID Cards. Gary was zipping around in his cart getting all ready for the days events. Bob had the GMC back in the “Looney Bin” today. Cris & Larry were there too in the VW convertible and Bill had his ‘55 Chevy next to Jim’s ‘67 GTO. Big John & Roger would arrive a little later in the ‘66 Vette and take his spot on the corner. The sky was still pretty dark at 2:00 and it sure looked like it was going to rain. Charlie was already on Block 4 when we arrived. There weren’t to many cars in town and the next hour or so there wouldn’t be too many arrivals. Tom & Bunny would bring their ‘66 Malibu and it was sure nice to see Kristen KJ4BST and her dad, Mike, N4HHA in our group today. Morris would join us in our lineup today. He had been the “buffer zone” between the 3 Amigos and the 2 Rat Rods and didn't care to be in Block 1 with them. So the ‘50 Ford made it’s way to Block 4. Bill & Doris would stop by for their chat. The Cruise last night was small but a lot of fun according to them. Last year we were still feeling the effects of Tropical Storm Fay and this year we just had the storm formerly known as Anna give us a little rain right after Claudette passed through. Hurricane Bill is headed towards Canada but it looks like it won't make landfall anywhere. I sure hope the rest of the Hurricane season continues like this.

Anyway, as I had mentioned the crowd was growing slowly and the cars were not rushing in. It looked like it was going to rain again about 3:30 so when we all headed up to “Flippers” for dinner we would all roll up the windows and bring along umbrellas. We would visit with all that were in Town on our trek, Dave D was out in his ‘57 Chevy, Louie & Linda were in their Benova station wagon, Jimmy would be in place with his ‘32 Ford, James would have his ‘39 Ford nearby. Nick & Fran in their ‘32 Ford, Bob in his ‘68 Chevelle and Mark in his “Beast” were across from the “Looney Bin as usual. Bob was out in the ‘65 Rambler, Rose was with him again today. Most of the “Redline Rodders” were in place. Karen and the Kids were behind the stairs and Darrell was next to them in his ‘66 LTD. The Amigos were short Ken today but they had a fill in with a 327 Nova. The “Rat Rods” were taking up space at the top of Block 1. John & Angel had their “Sun Beetle” next to the fence.

Laura, NO4OO would come over during her lunch hour to join us at the table. “Red Racer” Ted, KE4TTE would also make it to the table just after we ordered. It was nice to see a big group again, only thing was we forgot to have Mike, N4HHA conduct the meeting of the OTARC. Daniel took care of our group that included Tom & Bunny as well as Kristen, KJ4BST, Emil, KJ4GNH. Charlie would go over to Checkers with Morris. Tony, K4AVD, August 2007 Cruiser of the month, now living in Wisconsin called in over the radio to say hello to all and expressed that he is trying to work his way back to Florida. The winters are just too much up there. I talked with Mr. Gadget, or Bill, N2WFU earlier in the week and he wanted me to send greetings from the Boys and Virginia, W2VEJ and that they will be headed back to Florida in about 2 weeks or so. There were a few more cars that would come in while we were eating. It still hadn’t dropped any more ran on us.

We would now make our way back to the Cars. Emil had a date to stop up and see the Queen of Doo Wop and Mike Singer, KJ4GNI in the “Blue Room” so he would do that. I had a nice conversation with John B and Mark Inwood on the way, Juan M stopped me and is looking for some Falcon Fenders. “Red Racer” Ted would stop by to see big John and present him with a framed photo of the #1 presentation from last week. Doc & Suzanne would make their way out, first time without a Cruiser. He had news on his ‘68 Falcon that will be on the streets of Old Town in a few weeks. Suzanne, the Queen of the Birthday Cakes had a Birthday Cake for Marge Berube. There seems to be at least one or more family celebrations going on amongst the Cruisers. Allan commented that I sure could find the “Free Stuff”. Well it is because everyone that has something going on likes to tell me about it, so that I can spread the word. By now the car count had reached 100 and the skies were a little less threatening and the spectator crowd was starting to grow again. Lots of visitors from the UK as usual, Speaking of them, yes Graham, G4HFG from Oldham, England would check in over the radio and bid his greetings to all as he does every week. He will be visiting in person just after the Pirates Weekend. Ian, G4ZPZ and Sue, 2E1SUE will be coming over and spending some time with us all at Old Town at the end of the month.

There was much discussion about the golf karts and other motorized karts and things that look like eligible cars for the Saturday Nite Cruise. Their popularity with the crowd may be good but it is not very good with the Cruisers. This is an Old Town call, remember Cruisers it is their event and we are still guests on “Trophy Row”. However I think it should be addressed and have a “Rule” made about them. The “Cruisers” all have to provide the insurance cards and registration before they can “Cruise the Bricks”. Maybe they could display and not register or “Cruise”? I do not know, it is not my call. I just report the news in this little paper.

We also seem to be getting a lot of new or returning cruisers that do not seem to know or understand the rules for the day. I do not think there is a hand out anymore other than Allan’s newsletter and it has always kind of been the Cruisers themselves that pass this information along to others. I know first off the newbie has to ask. If those of us that park together on Block 4 see someone new or think they might be newbies we’ll strike up a conversation and mention the Return Route has changed. This is always a good starting point. It has been more than a year and there are still those who don’t know it because they do not pay attention or just want to go all the way around. Then it is easy to lead into other things like, “Wait for a staff member to direct you out of your parking spot.” I am still amazed that we have “Regulars” that do not understand that this has been implemented on all of the Blocks of “Trophy Row” and “Victory Lane” when used in the Cruise. Sorry I just had to say something..
 

Just after 8:20 Esther stopped by with the "Flag Winners". The Cruise Staff would start by directing the August "Cruiser of the Month", Jimmy & Barbara Fontana, in their '32 Deuce Coupe on to the Cruise Route, followed by the rest of the Cruisers out of their parking spots into the line up, Mesha would bring them to Block 4 that becomes the staging area for Old Town's signature event. The rest of the cars from the top 3 Blocks would join in behind them. Mike Singer, KJ4GNI, who had been at the controls of the "Blue Room" all day, playing a mix of nostalgic music and radio "Jingles" would give the safety announcements, and play the National Anthem, "Wolfman Jack", then proclaimed, "It's the Saturday Nite Cruise", for tonight's running of this tradition. The Cruisers made their way to the "Bricks" of "Deac Hundley Avenue", Mike announced the Flag Winners as the rest of the 154 cars in parade formation cruised past, delighting a 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", Tex Mex Express & "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 Saturday in "Town" a fun and safe one.

We would come back for part 2 tonight. Steve Mc, K4SKM was awarded his “Cruiser of the Month” Jacket for the month of June. We were also informed that the “Cruise-O-Matic” will start next week with $50. All of the numbers were not entered into the new database or put into the tumbler yet. That will be taken care of by next week.
 

Get well Joe Rodhouse we all miss you!

Newsletter #255 is on sale, still only $2
1001 352 108 65

See you all "Out There"