The last day of the show was, of course, the friggin’ hottest yet. My photography skills were poor at best, and all the cutest dogs wouldn’t hold still, or charged the camera for some pets and attention. Anyhow, once again, we didn’t win the “chevy”. We did however, chill (word used for lack of a better option at the moment) under our gazebo and shot the shit for a bit while the cars slowly departed. While sitting there in the heat we decided it might be funner to turn left instead of right and go home (go home instead of doing the cruise up and down Main street).
The last day of the show is the most crowded. It is on a Saturday, people generally have the day off, so the other participants show up, and the crowds max out. This year was 1,100 cars I believe (might have been 1,200) and they were asking for held spaces to be given up so more contestants could participate in the show. Unfortunately, I was still butt hurt because we had to park in the middle of the hottest part of the show because so many people showed up at 12:01am to get their spots it left us no choice. So feeling like a self entitled Karen, we stood our ground, and left the gazebo standing in my dad’s spots right behind my cars (he bought tickets, but didn’t bring his vehicles).
We had a kid across from us that brought his rattle can painted (graffiti and all) Dodge Charger to the show and proceeded to crank his stereo (loud enough we couldn’t hear the actual DJ’s music, or each other). So i went over and told him to shut it down. A few minutes later he had it back up again, and since I needed to see if the keys to the Comet were turned into lost and found I wondered over to the information tables, narked on stereo guy, and picked up my Comet’s keys. Part of the uniqueness of my Crown Victoria is the stereo system. I didn’t turn it on partially because it looks better than it sounds, and because the paper you sign when you send them your entry fee is “no loud stereos”.
Once that “drama” was over (I really hate feeling like a Karen, but it was hot, I couldn’t find my keys to the Comet, and the last day you’ve got to stay until 6pm plus so you can hear someone’s number get called for the giveaway car.
First off, there were way too many dogs, but here’s the best I got (I got so many photos, but they’re mostly blurry).
Also, on Friday we had a guy swing by to video us a little for Fox 13 news. Not a lot of conversation, but he took some filler of us looking around, talking, and being ourselves. Then he came back on Saturday and interviewed all of us for July 16th’s “Stick Shift Day”. He asked us a few questions with a microphone up close for a pitch to KSL radio, let us ramble on about why we drive stick shifts (manual transmission) cars, and we threw in a little comment of hope that future generations will continue to manually work on cars, manually shift cars, and manually enjoy shows, cars, and the culture. He was a good guy, had a car in the show (that I had taken a picture of before we knew it was his, and seemed like he genuinely enjoyed his path in life).
Finally, the cars. I really truly honestly wish I was not so vehicularly racist. I absolutely have zero interest in anything general motors. Maybe it is the plethora of Jagoffs and Jagirls that I’ve met who drove chevrolet, or maybe it’s just because I like seeing stuff that no one else has (I was/kind of am like that with music too – if it’s popular on the radio, I’m probably not going to buy it or listen to it willingly). When I walk around and see a line of cars that have the little bow tie, or the letters g.m.c. across the grill, I usually look right past them for something that is unique. “Oh look a camero, oh look 10 more camaros, and a dozen chevells, what is over there?, 15 impalas, and my oh my, a C10 collection that are all basically identical except for the color of the paint and the size of their wheels”. If I walk up to an-old Ford and see that it has a gm motor between the front tires, I keep moving, and if I see a Mustang (yes, it’s a Ford) I keep on walking because they are the gm of Ford ;). Mustangs are similar. “Oh look Mustangs, this one is green, that one is burgundy, and over there, so creative, he went purple with a “stang” vanity license plate” and mirrors on the ground so we can see what the exhaust looks like on all the other Mustangs”.
I do appreciate the time and effort of the vehicle, and I am a believer in “if it makes you happy, why not”, but personally, it is difficult for me NOT to walk on by, or half ass listen to them as they tell me all about it (that’s the part I feel bad about – after the fact – because we need more people to be excited to bust knuckles, learn new cuss words, and be proud of what they have created in their garage, carport, or driveway). My Comet is hardly anyone’s cup of tea, but I love the car (and the memories that are wound around it). Very few people like my Crown Vic, but I’ve built it how I wanted, and use it every day because it is dead reliable, fun, and uniquely mine.
Here’s the last of the pictures, It was a good year for the Cruise In. just way too damn hot for this pansy ass office worker. I might pass up next year, but we’ll see. There’s more shows down here that are free, during cooler times of the year, but less diverse (mostly general motors vehicles). At least 8 of the following car pictures are NOT a product of the Ford Motor Company (Ford, Lincoln, Mercury). It’s the effort that counts isn’t it?
The next adventures for those of us under my roof are the 4th of July, a recovery day (I’m not a fan of random popping sounds and big bangs), then off to figure out if we’re going to hike in this heat, binge watch TV, or hold up a bank and move to Diego Garcia.
I’m not happy unless I’m bitching ~ me
