July 7th

7*7*7 the "Lucky Day" people all over the World are getting married or heading out on Gambling Junkets. Race fans would be headed for Daytona for the delayed running of the Winn-Dixie 250 this morning and the Pepsi 400 tonight. We would be headed for Old Town, just West of the Kissimmee, Florida City limits. This "Shopping and Amusement Attraction" has been entertaining Osceola County and all of the Travelers that make their way to Central Florida for more than  20 years. Of course we head out every Saturday, Rain or Shine, it is the best place to view "Rolling Automotive History" each and every week. To meet with the many friends and residents of this unique shopping village. It has become our "Hometown" as it has for the hundreds of "Cruisers" that show up on a regular basis. It is also a place to make new friends, even many of the spectators have become "Regulars" over the years. After a day or 2 at the big theme parks, it is very refreshing to get that one on one with the owners of these great cars that populate "Trophy Row". There are travelers that bypass the big parks and make Old Town their main destination on a Saturday night.

We arrived a little early. Mike, N4HHA, and Kristen, his daughter, would be following behind us in their '64 Monza convertible. We were going to be bringing out "Elvira" our '60 Ranchero but I guess she just wasn't ready yet. It was our now familiar '61 Corvair that we would roll up to the gate in. Lee was there with his ever present smile. He handed out the latest complimentary "Cruiser" copy of #155  "Mike Kelly's Cruise News". This one was special to us, our little Corvair appears on the back. Then it was down to see Bratt at the registration area. Then the turn at the clock. Allan intercepted us by the Cruise Office and handed us a lucky 777 scratch off ticket we then headed down to block 4 of "Trophy Row" where we like to set up for the day. We spotted Gary he stopped us for a chat. Cathy dropped the rope so we could cross Florida Plaza. The other Corvair was right behind us. The "Cruiser" count was down a bit, granted it was Hot and Humid, it did look like rain and with everything else going on it just might be smaller cruise tonight.

Linda and I headed up to distribute the newsletters and chat with who was in place. Allan introduced us to his son Carl, that would be filling in a bit for Mike Singer that was off today. This is "Family" out here, we are all made to feel that way. Larry had the Mercury parked in the "Looney Bin" Cris would join him later, she was with daughter Stacy who had been injured on the job last week. Get well, Stacy. John was in his place, Don in his. Bob & Marge in the '41 Buick. Ben, Karen & the kids were behind the stairs as usual. Darrell's Ford was just up from the stage. Ken was out in his Camaro, waiting the rest of the regulars that are usually with him. Shane had his '57 Chevy near the top of block 1, he had tried to contact Emil, that wasn't here yet, with no answer on the phone, sure hope he is OK. Linda wanted a Coke Float, so we headed all the way up to Checkers to get her one.

It was a quick walk back to our car, "Eddie and the Cruzers" were setting up on stage as we passed by. A few more of the "Rat Pack and "Red Line Rodders" had arrived and in place. Louie & Linda were in the "grocery getter" Nova wagon surrounded by a bunch of VW Bugs. They all seemed to be "For Sale". Guess some think this might be a used car lot. It isn't, but today it sure seemed like it. Bill & Doris flagged us down by the "Tropical Breeze" for a chat, they were headed out to a Car Show in Clermont.

After joining back up with Mike & Kristen and a short rest it was time to make our way back up to the top. "Flippers" would once again be our destination. Mike and Mark in the Corvettes were arriving as we passed by the gate. While Jane was taking care of us, Tony called from the Kansas City airport, they were on a 3 hour layover on their trip back from Wisconsin. They wouldn't be back until 11:00 tonight. Wanted us to say Hi to all and that they would be back Cruising next week. We did get a little rain shower while we were eating. Mark R. would make his way into "Flippers", today he was in the company of 2 of his daughters, Catherine and Sarah along with Julian his grandson from Hawaii. Good to see him out and finally meet the "Kids" that he has been sharing photos of. It was time to head back to our parking area, as usual we visited with the latest arrivals. We spotted Ken & Wanda out with Emma. who's brother was visiting from out of state and just had to see the "Cars". Gregg was working.  Mark & Lois were in their '31 Ford along with a guest from Texas. Beau is visiting his grandmother in Texas for a few weeks. John B had his "Slick '51" parked near the Cruise News shack. Dave Lowe had his '67 Plymouth Satellite parked in the "Cruiser of the Month" spot. Funny to see that car this far down.

Once we were back at the cars. "Bo" in his '64 Corvair convertible and John in the '65 Mustang convertible along with Bob & Margorie in the '68 Chevelle and Nick, Fran, Ashley & Daniel in the '32 Coupe joined us in block 4. Steve & Amanda, "Cruisers to Be", were out getting ideas for the restoration of their '57 Chevy. "The Dukes" were setting up on the corner behind us for another session of Doo Wop. By now the threat of rain was lessening, however there was quite a show of lightening to the South. The spectator crowd had grown tremendously and the car count was increasing.

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 A&W to name a few. Thank you to Joe, Gary, Lee, Bratt, Kathy, Nikki, Ben, along with the entire Cruise Staff for keeping us all safe. Thank you to our fellow Cruisers for making this our 241st consecutive Saturday a fun and Safe one.

On to the Flag Winners...

Tonight's random drawing winners that and received the coveted "Old Town Checkered Flag" along with $25 cash, A Case of Oil from Valvoline and a drink from the Tropical Breeze.

Dave  Silk 
  1970  Chevrolet  Nova

Jesus  Rivera 
  1967  Volkswagen   

Mike  Velez 
  1976  Ford  GT

Jerry  Swisher 
  1967  Ford  LTD

Miguel  Gonzalez 
  1967  Volkswagen  Bug

Thomas  Amalbert 
  1966  Ford  Mustang

Sonny  Santas 
  1970  Oldsmobile   

Tony  Richards 
  1923  Ford  T Bucket

On to the Photos... after this.

 Here are the Photos.
Click on any photo for a larger view.

Click on any photo for a larger view.

 See you all "Out there"

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