October 27th

We headed out at our regular time to meet Steve Mc, K4SKM, in his '41 Willys pickup. It was raining a little bit as we headed down Osceola Parkway. The weatherman promised a day of rain. By the looks of the clouds surrounding us he might be right. We were not about to let it spoil our day at Old Town. The spectators that come out on a regular basis would still be there, even the ones that have made trips to Central Florida from all over the world expect to see old cars parading by them. Who are we to let them down? Exactly, without the cars there, Old Town would only be another shopping mall with tons of stuff to do and lots of rides for the Kids! But you have to admit, the cars are the "Stars" Saturday's. Tonight would have a bit of added entertainment, it was the day of the "Halloween Cruise". The town would be full of strange sights. Surprisingly, Gary was at the gate to greet us, dressed like a member of the Cruise Staff, it was a good likeness but I expected more.  There was a "She Devil" at Bratt's station, Kathy was there with her. We made our turn by the Clock and spotted some Blue haired pirate along with a Witch and a Priest by '71 Vette and the Orange Camaro in the "Cruiser of the Month" spot. It must have been a while since those cars had been cleaned, they were full of spider webs and were crawling with spiders. The Camaro had a few body parts around it. Bob's GMC was in the "Looney Bin" next to Cris and Larry's Mercury. Block 3 was packed with Mercury Cougars, except for a Monte Carlo and a Packard. The "Sunshine State Cougar Club, was in town for their annual event. Our two cars made it to block 4 to our favorite spots and we were in place just before 2:00.  The rain fell a little harder for a while, Bill & Doris stopped by for a chat as we watched the rain dance on the Willys and the Corvair. Allan and Jasmine, the, very wet,  "Cruising Dog", stopped by on their way to the Cruise office. Mike, N4HHA, came on the radio and said that he and Kristen were getting ready to come out to Old Town in time for dinner. Just about then, Laura, KI4ZJX, on her way from a "Renaissance Club" gathering in Tampa back to the Orlando Area. She is a new "HAM" in the area that just had to meet our bunch that hangs out at Old Town. Linda & I headed towards "Flippers" while they were driving in to "Town". We dropped off newsletters on the way, lots of the "Regulars" were in place, at least I think they were "Regulars", today most of the cars and the occupants were dressed for the occasion. Bill L was spotted talking with Rich at the Cruise News office, he is out of the "Recovery Center" after his knee operation. He should be back Cruising his '55 Chevy or that '46 Plymouth, very soon.

Mike and Kristen made it to "Flippers" before we did. Even with the rain we still chose to dine alfresco. Laura joined us just before Jane came off break to take care of us. Josh, KI4UCB, called to say that he was on his way out to see us. Dave was spotted pulling a trailer with Newts '15 Model T behind his customized '66 Ford F-100. Mark behind them in his '56 Chevy. It was raining quite heavy at the time. We stayed a while under the overhang at "Flippers" visiting, hoping the rain would stop. It did after a bit and we started the stroll back to the cars, Mike & Kristen went ahead to see Dave & Mark about a nose job for his Corvair.

Mark & Mike were near the top of Block 1, Emil wasn't in sight but Shane's '57 Chevy was there. Darrell's '66 Ford was near the stage. Ralph & Shirley were in their favorite spot by the stage, Pep & Nancy were there too, along with Lynn visiting from Ohio. Karen and the Kids were right behind them. By now John was back at his '55 Chevy Sedan Delivery. Bert & "Ernie" had their '66 Comet wagon in the "Looney Bin". I got a great shot of Bob sleeping in his chair under the umbrella. Louie & Linda had the Nova wagon out, Jack, Zorro, and Gabe had their GTO next to him. The rain sure was not dampening the spirits of the "Die Hards". Just after we got back down to the cars, Block 4 started to fill up a bit. A 1973 Winnebago Indian, motor home pulled in.  "Bo" in his Corvair was followed in by John, "I just got in Thursday from Guernsey, the Channel Islands", in his Mustang convertible. Bob in the '36 Ford Humpback wasn't too far behind. Then things started to get strange, There was a Devil at the wheel of Nick's '32 Ford, I think there was even a witch beside him. It wasn't but a few minutes and the car was covered with all sorts of Creepy Crawlers, spider webs and a black cat. By now the spectator crowd was getting very big, Josh, KI4USB, and his wife arrived as spectators and stopped by to chat for a bit. John B would park his Slick 51 Chevy pickup across from us. Gary & Wanda arrived in the "Remember When" their Customized '55 Chevy and parked next to Nick. Then I heard this rumble, I looked up the street and crossing Florida Plaza, was a "Killer Clown" riding towards us in a T-Bucket. He had a severed head in his arms and all sorts of body parts littering the car, it looked like heads of other clowns in place of the headlights. It was a night for an invasion, Neil & Elaine stopped by, they just got into town a day or so ago from England. They should start Cruising their cars next week. All I can say is, what a night, there was just so much going on.  Graham, G4HFG, from Oldham, England attempted a check in about the time we were loading up our car for the parade. Hope all is well over there.

Oh, Gary and Kathy C seemed to have disappeared, Maleficent could be seen by that red Fairlane convertible and this "Masked Man" with flashing lights on his belt, with Zerro on his name tag was nearby.

"Bonnie" stopped by with the "Flag Winners" just after 8:20. October, "Cruiser of the Month", "Blue Hair, the Pirate", in his '71 Corvette, would be led to Block 4, that becomes the staging area at this time, by A She Devil, Lee, Zerro & Captain Dave. Followed by the rest of the cars from the top 3 blocks. The "Escaped Prisoner" or was it an older Beetle juice? Handed off the prizes to his accomplices in the intersection and sped off in a golf cart. Chris who had been playing a mix of Nostalgic music and radio spots, got word that we were ready to Cruise, he then gave the safety announcements, played "The Dukes"  version of the National Anthem, "Wolfman Jack" proclaimed, "It's the Saturday Nite Cruise", right on time, for this the 905th running of this tradition. The She Devil & Lee escorted the '71 Corvette followed by the rest of the 136 cars, rolling up the bricks of "Deac Hundley Avenue", a No Wake Zone tonight, delighting a large crowd of spectators. "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.

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.

Dale  Koning 
  1968  Cougar   

Phil  Elder 
  1970  Mercury  Cougar

Roger  Moore 
  1968  Chevrolet  Camaro

Tony & Marianne  De Gennaro*
  1971  Chevrolet  Monte Carlo

Newt    
  1915  Ford  Model T

Jon  Walker 
  1924  Ford  Model A

David  Perez 
  1963  Ford  Pick Up

Frank  Coughenour 
  1969  Mercury  Cougar

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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