 When the Old Guys plan a weekend, we make the weekend as long as possible! That said, we arrived in Daytona Thursday afternoon, even though the official event started Friday evening! We arrived early for a couple reasons. First, we wanted to visit the Daytona Beach Flea Market early Friday morning, and second, a three-night stay at our beachfront hotel reduced the bill by 10%. So Thursday evening, we cooked those famous hot sausages they sell at the Speedway during the Turkey Run, each of us had a couple for dinner. We spent the rest of the evening watching for cruisers along A1A. We watched and watched, but saw just a few early birds like us. Friday morning, we went in search of a breakfast place that Packard Bill recommended. We drove up and down US 1, and after a couple phone calls, finally found It's All Good in Port Orange. Do yourself a favor, and stop there for breakfast...we ended up there for breakfast again Saturday, and again on Sunday! After a trip to the Flea Market...clip-on sun glasses for me and Sonny, and other gotta have trinkets for both Packard Bill and Cecil, we returned to the hotel, and watched as the beach became a popular spot for the weekend. Friday evening, the Old Guys hosted a spaghetti dinner for friends who were staying at the same hotel. It was good, especially the skillet garlic bread cooked by Sonny. We spent the rest of the evening either cruising along A1A, or hanging out by the cars in the parking lot, and telling the usual alcohol-induced lies we usually get into the conversation. Saturday morning we had breakfast, then officially registered for the Cruise. Registration time took a whopping fifteen minutes; they seemed to have their act together this year! Sometime during the day, my brake lights went out, and that meant (for the Old Guys), pulling the front seat, so Packard Bill could get under the dash. It was quickly fixed. But things got worse as my clutch Z-bar bent, and forced me to put the clutch pedal all the way to the floor to shift gears. Not a big deal, but not fixable without a new Z-bar. Fortunately , NPD was a Cruise sponsor, and handed out catalogs at Registration. I found the Z-bar I needed, called them, and it was in stock, ready to be shipped. That was easy! Saturday afternoon, there were car shows all over Daytona Beach, but we opted to cruise up to Bel Air Plaza. There were maybe 75 cars in the lot, but it was early. We drove down to a lunch spot on the river, had a bite to eat, then cruised up the river to Ormond Beach, and down A1A back to the hotel. If you've never taken that ride, it's highly recommended! We decided to view the first-run Deuce Of Spades movie being shown at the Aquarium bar in the marina. It was a lotta hype for a much-less-than-mediocre movie! To really appreciate it, you had to have grown up in the 50's (we did), or you won't be able to relate. And you have to ignore the acting, which left something to be desired. But, there were moments, especially on the drag strip and on the dry salt lakes, that excelled! And although it was intended to be a relatively serious movie, there were several moments of good humor! Bottom line...don't expect this one to win any Academy Awards, but see it for what it was intended, and that's a documentary of car folk back when car stuff was just becoming popular. Sunday morning, as I headed south, the rest of the Old Guys headed out for breakfast again at...you guessed it...It's All Good. Rick D'Louhy and the Daytona Beach folks that put together the Dream Cruise deserve a lot of credit. You had an opportunity to spend a weekend in Daytona for next to nothing, and attend as much, or like us, as few of the scheduled events as you wanted. We're already planning for next year's Dream Cruise. Thanks again, Rick! |