What is the Power Tour?

(This blogger program isn't doing what I set up......that's why things are weird sizes and colors.)   
 By the way, you can click on any photo to enlarge it.

Hot Rod Magazine organizes a route that goes to 7 cities in 7 days for any and all sorts of cars - including sports, souped up "family cars," and "rat rods."  This route takes small, local roads which gives us a chance to really see the country.  The rally in 2018 was the 24th year this event has been held. 

There were 6,000 to 8,000 cars this year!!!!!

Every late afternoon, we go to a venue (such as a race track or fairgrounds) to get our badges punched in order to get our Long Haul plaques at the end.   The many vendors set up booths where they sell all sorts of things.

Each evening, all the motels for miles around are full of Power Tour cars.  It's such fun to wander around to see the cars and chat with people.... people from California, to Texas, to Maine, to Virginia.

Last year the tour ended in Bowling Green so that's where it started this year.

Power Tour 2018
Bowling Green, KY

Chattanooga, TN

Birmingham, AL

Atlanta, GA

Darlington, SC

Raleigh, NC

Charlotte, NC

 Planning Time 
Our trusty-dusty leader, Galen Shank, calls a planning meeting.

A friend hates the "twin-sies" look so we sent her this photo!

One of our evening meals.  Dining together was a great time to share the day and to get to know each other.

L.F. Miller, Susie Shank, Shirley Shank, Wilmer Shank, John Sauder, Larry Martin, Galan Shank, Gary Suter, MaryMay Angelil, Franklin Miller, L.F.'s son-in-law.

This website isn't letting me arrange the pictures the way I want so I'll just show you some of the cars.  Some of the them might look like family cars, but when they start up - VAROOOMMM -  you know there has been some souping up under the hood.

 

 

Some of these old ones are referred to as rat rods.

Many are like new from the factory.

    

The interior of this one was simply superb.

I have nothing brilliant to say about these except that they're all fun.

 A Lincoln Continentals is always impressive, especially when it's perfect like this one.

This is one of the first rat rods we saw.

This car was right in front of one of our group.  Going down a steep incline, it must have slipped on the wet road and it flipped over and down the bank.  The man's grandson was in a car ahead and somehow came back to find the man.  This is the grandson crawling in and dragging his grandfather out.

It appeared that the man had hit his head but they were on their way to the hospital when we left.   We heard later it took a while to get 911 help because there were no cell towers on that little mountain.  As far as we know, things ended OK.  Except his pride and joy, a 1957 Chevrolet that was impeccably restored was ruined.

 Several times throughout the week, we would stop and just watch cars go by for a while.  It takes a long time for 6,000 - 8,000 vehicles to pass through an area - and it is NOISY!  We would watch for a while, then rejoin the caravan.

Watching the World Go By
Gary Suter, Galen Shank, Orden Harman, Kurt Glover, Ron Williams, and Franklin Miller.

Gary, Galen, Orden, MaryMay, Susie Shank, Reba Harman.

Throughout the week, Hot Rod magazine has photographers along the way.  They take a picture of each car and other candid shots that go into their magazine.  You go to their "booth" to see your photo and order or not.  Gary's photo was dark so we went the next day to see if it could be improved.  We were invited into an "RV" that was converted into a photo lab.

The wife did the computer work to prepare each photo for printing.

The owner standing by the printer.  He redid Gary's without hesitation.

A photo coming out (not Gary's).

The employee mounted and trimmed the poster.

Ta Da!  A photo of Gary's poster (looks better in person).

The finished product is a nice souvenir for remembering a fun, fun week. 

It is amusing that grown-ups will stand in line in the hot sun to get a metal plaque.  Here are thousands of people waiting patiently.

L.F. Miller and I grew up in Singers Glen and our mothers were great friends. 
L.F.'s son, Franklin, lived there as a youngster.

Hot Rod magazine publishes the route for next year fairly soon.  It ended in Charlotte, NC this year so it will start in Charlotte next year.  Galen probably has all the motels booked already!

The part of the Power Tour I like best is being with friends for breakfast, lunch, and dinner as well as sharing all sorts of adventures along the way.

Lion Country Safari Twice

Red Hatters and Neighbors to Lion Country Safari

My Red Hat partner hostess, Elsie Lilly, and I were planning a trip for the "Hattitudes" to Lion Country Safari in West Palm Beach.  Being the conscientious Virginia redheads that we are, we took a day and went down ahead of time.  Just as with teachers and field trips, things go much more smoothly if you go there first.

I went with my Red Hat group, then a few days later went again with Gary and my neighbors, Jane and Gene Pinson.

I didn't realize that giraffes had to splay out their front legs to eat grass.

I also didn't realize that giraffes had such l-o-n-g black tongues.  Feeding them was great fun!

Lots of Lousy Leaks in Florida

I arrived in Florida in October of 2017 to discover a leak in my bathroom.  This was especially distressing because I had "treated" myself to putting wood flooring throughout the house.  Needless to say, that was rather expensive.

I had 2 handy men, a plumber, 2 roofers,and Gary all scratching their heads.  Every time they found a leak they were pleased it seemed to be fixed............  BUT not really............

Shower on right, leaks going into bedroom

My shower

They found a leak in the shower from a connector hose and fixed it........

spots on floor kept growing....

They found a 2nd shower leak where the temperature control handles went into the wall and fixed it..........

but the spots kept growing........

They found a 3rd leak in cracks around the floor drain so took the shower out and discovered a wet wall.


They traced that and found a 4th leak source from the roof.

I felt sorry for the guy who had to do the work because the wood was glued down.  He had to chip each tiny piece with a chisel.


I told him I felt bad for him.  He shrugged and sweetly said, "That's life."  You can bet that he got a good tip from me!

So, I got a new shower........but the spots kept growing......

Finally, they found a 5th leak in the toilet shut off valve.  And we were  PRETTY sure that that was the end of the leaks!

I replaced both bathroom floors with a laminate that looks like tile.  Luckily, I found a box of leftover wood boards under the bed and there were enough to replace the boards in the bedroom.

Sounds like the end of the story, right?  Guess what...... there was ONE more issue........


When the truck delivered the shingles, my driveway cracked due to the weight of the truck.  


Thankfully, my insurance covered the new roof, the new shower, and the floor work inside.

By then it was time for me to go to Virginia so I left the driveway people to finish the work, which they did.  Dare I trust that the repair and the driveway painting are done?   Guess I'll find out when I return to Florida.

Winter in Florida 2018

When I get ready to post on this blog, it makes me realize what a good life I have carved out for myself.  This is my 9th winter in Savanna Club (the name of my 55+ community) in Port St. Lucie, Florida.  I have made friends in here, at church, and have kept up with dive buddies from long ago.  I'll just share a few highlights from the winter/spring of 2018.

Women's Club "Basket Meeting"

This is one of our best fundraisers for the year.  (The Woman's Club donates to many causes, focusing on local charities.)  

What is a Basket Meeting?  Ladies form themselves into groups and each group creates a basket with a theme.  They get together at someone's house to plan, shop, and execute their idea.

Themes include anything from gardening to cosmetics, to chocolates, to movies, to beach accessories, cleaning items, to first aid items, to pet items.  It's always fun to see what clever themes and catchy titles people come up with.

One of the especially popular ones is Dinner Around the World, which includes gift cards for various restaurants.  Ladies also like the wine and cheese baskets.

At the meeting, you buy tickets, go around and view the baskets, then drop your tickets into bags by the baskets you would like.  Then they have a drawing.

There are over 300 gals in the Women's Club, which makes for lots of fun and games!

Sweetheart Dance

Every February the Social Committee hosts a dance to honor all the couples who live in Savanna Club who are celebrating their 50th anniversary during the year.  This year we honored 8 couples (although there were a few more who didn't choose to participate).


Here are the Social Committee members who helped put on this lovely and elegant celebration.  I am way down near the other end.

It's a lot of work but we always enjoy seeing the beautiful decorations and sharing this monumental occasion.  In this day and age, it's quite an accomplishment to stay together for 50 years!



Hattitudes Paint with Attitudes

I am in two Red Hat groups.  One has 26 members, therefore I call it my Little Red Hats group but their real name is the Hattitudes.  On February 22, 2018, we Hattitudes painted with attitudes.

In 2015 we went to another place like this.  Here are my two paintings - the vertical one is the 2018 one. 

It's not the finished product, but the process that is fun.  But, if I ever have a chance to do this again, I don't plan to paint another black palm tree!

Sunday Lunch after Church

I go to the First United Methodist of Port St. Lucie in Florida.  This is my 8th winter in Florida as a snowbird and I have made many friends at church.

I met Judith Beckman in my UMW (United Methodist Women) Circle.  Here we are at Grandpa's Diner after church.  We both had eggs Benedict (Gary's favorite!) 
 

Meeting Dive Buddies for Lunch

Gary and I met Julie and Russ Manhold, my longtime dive buddies.  We were in the same Undersea Adventurers dive club in Ft. Lauderdale back in the 1980s.

Gary and Russ hit it off and we had a delightful lunch at the Cheesecake Factory in West Palm Beach.  Gary and I had plans to take the Diva Duck tour after the lunch but that fell through because someone (me) didn't do her homework.  They are not open on Mondays!

Soooooo....... we met Russ and Julie again for another lively lunch!  When it came time for the Diva Duck tour, the company cancelled it because it was too windy that day.  Looks like a third lunch might be in order when Gary comes to Florida again. Oh, well........

The Elliot Museum

We took my two dear friends, Bobbie Steinberg and Norma Pennie, for a little day trip.  We went to the Elliot Museum on Hutchinson Island in Stuart.

The Elliott Museum was built to honor Sterling Elliot (1852–1922), who was a prolific inventor.  He held more than 125 patents, one of which was the "knot tying machine."  The museum has permanent and changing exhibitions, including baseball, bicycles, over 90 cars and trucks, and many, many more more.

One of the neatest features is a unique robotic racking system with 50 vehicles displayed.  You press a button for the car you want to see, it gets the car and brings it down onto a turntable.  

The Elliott Museum has one of the largest collections of historic Ford Model A and Model AA commercial vehicles in the world.


These are some of the highlights of the winter/spring of 2018.  Hope you've enjoyed reading this half as much as I enjoyed living each event.