Tuna!

Surprize! A PT Cruiser won the "Best Tuner" award at Shaw's Ridge today. The PT has dolphins etched on the windows, so I can only assume the voters thought they were tuna, and figured "Best Tuna" was close enough. Oh, well. No accounting for taste, I guess. (I can afford to poke fun at this, 'cuz the PT is my car :o)

OK, so here goes - at least 30 people approached me today to get my take on this show, and each of them offered their own comments. So, I will offer up what appears to be the general consensus. But it seemed most folks were in agreement about most things.

On the upside, the place was roomy - lotsa space for a lotta of cars. The hosts were super, friendly and fun. The food was good, with many amenities - including bathrooms that were actually hooked up to a septic system. A bakery, a restaurant, a DJ - all in all, a great place for a car show. And, of course, they did enough promotion, because a lot of cars showed up, which is always helpful when hosting a car show.

The consensus thu far was: This show, at this location, has huge potential. If they can iron out a few shortcomings, this could easily be one of the biggest and best shows in the region.

Which brings us to those shortcomings I mentioned. And I certainly hope no one takes offense, because I call 'em like I see 'em 'cuz honest criticism can be help something good to evolve into something better.

The Biggee: classifications. The few classes for this show were not distinct - such a generality as "Best Stock", or "Best Custom" is confusing, and makes it very difficult to judge. Since almost every vehicle on the field is competing in several categories, and the vehicles are all spread out, most voters had a tough time deciding what class this or that would be in, and had to walk the field numerous times in order to compare vehicles for a class. The stock '50's were over there. Stock trucks were over there. Stock antiques were somewhere else. In short, the categories were much too vague, and lent themselves to duplication - too many folks winning too many of the awards. It's like what happened at the Oxy show, where the classes were extremely general, and one person took home exactly half the trophies. Of course, he earned them, but that is not the point. The point is that classes should be distinct enough to avoid any one person taking home a bunch of awards. If there is an award for Best Mustang, then you can be sure a Chevelle will not take home that trophy.

So, if the hosts of this show were to revamp their classification system, it would not only be more fair to all, but would encourage more people to return the next year.

Next: Parking. I heard far too many people comment about how there was no system to the parking, and no one seemed to know who should park where. One fellow was directed to park in a certain area, after having asked someone else who said to "park anywhere". When he got there, someone else told him he needed to move to another area. He left the show, a bit steamed. Of course, the simple cure for this haphazard parking system is to have more distinct classes, and assign areas of the field to each class. Then there is no question as to where a car should spend the day. So, by reclassification, both of these problems would be solved.

Finally: The only other complaints I heard more than once revolved around 1) half the trophies going to three people (again, this can easily be cured by a better system of classes for the cars) and 2) the length of the day - most car shows do the awards by around 2 pm, because many entrants have a long drive home, and like to get there for dinner. Most agreed that 8-4 made for a LONG day, and a lot of cars left before the awards. Fortunately, the hosts pushed up the clock a bit and everything was over by around 3-ish. But by then, many had long since left, with the impression it would go on until 4 or after.

Shaw's Ridge, as I stated earlier, has the potential to be a top show. And most of the folks I talked to agreed. But they also agreed it can only get there by offering a more structured environment (classes/parking) and understanding that many folks just cannot stay so late.

Tomorrow I am off to Stratham NH for the Boy Scout Show. Perhaps I will try to etch the word DOLPHIN on the windows, so they don't confuse them with tuna.

Withdrawal Symptoms

Man, what a BOR-ING week. All summer long we took in either a cruise or a show almost every day. All of a sudden, ZILCH. Shows on weekends, sure, but Monday-Friday is suddenly empty.

I realize I need to adjust for the next few months, and I will, to be sure. But it's like quitting the morning Cup o' Joe - there are withdrawl pains.

Normally, I would simply go out and work around the place to while away the hours. But to make matters worse, all we have had lately is rain. Lord, it's almost enough to make me want to go back to working for a living.

Well, not really.

Day after tomorrow is the show at Shaw's Ridge. We'll be there, fer sure! And shows on Sunday, too (take your pick). But all too soon, even the shows will be over. And you know what that means?

It means the little woman is gonna have me clean the workshop, put away all the outdoor tools, put the gardens to bed, cover the motorhome, and start stringing the Xmas lights (why wait until it's so cold out you freeze your digits?)

Perhaps this winter I will finally write that next book I have been meaning to write for the last two winters. Then again, maybe I'll just grab the Geritol, a bowl of hot oatmeal and sit back and watch reruns of Gunsmoke!

A Good Day in Dover

We awoke early this morning to raindrops pattering on the windows. We were unsure if the Seacoast show in Dover (NH) would run or not, but Weatherbug said everything would clear, so we headed out in hopes that the show would not get cancelled.

It didn't! We arrived early, and we wondered if the early rain would keep folks from showing up. The weather did seem to have a dampening effect, even though it remained dry throughout the day -instead of the normal 300+ cars only around 200 showed.

Nonetheless, it was a very good show. A huge number of spectators came, and it was almost like a carnival atmosphere. There were vendors, and some offered a nice change from burgers and dogs, offering sausage, fries and ice cream (in addition to the burgers & dogs). I gotta say, compared to the Oxy show the day before, the prices at Seacoast were a bit high. But the sausage and fries were good, so it was easy to overlook the cost.

We were caught a little off-guard. For the first time this season, we were entered in a show and class that included other PT Cruisers. It is always exciting when you end up competing with "your own kind." One was Earl Adams' (Mr. PT) PT Cruiser "truck". The other PT was a very well done "New England Patriots" transport. Nice! The pix are already up in the gallery - and the 1st place winners pix are up in the Winners Circle.

A lot of great cars! It really was difficult choosing among them. As far as I am concerned, everyone who enters is a winner.

Next Saturday, we're off to Shaw's Ridge in Sanford (ME), for the Art of Transportation show. I am sure this will be interesting. I have it on good authority (thanx, Cheryl) that those who attend for the pure enjoyment of it will not be disappointed, but if you go primarily seeking a trophy, the classes may not please you. So, keep an open mind, and if you win, great! And if you don't win, great! Just have a good time.

For those of you who are interested, next Sunday there are two shows local to southern Maine - the York Beach (ME) Harvestfest, and the Stratham Hill (NH) Show, run by the Boy Scouts. We cannot go to both, so we have chosen Stratham Hill. If you go to York, I hope you will take and share pix with us.

Be seein' ya!