Day 7 - Last Day for Me at Hot August Nights

Day 7 turned out pretty good.  Joe and I headed over to GSR to get caught up on what was going on for the day, and got to meet Kelly and Jane!  Turned out to be good timing because Kelly arrived about the same time Joe and I did, and we spotted each other's cars while figuring out where we were on the phone.  After chatting for awhile, Kelly took off to go eat some late breakfast and Joe and I checked out the cars in the lot.  We then went inside and got some lunch, and went back outside.  Joe, being 81 years old, took a break while I went around and took pictures of more cars.  I ran into Kelly, her parents (nice folks!), and Jeff.  We spent about an hour talking cars and stuff we do and did in our lives.  Had some pretty good laughs.

Kelly, me, and my 65

Jane in all her glory

Another view of Jane

"Hey, does it have a Hemi?"  Oh yeah!

I don't know what these guy were working on, but there was a R&P unit sitting on the ground (out of the picture)

A nice, clean 67

Another view of the 67

If I remember correctly, this is a 54 Vette

Another GT350 clone

A really nice 442.  I always thought these were well designed cars

Semper Fi in a 442

A 70 Boss 302 looking lost in the crowd

This was on a 68 Camaro with "302" emblems on the hood

I don't know if it was a real GT500 or not, but a nice looking car

Another view

A 65 coupe

When I bought my 65, I was looking for a Mustang or a Nova - glad I found the Mustang first

Don't see many of these - a GT40.  

Wanna race a GT40?

Imagine seeing this in your rear view mirror

I would have a hard time calling any Ford product "Bumble Bee" - too much "Transformers"

A pair of Mustangs hanging out together

A couple of Vettes doing the same thing

A friend of mine in the Army had a 69 GTO, but it wasn't a Judge

As Flip Wilson would say, "Here come..."

A GT350 - I wondered if it was the real thing...

...until I saw this.

Afterwards, I found Joe and we headed back to Carson City for some home made enchiladas (they were delicious).  I headed back to Reno for the end of the festivities for me, to include the cruise downtown and the fireworks show.  I went one time around the cruise and kept an eye on the gauges.  I had a one scary moment when the car stalled, but it was because I let off the clutch too soon.  I made it all the way around with no issues, but I didn't want to push my luck  :)

Sign along the Cruise route

Another sign along the route

My view for the majority of the Cruise

I did see a later model (post 2005) Mustang try to get in on the cruise, but he got caught by the monitoring folks and had to get out of the cruise lane.  Listen, buddy...if you manage to hangon to the car for another 20 years, it might be considered a classic then.  Until then, give us our cruise and go somewhere else.  Another later model car was also forced out, but I can't remember what it was.

This guy stayed next to me for awhile, and played to the crowd.

Getting towards the end, and part of the crowd lining the route.

I found a parking spot on the bridge crossing the Truckee River at the end of the Cruise.  I stayed there for awhile talking with a guy with a 71 Maverick, and a guy with an extremely clean and powerful 69 Nova.  The guy with Maverick got 2d place at one of the Show 'n Shines and got a ribbon and $100 bucks from Summit.

I stayed on the bridge until about 1/2 through the fireworks show.  Didn't have anything else planned after that, so I headed back to my hotel in Carson City and prepared to hit the road the next day.

Overall, I had a great time at Hot August Nights 2016 despite being ill and carburetor/fuel issues.  Those problems were overcome, and I didn't let them get me down.  Got to share the adventures with my father-in-law, Joe, and he appreciated it.  Saw a bunch of really awesome cars, and met some really great folks.  Would I do it again....YES!!!!  I love the format, and wish I had the time to see more.  There's always next  year, right?  No late model Mustangs, Camaros, Corvettes, Honda Civics with fart can mufflers, etc.