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Al’s Garage
Vol. #3, Issue #9
"Summer of Fun"
There is no doubt that there is a tinge of fall in the air. Evening temperatures are getting cooler and some of the trees are beginning to change color. Like many of us, I like the fall even though it ushers in the end of the cruising and car show season. But there are still opportunities to drive our cars a few more time before putting them up for the winter. Fall color tours are great. A few years ago, my wife and I and my good friend and his wife from Elkhart, Indiana ventured for a color tour which took us to Copper Harbor, which is at the tip of the Keweenaw peninsular. The fall colors were spectacular. Taking back roads provided the four of us with even more visual delights. The fall trip to the upper peninsula may have been scratched off from our bucket list for now but it is not out of the picture for ventures to the U.P. in the future.
Looking back at this car cruise and show car season has kept my wife and I busy for the summer. Beginning with spring the second annual Back to the Bricks® Dust em’ Off which attracted over 1,000 collector cars gathering at the Dort Financial Credit Event Center, was a tremendous success. The Dust em’ Off event was followed by the Back to the Bricks® Promo Tour which produced great memories. It was a great way to kick off the collector car season for us. Later in June, the annual Sloan Museum ‘Auto Fair’ took place on the grounds of the Flint Cultural Center and as in past years, proved to be a great show. For my wife and I, it was off to Auburn, Indiana for the ‘Auburn Warm-Up’ meet which is hosted by the Auburn Cord Duesenberg Club. Not a particular big car show but a great way to renew old friendships and a great driving experience of pre-World War II cars (1936 and prior). In July my granddaughter and I participated in one of the Back to the Bricks® Road Rallies. It was a high-quality time for my granddaughter and I and it was her first time on a rally. She was the navigator and performed faultlessly.
The month of August was a monster of a month for the local collector car enthusiasts. The Back to the Bricks® committee produced two solid weeks of car events beginning with Tune Up week. Six straight days of late afternoon and early evening car shows. Just when you thought all was over, then came the Main Event week. A Car Show at Birch Run Speedway kicked off the Main Event week, followed by the Cruise to the Drive In at the historic US-23 Drive Inn Theater. Then we had two nights of cruising up and down a twelve-mile route from Grand Blanc to downtown Flint with the Rolling Cruise. Friday night came with an evening car show in downtown Flint and the annual downtown Cruise N Concert which featured two bands, the Atlanta Rhythm Section and Bad Finger. Next up was the Saturday Main Event. What can I say that has not been said before? It was just simply ‘spectacular.’ August kept us busy and the gas stations owners with smiles on their faces!
This brings my wife and I to September. For us, ‘Labor Day’ takes us back to Indiana for the annual Auburn Cord Duesenberg Festival. Much like Flint’s August events, Auburn’s Labor Day festival brings together thousands of car enthusiasts from near and far. As in the previous forty-three years, we look forward to our annual trek to Auburn. But I must admit by the time the show is over I am ‘whipped.’ But after a few days of rest our attention turns to the fall AACA swap meet in Hershey, Pennsylvania. If you have never been there, add it to your ‘bucket list.’ I am not going to expound on how large the swap meet, and show is; you just must see it for yourself!
It has been great to see many of you at the various shows this summer. Now it is time to start thinking about 2023 car season. It never is to early!
Keep on Rollin'
Al Hatch
Founder of the Back to the Bricks®
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