Sat - 21 Jan/17

The weather, despite the storm coming in, isn't much different compared to the past few weeks - just cloudier.

Just a lazy day. We slept in until after 9, finished off the coffee cake for breakfast and did a few cleaning odd-jobs until noon.

Charlotte went to the Rec Hall for the Chinese Auction for a charitable cause. It started at noon. A Chinese Auction is where items (all donated) are placed on tables. Participants buy tickets: (Red) $1 each - 6 for $5 / (White) 20 for $5. Then it is time to check out all the items and place tickets (as many as you want) in bags at the item you hope to win. The ticket (Red or White) required for each item chance depends on the value $$ range of the item.

The ticket buying/item selecting stops promptly at 2 p.m. Then the Chinese Auction begins in this manner:

             - Groups of 3 or more helpers are situated at each table.
             - One person draws a ticket from an item bag.
             - Another announces the item being drawn for over the P.A. system - then the number drawn
             - Winners raise there hands and the prize is delivered to them.

With several rows of tables it took almost 2 hours to draw from the hundreds of item bags. Charlotte won an lovely Afghan. Some folks won several prizes. One chap won two prizes - each for a haircut. (He had a few tickets in the bag for that draw). Some bags only had a few tickets while more popular items had bags that were half full.

After the auction we headed for the Spanish Springs Town Square in The Villages. Today, from 4-9 p.m., the Antique Car Show was filling several of the streets with vintage automobiles. We got lucky and found a parking spot behind "The Sharon" (Arts & Entertainment Center) as someone was leaving the event early. Otherwise we would have been parking blocks away.

This is a huge annual event with hundreds of cars of all eras taking part. They are lined up, side by side, on both sides of the streets that surround the main square as well as each of the side streets for a block or more in all directions. The middle of the streets are totally packed with the thousands of folks, mostly seniors, that either owned, drove or remember most of these icons of a bygone era.

We saw several (but, not all) of vehicles that we (or our parents) owned in the past. All now worth many times what we originally paid for them at the time.

A few of ours:

1969 Pontiac Grand Prix (Second Generation)

1965 Thunderbird Convertible

(Ours was Arctic Blue with matching powder blue leather "Cocktail" seats).

The top went into the trunk and the tail lights were the first that flashed sequentially across the back.

An original Austin Mini (mine was the iconic red).

...and a Corvair Monza. (Our's was burgundy)

There was a Malibu SS 2 door in yellow.  The car we owned when married was a 1967 Malibu Convertible in the classic blue for that era (like the Corvair above).

Then there were the cars I grew up with:

The first car I can remember was my dad's 1948 Chrysler. (Dad's was Burgundy)

The first car I drove by myself (in Florida when I was 12) was our 1956 Buick Century Hardtop. (Dad's was only 2-toned - the classic White (top and bottom) w/Black middle.

There were a few hot rods that looked like my old 1931 Ford. I was so busy looking at them I forgot to take a picture. Well it looked like this!

Then, there was one of my favourites that I almost got to drive:

Dad was going to buy an Avanti R2 (Paxton Supercharged) model and mom wouldn't let him because it was "Plastic (actually Fiberglass) and wouldn't stand up!"

I even saw something I thought Nick (Son-in-Law) would like: An old Chevy Cab-Over Truck. The cab flips forward to allow servicing the motor underneath.

He could use to tow trailers. (He has his own Mobile RV Service).

I'm not sure what the top "Stainless Steel Draft Container" holds; but we can do some "Wishful Thinking" can't we?

There were a few cars I wished could have seen again: My first convertible: 1962 Chevy II; my Meyers Manx Dune Buggy; and our 1970 Pontiac Le Mans Convertible (a GTO without the big motor) which was Charlotte's all time favourite.

There were a few Austin Healeys; but none of the other Austins (Westminster) or Triumphs (a TR-2, TR-3, TR-4A) or other odd cars I have owned at one time or another.

There were also several Corvettes of different eras that I wouldn't mind owning today. Also a smattering of sports cars: Sunbeam Tiger, Shelby Cobra, Jaguars, etc. Hey! I keep buying those "Lottery Tickets, Eh!". A fella can dream, can't he!

Today was a walk (many blocks worth) down memory lane (on the streets) of The Villages. I, like many others, got a little nostalgic about the past automobiles in our life.

After almost 2 hours of viewing we headed to Chili's for supper. The Villages has virtually all the "Name Brand" restaurants that always are packed at this time of day (actually any time of day) on the weekend.

We got to eat about 45 minutes after our arrival. It was worth the wait. Then we returned to OMS by our usual night route along the well-lit US-441/SR-19.

Just in time to watch the late local news. I'm hoping for a little rain on the roof tonight!