Day 2: Sep. 27, 2003
A Capitol Full of Classics
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Today started with sunlight instead of rain and cars were soon lining the streets. 11:00 was the official opening time for the festival so that when I first stepped out around 10:30, most car show participants were in place. Final preening and polishing was going on everywhere and some mighty strange creatures could be seen roaming the streets but some 700 cars were almost ready for viewing.
Not too far from the hotel, I found that red T-Bird that had been part of yesterday's final four car caravan. Jim is making sure that the Chevy engine and the Ford body that holds it are spotless. With everything gleaming, Jim can be seen explaining his beautiful hybrid with Linda looking on. Later in the day I found a couple of other cars that had been part of yesterday's bridge crossing group and had cleaned up quite nicely. One was this mile long drop top Continental and another this new style Beetle from Colorado.
There were lots of memory jogging stockers...
...and eye catching modifieds.
One real Funny Car...
...plus some really funny cars. The smiling van is the same one I snapped in last night's damp.

ADDENDUM: That middle picture of the Dodge Dart has attracted more than its share of visits and the number of folks pointing to it from blogs and forums is one of the reasons I disabled hot linking to this site. But that attention has also prompted me to share some information about the vehicle. It started life as a 1965 Dodge Dart and became self-propelled art at the hands of Dean Pauley. Named "Miss Vicky", it was created for singer Tiny Tim's 1995 appearance in a St. Louis parade. It is what is known as an art car. Enter their slightly strange world here.

Both of these vehicles were standouts in their own way. The meticulous 1947 MG TC offered a glimpse of the British invasion that introduced sports cars to America. The second car is the last surviving example of a number of cars actually built in Springfield by Wally Troy in the 1950s. This aluminum bodied roadster is from 1959.
Even though it wasn't always obvious that this event is in the Illinois capital, there was the occasional reminder if you cared to look. In mid-afternoon, I took a break from walking streets lined with automobiles and walked the short distance to the capitol building. Most of the building was closed but a stroll through the first floor was permitted.
In the Authors & Artists Expo area, I did manage a picture of Postmarkart creator, Ken Turmel. Ken is the guy who suggested last month's Arizona Triangle Fish adventure but this is the first time we had actually met. I also met Michael Wallis, Jim Ross (American Road), Drew Knowles (ExitHere), and Jerry McClanahan but I guess I was too busy talking to get pictures. I did get a picture with Martin Milner, one of the guys who got me in this situation by frequently driving a Corvette through my family's living room during the years when I was creeping up on a drivers license.
Here are just a few samples of the entertainment spread throughout the festival. I did not catch the name of the solo performer in the gold jacket but he managed to invoke memories of guys with names like Jerry, Elvis, & Ray. The second picture is of the Hitmen whose name came from their ability to reproduce the biggest hits of the last few decades. But, for me, the day's musical high point was Captain Rat and the Blind Rivets. This group is all about fun and they seem to have as much as they provide, even going into the crowd when it strikes them. Fittingly, the Rat-Mobile (no connection with Captain Rat) appeared just as the last set was ending and a spontaneous but obvious photo session was the result.

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