Hot Rod Power Tour 2018

It was always Kenneth's dream to take the El Camino on the Hot Rod Power Tour at least once.  Well this was our third year to go and it was a memorable one!  I had been in communication with our friends from 2017 since January and we all booked the Platinum package and made plans to meet up again this year.  Kenneth and I left Thursday, June 7th and headed for our friends bed and breakfast in Clifton, TN to visit with them and spend the night.  We got up Friday the 8th and went on into Bowling Green, KY where the Power Tour ended last year and was beginning this year.  The VIP kick off dinner was at the National Corvette Museum.  We had a wonderful dinner, listened to a great band and got to tour the museum for free.  Saturday started the Power Tour and we spent the next seven days in different cities at different venues getting our Long Hauler credentials stamped, collecting free stuff from vendors, listening to great local bands on the main stage, visiting in the VIP lounges that were stocked with cold drinks and great snacks, watching drag racing and cars running the road course and taking a couple of laps on the Atlanta Motor Speedway!  Our evenings were filled with hanging out with old friends and new friends at each towns local eateries and walking the hotel parking lots for all the mini car shows.  And all along the route each day we enjoyed back road America, all the beautiful landscapes, old barns, small towns with people set up waving and all the mini cars shows in every gas station and restaurant we stopped at along the way.  After the last stop in North Carolina, we headed back to Atlanta to spend the night with my brother and his family. It really is fun to do the Power Tour but after this year we plan to take a break.  The number of participants has grown tremendously and sitting in one to two hour lines to get anywhere takes a toll on an old vehicle.  We are already in the planning stages of a Route 66 trip next year and have several other couples interested!  Ten cars would be a much easier line to sit in than 6,000!! 

All of the stops for 2018 HRPT.

Kenneth, Jackie, Elaine and Julie on the porch of the Pillow Street Bed & Breakfast in Cliton, TN.

Back road in Tennessee - it's so nice to get off the interstates and actually see the beauty of this country.

Lunch stop on the way to Bowling Green.  Love hitting these local hole-in-the-wall eateries!

Ooooo...my old barns!!  Must have taken 73 pictures of barns but didn't include them all...:)

This was in front of the hotel.  The venue was great here - check in and credential pick-up was right next door to the hotel and all in the same parking lot.

One of the many hotel parking lot car shows

Heading into the National Corvette Museum for the VIP dinner

Elaine, Jeanne and Michele with our after dinner drinks, listening to the band

Touring the museum



A sink hole opened up in the museum in 2014 and eight extremely valuable corvettes went down into it.  This is what they looked like when they pulled them out.

We stayed in some VERY nice hotels. 

The morning ritual of getting the car ready for the day.  Every morning he went to the parking lot while I packed everything up in the room and checked all the fluids and got 'er shined up.

While we were in Bowling Green, we went on the Lost River Cave Tour. 

There were roaring rapids underground!

Jeanne and Eric

Elaine and Kenneth...no pic of Michele and Rich!

Having a drink in the hotel lounge before headed to dinner.

We went to Double Dogs last year on our way out of the Bowling Green venue and our hotel was within walking distance of it this year!  It's a great restaurant - good food and great atmosphere.

The bus was in the hotel parking lot when we got up to leave Sunday morning so we all hurried to get our pics!

And before we could leave, they found someone to help...:)

And so starts the first of many lines we traveled in for the week.  It's fine moving slowing along the back roads sightseeing and enjoying the ride, but when you hit the towns you can wait up to two hours to go three miles to get though it.  Some of the local law enforcement will direct traffic which really helps but most don't.  One of the reasons we want to take a break.

The lines stretch for miles and miles!!

Got a pic of Kenneth AND a barn!!

Parked across the street from our lunch stop.



Jeanne was on crutches with a hurt ankle so we took them to their car. This is in Chattanooga. This venue was the worst venue!  Parking was horrible and they had to park way out.

Another town, another bar...and more stories to be told!

Jeanne can play the piano!!

Local hot spot for breakfast



View from the VIP lounge.  The Hoover Metropolitan Stadium is where the College World Series is held.  The final game this year ended like ten days before we got there.

Kenneth loves talking to all the vendors and finding out about products that are available.

Watching the road course from the VIP lounge. 

I've always said if there is a place that sells fishing baits within a hundred miles, Kenneth will find it!  This one happened to be a mile from our hotel.

Trying to save her ankle for walking the venue!

We stayed at a hotel connected to a mall in Alabama - it was great!

We saw this little girl from the road but I wasn't quick enough with my camera.  I pulled this off of the HRPT Facebook page.  She was so cute in her little car waving at us all passing by!

One of the local bands playing while we stamped our credentials at the Long Hauler check-in

Waiting for our turn on the track. 

He LOVED this!!  Best $10 we ever spent...:)

Michele took some pictures of us going around the track - so cool!!

We also bought a professional pic...

The service dog trainers were back again this year.  Last year they were training Chevy.  This year they were training Ford.

Another great local spot!

There's Michele and Rich!  This is about as much emotion as I've seen Rich display.  I told him one day I would make him laugh out loud!

This is just one example of what the small towns do for the Power Tour.

People all along the route - in towns, in yards out in the country, in parking lots - all waving and taking pictures.

This is the sign for Rockingham Speedway.  I think it is closing after the 2018 season.

PNC Arena



Kenneth is a lot of help, isn't he?

Oh, the sights we see...

The line to go to Richard Petty's Garage...we waited for an hour and a half and left.

We passed this on the way to zMAX Dragway!

Eric leading the way

Got to watch drag racing from the VIP lounge

Our last pic for this year - Michele, Rich, Kenneth, Elaine, Jeanne and Eric.  Until next time!

Headed down to the parking lot.  We thought this would be quicker than the elevator. Boy, were we wrong!!

Great view of part of the parking lot!

THIS is what we walked down!!

After we went our separate ways, we ate here before hitting our hotel and resting.  Great food!!

Nom, nom...

Getting ready to head to John and Karen's in Atlanta

River running back up the stairs after fetching the tennis ball! 

John getting the pulled pork ready.  We all loved John's butt!!!

Ansley and Jake

River!

Elaine, John, Kenneth, Jake, Karen, Emily and Ansley.  Stephen was gone with a friend on vacation - we missed him!  It was so wonderful to spend the afternoon/evening with my family.

Until next time...