192 various and sundry highly polished four-wheeled "children" lined up, parked but ready to roll. Owners were happy to answer questions about their cars, talk about the modifications and restorations they'd completed to bring the car bodies and engines to mint condition. It really goes without saying that all of them are fanatics about the particular model they own and don't keep track of how much they invest in the process of restoration. One car owner went to the trouble of displaying before and after pictures of his project. He'd found a rusted pile of rodent-infested junk and restored it to full glory again, a beautiful old Corvette that now gleams with lustrous paint and beautiful interior work.
I talked to one gentleman, an owner of a replica Cobra painted in blue with white stripes, who said he takes his car out every week for drives on winding and twisting country roads wherever he can find them. His insurance is less than most people pay for an ordinary Ford, $400 a year. Another owner who was there with his wife in a '59 Corvette Stingray goes to rallys and car events all year long, and he said, "I have to keep an eye on her (his wife, who drives it) because if she's not careful, she can really lay down some rubber before you know it." He looked like he was having fun keeping an eye on her to me.
The cars roared to life at 6 PM, with engines low and throaty as well as harsh and loud, and made a quick loop through town, and then out to the coast for an hour-long tour of Pacific Grove, Pebble Beach, Carmel and then back to PG for a barbecue dinner later for the owners at Chautauqua Hall, hosted by the Rotary Club. The crowd cheered, whistled and clapped their approval as the lineup rumbled out of town, one after another, showing off, tooting horns and loving all the attention as much as the crowd did, probably more.
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