Update by David S. Wallens to the
Pontiac Catalina Safari project car
Dec 10, 2013
Maybe we should have had dinner to go. We got to the big cruise-in spot too late to participate and had to park out back with the other losers.
We weren't the only ones cruising for a parking spot. Despite the heavy American slant, the event attracts lots of Volkswagens.
Volkswagens of all types, too.
We wouldn't have had the longest one, either. According to the owner, this is one of eight built.
The evening's basics: look at cars, cruise around, repeat.
It's not all domestics, either.
Some are low.
And some are tall.
Thanksgiving in our Daytona Beach area means more than turkey and gravy. It’s also time for the Daytona Turkey Run, a celebration of the all-American hotrod. Since our 1975 Pontiac Catalina Safari is 100 percent American steel, we planned to do more than just spectate this year.
While the event’s centerpiece is the giant show and swap meet at Daytona International Raceway, there’s a semi-official gathering each evening at the Bellair Plaza, a shopping center a couple of feet off the Atlantic. We fueled up the wagon, grabbed some dinner, and headed over there.
And even though we arrived fairly early, there was no room at the inn. After cruising up and down the aisles to no avail, we grabbed a parking space out back in the cheap seats and did the event on foot.
Next year, maybe, we’ll get there early enough.
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