On Wednesday morning it was rise and shine in Greensboro, North Carolina. Our destination for lunch was the garage and museum of Cecil Profitt. The trip to Cecil's in Windsor, Virginia would take about four hours and it was a beautiful North Carolina morning. About one hour into the trip we were met along the highway by some members of the Timeless Cruizers club from Efland, North Carolina. They had called the day before and asked about what time we would be on the road. It was nice to see the welcome committee near the North Carolina, Virginia border complete with the club banner. In about two more hours we were greeted by almost twenty street rods and customs which lead us to Cecil's Garage and Museum. Even more folks were waiting when we arrived. It was nice to see almost fifty vehicles turn out on a Wednesday afternoon.
Cecil Profitt has been a car guy and a collector his entire life. For many years he was the promoter of indoor car shows in the Virginia Beach area. Over the years he has collected an incredible amount of automotive memorablia. While everyone enjoyed hot dogs and popcorn, we got a tour of Cecil's collection. As is the case with collections of this size, every piece has a story and it was a very entertaining two hours at Cecil Profitt's Garage and Museum. From Windsor we took a drive through historic Smithfield, Virginia and then dodged most of the Norfolk traffic to arrive at Jesse's Rod Shop in Chesapeake, Virginia by 4PM. At Jesse's we were greeted by the members of the Tidewater Street Rod Association. It was time to eat again and club members served up pulled pork sandwiches for everyone to enjoy. It was a nice evening at Jesse's Rod Shop and it was great to meet the Tidewater Street Rod folks.
On Wednesday evening we checked into our rooms at the Oceanfront Inn right on Virginia Beach. We would have front row seats for the Beach Music Festival which was scheduled to kick off Thursday evening. Thursday on the Coker Tour would prove to be one of the most incredible days in the entire history of the Road Tour. That is saying a lot folks.
Our Thursday started with breakfast on Lynnhaven Pier hosted by fellow Road Tourians Bobby Lou and Hoyt Duff, owners of the pier and Route 60 Street Rod Shop. Bobbie Lou and Hoyt have traveled on many Tours and this is the second time we have stopped at their Lynnhaven Pier. It was a great way to kick-off a great day. From the pier we headed south through Virginia Beach to the new Military Aviation Museum. This privately owned collection of military aircraft includes planes from both World Wars and all of our recent conflicts. It was incredible to be able to park the Road Tour Chevy in a hanger next to a P-51 fighter. It is a beautiful facility and is growing by leaps and bounds.
Our next stop on Thursday would prove to be an amazing and awe inspiring visit to the Naval Air Station Oceana. The very special arrangements for our visit were made by the City of Virginia Beach in conjunction with Kelley Stirling, the Public Affairs Officer for the Base. NAS Oceana is one of the largest and most advanced air stations in the world. Its mission is to train and deploy the Navy's fighter / attack squadrons of F-14 Tomcats and F/A-18 Hornets. We were met by the Military Police escort at the front gate and lead through very tight security on to the actual flight line where the Tomcats and Hornets were taking off and landing during our entire visit. We were divided into three groups and were able to park our cars in front of three hangers where squadron members enjoyed our vehicles. We stood in awe of the incredible men, women and equipment that stood before us in those hangers. The two hours that we spent at NAS Oceana were amazing to say the least. The base commander greeted us personally and thanked us for visiting. He arranged for a very special photo shoot with our cars parked between the fighters on the flight line. We were then invited to be guests at a special awards ceremony where the squadrons were presented with a very special award by a visiting Admiral of the Navy. Thanks to everyone at NAS Oceana for an incredible visit.
Thursday evening we were special guests at the Beach Music Festival and were invited to park our cars on the grass between the hotel and the beach. It had been quite a two-day visit in Virginia Beach. Thanks to everyone who helped make it possible. There is talk of a large car show in Virginia Beach next spring and it would be great to bring the Road Tour back for the inaugural event. We will keep you posted.
On Friday morning it was time to get to our ultimate destination of Cruisin' Ocean City, Maryland. This event is in it's 14th year and always sells out the 3,000 vehicle entries early in the year. The entire town is filled with muscle cars, street rods and customs. Promoter Jack Hennen and his Specials Events crew go out of their way to make sure that everyone has a good time. The morning participant's cruise down the boardwalk to the inlet is always a hit. On Saturday we shared our Road Tour hospitality tent with actress Cindy Williams of American Graffiti and Lavern and Shirley fame. It was a great weekend in Ocean City and a great week on the Coker Tire Tour.
The Road Tour season has just begun. We have seven more Tours scheduled this summer and in three weeks we set out from Vintage Air's Headquarters in San Antonio as we travel to the NHRA Hot Rod Reunion. Check back here for all the latest up dates and we hope you can join us on a Tour this summer.
Jerry Dixey