September 4, 2009. Upon arrival, our first stop was the Hilton Hotel, headquarters for Lead East. We were looking for lunch and as we walked passed the lobby, we heard Karaoke and saw a large audience listening to the performers. We had lunch at the Olive Cafe adjacent to the large Karaoke room and were able to hear everything.
While we were eating we heard this couple singing Buddy Holly songs and it sounded very authentic. I had to get up from the lunch table to get a better look. They were quite good and after they finished their set we were fortunate enough to take a couple of photos.
While at lunch, a tall blonde lady approached our table and mentioned that she saw my baseball cap with the Navy Insignia and wondered if I was a naval officer. She explained that she and her husband are part of the Mid-Atlantic Air Museum World War II Weekend and were looking for additional uniforms. I couldn't help her but I did find out about the extensive WWII reenactments at the Reading Regional Airport in Reading, PA on June 4-5-6, 2010. Sounded great and Paddy and I added the event to our calendars.
Lunch concluded, we headed outside to see the cars. There were almost 1700 cars, where does one begin.....
With all the absolutely great looking cars available to view, this crazy looking tow truck got a lot of attention. My first thought was demolition derby, but it was a project of choping, chanelling and sectioning in progress. It drew our smiles and everyone else present.
After a "visit" with 'Satchmo', we returned to the hotel for a cold beverage. The juke boxes were belting out 50's tunes and we stopped to take our "famous" mirror shot.
Beverage consumed, back to the cars......
We found Marilyn Monroe in the parking lot.
The owner of this famous station wagon drove all the way from California to attend Lead East. Their station wagon was in the popular 1980 movie, titled: "The Hollywood Knights".
No man should be asked to justify his hobby........ this could be an exception.....
Missing that great juke box audio while on the highway, this guy built one into his car.
This Hudson Wasp reminded me of the time my dad owned a Hudson Hornet with the step down design. When he let me drive it on the weekend, I would try street racing. The cork clutch couldn't take the abuse. One time his mechanic gave the clutch additional life by putting in a bunch of sawdust. It worked for a while.......
Over 1700 cars and my camera just took a sample.
Last but not least was a "cadaverlac".
In a vintage auto frame of mind, we were leaving when we realized that non-car folks were also staying at the Hilton.........
