Burning Up The Beaches - Sunday

We headed over to The Swamp about six o’clock, and the entire place had been reserved for the car show participants. We were treated to a huge buffet dinner, with several salads, grilled chicken, fried fish, and even cake for dessert, and again, it was all included in the show registration fee. So far, lots of goodies, two admissions to the Boardwalk, and a couple dinners, all for our $70 registration fee!

A blues band played on stage, later joined by a Blues Brother tribute group, and they put on a great show.

Then the draw down to $5000 cash and prizes began. There were just 210 numbers, and the Old Guys each had three, giving us decent odds of winning something.

A computer-generated program began pulling numbers, which they displayed on a big screen, and if your number came up, you were eliminated.

We were still in the running with more than 75 numbers drawn, and then they switched to the door prizes. Packard Bill won one…a free weekend at the Breakers, a luxury condo rental right on the gulf. It is worth a few hundred dollars.

I also won a door prize…free admission to the show next year, which is worth $75, and although I planned to return again, will ensure that I do.

They continued drawing down, and with about 20 numbers remaining, all but Jeff and Cecil were eliminated.

Back to the door prizes, and Jeff won a tool kit, which eliminated him. Cecil was the only left still in contention for the cash.

They continued the draw down, awarding $100 cash prizes. Cecil held in there to the bitter end, and was sweating, with just two numbers left. The next winner wasn’t present, so the $500 cash rolled over to the last number drawn, and that was Cecil’s, giving him not only the $500, but the grand prize of $1500. He got the entire $2000!

Needless to say, it was an unusually good night for the Old Guys, and we enjoyed the show and cruise, as well as a weekend on the beach!

We’re outa here at first light. It’s gonna be a long ride home!

If you get a chance next year, add this event to your list. Ft. Walton Beach, Destin, and Navarre are all worth visiting, the folks that host the show are good people, and they go the extra mile to treat everyone like royalty!

Burning Up The Beaches - Saturday

We made a plan for last evening…go to Howl With The Moon, get our ticket stamped, go out for dinner, then maybe return, and listen to the dueling pianos.

So, just after six o’clock, we went next door, went into Howl At The Moon, and never left! The Playground Corvette Club was the host for the evening, and they provided pizza, pasta, cheese trays, and much more to munch on.

Well, we left sometime early Saturday morning! Once the entertainment started, we just couldn’t leave! What a great show!  Unfortunately (well, fortunately for us) I didn't take my camera, so there are no photos from Howl At The Moon.

This morning, we headed for our first stop at the Air Force Armament Museum. Tops were down, of course, and we got caught in a brief rain shower…just enough to get the cars wet, but not enough to put up the tops.

The museum had donuts and cold drinks waiting for us. We walked around inside…it was interesting, and we spent nearly an hour there. There are also several full-sized planes on display outside.

Our second stop was S & S Customs, and speed and fix-it shop. They had goody bags for us…nice ones! Parking was at a premium, but it flowed smoothly.

The final stop for the day was Helen Back, a sports bar on the water in Navarre. We planned on having pizza there, but they weren’t prepared for us, and after waiting twenty-five minutes without even having a waitress stop by for our drink order, we left, and headed back to the Boardwalk and the show.

We stayed there for an hour or so, then went back to HarborWalk, and had lunch next door at The Shed. We had lunch at the Biloxi Shed last week, and liked it enough to try their other location. We weren’t disappointed!

Tonight the party, and the $5K cash draw down, will be held at The Swamp on the Boardwalk. Entertainment will be the Blues Brothers, and dinner is also included. Everything is included in the $70 show registration fee.

Right now, it’s nap time. We’ll try and update the blog tonight before we call it quits for the night. Tomorrow morning, hopefully early, we head for home.

Burning Up The Beaches - Friday

Today is the first day of this three-day car show, and we awoke to a steady downpour. Now, anyone that has ever attended a car show knows that if you’re already there when it’s rains, it’s no big deal, but of you AREN’T there, you most likely ain’t coming, and that’s what happened.

This is a different kind of show than we usually attend. You can either attend the show, or cruise the stops, and win cash. The Old Guys registered for both, but we won’t be sticking around for the show and show awards in Sunday.

You have to stop at pre-arranged locations, and have your card signed/stamped. Just before we left the hotel for the first stop, the rain stopped, and we took a moment to wipe down the cars (except Packard Bill, of course). We also dropped the tops!

Our first stop, about ten miles up the beach, was Destin Commons, an upscale shopping center. We had a special parking area for the show cars. There was a band playing on stage, and before we left, the lot had swelled to maybe forty cars.

We got our tickets signed, and received some discount passes to the Hard Rock Restaurant. All the cars paraded around the center, then headed for Hooter’s, our second stop.

At Hooter’s, preferred parking again, and the entire front porch had been reserved for us. We had some loaded French fries, then left for HarborWalk Village, another upscale destination.

We left Jeff lead the pack, even though the sorta screwed up leading us to Destin Commons. This time, he handled it perfectly. And the sun is out!

We arrived, had preferred parking again, and got our tickets stamped for the last stop of the afternoon. We also received a couple more trinkets to add to our collection of stuff that probably won’t make the trip home with us!

HarborWalk Village is a hotel, condos, marina, offices, and shops, and is right on the water. It’s a very neat place, and we walked around it for about an hour.

But enough is enough, and knowing that the final stop for the day is at Howl At The Moon this evening, we headed back to the hotel for an afternoon nap.

This show has got great potential. It’s well organized, and traveling from stop to stop is fun. We’ve met people we know from Florida, as well as from the show we attended last week in Hammond. And we've made a couple new friends, too.

There's no sense trying to wait until this evening to do the blog. If things go the way we think they will, we won’t be in any shape to do typing. And if you’ve ever been to Howl At The Moon, and heard the dueling piano’s, you’ll surely understand!

We’ve started a new album for this trip, and named it 2012 Burning Up The Beaches. Enjoy the photos, and read all about tonight's adventure sometime tomorrow!