2015.06.17 Cherry Bomb Debut

 

In June of last year, my Dad, KK, and my daughter, Mallory, began restoring a 1966 Chevrolet C10 pickup.  This truck belonged to my grandparents and I grew up riding around in it.  These two have worked on the truck as their schedules allowed, and have been so excited to get it in running condition.  They even came up with a great name for the truck, the “Cherry Bomb”.

Every year, KK attends the NHRA Hot Rod Reunion in Bowling Green, Kentucky, with a good friend of his that goes by Scuzzo.  (KK’s friends have all the best nicknames.)  Since last year, KK has been saying that we need to take Mallory’s truck to this event and show both the truck & Mallory off.   So we’re doing it!

Since I was out of town on the travel day, Stephanie, Mallory and Marissa would caravan with my parents to Bowling Green without me.  Stephanie thought it was very funny that they left on time, which could only mean that it must be me that causes us to be late every other trip.

KK, PK, Marissa, Mallory, Stephanie and the CHERRY BOMB!

KK, PK, Marissa, Mallory, Stephanie and the CHERRY BOMB!

The travel was great until they learned of a wreck on Interstate 44 while in Missouri, so they bailed onto the state highways.  Around that time, Stephanie realized that one of the brake lights on KK’s trailer was not working.  They stopped off at a garage in Republic, Missouri, to get it checked out.  It wasn’t anything major, but it did require a delay of about an hour while they got it fixed.

Trailer maintenance in Republic, Missouri.

Trailer maintenance in Republic, Missouri.

The rest of the drive was fairly uneventful.  It was noted that the town of Cairo, Illinois, looked like it had survived a nuclear blast.  Barely.  It was mostly abandoned.  Turns out that Stephanie is not the only person to notice that.  The story has been told before.

Throughout the day, they crossed the major rivers of the Mississippi, Ohio, Tennessee, and Cumberland.  Marissa got to visit three new states: Illinois, Kentucky and Tennessee.

A few hours outside of Bowling Green, the traveling party split up.  Stephanie changed course to Nashville to pick me up at the airport, and the remaining four drove on to the hotel.

We finally all converged in Bowling Green around 9:30.  The first group had some trouble checking in given the fact that there was no hotel staff on-site.  It took about an hour for KK to reach somebody and for the hotel to send someone in.

Once we got settled, KK, Mom (PK) and Mallory worked on an information sign for her truck.  It can be a common feature for a vehicle to have some information about the car available for the spectators at the Hot Rod Reunion to see.  They put together a fantastic sign that demonstrates the family history of the truck.  I loved it.

It turns out that Mallory ran into several people today who also loved her truck.  She had offers from three people to buy the Cherry Bomb.  That means we have run into three people with outstanding taste.

The final excitement of the day occurred around 3:00am when the hotel fire alarm went off.  We exited the building and waited in the parking lot for the fire department to show up and do their thing.

Nobody wants to meet their hotel neighbors at 3 in the morning.

Nobody wants to meet their hotel neighbors at 3 in the morning.

In front of the hotel, there is a sign which says “Delivering the Unexpected”.  After one day, the hotel has done a great job of that!  Looking forward to a much smoother Day 2!

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