Cruisin' the '50s

August 8, 2024 — It had been a rain-soaked week along the Eastern Seaboard, part of it due to hurricane "Debby" which had been battering Florida and the Carolinas and was about to begin its journey all the way up to New England. I didn't want to miss the show called Cruisin' the '50s in Newburyport, Massachusetts, for the second year in a row. It was held in the rain last year, but I didn't think that would be much fun, so I stayed home.

It's a 5-8 p.m. evening show, and there was a break in the rain during the day of the show, but a chance rain could resume late in the evening. Exactly how late, meteorologists couldn't agree on. I decided to take a chance they could get the show in before rain began and headed for Newburyport.

Participation is invitation only for a limit of 250 cars. It looked like they filled the limit. No limit on spectators and they converged on the show in huge numbers, making photography challenging as each and every car was surrounded by admirers. The show is held in the city center on three long thoroughfares and a couple of parking lots and everywhere you went the crowd was so dense we were jostling each other.

In spite of the threat of rain, many chose to put the tops down on their convertibles, even though we could feel a sprinkle now and then. The show featured many high-quality cars. It always does, being invitation only. Cruisin' the '50s organizers are discriminating.

I got a pretty good collection of photos. I could have gotten more, but rain began in earnest at about 7 p.m. and many cars were making a hasty departure. I had no protection for myself or my camera, so I chose to join them. I ended up with more than 50 photos and a video, not bad considering the conditions. You can view them at this link:

https://www.linwoodstreet.com/newburyport24/