Seacoast Cars & Coffee

July 12, 2020 — Seacoast Cars & Coffee, a morning show hosted by the Mall at Fox Run in Nashua, New Hampshire, featured the greatest number of cars I've seen at a show so far in this pandamic-reduced season. The show also had the widest variety seen so far. The plan was to park show cars every other space to allow for social distancing. This plan quickly fell through as the number of cars quickly exceeded expectations, and almost all side-by-side spaces were taken.

The ratio of those wearing masks to maskless was no better than 50/50. Still, as with other shows, I've found it easy to maintain safe social distancing. I just back away from the rare maskless individual who finds it necessary to get a foot from your face to talk to you.

Seacoast Cars & Coffee is held 8-11 a.m. the first Sunday of every month through October, weather permitting. You can see my photos of their first show of the season at this link:

https://www.linwoodstreet.com/seacoast/

Moo's Ice Cream

July 6, 2020 — Continuing my tour of cruise nights in this year of coronavirus when most of the big weekend shows have been canceled, I landed at Moo's Place Ice Cream in Salem, New Hampshire. Specializing in mouth-watering ice cream concoctions, Moo's did a swift business on this very warm evening. The combination of ice cream and a car show was a sure winner.

There was a good turnout of cars and spectators. A collection of antique military vehicles, an Austin converted for racing and a rare 3-door Saturn were highlights. You can view my photos at this link:

https://www.linwoodstreet.com/moos/

First Stoppe Cruise Night

July 2, 2020 — I used to include cruise nights on my itinerary, but the big weekend shows began taking up so much of my time, both the shows themselves and sorting my photos and building my web pages afterwards, that I simply didn't have time for cruise nights any more. But in this year of coronovirus, with most of the major weekend shows for the whole season canceled, I'm getting re-acquainted with cruise night, and I must admit I like what I'm seeing.

You won't find Duesenbergs, Pierce-Arrows and Packards at cruise nights, but you will find lots of GTOs , Mustangs and other muscle cars, and colorful, sometimes whimsical customs and street rods, the work of talented and creative individuals. As the name implies, most cruise nights are held for a few hours in the evening, but there are also a few morning shows. Most are held on a particular night (or morning) every week, some well into the fall.

Most recently, I attended the First Stoppe Cruise Night in Candia, New Hampshire on a 90-degree evening. The oppressive heat and humidity eventually drove me out, but until then I had accumulated over 50 photographs. You can view them at this link:

https://www.linwoodstreet.com/firststoppe/

Pontiac-Oakland Club 4th of July Cruise

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June 27, 2020 — It wasn't technically a car show, but a meeting of participants and their cars in a parking lot in Bedford, New Hampshire, before leaving on a tour of several southern New Hampshire towns. The tour was sponsored by the NorEastern Pontiac-Oakland Club and, as far as I could determine, all but two of the approximately forty cars were Pontiacs. I took advantage of the pre-tour gathering to take pictures of many of the cars, along with a video. I didn't follow the cars on the tour.

Oldest car at the event was a 1956 Pontiac. Other than that, most of the cars were '70s and later. The Pontiac-Oakland Club is dominated by muscle cars such as GTOs and Grand Ams. In the several years I've been following them, I have yet to see an Oakland.

My photos and a video of a portion of the cars exiting the parking lot can be seen at this link:

https://www.linwoodstreet.com/fourthcruise/

Two Shows in One Day

June 21, 2020 — It probably seems petty to complain about canceled car shows in this bleak season of coronovirus when many have suffered debilitating illness and families are grieving lost love ones. In New Hampshire we have been relatively untouched by the pandemic, with daily new cases mostly in the thirties, and many days go by with no deaths reported. Still, our antique car hobby takes us to other states hit harder by COVID-19 that have caused mass cancellations of shows, some as far in the future as the fall.

But small shows and cruise nights are making a comeback in New Hampshire, and on a blistering hot Sunday I actually got to see two shows in the same day. In the morning, I went to a show in Derry hosted by Southern New Hampshire Cars and Coffee. Held in a shopping center with ample parking, I'd estimate about 100 cars showed up, attracting hordes of spectators.

I came home for lunch and a break from the heat, then went to a show hosted by NH Muscle Cars at Dream Works Muscle and Classics in Manchester. I think this show had even more cars than the morning show in Derry. Besides the car show, spectators were invited inside the Dream Works shop where we could see cars in various stages of restoration. Burgers were grilled and cold soft drinks were available. The show ended with trophy presentation.

Both shows were on hot, paved parking lots with no trees, no shade, no shelter. The temperature reached 93 degrees in the afternoon, more common in July and August than June. Good social distancing was forgotten by many and a majority went unmasked, but if you're conscientious about avoiding infection, you can wear a mask, carry hand sanitizer and make your own space. It's not hard to be safe at a car show.

My photos of the Derry show, mostly new and late models, can be seen at this link:

https://www.linwoodstreet.com/carsandcoffee/

The Dream Works show, dominated by muscle cars, also mostly newer models but with a few antiques, are at this link:

https://www.linwoodstreet.com/dreamworks/

NH Muscle Cars at Murphy's

June 14, 2020 — Cruise nights are making a slow comeback. I'm holding out hope a few of the big weekend shows can be salvaged before time runs out this season. The NH Muscle Car Club held a cruise night at Murphy's Taproom in Bedford, New Hampshire. Fine weather brought out more than 100 cars, completely filling Murphy's main parking area.

This was predominantly a muscle car show, not one of my favorite categories, so I didn't take a lot of pictures. Also, muscle car enthusiasts are gearheads who love engines, so there were many hoods raised which I feel makes a poor picture. There were a few old standards like a 1958 Oldsmobile and a 1950 Dodge, both restored to their original glory. Also a 1974 Hurst/Olds with an interesting history.

Some of the cars I found most appealing, or at least most interesting, can be seen at this link:

https://www.linwoodstreet.com/taproom/

Andres Sculpture Park

June 7, 2020 — With the car show season mostly wiped out by COVID-19 this season, I'm looking for other photo ops. I was unaware of the Andres Sculpture Park in Brookline, New Hamphsire, only a 40-minute drive from my home, until I read an article about it in the New Hampshiire Sunday News. With more than 100 sculptures by artists from all over the world scattered throughout the park's heavily-wooded mountainside, it sounded irresistible.

It would take eight hours or more to cover the entire park with its narrow footpaths, strewn with rocks and criss-crossed with tree roots. So I divided it up into two days of a little over three hours each. I didn't get to see all the sculptures, but I found about 75