Not Your Average Weekend

A good old fashion spring thunderstorm has rolled on shore this evening after sitting out in the gulf all day. Along with the brief heavy rain and wind, it ushered in temperatures 15 degree cooler behind it. A welcome feeling after 5 days near 90 and humid. As much as we love Florida’s winter climate, we know the real heat will bear down soon as it drives the remaining snowbirds back to their northern summer homes. We spent a bitter sweet last happy hour with Chuck and Julie this evening that started early and ran late as we lingered and talked about our trips home and opportunities to cross paths again. We will see them off in the morning, with the dreaded farewells and hugs. Tomorrow evening our little neighborhood will be down to Champ and I and Terry. Very soon we will have all left Terry to be the last of our Q Street neighbors to depart.

A focal point of our last weekend in Florida has been a
memorable trip to West Palm Beach to attend two days of the Barrett Jackson
Collector Car Auction. It’s been on Champ’s Bucket List for years. Four
weekends a year when it is broadcast live on television, the house is filled
with the sounds of the auctioneer calling, and non-stop commentary about the
beautiful cars being sold. We have talked many times about going. This was the
year. I realized early this winter that the Palm Beach Auction would take place
the weekend before we left to return to Iowa. I bought tickets and booked a
room then told Champ we would get his birthday present early.

The Barrett Jackson Auction is like no other car event we have experienced. The auction going on inside is only part of the party. What impressed me most is how close a non-bidding attendee can get to the cars and the action.  All cars are on display in tents throughout the grounds. High end venders were showing everything from million-dollar Prevost Motorhomes to $1,000 car detailing product packages. Consider the target market for this event. I started my first day with a complementary facial and an offer to buy their set of skin care products for the bargain show price of $6,000 for a year supply. We saw boats with 4 V-8 Outboards sitting on 4-axel trailers. Dodge was on site offering free-thrill rides on a closed track with a professional driver in their new Challenger. “Yes, please!” We got in line early Thursday, took separate ridesand got our free shirts. Nice marketing!

I have always loved the energy of an auction. This was the first one I ever attended that I was not actively bidding, but tons of fun none-the-less.   If you watch the auction on television imagine not hearing or even noticing any of the commentary but hearing only the auctioneer, the bid takers shouting out and the crowd going crazy when bidding starts to escalate. The commentators are there but their mike isn’t live in the building and the attendees barely notice their presence. Out in the tents the cars are not just show pieces, they are merchandise. Huge Screens and sound throughout the fairgrounds, broadcast the auction so you don’t miss anything while you take in the rest of the event. We watched potential buyers sit in them, start them and go over them with a fine-toothed comb while talking to the current owner. They are being driven back and forth to the auction block so you get the thrill of listening to the whine of the turbos, or thumping lope of big cams dying to GO!   As we sat in the stadium seats watching the auction or stood next to the cars in the staging lane, I wondered how much collective wealth surrounded us. Perhaps the most interesting aspect, was how laid back, and casual the atmosphere was. Yes, it takes considerable wealth to buy several cars here as we watched many people do or patronize most of the vendors, but everyone talked to everyone else, we were all there because we love cars that’s all that mattered. The utter absence of pretense was refreshing.

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  Champ with his favorite car '56 Chevy Convertable

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  Early Friday Automobilia Auction about to get underway
  

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  Bidders looking over Automobilia before auction started

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  Custom Bike Shop Display

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  Now That's a Boat!

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  '19 Hot Wheels Camero Sold for 58K
  

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  Watching the cars sell

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  '47 Buick Custom 8 Sold for 412,500K

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  At New Smyrna Beach for Breakfast

After 48 hours of getting up close and personal with some of
the sexiest cars I’ve ever seen and rubbing elbows with multi-millionaires, we
drove up the coast to New Smyrna Beach and ate breakfast and shopped before
heading back to Ocala. Everyone was sitting around the Greek restaurant wearing
beach clothes and the parking lot was filled with golf carts. The little ocean
front town smelled like salt air and sunscreen, we loved it and put it on the
list of places to return to next time we come to Florida.

I little bit more souvenir shopping for the little kids rounded out my pre trip frenzy this afternoon. Tomorrow we will clean, get the last-minute groceries for the trip home and started getting everything put away and secured for the 1600-mile trip back to central Iowa. We talked to two of the grandkids on the phone this evening. I don't know who is more excited for us to be back. By this time next weekend, we will be back in Iowa, seen the kids and probably had, at least, a couple of grandkids overnight with us. Another winter has flown by. Another summer season working at Saylorville will be about the get underway, we will reunite with our returning volunteer counterparts and meet a few new ones joining the Saylorville Volunteer Community.

Until Next Time...