April and I started the 1,000-mile journey to Santa Rosa with our 4-month-old daughter, Paige, on Tuesday morning (June 5^th).  For us, the meet officially started that day as we met up with Dave Mau in Seattle to pick up the club banner.  We chatted briefly and then headed on our way.  After several diaper changes and bottle feedings in the Monte, April and I arrived in Santa Rosa on Wednesday evening and were greeted by fellow members Vaughn and Roy who had just driven 1,500 miles from Alberta.

On Thursday, those of us who’s Montes were filthy after the long drive were able to get the cars cleaned up at the local quarter-eating wash bay.  After spending $12.00 and getting a less than desired wash, we hung out and relaxed the rest of the day.  We also met up with Ray and his wife Cindy who arrived Wednesday night.  After having dinner at Sam’s Cafe, the group headed over to the nearby mall where Peggy Sue’s All American Cruise had set up registration.  The mall parking lot was a cruise-in destination with a live band and all.  We all took a quick look at some of the fine pieces of machinery on hand and then drove back to the hotel.

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Friday

Friday was the day of the poker run and this was not a short cruise.  It was nearly 100 miles of some very scenic areas of the California coast and, although it took nearly the whole day to complete, it was well worth it.  Those who did not arrive in time for this part of the event missed out on a great drive.

Vaughn, Roy and Ray along with their significant others embarked on the poker run in the morning.  April and I started the cruise a little later after we finished attending to our little one and the plan was that we would catch-up to the others by lunchtime.  We made the necessary poker checkpoint stops along the way and were in line to catch up with the group until we asked ourselves “Hey, if we’re supposed to be heading south, why is the ocean on the left?”  We had made a wrong turn advised by my “navigator” which resulted in a detour that cost us about an hour.  We did, however see some great scenery along the way and managed to get some nice photos of the shoreline while on the detour.

After lunch at Tides restaurant, April and I resumed the cruise and remaining checkpoints along the route.  In total, there were 7 poker checkpoints with the last one being Julliard Park for the chilli cook-off and car show.  None of the club members won the prizes for high or low hand but we certainly enjoyed the experience.

Mark arrived in Santa Rosa during the day and joined us at the evening show in the park.  We settled in there for a while and chatted before heading back to the hotel to prepare for the early rise for Saturday’s show.

Saturday

By Saturday morning, all the FGMCC members had arrived at the hotel and we drove as a group to the park for the show.  As we drove into the park, I heard people saying, “Here come the Monte Carlos.” This would not be the last time that I would hear this phrase during the weekend.  It seems we made quite an impact as people really seemed to take notice of our group of Montes.  Before the weekend even started, the word had spread that there was going to be several Montes at the show.  I even heard one person say “I didn’t know they made that many Monte Carlos.”

We parked the cars in a line and set up our tent and FGMCC banner among the other 650 classic cars.  The club spent the day strolling through the vendor area, chatting with other members and listening to the live bands playing hits from the 50s and 60s.

The Saturday evening cruise through downtown Santa Rosa was one of the highlights of the weekend.  The roads were closed off to regular traffic and a two-lane conveyor belt of classic cars made it’s way around several blocks of tree-lined streets.  There were many classics parked along side and people viewing the cars as they rolled by at low speed.  Again, we hear the announcer’s voice say “Here come the Monte Carlos” from the loud speaker set up at one of the street corners.  We made a few laps in our line of Montes but the big block cars were having temperature issues with all the slow traffic and headed back to the hotel.

Sunday

Although not all members were able to make it to the Sunday show, it was certainly a great day.  The show was set up much like the Saturday show with approximately 400 cars in the park.  I handed out the FGMCC awards that members had voted on during Saturday’s show.  There was also a great deal of FGMCC goodies given away as door prizes also.

When Peggy Sue’s All American Cruise started their awards ceremony at 2pm, we waited anxiously for the 1966 to 1976 stock and modified trophy classes and we were not disappointed.  Vaughn took top honours in the stock class with his ’71 and Robert received third place in the modified class with his ‘72.  Once these awards were handed out, we relaxed a little under the tent and eventually decided to start packing things up.  As the awards ceremony was coming to a close, Vaughn heard the announcer mention Monte Carlo Club.  I ran up to the awards ceremony and was followed shortly by the other club members.  The event staff had 6 special “thank you for attending” trophies made, each with a hand carved redwood tree and a bottle of wine for the club members.  They brought us all up and said a short speech regarding how they appreciated the long distance driving some of us did to attend the show.  This was a great gesture and completely unexpected.

Peggy Sue’s All American Cruise came to a close on Sunday afternoon and some members started to make their journey home.  We watched Robert shrink-wrap the car cover to his Monte on his trailer and the rest of us got ready for the drive home.

As usual, it was great to see old friends again and meet more members at this meet.  It is amazing the number of great people that I meet in this club each year.  Long-distance travelling in the Monte was also a lot of fun as well and I’d do it again in a heartbeat for any club event.

- Aaron