All Ford Nationals Carlisle 2013

Second year at the All Ford Nationals in Carlisle, Pa.  What a fantastic time!  Left on Friday with my dad in his Saleen & our Parnelli Jones Saleen.  It seems though that every Friday we travel to Carlisle, it rains.  Most of the drive was clear, but then the rain came.  Luckily, we brought enough car cleaner equipment with us to clean off the cars on Saturday at the Fairgrounds.  But if we hadn't, there are plenty of vendors on site that have what ever you need to take care of your cars.

Arrived at the Fairgrounds bright & early on Saturday morning.  First thing we did, was clean up the cars.  This year there was over 100 Saleen Mustangs in attendance.  The reason for that many, Steve Saleen was there.  We were really looking forward to meeting him.  And our son was looking forward to meeting drifting champ, Vaughn Gittin Jr.  We had a fun filled day ahead of us.  First stop though, was to check out our friends brand new 2014 Saleen.  What an awesome car!  Looking forward to seeing it again at the Pittsburgh Vintage Grand Prix in July.

After that, we went over to meet Vaughn Gittin Jr.  He really made our son's day!  He walked around the rest of the day with a huge grin.  Vaughn was extremely nice to our son.  Even offering to take a picture with him in front of his Mustang.  Our son was so thrilled!  Vaughn has made a fan for life!

We walked around, checking out all the cars, even making our way up to the top of the hill.  At the top they were doing ride alongs in a Ford Raptor & Ford Focus & Mustangs.  Looked like a lot of fun & may have to try that next year.  Just never seems to be enough time to do & look at everything.  So many vendors, events, & cars to look at.  I know we missed a lot, but what we saw was great!  The people there are true car people. 

Then we met Steve Saleen.  What a great guy!  Signed our car in the trunk & under the hood & then took a picture with us in front of our car.  This was definitely the highlight of our weekend.  His daughter was also there along with his wife.  The entire family is extremely nice.  We talked to Steve about the car for a little bit & then he went off to sign my Dad's Saleen & other's.  But it is a day that we won't soon be forgetting.

It was a great weekend & we were sorry to see it end.  But we are already looking forward to next year.  If you ever get a chance to go to the All Ford Nationals in Carlisle, Pa., go!  You won't be sorry.  Great time, great people, & great event!

For more pictures of our time at the All Ford Nationals, please visit us on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/2FastCars

Memorial Day Weekend

We finally made it to our first car cruise of the season.  Unfortunately this Memorial Day weekend was one of the coldest in recent memory.  But it was sunny & no rain in the forecast so we took the Saleen up to Quaker Steak & Lube in Cranberry for the cruise.  We got there early & there was not a lot of cars there yet.  I think that the colder weather kept a lot of the cars at home.

There were some nice cars there, but even as the day progressed, there still was not a lot of cars showing up.  So we didn't stay too long, but we do plan on going back as they usually have nice cruises there.  The cruise in Cranberry takes place every Saturday starting at 5pm.  And they give you a discount on their food there which is an added bonus, especially if you are in the mood for wings.

Then on Memorial Day, the Viper was in our local Memorial Day parade.  Friends of ours asked us if their daughter, who was the Poppy Princess, could ride in the Viper & wave to the crowd.  We were more than happy to help out.  So the Viper got cleaned up & ready for its Memorial Day parade.  And it was a huge success.  Lots of people loved seeing a little Poppy Princess in an awesome car waving to the crowd. 

The rest of the weekend was spent washing & waxing the Saleen Mustang, getting it ready for the All-Ford Nationals in Carlisle.  That will be taking place on June 7-9.  Really looking forward to heading there.  The biggest reason is Steve Saleen will be there.  Can't wait to meet him!  Hoping to have him sign our car under the hood since his signature along with Parnelli Jones is on our dashboard.  But I will tell you all about that weekend after it happens.

I wish that the weather would have been better for some more car fun, but it happens.  We will be back out & about with the cars this weekend so look for another blog about the fun we have this coming weekend. 

For more pictures of the cruise & the parade, please check us out on Facebook at 2FastCars.

Reflections

Sitting here listening to the weather tell us about the possibility of snow this weekend & next week.  Bummer!  Had been hoping to get the cars out to one final car cruise this Saturday.  But I don’t think that it will be happening.  Time to winterize the cars & put them away until next spring.

 

 



So I will take a look back on one of our most fun years with cars.  I think one of the main reasons it was so much fun was we did it as a family.  The kids enjoyed it as much as we do.  And they are learning their cars.  Now they will point out cars they see on the road & tell us what they are.  But I also think the other reason was because of the Parnelli Jones Saleen Mustang we purchased last year.  We were finally able to go to some of the cruises all together in the same car. 

 

But let’s take a look back at some of the cruises we attended & the fun we had, shall we?  The most memorable cruise & moment this past summer had to be at the All Ford National show in Carlisle, PA were we took 1^st place in our division.  First time there & we do hope to be back.  We had a lot of fun at the show & winning just made it all the more special.  At that moment, I was beginning to realize what a special car we truly had.

The other cruises we attended were just as fun.  We spent time talking to other car enthusiasts & began to truly introduce our kids to the car crazy world.  Our son began his picture taking career by taking his camera with him to every car cruise. 

We ended to car crazy season with a fabulous Pony Trail with our Mustang club.  It was a great way to end the season with our Mustang.

 

But now we must winterize our cars & put them away in the garage until next spring.  The thought makes me very sad.  Number one, I am not a fan of winter or snow.  And number two, I truly enjoy driving my Mustang.  Now all I will be able to do is to go down to our garage & look at it.  L 

We will be back cruising with our cars the first nice spring day in 2013. 

 

 

Please find us on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/2FastCars?ref=hl
We are also on Twitter under the name FastCarDawnMike & we are also on Instagram at 2FastCars.

All Ford Nationals Carlisle PA 2012

Wow!  What an incredible weekend at the All Ford Nationals in Carlisle, PA.  It was our first year there & I have never seen so many Mustangs gathered in one place. 

We took our 2007 Parnelli Jones S302 Saleen Mustang & my Dad took his 2001 Saleen Mustang 281 to the All Ford Nationals.  The drive down to Carlisle from Pittsburgh on Friday evening was a nightmare.  It rained the entire time & we missed a tornado.  Needless to say, these cars are not made to be driven in this kind of weather.  Along with the fact, that our now detailed cars were getting filthy.  But we made it to the hotel late Friday evening & went to sleep, excited about the next day & hoping for better weather.

Saturday was absolutely beautiful!  It was the perfect car cruise weather, 70s & sunny.  Not a rain drop to be found.  We arrived at the fairgrounds around 9ish.  Found our classes & parked our cars with them.  Luckily, our car was parked just a few cars away from my Dad's.  After we cleaned up our cars from the drive, we went to walk around the fairgrounds.  Beautiful mustangs were everywhere! 

  

My Dad's 2001 Saleen Mustang



Our 2007 Parnelli Jones Saleen Mustang



To see more pictures of the cars that were there, please go to our Facebook page, 2FastCars.

The food at the All Ford Nationals was wonderful too.  A great selection for everyone, kids included.  Speaking of kids, they had a nice area for the kids too.  A bounce house, kids activities, & a playground, along with a nice grassy area for them to run around in.  It was fenced in so that the kids were safe from all the cars driving through the fairgrounds.  And if you are rebuilding a Ford, they had everything there that you could possibly need.  Looking for a new Ford, go check out their Coral.  Lots of nice cars for sale.  One of the things we were most impressed with was watching them install an exhaust on a Mustang.  So if you wanted a new exhaust, just drive it down to them & they would install it for you there.

At noon, they paid a tribute to Carroll Shelby who unfortunately passed away before the 50th Anniversary of the Shelby.  It was the revving of the engines to honor a great man who did so much for the auto industry.

By the end of the day Saturday, we were exhausted.  Lots of walking around trying to take everything in.  We didn't sign up for the Parade that they have going through downtown Carlisle.  Maybe next year we will do that.  Our kids love being in parades with our cars.  So back to the hotel to relax & get some rest.

Sunday morning came along, & we headed back to the Fairgrounds.  The weather was great.  70s & sunny.  We parked next to each other since a lot of cars had already left.  Saturday is the big day.  We cleaned the cars off again & went for a walk.  Around 9am they had the list of winners available.  So we headed there to see if we happened to win anything.  We were surprised & excited when our 2007 Parnelli Jones Saleen Mustang won our class, 2005 & up Saleen.  We went to get our plaque & then signed up to do the Awards Parade.  Winning that class was extremely exciting for us.  So at 1pm, my Dad went to the Grandstand to take pictures of us while we went into the parade.  When we made it to the Grandstand, we got our picture taken with the car & our plaque. 

Overall, it was a great weekend.  I really do believe that we will be back with our Mustangs again.  Hopefully next year will find us back there.