June 6th: 990 went the Long Haul, and we posed for group shots. My Cougar gets photographed for the 2004 Cougar calendar. Made lots of new friends on this trip. Got their e-mail addresses. Received our certificates and wall plaques. Headed northeast for Dearborn; only got as far as Little Rock, Arkansas. I was exhausted! Had dinner in a Mexican restaurant that serves their margarita’s in glasses the size of paint buckets! Just one, and it was bedtime!

June 7th: Spent the night in Indianapolis, Indiana. Finally got to eat a half-dozen of those famous Royal Castle burgers. Had indigestion all night!

June 8th: Stayed in Marion, Illinois. Absolutely nothing there but a restaurant, a gas station, a coin-operated car wash and an auto supply store....I need all four. Bought new cleaning supplies, and then cleaned the car. Lots of new paint chips, and from riding with the top down the interior is filthy! Filled the almost empty gas tank. Raced a late-model Mustang, and lost badly! The good dinner made up for it!

June 9th: Welcome to Michigan. Pothole City! Found the hotel, which was right on the Detroit/Dearborn line, a couple miles from the show field. This place is nasty....gotta find another hotel. Clean the car for the 12th time!

June 10th: Find one just outside Dearborn and check in. Several other car show people are staying there. About 10 minutes from the show field. Had our own 25 car show in the parking lot until it began raining.

June 11th: Signed in for the show, and found my parking area....the Lincoln Mercury display. Ford World Headquarters is 158 acres! This is gonna be a big show, but they laid out the parking to perfection! Hit a big pothole at 70 mph on the way back to the hotel, and the Cougar actually bounced into the next lane!

June 12th: It got down to the upper 40’s last night....used the heater this morning! Drove to the show, and parked. Already about 50 Lincolns and Mercurys there! Cleaned the car. It rained most of the afternoon. By now, I probably need the front end aligned.

June 13th: Still raining, but not as steady. Not gonna get suckered into wiping the car down again! Walked the entire show field. Saw many one-of’s. Met John Force and Dan Gurney. Took another 50 photos. Met up with Steve and Michelle Weir (1969 Cougar convertible). They drove up from Florida in just two days! The Ford VP in charge of weather probably got fired today!

June 14th: Finally....a sunny day! Temp in the low 70’s. Drove the test track at the Dearborn Proving Grounds....really neat! Saw about two dozen more Cougars; the total is more than 50! Bought a couple event T-Shirts. Rode in a Model T. Vehicle count is now at 4,000. ALL Fords!

June 15th: Last day of the show, and the last time I’ll clean the Cougar for a week! Found Jim and Rick Schmidt (National Parts Depot). They had several cars on display. Met the retired Ford engineer who designed the convertible top for my Cougar. Walked the entire show again. Good exercise! Sat in Bill Ford’s new white GT. For displaying my Cougar I was presented with a hard-bound picture book documenting Ford’s first 100 years. Started planning the trip back to Florida. Had pizza for dinner....one last time!

June 16th: Drove to Canton, Ohio. Carol flew up there last week to visit friends, and we would drive back to South Florida together.

June 17th: Went to Summit Racing. Picture it as a Wal-Mart filled with nothing but auto parts. Every item in their catalog is on display, along with several vehicles. I started a wish list.

June 18th: Broke my rule made on June 15th, and cleaned the car again. An hour later it rained. Will I ever learn?

June 19th: We headed south in the rain. Stopped for the night in Mooresville (the home of NASCAR), North Carolina. Noticed even more chipped paint!

June 20th: Went as far as St. Augustine; I promised Carol a trip to the Outlet Malls. Spent the night at the World Golf Village....neat place! The rains continued! Had the best ribs I’ve ever tasted at Marvin’s restaurant.

June 21st: Rain all the way home. At times, in torrential downpours, travel on I-95 was down to 25 mph. The last 300 miles took about 6 hours!

The stats? Three-and-a-half weeks of motel living. Sixteen states visited. Almost 6,000 miles traveled. About 325 gallons of fuel. A half pint of power steering fluid, but not one drop of oil consumed! The Cougar is a little tired, bruised and battered, and was truly rode hard, and put away wet! But nothing that won’t heal in time for the 2004 Tour! CN

---