Crusin' the Coast

Gritsngumbo · Post by **Gritsngumbo** » July 17, 2011, 6:07 pm

My bride and I just made our reservations for this year's Cruisin' the Coast event coming up in October. This year's dates are October 2nd through 9th. If you don't know about it, here's a a blurb:

"Billed as "America's Largest Block Party". Cruisin' The Coast® began in 1996 as a festival to celebrate antique, classic and hot rod vehicles, nostalgic music and related events. 374 vehicles registered that first year and in 2010 we had 4,854 registered vehicles. Car enthusiasts from over 39 states and Canada drive to the Mississippi Gulf Coast once a year to showcase their rides and to cruise our beautiful 30-mile stretch of beach-side highway with designated stops in Bay St. Louis, Biloxi, D'Iberville, Gulfport, and Ocean Springs. Each venue is set up as a mini festival with a stage for live bands, reserved parking for registered cruisers, spectator parking, and vendors for food and event merchandise. Our week long event includes cruise-ins, a VA Hospital Cruise, car auction, swap meet, car corral, and a parade."

Several of my local car club friends and their spouses travel down each year (and have been for a dozen or more years) and consider it a "must do" event.

I've wanted to go for some time, but just didn't think I could get my wife to go along or swing it financially. But she just spent a few days at the beach in Biloxi MS with four teenagers (I wisely elected to stay home :-)

). She heard so much about Crusin' the Coast from the locals and merchants that she came back enthused and said we should plan to go this year.

Was surprised to find that most of the hotel rooms are booked up already, except for the really expensive one's attached to a casino (Beau Rivage, Hard Rock, etc). But we lucked out and got a decently priced room right on Beach Blvd pretty much in the middle of the action (and and over sized-parking lot). We'll be arriving on Wednesday the 5th and leaving for home on Sunday morning. The plan is to trailer "Little Red" down on my new hauler so she can participate in the festivities. Biloxi's about 300 miles from Monroe.

Last year's "big" entertainment venue was the Beach Boys and this year they have both the Four Tops and the Temptations on stage, with each town providing entertainment at each "Crusin'" venue.

They're expecting more than 5,000 vehicles to register for this years event. If you're interested in more info, here's a link: http://www.cruisinthecoast.com/. Know there's several members down on the Louisiana and Mississippi coast who usually attend, so hope to meet up with some fellow Slicksters while we're there.

Uncle Skip · Post by **Uncle Skip** » July 17, 2011, 6:44 pm

Gerald is right.
Crusin' the Coast.
I can tell you about it.
I can show you pictures.
But until you've been there and smelled the high test gasoline, heard the non-stop rumble of big inch motors and seen the incredible sight of 30+ miles of hot rods moving it all directions, you haven't really lived.
I promise, you will see cars and ideas that you have never imagined could be built.
Anybody ever seen a yellow Bug-eye Sprite with a Hemi actually drive down the road?
I have.
There is no other place on earth where you go and see hot rods cruising bumper to bumper as far as you can see at 3:00 am in the morning
Where else can you drive down the road and have local's sitting in their lawn chairs, having a cold adult beverages, flashing score cards on your ride as you drive by.....
If you ever have the chance, you NEED to make this one.
Nothing else like it anywhere in the world.

cooter · Post by **cooter** » July 17, 2011, 6:48 pm

wow this sounds awesome, to bad its 4000 miles away.

Uncle Skip · Post by **Uncle Skip** » July 17, 2011, 7:03 pm

Cooter.
Its beyond awesome.
Trust me.
I've been there, done that and have the tee shirts to prove it.
And, I stayed at Holiday Inn Express last night.....

fire truck · Post by **fire truck** » July 17, 2011, 7:11 pm

It is a good time, but waaaaaaaaaaay overrated. It was great 5 years ago, it's just so commercialized now. a lot of snobby people in the staff now. I still go, but I don't register anymore and save money for other stuff.
Emerald coast cruizin is a lot more fun.

fire truck · Post by **fire truck** » July 17, 2011, 7:15 pm

Hopefully I can take you for a regret ride with v10 power...LOL

Truckrat · Post by **Truckrat** » July 17, 2011, 9:46 pm

I have some cousins in Lousiana who have been to that and were pretty jazzed about it when they went.
I'm thinking it would be a good time. May have to make that on an off SS year. TR

HEITZ · Post by **HEITZ** » July 18, 2011, 7:24 am

Grits,

I'll be there if work and weather permit. There are a lot of cars that show up over here for the event and if you're within a few hundred miles, it's worth a trip over.

However, you've not lived until you go to the Mecca of car shows. August 20th in Detroit is the Woodward Cruise. Anything and everything automobile is at this show. It runs on Woodward Ave, both sides of the street from Ferndale to Pontiac. It is an absolute must see if you're within driving distance. It's way too cool and you'll be wore out at the end of the day from having your head on a swivel all day.

Max · Post by **Max** » July 18, 2011, 8:34 am

I had thought that Cruisin the Coast went waaay back. I didn't know it only started in 1996.

Gritsngumbo · Post by **Gritsngumbo** » July 18, 2011, 9:17 am

fire truck wrote:Hopefully I can take you for a regret ride with v10 power...LOL

Sounds interesting T.J. BTW: What's a "regret"?

HEITZ wrote:Grits, I'll be there if work and weather permit.
However, you've not lived until you go to the Mecca of car shows. August 20th in Detroit is the Woodward Cruise. Anything and everything automobile is at this show. It runs on Woodward Ave, both sides of the street from Ferndale to Pontiac. It is an absolute must see if you're within driving distance. It's way too cool and you'll be wore out at the end of the day from having your head on a swivel all day.

Heitz: I'll be there even if weather doesn't permit :-)

as I had to pre-pay my hotel room. Bringing your pretty little truck?
I think Woodward is on every car enthusiasts "bucket list". Just not a good logistical probability for most of us in the South.

Uncle Skip · Post by **Uncle Skip** » July 18, 2011, 9:57 am

Not to mention that your average southerner could get killed in Detroit if you take a wrong turn and end up where you don't need to be with tags on your car/ truck from Georgia, Mississippi, Alabama, or Texas.
I had to go to Detroit once. Operative word is "had" to go.
As much as I would love to cruise Woodward Ave., never again.

HEITZ · Post by **HEITZ** » July 18, 2011, 2:06 pm

Uncle Skip,

C'mon it's not that bad, I'm sorry you had a lousy experience. You just have to remember not to stray off Woodward and go no further south than 8 Mile.

I've been in a lot of bad areas with my work and I've seen worse than Detroit. Detroit has a lot to offer the car enthusiast, most parts are made there. A multitude of experts on any subject matter your automotive mind could think up live there. Parts shops and hot rod shops around every corner..... literally.

Heitz

Gritsngumbo · Post by **Gritsngumbo** » July 18, 2011, 4:22 pm

I'd certainly give Woodward a shot (so to speak :-)

) if I were in striking distance at the right time. I too have been in some of the roughest cities in the country and in the Far East and never had a problem or a scare.
Although mistakes can be made and one can find themselves lost, I think you just have to be observant and not let yourself get caught in a bad area. There are areas right here in Monroe that I won't go into at night and even if I need to be in these areas during the day take care not to put myself in a bad situation.

62galxe · Post by **62galxe** » July 18, 2011, 7:06 pm

I think I know where your talkin about in Monroe Gerald. My GPS took me right through the middle of it. :oops:

62galxe · Post by **62galxe** » July 18, 2011, 7:09 pm

Skip you need to see where some of the plants I work in are located. Lots are equal to or worse than Detroit. Of course it helps havin a rental car with local tags on it.

Uncle Skip · Post by **Uncle Skip** » July 18, 2011, 7:41 pm

Well, you can imagine my suprise when I did my nationwide senior trip (1964) in my GTO with a Georgia plate on the back and a "Hell no, I ain't forgettin'" plate in the front when we cruised into south Chicago to go to Mr. Norm's Dodge and cruise East Grand Avenue; took a wrong turn and ended up in the projects. We had a police escort out, and it wasn't even dark yet.
The officer told us not to be seen in the neighborhood again. EVER.
But my trip to Detroit was worse. What liberals have done to that city and its people is criminal.
My buddy Tom Buenivides used to work for the original group that became Ford SVO, and he had some killer rides that you could only imagine. Those guys had access to things that would make you cry and would deliberately try to push the envelope. The last time I ever saw Tom, he had a shotgun Hemi in a Granada, and he used to street race on Woodward. He said if you didn't show off to bad, the cops looked the other way.
I sure would have loved to take a ride in that little pocket rocket.

Gritsngumbo · Post by **Gritsngumbo** » July 18, 2011, 10:02 pm

62galxe wrote:I think I know where your talkin about in Monroe Gerald. My GPS took me right through the middle of it.

That's because you selected "scenic route" on your GPS. :-)

.
BTW: that 's really not a bad area. There's lots worse (or better if you're looking for pharmaceuticals.)

Voodoo66 · Post by **Voodoo66** » July 24, 2011, 7:58 pm

Cruisin the coast is a fun event but has been going downhill the last few years. The guy that runs it is the same guy that runs the F100 supernationals. I strongly suggest going to all the little towns that have venues, theres always a lot of good food and entertainment. Plus the locals are always acceptive of the cruisers. Im in New Orleans and our shop is always pissed that week of the year cause all of us mechanics are on the coast. If i may make another suggestion take a day and just park on the side of the road by the beach, you see more rides cruising up and down the beach than parked at the venues. And visit the mall site, its usually so packed your lucky to find a parking spot. I hope to see some of you guys there and hang out a bit.

Gritsngumbo · Post by **Gritsngumbo** » July 24, 2011, 9:55 pm

Not sure what you mean by "going downhill the last few years"? As I understand it they had more cars/trucks registered last year than ever. (Guess the Katrina/Oil Spill combo hurt the attendance for a few years). I've never heard of anyone saying they didn't enjoy it, otherwise why do they all keep going back? The same thing about the F100 Nationals. Things change, sometimes for the better, some times not, but the events are typically what you make of them.
Personally, I plan to have a blast at Crusin' the Coast and WILL! What's not to like? We have a room right on Beach Blvd. so of O want to I can sit in my lawn chair, drink beer and watch the parade of cars, trucks and people or I can drive my Slick up and down the strip. Miles and miles of food, entertainment and best of all, cool cars and trucks to see and hear.
We do plan to visit all the little towns and venues along the coast, meet up with some old and new friends and take in as much as we can during the time we're there, but certainly not going to worry about it not being as good as it once was...few things are as good as we remember them being. I hear the same thing about the Pate Swap Meet, but you know I've been there the last three years and each year I have a better time than the last...probably because I plan to have a good time and enjoy myself.

Voodoo66 · Post by **Voodoo66** » July 25, 2011, 8:47 pm

As far as what i mean about "going down hill" is that for what they charge you theres not much in return. You have more fun on the coast doing everythig that doesnt force you to register. Such as parking at mall ad jut crusin the beach. As far as the supernationals go i will never go back to that show. I first went to that show 3 years ago then this past year. Attendance was way down and didnt feel a sense of connection amongst the participants. Maybe im looking for more than whats actually there. Whereas on the coast every resturant you stop at there are hot rods and their owners are always willing to have you join them. Like i said mayb im looking for more than whats really there.