Power Tour Impressions

[DWineman]

Well,my wife said I was crazy and the grind of trying to get my car tour ready almost did me in emotionally and financially.I can say with the utmost enthusiasm it was 10 times more than worth it.The comraderie of everyone at the venues was killer,the varieties of cars from pro touring to pro rust was amazing.The sheer number of cars was staggering and after the second day I gave up trying to see them all.The only issue to me was storage with two people in a 1967 Camaro and all of our junk,tools,and swag.to me the perfect tour vehicle would be a crew cab truck or a wagon to be able to carry more recreational accessories-a nice canopy with better chairs and a grill and a fan would have been ideal.The total carnage was one tire,an alternator and serpentine belt.And a cheap temp gauge which was replaced in the hotel parking lot at 5:30 in the morning.We drove 2800 miles in 11 states and ticked off a big box on the bucket list.

[corvettedad]

Yeah it's fun, no way to explain it to someone they have to experience it!

[Damon23]

That's why smallblock totes a trailer. I really think the numbers were down though. I could be wrong but it just felt smaller this year.

[Big Dave]

DWineman great to hear you enjoyed yourself and you can see why so many of us do the tour every year. It is hard to express in words the great friendships that you develop over the week. Hopefully I'll get to meet you next year and you can run the roads with our group. Having problems are part of the experience and over coming them with the help of follow participants is what it is all about. And become a year round participant on this board. This is where we stay in touch with one another all year long. You've got a great looking car it's easy to see your a gearhead.

[Andy4639]

There is no words to explain the HRPT to anyone who hasn't done it! It has to be experienced to understand, but now you know and will forever want your pride and joy to be a part of it!

[BluLightning]

Glad you had a great time. Welcome to the club!

[Jesse James 80]

If you enjoyed this year, you're really going to enjoy going when 90% of the route isn't interstate and 4 lane 75mph highways. This was my third year in a row and typically the entire tour is more like how Fridays drive was (by far the best HRPT posted route of the week.) Some of the routes last year (especially from WI all the way through TN) was just some beautiful cruising.

[dianeokie]

I had an awesome time, just wished I would have had the energy to look at more cars at the venue. It was so hot I couldn't really walk the pavement. Had a great time at the parking lot of Comfort Suites, the event at the dragstrip Saturday that Dave set up was great, even if we didn't get to race. Jambalaya was the bomb.......... eating lunch at Cajun Village with Kathy, John & Doug was great. The trip over the ferry was "eventful" and the parking lot party waiting to figure out which kind of Cracker Barrel everyone found was hilarious. Sad about the downpour in Houston, but got to visit with the ACE5 Camaro gang and our friend that now lives in Texas. Starting out on the NW side in Cypress was awesome. Loved the drive through TX Hill Country and the sign shop we visited. Found an old oilfield fence sign from the company my dad and husband worked for and paid way too much money for it. COTA was huge, nice to have an inside place to go for bathroom and AC. Stayed in a super nice hotel in Austin and went to Congress, saw lots of hot rods parked up and down the street.

[70chevyC-10]

I had lots of fun but the plans I made in the back of my mind in Jan/Feb, etc. went out the window after getting to the hotel and slamming a few beers. I was pretty well planted out front of the hotel BS'ing but that was all good too.

[nickleone]

The Circuit of the Americas stop was the pits. Long walk to the vendors. I even heard one big vendor complain to the HOT ROD STAFF that the remote location was cutting down on the crowd.
Yes, the whole week was hot and humid.

Nick
2010/2012/2016 PT Long Hauler

[convss]

The Circuit of the Americas stop was the pits. Long walk to the vendors. I even heard one big vendor complain to the HOT ROD STAFF that the remote location was cutting down on the crowd.
Yes, the whole week was hot and humid.

Nick
2010/2012/2016 PT Long Hauler

I agree!! Did like the shorter drives, gave more time to see what we were travelling through. Heat was almost unbearable on the blacktop lots most places. Realize it's not possible to control the weather, but some shade would go a long way to making it better. Just need to have more space to haul stuff, like EZUPs. We did enjoy the tour, though, in spite of the heat. Especially sitting under the canopy at the hotel BSing with Phil and the other guys! We've done Power Tours since 1997, this was our 5th long haul, but will not be our last, it gets addicting! Also have to say our tour would have been a huge bust without the help of the other participants. Had two issues that we needed help with, and as always, hot rodders stepped up and we got things fixed and back on the road.BIG THANKS to those folks! That's what this hobbyis all about!!

[JOATMON]

My wife and I really enjoyed "Getting out of our zipcode". We just ran the first leg from our hometown (Gonzales) to Baytown. Took her '94 Z28 Camaro, all I had to do was navigate and tell her when to STOP and GO. We did have terrible luck with the rain Sat. and Sun. We barely got to see any cars at Lamar Dixon before the sky fell out and then Sunday the same thing happened in Baytown. Had a great time meeting some nice people at the Clarion Inn in Gonzales and The Hampton Inn in Baytown in the evening hours. There were a couple of internet buds that I wanted to meet in person but didn't get the opportunity. We did however make a run up to Montgomery, Tx. on Monday and got to see a great friend who cooked us a Texas style BBQ and played his Blues Harp for us. Another Power Tour is in our future. Nolan & Lesley

[convss]

My wife and I really enjoyed "Getting out of our zipcode". We just ran the first leg from our hometown (Gonzales) to Baytown. Took her '94 Z28 Camaro, all I had to do was navigate and tell her when to STOP and GO. We did have terrible luck with the rain Sat. and Sun. We barely got to see any cars at Lamar Dixon before the sky fell out and then Sunday the same thing happened in Baytown. Had a great time meeting some nice people at the Clarion Inn in Gonzales and The Hampton Inn in Baytown in the evening hours. There were a couple of internet buds that I wanted to meet in person but didn't get the opportunity. We did however make a run up to Montgomery, Tx. on Monday and got to see a great friend who cooked us a Texas style BBQ and played his Blues Harp for us. Another Power Tour is in our future. Nolan & Lesley

That's the thing about this tour, once you do it a little, you want to do it a lot! welcome to the madness!

[YJ_Aaron]

We only got to do the final stop this year, but it was fun. Budgeting to do long haul next year!