I'd cruised down to Sussex that afternoon over the traditional route. Even though the temperatures where in the low 30s, my re-cored radiator was doing an admirable job of keeping the temperature where it was expected.
The story changed once I encountered the balloonfest traffic in town. As I crept through Sussex, the temperature gauge crept higher. I kept an eye on it but wasn't overly alarmed. Early E-Types where known to have a problem getting sufficient air through the little opening up front. It settled near the high end but not alarmingly so. The story changed however as I followed the traffic around a corner and felt the breeze change to come from behind me. The hot air was now being blown back to the front of the car where it was just sucked into the grill again. This vicious cycle caused the temperature gauge to climb surprisingly fast towards the red spot. Although I had only a couple of klicks to go, I knew I wouldn't make it. I turned off into a parking lot and parked my baby facing into the wind. Leaving my barbecue on wheels to cool off, I wandered the short distance to the fair grounds.
I had made arrangements some months ago with a friend of mine to stay in his RV that evening. He attended the balloonfest regularly to fly his paraglider. I met up with him during the afternoon only to discover that he'd acquired a wife and family quite recently. I dislike sleeping with people I don't know so I offered the white lie that I'd made other sleeping arrangements for the night.
The balloons took off in the early evening and returned a couple of hours later as it got dark. They inflated and lit up with the burners in a show called 'candling'. It was quite impressive but didn't translate well into my camera.
Returning to my friends RV, we chatted for several hours while the several thousand cars fought their way out of the parking area. I don't know why folks don't just park outside of town and walk. It would be hours faster! Eventually I was able to drive my much cooler car to the parking field for the night. I chose a spot well away from the bandstand (mercifully) and beside a large stand of brush and trees. Not only would it provide cover from the streetlights, it made a handy 'facility'. Settling into the passenger side, I slid the seat forward and dropped the back. My pillow filled the space between the seat back and convertible top and with my sleeping bag over me, I settled in for the night. Seconds later I discovered that cars making a left turn out of the parking area across the road swept their headlights over my 'bedroom'. This was remedied by use of several towels and cleaning rags I'd brought with me for the car show. I hung them from the sun visors in front and stuffed a couple into the side window frames to hang down. This turned out to be quite effective and I once again I snuggled into my bed. Reclining there, I thought about how I probably wouldn't sleep that night and that it was going to be a long and uncomfortable wait till morning. Fortunately, I proved myself wrong by spending a reasonably comfortable night. One brief use of the facilities (around three in the morning), and I awoke at dawn refreshed (and not too stiff or cramped). There is a coffee shop across from the parking field that opens early and serves delicious breakfast sandwiches and mugs of hot tea.
I was disappointed when the balloons decided to take off from somewhere else. The early morning launches are easily the best spectacles of the event. The brightly coloured balloons in the crisp, clean early light make for a memorable view.
I now had nothing left to do but drive across the road to the now empty balloon field which was where the car show would be held. Staking claim to 'our spot', I prepared to defend it against all comers. In previous years the field filled up quickly and took much begging and arm waving to keep a few places open for the rest of the FABACians. This year would be different. The cars arrived slowly and by ten o'clock there was still a large area surrounding me devoid of cars. After washing baby with the morning dew (amazingly effective!) and doing some cleaning and polishing, I had nothing left to do but sit on the bench and drink tea. Eventually I was joined by a small crowd of LBCs. A few more folks arrived later in the day but we only mustered a total of seven cars.
Surprisingly, our little contingent seemed to stir considerable attention from the visitors and we always seemed to have a small crowd in our area. There's not much else to comment on regarding the show. We left in the late afternoon before the rest of the show traffic and headed back home. It was a gloriously beautiful day to have an LBC on the road and swooped through trees and valleys, enjoying the whole vista of beautiful New Brunswick relayed into the comfort of our cabins in stunning windscreen format. As the sun set, our small contingent stopped at Casey's diner for a modest supper.
The day was notable for the arrival of Paul Lemon and his restored Jaguar E-Type 2+2. We hope Paul will become a regular now that his 'kitty' is on the road. The only casualty was one of Jim Woodford's wing mirrors which lost a battle with someones butt.
Click on Mr. Peanut for a couple of photos from the Bleakneys and eleven from Bob Earl. Beautiful!
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