Wal-Mart hosted another breakfast/driver’s meeting for us, and the folks from Hot Rod took advantage of the chance to shoot some Corvettes that were on the trip.

Some new, some old, some concepts — well, you get the idea. To top it off, Mr. High Performance Chevrolet himself, John Moss, was in the building (okay, so it was the parking lot — work with me here). Mr. Moss stopped by to take a peek at our ’59, and Gary almost hyperventilated.

I don’t think Gary will ever wash his hand now that Mr. Moss shook it.

I’m guessing they’re sharing some inside joke, as one television star to another.

Walking the lot, I found a multitude of uncommon cars — like a ’70 Super Bird — this one is an actual “driver,” not some over-restored “garage queen,"

and an LS6 El Camino of ’70 vintage,

with a full Hotchkiss suspension and some short gearing. I understand it made short work of a few cars last night on some darkened back streets. You gotta love the way it announces its presence.

Just down the row was a choice GTO Judge. Anybody remember the “Laugh-In” TV show from back in the ’60s and ’70s?

Not everyone was having a great time, though. It looks like this poor soul lost his ride.

I can just hear him calling his wife on the cell phone. . . “Honey, you aren’t going to believe what funny little thing happened last night. . .” Good luck with that one, buddy.

Remember the flamed minivan I saw the other day? Well, I saw it again,

and this time there were people inside with a great story. Meet Mom and Brianna.

Mom likes cars so much that Dad had her minivan “flamed” for Mother’s Day. I called my wife and asked, but she said “NO!” Brianna just turned four, and loves to talk. We had great fun trading pictures and talking about all the fun that cars are. You know what? She likes red cars, just like our Sedan Delivery.

By the way, hiding back in the spacious rear of the van was Brianna’s little sister who was never able to get a word in edgewise.

They made me really miss my kids, who have one day left of school. I can’t wait.

Before we knew it, Doc was running us out of the Wal-Mart parking lot in fine order.

You have to admire a man who can direct the masses like he can.

We opted for the smooth route out of Detroit — the western route. The guys from Comp Cams must have thought the same way. This is their outrageous Mustang, which sounds like no other, and runs like “Jack the Bear.”

We actually were able to pass this ’78 Camaro. It sports a healthy small block and twin turbos.

Paul, the driver, hails from Kansas City, and has been a longhauler almost as many times as I have. He’s a great guy, too.

Heading through Ohio once again, we happened-upon this ’58 Nomad wagon. Gary was kind enough to let me know not all Nomads were two doors. Four doors existed from ’58 to ’60-something or another. I tend to lose concentration when Gary commences to pontificate, which is quite often.

Ohio actually has the nerve to charge for driving on its poorly maintained interstate highways, calling them turnpikes. I haven’t figured out how they can do this, since our tax dollars paid for them, but that’s the breaks. We saw this great sign on the back of an Escort wagon. An Escort wagon? You gotta be kidding.

For lunch, we stopped at Summit Racing Equipment, a large performance parts distributor and Mothers customer.

Yep, they have a few things in stock.

Gary stayed to guard the car while I found my way to the food line.

Even as long as the line was, I got the best end of the deal.

Stomach full, and feet rested, I hoofed-it over to watch for interesting cars, like this ’65 Falcon Futura.

Gary was bitten by a “tune the fuel injection bug” at our last stop, and decided to tweak the mixture as we drove along.

I hope he gets done early in case the traffic suddenly stops.

Before we knew it, we were in beautiful Canfield, terminus of the 2002 Hot Rod Magazine Power Tour.

Gary didn’t fall for the old “You made a wrong turn somewhere” trick, but I tried.

By the time we arrived, Jim had our display all set up once again, so we pulled the ’59 in place by the trailer and got down to the business of having fun. Brianna and her family stopped by while I was on the phone...

so I let her finish the story.

Walking the scenic fairgrounds was a real pleasure. I got to see great cars like this ’66 Hemi Satellite HP2.

I got to actually touch a real hemi.

That’s some old hunk of iron.

Gary fell in love with this Pro Street ’59 Oldsmobile.