Shane was a happy camper because he finally found a place for coffee, since there wasn’t a Starbucks to be found. In the time he spent inside,

half the Tour passed us by on the way to the driver’s meeting.

Finally, Shane reappeared with his special blend of herbs, fruit and coffee.

Shane was happy, and it was good.

As the meeting started up, I noticed a few cars we hadn’t seen before. A Bricklin, with Ford 351C power

(the other choice from Malcom Bricklin was AMC’s 360),

and a drop-dead gorgeous Charger.

Shane spent his time doing techno-speak babble with the Hot Rod Crew.

I heard something about our flux capacitor being larger than theirs. Or maybe they were watching the newest Hot Rod TV presented by Mothers; I couldn’t be sure.

Finally, we slipped away under cloudy skies but dry streets, on the way to Rochester. Just 30 minutes down the road, the fine folk of Jewell

offered breakfast for the Tour. It seemed like every establishment was offering vittles,

from the church...

to the animal hospital.

I wonder what they were serving?

Even closed-up businesses were offering nourishment for the weary road traveler.

Shane was full of his special coffee blend, we didn’t need to stop, so we pushed on towards Rochester.

Dotting the countryside were new windmills by GE, harvesting the air currents to generate power.

Maybe I could get one of those to cut my air conditioning bill for the summer.

Since some roads were still underwater, we had one small detour to make.

With two cell phones, a GPS, written directions — and the combined intelligence of a platypus — we still got lost. The good news was we found our way back, just after passing this neglected early ’60s Corvair van.

It was a sign, I’m sure. Shane said it was just old and ugly.

Back on the route, we arrived in the town of Clear Lake.

Shane Googled it since it sounded familiar, and found it was the city where Buddy Holly performed his last concert before perishing in a plane crash. In 1958. 25 years before Shane was born.

We got lucky on where to turn,

and drove down to a likely-looking building.

Yep, we were there.

The building was unlocked, so we walked in and took a look around. It was like stepping back in time. Everything was 1958. Memorobilia was everywhere, and outside was a memorial to the unfortunate 3, plus their pilot.

Memorial bricks attested to those who were there that night,

and those who wished they were.

If you’re ever in Clear Lake, take a stop by and see the place where the music died.

With a last shot,

we hit the road again.

“So, bye, bye, Miss American Pie...”

We caught other Tourers,

so we knew we weren’t lost again. Lost in time, though, was a K-Code Mustang 2+2...

compared to the new Shelby Cobra ’vert that trailed him.

I asked Shane if he wanted the special du jour from the Road Kill Cafe.

Suddenly it was diet time.

In close to Madison, folks cleaned-up,

and then raced for good parking place.

While Jim and I strategized,

the RX-8 cooled its Wankel.

Shane thought he’d try artsy with the camera when I wasn’t looking.

See all that sunshine? I forecasted it.

Over at the Eaton display, the Ring Brothers (winners of our 2006 Shine Award at SEMA, for The Reactor), debuted their new Camaro creation,

The Reactor nearby.

Tic Tac Toe — some Corvettes in a row.

While the AAR ’Cuda got most of the press in the Trans Am wars, Dodge’s Challenger T/A was an equal adversary to the Camaro, Mustang and AMX.

Street versions had the 340 6-pack option — that's three 2-barrel carbs.

This clean Corvair

topped it if you were counting carbs, with 4.

Ever wanted to fix those nasty tailgaters?

You need a flame-throwing Cadillac.

In the not-commonly-seen category, we found a neat Buick wagon,

a brace of American V8-powered Porsche 928s,

and a stretched VW Beetle.

Up next to the stage, Jay Leno’s E85-powered Z06 held court.

Nice car with a nice shine.

Our Mothers man-bag winner collected his prize up on the stage

while Joe reviewed my weather forecasting accuracy.

Based on the numbers he saw, I was accurate $100, oops, I mean 100% of the time.

That’s some great forecasting on my part, if I can say so.

Done on stage, I walked back to our big rig, passing AJ from OverHaulin’ signing autographs,

and Kenny Wayne Shepherd’s Valiant/Duster; which magically appeared next to our display.