Cars? Or Cars 2?

Are you a Pixar fan? I sure am. Some of the best movies in the past 20 years come from Pixar. It started with Toy Story, which my granddaughter Morgan made us watch about 200 times over a week at the beach, and is still going strong. In 2006, Pixar came up with Cars, a nostalgic work about small towns and car-loving boys that was right up Bob's alley. When he was much younger, Bob drag-raced cars that he built and painted much like the Lightening McQueen of the movie. And while Penny is meant to get us around in style, I know he secretly wants to put her on the track. Cars 2, I'm afraid, went the way of most sequels, and is widely considered one of the few Pixar misses. I was concerned because this year's car show was definitely limited by the corona virus in terms of attendees. And I went to Carlisle wondering if we would be celebrating Cars, or lamenting Cars 2.

Well, it was Cars all the way. Not only was the car show a major joy for Bob, but Penny won the Celebrity Choice award! Of all 500+ cars at Carlisle! He was so proud! What did he win, you ask? Mostly braggers' rights, but he got a nice plaque, and more important, he got lots of attention for Penny. From the day he began ordering Penny, he obsessed over her color. Zeus Bronze. Corvettes are supposed to be red. Or maybe blue. Not brown! We discussed it ad nauseam. But we wanted something different. We already have a red corvette. Red corvettes are for kids. We're a sedate older couple. Blah, blah, blah. But Zeus Bronze stuck with us, and I think in his secret heart, Bob was worried that people would think the color too dull, and worse, that he would wish he had chosen another.

Nothing could be further from the truth for Penny. In fact, we can't get out of a gas station in under 45 minutes for people stopping to ask about her. Everywhere we go, we attract head-turning people (mostly young men) who comment first on her beauty and second on her growling power. Bob had a terrific three days in Carlisle with her as one of the stars of the show. And I understand that only 2% of the new Corvettes are being ordered in Zeus Bronze, so ours will be a standout forever.

One of the things Bob was excited about was getting a professional picture of Penny, which is one of the perks offered at the show. The photographers take the car to a spot in the field and then add the date. If you know Bob, you probably know that he has a bit of OCD at times. And his OCD kicked in during his photo shoot. The first few did not show the full beauty of the color. The next several had the unfortunate background of Carlisle port-a-potties (I can hear my daughter Leigh, an actual professional photographer, laughing here). Finally, they hit on a spot that he liked. 16 photos later.

And me? Well, I have never been much of a Carlisle Car Show person. The miles of strewn car parts, the singularity of the conversation, the dust and the heat are not my cup of tea. But I truly enjoy the town of Carlisle. It reminds me of growing up in eastern Pennsylvania. The houses are older, many carefully restored, but just as many not. Carlisle has the US Army War College, Dickinson College and Penn State Dickinson School of Law, and probably as many law firms per square foot as anywhere. The area is largely agricultural, and quickly turns to farm land. It is not unusual to see horse drawn carriages on back roads, and the best food at the car show comes from the Pennsylvania Dutch booth. They serve a chicken soup with thick flavorful noodles. A ham sandwich to die for, and shoo-fly pie. You may have never heard of shoo-fly pie. It is a molasses pie with crumbles that was a big deal to my Grandma Dommermuth, my Grandma Beatty and my Nana when I was a kid. Because it is so sweet, it attracts flies, hence the name. And while I always get a slice at Carlisle, I always forget that it is too sweet for me anymore. But I get it anyway. I must confess that I did go over to the car show with Bob and lasted about an hour. Mainly due to the fact that less than half the attendees were wearing masks, and I began to get a little paranoid. Our next trip takes us to visit family across the south, and I wanted to avoid that nasty virus. But I did take many walks through town each day and found a great bookstore, the Whistlestop, and several artsy shops to wander through. We ate at several local restaurants, had some great local beers, and enjoyed a dinner with Bob's sister, Ginger and nephew, Grant, who lives nearby in Hershey. We stayed at a small airbnb close to town that was clean and comfortable.

All in all, Carlisle was a big success. Next up, a trip to Bradford PA to see our granddaughter, Cameron.