Salem First Wednesday + Car Show

Today after work we came home had a quick bite of Boca burgers with grilled peppers, onions and garlic over Jasmine rice. (About 450 calories) Then it was off to the Salem First Wednesday which featured antique cars this time. With a few streets blocked off, a mess of vendors, antique cars and brave musicians you get a sampling of what this "First Wednesday" is all about. Sis was wearing a poodle style skirt with a pink top. I told her there would be a pink or black car which we could use as a background for her outfit. And there was!

We started by going to the Capital. Here we saw a couple dozen classics of which a 1939 Buick was my favorite. Its' owner said it was considered a Doctors racecar and could clock a cool 100 miles per hour. After viewing the cars we went inside the Capital. I tried to get a shot of the interior of the dome, but my photo was blurry and dull. As we left the Capital we saw the Trolley getting ready to make a stop and scurried over to ride it downtown.

Once downtown we saw musicians on every corner. They all had low power amps and a small group of listeners. Chemeketa Street was closed from Church to Commercial. Here many food and crafts booths had located. In between everything there were rows of the old cars. For the most part, every car was really well restored and many were breathtaking. The paint was deeply shiny and the chrome's mirrored surface was a temptation to every photographer.

Lauren was captured by a display of kittens from the Willamette Valley Humane Society. These little creatures were very animated and it was dificult to say "no honey we can't take one home tonight." We managed to see everything and found our way back to the Trolley for one final ride through downtown. As we passed one corner I thought I heard my buddy David Birch's Calliope. When we got off the trolley I told Dawn and Sissy we would drive the Volvo to where we heard the Calliope. Sure enough, we did find David and stopped to have a listen. It is a wonderful thing to hear a Calliope. It reeks of circus, childhood and indoor roller skating arenas.