Riding Shotgun With Teen WolfThe next morning, we all congregated back at HP's parking lot. Greeted by a small but warm group, we sold a few more goodie bags and handed out driving instructions for the drive ahead of us. Paired up with eurotuner newbie, Jason "Don't Call Me Jackie" Jackman, I declared shotgun for myself for the day as it seemed that barely a European car even showed up to caravan with us-that way I could shoot photos and take small naps until our next stop. Our midday stopover was at the Andretti Speed Park, a playland of sorts with a fullsize arcade and motorsports extravaganza that included a mini slick track amongst other attractions. Unfortunately, the blistering heat combined with the high humidity levels made it extremely difficult for anyone to enjoy any of it, other than Teen Wolf, who thought it might earn him a few extra brownie points with the ladies if he drove around on the track by himself. Nobody really paid any attention to him.
We were really excited to get on our way because in a couple of hours we would be at our overnight stop in Daytona Beach at the Plaza Resort, which conveniently enough (shameless plug alert!), is not only the home of our Spring Break Tuner Bash, but also houses the infamous Club 600 North-the party highlight of this year's Tour, complete with rowdy hooligans and a bikini contest where the girls wore not very much at all except a healthy application of baby oil that had been spread all over their supple bodies. Toucan was the host of the evening and passed out little glow necklaces that seemed perfect for the occasion. The club was filled to capacity within moments, and that's probably because they overheard Howard saying, "Leave everything on my tab." Remember, kids, next year when it's time to decide which leg of the Tour you want to go on, you might want to consider the South. Oh yeah, the Spring Break Tuner Bash is just around the corner, too. So go!
The Home Stretch To Hot-LantaAfter a hard night of partying, it was time to get back to work. It wasn't going to be easy though, since the humidity level seemed to have gotten worse and caused my camera lens to fog up constantly. After a while, the frustration forced me to go and borrow someone's disposable camera with the empty promise that I would reward their generosity with a prime rib dinner and the chance to hug Ricky once we got to NOPI. I drove during the first half of the day up to our next stop at Henshin Auto Design, located in Jacksonville, because Jackie had spent the entire night trying to close a deal that never actually closed. I really want to emphasize the word "try," but at least you did your best, Wolverine! Now go shave.