Nostalgic McDonald’s Cruise

Last Friday we were driving the '53 Pontiac Catalina to the Walter P. Chrysler Club meet in Lincolnshire, Illinois (We'll tell you about this in a separate blog entry). After crossing the state border and asking directions at the first toll gate on the Tri-State Expressway, we knew we were going to need a "pit stop" before driving on to the WPC shindig. The big shopping mall in Gurnee was off to our right and seemed like a good place to stop (We had been there years before to see the Joe Bortz Dream Car Collection on display). After pulling into the giant mall, we looked for a restroom, but no restaurants leaped out, so we drove around the entire parking lot and came out next to a McDonald's. Now, this isn't just any MacDonald's - it is called the "Nostalgic McDonald's" and in addition to having a '50s theme, that Friday night it was surrounded by nostalgic cars. It seems we had stumbled upon a cruise night . . . and a really fantastic one at that. We guessed that there were well over 50-60 cars and that included some really fantastic cruisers like a cool little "Old Skol" hot rod with a hopped-up Model A Ford engine! There were '57 Chevys, '55 T-Birds and all sorts of muscle cars. In conversations, we learned that the cruise takes place every Friday night. In addition, we were told that enthusiasts in the Northern Illinois region can go to a cruise every night of the week! We won't be there with our Catalina, since Gurnee, Illinois is about 200 miles frim Iola. However, we heartily recommend this cruise to anyone living in that vicinity. It is defintely a winner.