The first Northwest Deuce Days was held in 2000, and since then it has evolved into an event held every three years. After the 2013 round, organizer Al Clark had suggested that the event was through. But three years later he led the charge once again, noting however that the 2016 rendition may be the last. We’ll see. The event is held in beautiful Victoria, British Columbia, the capital of B.C., located on the southern end of Vancouver Island. Getting to Victoria requires a ferry ride from Port Angeles, WA.

Swill and I had been planning this trip for three years. We had imagined an epic road trip in our cars, but work schedules and driving logistics dictated flying in this time. We landed in Seattle and travelled to Victoria with friends Rick and Kathy Nelson from Port Townsend. On our ferry ride we learned about several other local attractions including the Woolly Mammoth exhibit at the Royal BC Museum and the Butchart Gardens. Clearly there would be a lot to pack in to this trip.

Darryl and Terri Hollenbeck's roadster won the title America's Most Beautiful Roadster in 2016. They piled on many miles prior to receiving that honor and even more since.

Roger Bell built this tup decades ago and it's been a favorite of mine since the first time I saw it.

Friday and Saturday were filled with events planned for participants, including a poker run. Being hot rod free, Swill and I spent time checking out cars and socializing. Deuces of all body and build styles were everywhere. We found a favorite bar with a big deck overlooking the harbor and main street and planted ourselves there for most of Saturday afternoon. The exchange rate was kind to us, but we couldn’t persuade our servers to redeem our Steek & Swill beer tokens much less convince them that, considering the exchange, each token should really earn a beer and a half. I’m confident we left an impression on the staff that reflected well upon American hot rodders everywhere.

Dave Urae is a good friend and his roadster is one of my all-time favorites.

Dave and Belinda York are great friends and their roadster is period-perfect. So cool.

Sunday morning all the streets surrounding the inner harbor were blocked off for ’32 Ford parking only. I heard people were up at early as 3 AM positioning their cars in the best spots. A small number of cars were invited to park on the grass at (name), these included the Edelbrock, Sid Chavers, and Bruce Meyers cars, as well as lesser known but equally cool rides.

Nearly 1,200 cars attended the show. Vehicles up to 1952 were welcome, but ’32 Fords were the stars of the show. It was truly Deuce overload! There was a short awards program held Sunday afternoon with recognition given for “Long Distance,” “Best Non-Deuce,” and of course, “Best Deuce.” Tom Busch (father of NASCAR drivers Kurt & Kyle) won “Best Deuce” with his radically chopped 3-window. But what really brought tears to his eyes was his early selection for 32%er accolades.

Busch was part of our mission to continue recruiting 32%er members. Our ranks are growing, and word had spread via social media that we would be in attendance with our swag. Our membership kits and t-shirts proved popular and many were sold. We also presented honorary memberships to folks we felt deserved special acknowledgment. These people included Bruce Meyers, Al Clark (event organizer), and Pete Chapouris. (Pete may be best known for the California Kid, but “Limefire” was a game changer in my world.)

Sadly we missed both the Wooly Mammoth and the gardens … there’s always 2019. We hope.

Al, are you listening?