31st Annual Run to
the Sun - 2008
Lake Havasu City, AZ
Thursday, October 16th
(Click on any picture below to
enlarge it)
Poker Run
The Poker Run once again had the BlueWater Resort & Casino in Parker,
AZ as a final destination. The weather on Thursday morning was calm and a
perfect day for a leisurely cruise along the Colorado River, especially if you
were driving a convertible or roadster. With the temperature at a mild 73
degrees at 10:00 AM it was the thing to do if you had a top that would go down.
The first card was drawn at the "Pink Hotel" on the island in Lake
Havasu City and cars left there between 10:00 AM and Noon. One free hand came
with each entry and additional hands could be purchased at the first stop for
$5.00 each. From there, the cars crossed over the London Bridge and headed south
on SR 95. This year, the second stop was changed from the scenic outlook to SARA
Park, and a few old timers didn't bother to look at the instructions they were
given and breezed past this stop. They were given the opportunity to draw their
second card at Stop 3, which was at Havasu Springs, near Parker Dam. Somewhere
along the route, a truck accident blocked the highway between stop 3 & 4 and
a lot of participants turned around and headed back to Lake Havasu City. Those
cars early enough to make it to Stop 4 and the Blue Water before the accident
completed their hands and turned them in.
A special thanks to the Blue Water Resort & Casino for their generous
$500.00 donation for the Poker Run prizes. They also provided additional prizes
for some of the runner-ups.
Results of the Poker Run were:
Darrell & Kathy Miller, Entry #138, from Wenatchee, WA won the $250.00
prize for best hand. They had four Jacks
Low hand was won by Ben & Gail Levacy, Entry #537, from Upland, CA and
their 8 high hand won the $200.00 prize.
A runner-up prize was also awarded for the next best hand. Bob & Geri
Ross, Entry #291 from Cerritos, CA won a $25.00 Gift Certificate for the
BlueWater Resort & Casino.
Gil Pike, Entry #510 from Torrance, CA won a Two Night Stay at the BlueWater
and Edna Fruchey, Entry #133 from Tracy, CA won 2 Tickets to
the Ronny Milsap Concert at the BlueWater.
Our Poker Run Chairman had a candy guessing game at the BlueWater that was won by Frank Adorno, Entry # 316, from Arcadia, CA. There were 183
pieces of candy in the jar and Frank hit it on the nose with his guess of 183.
He took home the candy and a $50.00 bill. Guesses ranged from 50 to 1,700.
Thanks to everyone who participated in the Poker Run this year. We hope to
see you all again next year.
Cruise Night
This year, you had to be a entrant in Run to the Sun to participate in our
Cruise Night. McCulloch Blvd was closed at 1:00 PM so all cars could be removed
from the street. An additional block was added for parking and cars were staged in this
block to help keep the streets clear of cars trying to enter McCulloch. Once
again the Havasu Classics car club assisted with parking cars. Cruise night was
scheduled for 4:00 PM til 10:00 PM. The 91 degree weather at 4:00 PM didn't stop
the locals from coming out to walk the street and by 5:00 PM the streets were filled with
spectators.
This part of our event is popular with our participants and the thousands of
Lake Havasu City residents who come out on Thursday night to view the vehicles.
By 8:00 PM the temperature had dropped to 75 degrees and the crowd stayed strong
in the cooler weather. This is the perfect time of year to enjoy the evenings in a
T-shirt and shorts.
Several new restaurants along this stretch of McCulloch Blvd provided plenty
of places to eat and drink. Our T-shirt vendor, Natural Tease Sportswear, had
booths set up to sell event shirts and music was provided by Desert Steel
Motorsports.
