Every year instead of a traditional Thanksgiving holiday we travel to Daytona Beach for the Turkey Run. This year was the 42nd annual Turkey Run and I believe we have been to about ten of them over the years. The event is held at The Daytona International Speedway and runs from Thanksgiving morning through Sunday afternoon. There are thousands and thousands of classic cars, exotic cars, rat rods and all other sorts of vehicles there to look at.
I wouldn’t say no to this being my daily driver.
This will get the kids to school on time!
I love classic cars so I enjoy the car scene but I also go for the people watching and the food. The atmosphere is hard to beat and the vibe is awesome. In general car enthusiasts are amazing people who are always willing to help other car enthusiasts out. The stories that are shared at the car shows are great and long time friends are always made. Last year I sold my VW bus and purchased the Catalina at the Turkey Run. The former owner of the Catalina came by to see us this year and to see what we had done to the car. He is a great guy and I’m sure we will keep in touch.
This is what I love about the car show…I just asked this guy walking by with the bird if I could take his picture. Before I knew it I was holding the bird!
The food at the Turkey Run is classic “fair food”! No complaints from me! The dining options are endless. The aroma of friend pastries or cooked onions is at every corner.
This is what our Thanksgiving dinner options looked like!
After we had already walked about three miles by 9:00 am we found ourselves at the “chicken on a stick” stand. We were a little embarrassed when we sat down to our chicken dinner only to realize it was still early morning.
How do you walk past this and not try it? Even at 9:00 am…you try it.
If the cars and food aren’t enough for you, there is a massive swap meet with endless amounts of car parts, antiques and all sorts of other bizarre items! This is one of my favorite parts of the show. I love to walk row by row just looking through all the stuff. This year I found a Dukes of Hazzard lunch box just like my old one! I probably should have kept mine because they are selling for $65.00 now!
Old school lunch boxes
To top it off the dogs of the Turkey Run are awesome. They are spoiled, they are cute and they are everywhere! There are as many dogs in strollers as there are kids in strollers.
One of the many spoiled / loved dogs at the Turkey Run
There are dogs that have their own custom car wagons that match their Owner’s car. I loved to see them all and I stopped to pet most of them…just so I could stop walking for a few minutes!
I fear this dog is cooler than I am
In the evenings there are more car events at the speedway and even more on A1A near the beach. People line the streets by the hotels all night and watch the cars cruise down A1A. We usually take the car to Bellair Plaza and walk around looking at more cars and talking car talk.
Our 1963 Pontiac Catalina
The trip never gets old and I hope we can continue to go for years to come. If you are ever near Daytona Beach at Thanksgiving stop by and check it out! You won’t be sorry. If you would like to go and want some travel tips, let me know…I will be happy to help you.
the world-famous Daytona Beach
Another great Florida destination is Ft. Lauderdale!
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