The event also hosts a major display of restored antique cars, in this case Oldsmobiles. Unbeknownst to us, Oldsmar was originally started by the inventor of the Oldsmobile automobile and founder of the Oldsmobile Motor Company, Ransom Eli Olds.
Ransom Olds purchased over 37,000 acres on the northern tip of Tampa Bay in 1916 in what is now present day Oldsmar. His plan was to turn the area into a major community as it was about half way between Tampa and St. Petersburg before bridges across the bay were built. The town was originally named R. E. Olds-on-the-Bay. The name was later changed to Oldsmar. In 1927 the name was changed to Tampa Shores, and finally in 1937 it was changed back to Oldsmar.
The car show today had about 50 restored Oldsmobiles, many from several Florida Oldsmobile car clubs and some from other parts of the country. This is apparently a big deal and major event for classic Oldsmobile owners. There were certainly some really beautifully restored cars, most of which were from the 50's, the high point of Detroit "big iron" cars.
A major highlight of the event was the Saturday morning parade, a very nice small town event with lots of families in lawn chairs catching Mardi Gras bead strings, assorted candy selections and trinkets advertising various local services and businesses. The antique Oldsmobiles followed the usual complement of assorted politicians, most sitting on the back of convertibles. Local businesses and organizations also had floats and people in various costumes walking along the parade route. There were also a lot of public service agencies in the parade with fire engines, police cars and medical vehicles with their lights on and sirens going. The only thing missing was a marching band. We had a good time enjoying the parade and even caught a few strings of beads.
After the parade we had carnival food for lunch that was actually pretty good. We then walked around awhile and decided to go somewhere else to relax and have a cool drink. We ended up at a restaurant/tavern down the road and had a glass of Sangria while decided if we wanted to do anything else today.
On the way back to the RV we decided to make a quick stop at The Oldsmar Flea Market, billed as the largest in the south. We had been there before and nothing has changed. It undoubtedly has the biggest selection of "stuff" for sale that is on the fringe of commercial respectability. You name it, they had it, new or used, clean or dirty and who knows where it came from. You could also buy a reptile, get a hair cut, a massage, eye exam and maybe even a colonoscopy in the back somewhere. We didn't buy anything although the produce stand fruits and vegtables looked pretty good.
Oldsmar Flea Market
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