GREENSBORO, Md. – A big part of the Mustang hobby is being able to display your car at a cruise-in or show, as each outing offers a unique experience whether you’re a newbie or a seasoned show veteran. Proof of that is the story behind the fourth car show that I’d ever attended in my 2011 V6 Mustang last June – this being the 9th Annual Marty Gangemi Memorial Car Show, held by the Greensboro Lions Club on Maryland's Eastern Shore. Perhaps not surprisingly, the journey proved equally as satisfying as the destination.

Greensboro, Maryland, is located 67 miles from home, and the travel time is about an hour and 20 minutes. The trip requires driving east on Rt. 50 and crossing our impressive Chesapeake Bay Bridge, which I always enjoy driving across, and then about 14 miles more before turning north as if heading toward Delaware. This becomes mostly driving in the country, passing through many miles of farmland, and it is a perfect cross-country trip. My 2011 V6 Mustang has become a great driving car that handles well on both the high-speed interstates as well as the pastoral, rural areas, and I greatly looked forward to making this journey. It is a long but enjoyable ride!

This Lions Club event was located at the relatively new Greensboro Elementary School on North Main Street. The show was for all makes and models of cars and trucks, and featured 50 Top Choice trophies, along with three other specialty awards, with all being determined by professional judges. "The proceeds are used to support youth activities, eyeglasses for the needy, and various Lions Club community events," according to the flyer. I’ve been a spectator at this event several times over the years and truly enjoyed it. But now I brought my 2011 Mustang to be evaluated.

Show day on Saturday began with cloudy but bright weather and it stayed that way for most of the day with intermittent sun and clouds. This kept the temperatures comfortably in the low '70's all day with a light to moderate breeze as we went into the afternoon. The forecast for potential storms fortunately never materialized. The ride to Greensboro was easy and uneventful while I listened to an old The Ventures instrumental double-album CD from the sixties.

Driving through the town of Greensboro was a time-warp experience where the true downtown area was relatively small and looked like it was built in the 1890's. But it was well-kept with seemingly few changes after so many decades. It resembled a movie set, except that this was a living town with real people residing there. After passing that area I drove a few miles further to their elementary school, arriving by 8:40 a.m. There were many cars and trucks already setting up. I parked with two Mustang friends, Leo, who I recruited last year to go to this show, and Glenn, who Leo recruited to attend with us this year. (Always bring friends!)

Fortunately, the independent judges held off long enough to give me an hour to re-clean everything again that I had just cleaned two days before. My 6:15 a.m. humidity-toweling-off exercise had left everything streaky looking, so my exterior received another re-do on-site. The engine and trunk usually do not need much attention, and the interior just needed removing personal items and touching up the glass. Not long after that, the club told us to be sure our hoods and trunks were open as the independent judges from Shamrock Appraisers were starting their rounds.

I was told that it is a good idea to stay close to your car until the judges have seen it in the event they have questions. My Mustang was reviewed early, with the judges using a simple points scoring half-page sheet. My judge only needed a few minutes to review my car, and then we could walk around and see what everyone else brought. I had quite a bit of time to photograph several of the more interesting cars I saw there. Somewhere after 1 p.m. we were called to one of the overhead porticos for trophy time. The number of entrants had risen to 106 cars and trucks, which was about the same turnout as last year. With such a high number of awards and independent judging, it is surprising that more vehicles are not drawn to this excellent show. The club said that the cost of all of the trophies was covered by donations from local businesses or private assistance, and that every dollar of the entry fees was used for charitable causes.

Unfortunately for Ford lovers, those were '57 Chevys we saw on top of the excellent Goldsboro Lions Club trophies. The club began giving out their 50 Top Choice awards. Leo was called early in the rotation for his '08 Mustang GT convertible, I was called somewhere in the middle of the mix for my V6 Mustang, and Glenn was called later for his '08 Mustang GT coupe. Not only that, but after all 53 trophies were given out, they called the 50/50 raffle winner -- and Glenn took that home, too! Not a bad day for the three travelers from the western side of the Bay.

Not long after we departed Greensboro, I already knew there was at least a five-mile backup waiting for us on westbound Rt. 50 to cross our impressive Bay Bridge going home. That added at least a half-hour to the ride, but I did not mind. Other than that, it had been a perfect day out in the Mustang. But the most humbling experience that Saturday occurred several hours later when I was standing next to my car in an empty church parking lot. A woman walked onto the side of the lot with her four children. I was getting ready to leave when a man driving a van pulled in to pick up this family. He lowered his driver's window and started asking me about my Mustang. He then rolled down his left-rear window so that his young sons could see it, too. As he started to pull away, he told me to enjoy my day! Yes, indeed, I had certainly done that!

FORD PERFORMANCE PHOTOS COURTESY RICK MITCHELL / MITCHELL MOTORSPORTS