How many of you dread going to the dentist (or doctor, tax man, what have you)? Well, take that dropped-stomach feeling and imagine the exact total opposite. That's the feeling you get just before you leave en route to Austin, Texas, for the annual Lone Star Round Up! You may not feel the same, though--that is, if you're not into cool hot rods and customs, don't like good blues, country, and rockerbilly music (live), and have a set of taste buds that don't prefer some of the best food you'll ever lay your choppers into!

The Round Up celebrated its third annual outing, and we were there for the third consecutive year in a row, as well. And our unbiased opinion is that 2004 was the best yet for this grassroots event. It may have helped that this was also the third "different" venue for the event (a little larger lakeside park than last year, and way better than the open-air football stadium from the first outing). Albeit on the fringe of the lower-rent district of town, Festival Beach Park offered great accommodations for a show of this nature--except for the cars that couldn't get in! That's right, the Round Up had a vehicle cap, which was met way before the event, and meant quite a few had to sit out in the parking lot and watch from afar (of course, the owners were allowed spectator admission!). So, with that in mind, you can envision a packed house...well, park, that is.

Now, the show is much, much more than just a day in the park. Centered around Austin's famous South Congress Avenue, the Round Up offers plenty more to fill up a weekend, and then some. For starters, the Continental Club offered nightly consumables and entertainment, besides being the official headquarters for the event. Directly across the street, Jo's Coffee, in conjunction with The Rodder's Journal, hosted a mini drive-in movie as well as live entertainment Friday and Saturday nights. A little further south down Congress, Trophy's Bar & Grill had bands each night, and that's on top of the lineup the Kontinentals had playing at the park during the car show--so, if you're into good live music, you would definitely get your fill! (All of this included with the price of a laminate!) Above and beyond that, there was the regular Austin nightlife, which alone is enough to keep anyone busy for a week straight at the very least!

As you can tell, we had a good time all around. And we weren't the only non-Texans joining in, as we caught Jim "Jake" Jacobs caravanning (in a '34 Fordor built just for the occasion) with the likes of Hop Up's Mark "Morty" Morton, Pete and Carol Chapouris, and the Kennedy Brothers (driving a newly built '32 roadster for Houstonian Jim Jard, who just happened to join along for the drive!). Of course, we ran into countless others from all across the States and beyond, which just goes to show that the Round Up is the real deal. If this sounds like something you want to include on next year's to-do list (end of March), visit www.lonestarroundup.com.