Escaping the clutches of a major league blizzard that crushed the East Coast, I made my way to southern California at the end of last week. The purpose of the trip was two fold. First I came out to serve as the host of the 2015 season NMCA West awards. Secondly, Chad and I will attend a media conference out here during the week. In between I happened to have some free time and I wanted to use as much of it as I could to see cool gearhead stuff.

The first installment in a busy weekend of big fun comes right now with these photos from a visit to the well known Donut Derelicts cruise. I had never attended this pre-dawn gathering of hot rods, exotics, trucks, super cars, and whatever else rolls into the parking lot at the donut shop in Huntington Beach, California.

An institution for decades now, Donut Derelicts has its own rituals and culture that surround it. LOTS of the guys there were sporting Bonneville hats and jackets. Lots of guys had their car club gear on, many of us were just walking around smiling and taking photos because we had always wanted to see what this shindig was all about. Super low key and fun, we loved it.

We’ve got some great photos to show you just how diverse this deal is. If you can, get yourself to Donut Derelicts someday. It is way worth the early wake up call!

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