Story by Colin Masterson Pictures by Cameron Jurgensen

As we are all aware, the weather does not prevent us from enjoying our cars.  Barring extreme conditions such as snow, which some of us look forward to, and the pouring rain, we still manage to get out to meets and events.  In the case of NorthwestNissans.com’s annual Golden Gardens meet, it is a rain or shine event that many of us anticipate as if it were Christmas.  It is the single largest gathering of local Nissans to occur every year and to miss out on this one day is disheartening for many.

Held at Golden Gardens Park in Seattle, it has a view of Puget Sound, the smell of the ocean, and the sound of modified imports ringing through the trees as they make their way down the road: a couple of sharp hairpins included.  As usual, for those of us who arrive early, the expected morning dew and drizzle coats hung in the air bringing a chill that we ride out until the late morning or early afternoon.

Arriving at 8am, I thought I was decently early only to find that the main and largest parking lot was already holding a significant number cars and people milling around.  By 10am the meet was in full force as cars rolled in, finding parking spaces where they could and eventually filling up the other three parking lots available.  With such a constant flow of cars, people began to create new lines of parking spaces in the larger two parking spaces.  No sooner than one group of people would leave to get food, another set of cars quickly replaced them.  It got to a point where people had to park outside the main parking lots.

Walking the entire length of where the cars were parked, it was amazing to see so many makes and models in various stages of builds.  Not only were there Nissans, but also there were other makes in attendance.  This year was probably one of the most diverse years I have seen as there were cars from all the big Japanese brands, a couple of domestics, and even a couple representing the European flair.

A big thanks has to go out to Gaelen and his team from NWN.  They have done an awesome job every year in being able to organize this.  In addition, recognition is in order for all volunteers who assist NWN.  Also, a big thanks go to two companies that pitched in and helped this year’s venue; NOS: Energy Drink and Nissanparts.cc came out to support by giving out free stuff and pitching in extras for the raffle.

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