The 2002 Rhododendron Festival in Florence, Oregon last weekend was a big success even though there was only a small contingent of Imperialists and a smaller contingent of actual Imperials. I want to thank Leslie and her husband Bob for organizing and hosting the IML portion of the Rhody Days Festival. I returned home from the weekend with a renewed appreciation for the mental health benefits of owning and driving an Imperial. I feel I've been lifted out of my winter doldrums and am looking forward to our next Northwest Imperial Event, The 2002 Imperial Cascade Loop around Mount Hood. I drove my 1964 Crown four door hardtop a total of 821 miles over the three day weekend. At the last fill up before I reached home I had traveled 630 miles on 41 gallons of gas for an average of 15.32 MPG. For a complete write-up of my visit to Florence visit the Events page on the IML site where there are photos posted of my trip and a full description of the activities including a close call with a Washington speed trap. Loren