On any day, a trip to the waterfront in historic downtown Coupeville evokes thoughts of another time.

Add nearly 70 century-old vehicles to the scene and people dressed in early 1900s clothing and an even clearer picture presents itself.

“You look at the buildings and the cars, it’s the way it must’ve looked 100 years ago,” said Bob Strieter, his vintage driving goggles pulled above his eyes.

Strieter drove his 1911 Ford Model T from Ridgefield to join other pre-1916 vehicles on a five-day tour centered on Whidbey Island.

The tour is an annual road trip staged by the Skagit-Snohomish chapter of the Horseless Carriage Club of America with a new location picked each year, drawing participants from up and down the West Coast.

Pat Farrell of Sedro-Woolley was tasked with organizing the tour this year and hearkened back to his Oak Harbor roots.

“They needed somebody who knew all the roads,” said Farrell, a 1963 graduate of Oak Harbor High School.

The participants of the Island Navigator Tour have sputtered around the island — the vehicles drive most comfortably at about 35 mph — since arriving in Oak Harbor on Sunday and will continue until their departure Thursday.

The trip from Southwest Washington took a toll on Strieter’s Model T as it knocked out the No. 1 cylinder and he had to park the vehicle at the tour’s host hotel in Oak Harbor.

But knowing he was in reliable and abundant company, little could wipe a smile off Strieter’s face as he surveyed historic Coupeville and a line of century-old cars as far as the eye could see parked along Front Street Monday.

“This is my first time here. We absolutely love it,” he said.

It’s a good thing Strieter favors the Model T.

Its popularity and affordability resulted in more than 15 million of them produced from 1908-1927, meaning that even a century later, spare parts aren’t too difficult to find.

“You’ll see more Model T cars here than any other,” said Steve Rex of Everett. “They had the most parts reproduced. Parts for a Stanley? Forget it.”

Rex rolled up with his grandson in a 1911 Ford Model T, featuring a rear seat that remained exposed once the top was raised.

The Town of Coupeville reserved parking along Front Street during a four-hour lunch-time window Monday for the car club, creating photo opportunities that had visitors reaching for their camera phones.

Joe Morgan, a physician from Coos Bay, Ore., relaxed in the backseat of his blue 1914 Hudson Six-40.

A member of the HCCA for 61 years, Morgan is affiliated with Oregon chapters in Portland, Medford and Eugene as well as one in Phoenix, Ariz.

“There’s not enough old cars in Coos Bay to have our own,” he said.

Morgan said the Hudson was a “basket case” when he bought it in 1992 then had it professionally restored, including leather interior filled with horse hair stuffing.

“Just like the original,” he said.

“I’ve been interested in old cars since I was in high school.”

It was a common sentiment.

“I built a little Model T back when I was in junior high school in Idaho,” said Bob Allen of Des Moines. “When it became close to retirement, I got back involved.”

Allen left Buffy, his Lakeland Terrier, in the backseat of his 1913 Model T roadster while he left for a lunch time snack. Buffy rested her head on the passenger door and dozed, perfectly content while waiting for her traveling companion.

“We’ve got 100 miles to do tomorrow,” Allen said.