what's up?

fire

cool paint job.

———

if all the other stuff going on in my life isn’t enough, we just evacuated because of one of the fires going on today. mile from home is too close.

what the hell?

missed it

here’s a chevy from the bomb club show at santa anita. from five years ago. it’s marbleized like a bowling ball, only better. the pinstriped details help tie in the gold of the rims. and red and gold…my high school colors.

i missed yesterday’s show, since it’s hard to shoot pics at santa anita when you’re in phoenix with no camera, but even with a camera, just couldn’t do it.

from the pics i have seen online, i missed a really good show. :(… looked packed. read about some people complaining that it took too long to get out at the end of the show.

flight from phoenix was happily uneventful. i timed everything out perfectly, from check out at the hotel, to bfast, to car return. only a little wait at security. i actually had an empty seat next to me, so yay.

i will miss the hotel. after a week there, i had deciphered the various ways back to my room from any direction, or outside door, for a quick dash in from the heat. i remember my disappointment when i saw the sign over the door across from my room, “ice stairs,” imagining slippery, cold, blue stairs, with icicle rails. nope. an ice machine, then another door. then plain, cement stairs, warm air, some pipes, leading to the oven that is outside. also, locked on the outside, so always had to walk a little further if i went around that outer perimeter of the building. best to do in the morning or the evening, after five pm.

i haven’t checked on the work i have missed while i was gone, but suspect no one else picked it up for me either.

backing up old files today, doing some shopping, hanging with my better half, who did come pick me up at the airport after all.

i’ve missed this cold, overcast. there’s no place like home.

red

ya, ya. i had this picture ready a week ago. i got busy, places to go, people to see. forgot.

just getting back to sifting though pics, before i have to run off to my mom’s house. going south again to have mothers’ day dinner with my bro and his wife and friends. really not looking forward to sitting in traffic.

nice car. red. does this look red to you? bane of my existence. red cars are a hassle for my camera. does this look a tad orange to you? my eyes are getting old and tired.

change of plans

better half and i decided to go to the azalea festival show last weekend at the south gate golf course.

used to wake up early and be there before the sun rose, to get that early morning light on the cars waiting to get in the gate.

then there were a couple of years, where my better half couldn’t go, while he was taking care of his mother. i’d go, but there weren’t as many cars; then the gate guards wouldn’t be persuaded to let me in to take pictures before the official open time.

then another year, i went on my own again. before the sun. in the lot, in the dark before six a.m. before the people running the show and the vendors. before anyone bothered to show up, to line up, to get in. almost left, after sitting for an hour, but then, i’d already waited, so waited some more. not much went in the gate, didn’t wait until start, as they again wouldn’t let me in, so i left.

same thing last year, with my better half. we shot all the cars that bothered to be there, until they all went in, and decided it wasn’t worth the wait, and found a much better show elsewhere.

this year, same deal, but we didn’t get up early, got there after ten a.m..

i was worried we wouldn’t get a place to park. it wasn’t an issue; we were right in the lot.

we were stopped by one employee, asking if we were with the band. nope. better half strode right in the gate where the cars enter, so i followed. i thought for sure that employee would stop him, but they just walked the other way.

where once the golf course was crammed with cars to the outer fences, there were only a few rows. a stage was set up across the way, and a live band played later on.

the vendor’s truck had overpriced food, while outside the course, at the main street front, there were boy scouts selling a reasonably price breakfast for a reasonable amount of food.

also, whatever happened to the carnival part of the festival? there was just a baseball game going on in that field.

we stayed only two hours and shot everything we wanted. chatted with an old acquaintance, who said they search the cars for booze and drugs, don’t allow barbeques, or outside food, which pretty much will eventually kill off this show.

ended up in norwalk, at an easter basket drive, with a whole lot more cars.

here’s a chevy with a really amazing paint job. better half chatted with the owner for a while, who said originally he only wanted a solid color paint job. the painter convinced him it would be too plain, and that he’d be back, he went with it and here is the result.

one of those cars, where you wish you carried a ladder, because i am just too short, and the tripod isn’t tall enough.

i wonder what my better half’s pics look like, or if he’ll post them on his blog.

i don’t think we’ll be back to the south gate show.

we had thought about going to the true pride show yesterday, but those plans also changed. my younger brother had been visiting my mother for the past week. he had been dropped off, while his wife was out of state, and so we ended up in san diego, driving him home, and staying in the area for the night.

it was a good break. our jobs have been very stressful lately, with more work than usual, and we were just exhausted, without realizing it.

uneventful

found this lovely out in the parking lot of vail hq. not every spectacular car can fit inside the center court.

just enough light at dusk to have a blue sky above, and the parking lot lights shining down light tinged a pale yellow, makes a complement and pop of color on the cars.

i wonder what the girl in the car finds so much more interesting than all of the rolling art surrounding her?

i worked three days this week, then had friday off.

i’ve been trying to get over this cold. it’s mostly gone, but i’m really just low energy. no, i don’t have covid.

instead of hitting some car shows, i’ve spent my time sweeping the floors, which just always seem to be dusty. just pushing the dirt from one spot to another, i guess.

i haven’t gone far from the house since i came back home. i have been spending a lot of time with my better half. it’s nice we still enjoy each other’s company after all these years.

i wish i had more to say, or even be funny, but i just haven’t been out much to generate a story.

i hope you all have had a good new year’s day, and that this year will be better than the last few.

fyre

speaking of vail headquarters, here’s an interesting car from the limited amount of time i spent there in the middle of the summer. before i decided to have a heat stroke.

damn, it’s hot out there in the summer.

maybe it’s the flames on this car.

at least my kid showed up with his family and got some pizza from the shop at the back of the complex. highly recommend that place. kinda hungry right now, come to think of it…

dodgey

not feeling too great today. taking it easy at home, and had my computer on, catching up with bills and emails.

just going to post this car from huffarama this past october.

was sitting with some rather bland cars, and it stood out like an emerald.

moved

last show we’ve made it to since we moved, was mooneyes open house.

we arrived about five in the morning, and didn’t get started until about five-thirty. we expected more cars that early, as in past years, but really there were very few cars. just a few singular cars, and a couple of clubs, there to get their choice of parking.

saw this one very early on the far side of the street, then he moved over here in front of the shop. interesting customizations. not really sure what that thing is for the shifter, but close enough to being an alien for me to dig it. i like that it’s eyes light up. betting that dashboard gets very hot in the sun.

i loved the morning light, and the overcast sky kept it cooler a bit longer. still, we were pretty much done relatively early. just wasn’t enough of what i like to keep me there.

better half wanted to hit up his favorite restaurant over by our old apartment, so we headed to whittier, before heading back behind the orange curtain.

we’ve been so very busy unpacking too much stuff into a smaller space. it really isn’t working, and the majority of our stuff will just live in a storage unit for a very long time. the intention is to sift through boxes and toss or give away stuff. i’d like to sell some, but i really hate doing garage sales. last one i did was when my kids were little. some guy paid for some piece of junk with a twenty…i gave him change. only later did i realize he gave me a counterfeit bill. ahole. it’s just junk, and he still had to rip me off. sometimes i can’t stand people.

so, ebay or the like it will be. if i ever get around to doing it. easier to just buy a bigger house, but theres no money for that just now.

have a hard enough time finding time or the energy to get up and go to work every day. i’m just tired. lots going on around here, but i’m not going to bother you with details.

hoping to get to a few shows eventually. we’ve missed a few, because i just couldn’t get motivated to get out of bed and drive the extra hour and/or hotel prices are just a bit too insane right now.

taking down my show listing page. too many people sending me messages about shows i have no part of—i don’t run them, i don’t book vendors, i won’t take your money. i always redirect them to a website or a contact or a flyer, but really, it was just meant to be a cheat sheet listing of shows i was interested in going to. oh well.

parading?

the uptown parade was this morning. don’t really care about it, but it is right outside the door, so i take the opportunity to shoot the cars that show up. i mean, they are at my doorstep, so how can i not?

this year, they staged it farther down the street and around the block. it also lightly rained early in the morning. the club that drove the pretty pretty princesses down the street last year didn’t participate this year. cars weren’t really parked right at our curb, and didn’t see many that i was interested in.

there were no horses either, which are kind of fun to take pics of too.

i was about ready to forget about it, then spied an old ford across the way. i’d just gotten out of the shower, got dressed quickly, and i went out thinking i’ll just quickly shoot that one car, and didn’t even brush my hair.

after a bunch of shots of that one, i noticed a car at the far end of the block, but by the time i got there, the parade had moved on some more, so i figured i’d catch it when it came around to the main street.

walked back toward the house, and saw that there were some cars down the street by the mortuary. so that’s where they were hiding a few that i’d seen earlier.

that’s where i found this convertible. it seemed to have been meant to be in the parade, but as i walked up to it, they were peeling the parade poster off the side of the door. maybe they had to leave, maybe it broke down, i don’t know. this end of the street is still part of the staging area, and they weren’t going anywhere, so i took a few pictures. pretty sure i’ve shot it before, if i really looked through the archives, but i don’t think i’ve ever posted it.

better half had asked if i’d seen a black one with pinstripes after i’d gotten home—he’d seen it drive past the window. i totally blanked that it was this one and said nope, being all disappointed that i’d missed it. then he walked behind me while i was working on the picture and said that’s the one i was talking about. so duh.

a plane, a car, a train

so i’ve been busy. lots of things on my mind, overstressed at work, end of the year coming and too much vacation time unused. so i took a couple of weeks off.

i did manage to plan it so i got to the casita del pueblos’ dia de los muertos art and car show uptown to do some shooting. saw this bunch of cars first, as we walked uptown. this chevy is always beautiful and polished to a high gloss.

i giggled a bit when i noticed @tudys56 in the background there. only shot one pic of his car this time, and it isn’t that great, so i’ll skip posting it. sorry about that. catch it next time at the cigar bar.

for a week after the show, i was mostly away from my computer, down at my mom’s house, then the following weekend off to lax. usually i’ve packed my suitcase a day or two ahead of a trip, but i’ve been so busy, i didn’t get to it until almost midnight the night before. waffled on whether i wanted to take a camera, then threw one and batteries into the bag in the morning before heading out the door. barely remembered to bring a charger for the batteries too. not so great.

took an early early flight out to dulles, to visit my younger bro, who’d just moved out there. he’s having a tough time with his health and family life, so i thought i’d spend some time with him, and get him out and about. museums are mostly free in d.c., which is his favorite price.

spent a week with them, and considered going to a hotel several times. very stressful in that house, but stayed to be supportive. it is a nice house they are renting for the time being. three floors plus a full basement. leaves were just starting to turn, so i timed that right. neighborhood was halloween ready. weather was cool, and actually got some rain on a couple of days. love that gloom.

over the week that i was there, i got him and his wife out to mount vernon, for only a very short time, working around their kid’s drop off and pick up schedule from school. wasn’t enough time to see everything, and neither of them are really readers for the displays, and mostly rushed through the main house, and took pictures on the lawn between the porch and the potomac river.

another day, just my bro and i went to the marine corps museum, my brother made some phone calls to some of our cousins, but was only able to get hold of the one who works nearby, so she just came over to the museum to have lunch in the restaurant inside. i don’t think i’ve actually seen her since i was in sixth grade. a bit awkward for me, but my bro seems to keep in contact with other family members, so plenty of easy chatting.

other days, i ditched them, and caught the metro into the city a couple of days, and then further out via an uber on another day, to visit places i hadn’t been to since first or third grade. old houses that in my mind and memory seemed so big, but seeing them again, were really just average to oversized homes with out-buildings and lots of land. and very few tourists…got a private tour of one home and a very small group tour at another.

my one day in the city didn’t go to plan either:

was killing time until my bro could meet me after an appointment, so i headed towards the library of congress, then changed my mind and headed to the newseum. heard it was shutting down in december, and becoming an extension for johns hopkins or something. nothing new to see i hadn’t seen before.
then, across the mall to the national museum of the american indian to have lunch in their cafeteria, mitsitam cafe. unfortunately, they’d changed the menus up, and the cedar plank salmon i’d craved was no more. happy to not be carrying a lot to scan through security everywhere i was going, btw.
resigned myself to getting mickey d at the air & space museum next door, cuz i was hungry af, but before even getting to the entrance, could see it was no longer the home of that ass clown, but simply a cafe in the terarium where it used to be.
decided i’d wait to see if my bro wanted to join me for lunch, so headed towards the natural history museum, but it had the usual hordes of students for field trips, and headed behind it to the archives instead.
long line at archives, and my bro finally called and said he was tired and going home, so out of line i go. effing ended up at a jimmy johns, cuz i didn’t feel like doing a sit down meal. ate standing up outside at a table with no chairs. people watching is just as entertaining, with added self-importance of government worker bees so close to the hive.
decided to walk over to the washington monument, but that late in the day, the tickets to ride to the top were gone, as expected.
chose to go to see the holocaust museum, and would catch the afro-american one if there was time after—had not been to either before. both are impossible to get tickets for in the summer, but no waiting at either one in october. holocaust was basically, meh, after all the hype. interesting, meaningful, but a lot of wasted space. maybe i just had the wrong frame of mind. they have a glass roof or atrium, and while inside could see that it had finally started raining. worried about covering my camera, since i hadn’t brought an umbrella. waterproof coat with a hood was good enough.
skipped the afro-american museum, since i would have had less than an hour inside.
rain fell heavier, so didn’t want to walk the several govt building blocks to the national portrait gallery, which stays open later than the other museums, and just headed to the smithsonian metro.
switched to the red line, and exited at woodley, near the national zoo. not for the animals, but to get some pizza and creme brulee at a little hole in the wall place i used to go with my better half. just as i was about to go in, my bro calls and says his famous/infamous son has come home from college and they are going to some restaurant in bethesda. so i hop back on the metro for a few more stops. need i mention how deep underground the woodley park station is? very long steep escalators to the bottom. don’t look down. hated scooting suitcases on those things back in the day we’d stay out there. elevator always seemed out of commission when we needed it
mexican food in maryland. not quite true to form, but was ok, considering it wasn’t california

end of the week, i had to get back home for a blood test for an annual physical a week later. waffled about for a bit, but i’d washed my clothes on the east coast, so hopped in the car later in the afternoon, and drove up over the grapevine. cali was on fire while i was gone, and new fires seemed to be starting near freeways, so didn’t take the coast up.

had my mom come along, and/or had my daughter been ready to go, i’d have gone up to monterey. instead, cut across a dark highway over the mountains out to san simeon, and went to hearst castle the next day. took a small group tour, which allowed us to get off the tourist carpet and be able walk around the rooms and get close up to everything. was pretty cool, actually.

after that, got in the car, and drove down to solvang. usually, i’d stay in a cottage with a private jacuzzi and relax, but they weren’t available on saturday night, so i took a regular room for one night and headed home to whittier the next day.

one night there, then picked up my kid, who had her bag packed this time, and caught a train to san diego for a two-day stay. took her to a weird, modern “ballet”at the old spreckles theatre, then out to balboa park the next day. she dressed up for dia de los muertos, even if she was a couple of days late, and kept telling people she was filming a music video. there was some dia de los muertos thing going on, but we got there too late.

sat and watched the spreckles organ concert, where the kid got to go up on stage and join a group blowing whistles accompanying the organ playing addams family. after the show, the public is invited to go up on stage and check out the pipes inside the building, look at the piano organ, and meet and greet the organist. interesting.

spent the rest of the afternoon videoing the kid, watching her pat passing dogs — she missed her own — and briefly watching a group of hippy belly dancers.

back home on the train the next day, and vacay was over.

mid-week doctor’s appointment, found nothing surprising. i did chuckle at her notes after, using her fancy word for i’m getting fatter — hyperlipidemia — without stating the obvious to my face. what’s up doc?