what's up?

heading home

hood ornament

from a pontiac at the chicano park show. not sure that i got a good shot of the car itself, but i do like it's chief.

we will be on our way back in the morning. hopefully an easier trip than the adventure getting here.

today was an early morning march past the iwo jima memorial, through the back gate of arlington cemetery, and up to the tomb of the unknown soldiers. it was seventy degrees out when we got to iwo jima at seven fifteen in the morning; by the time we climbed the hill past arlington house, it was close to ninety, and we felt it, in shirts wet with sweat.

after the changing of the guard ceremony, there was a wreath-laying ceremony, but we were already heading down the hill toward the visitor center, and the metro station. took the train out to the end of the line, then tired of waiting for the bus, caught a taxi to the air and space museum's udvar-hazy building, to see the discovery space shuttle, airplanes, and 3d movies. and to enjoy the air conditioning.

about three-twenty, we caught a bus back to the metro station, and were back at the hotel in about an hour. after all that, we decided we were too tired to do another baseball game. oh well.

so, to the airport tomorrow, laundry on sunday, kicking back on monday. short week at work, then i'm off on a train to san diego for a week.

next time we should take a two week vacation, just not all in one place. i like to travel, it's just a bit expensive, so short weekend roadtrips will do in between.

for life

1937 dodge1937 dodge1937 dodge hood ornamentgot my better half up and out of bed by six yesteday. he really had wanted to go to ruby's on friday night, but after a second evening with a two and a half hour drive home from work, i was just not in the mood for it anymore. traffic sucks, and surface streets didn't help much either gotta make a deal with the boss, so i can just work from home on friday afternoons, at least.

my point being, he had gotten his shit together, and rigged up his little screen and rollie rig, and had been ready to go the night before, so it wasn't too difficult to get packed up early on saturday to go to the show over at la mirada rec center, by city hall. he had been hoping to shoot some video at rubys, and was going to give it a try at this duke's show, since i told him it was on pavement.

it's fairly nearby, so we were there about six-thirty. i'd gone the year before, so already knew where i wanted to park. couldn't see anything going on, so we left our stuff in the car and walked over to see if anyone was there. it was a relay for life event, so i expected to see more people, but i guess all of those volunteers were inside, near the pool.

we did see a line of dukes cars sitting there, so went back and got our gear.

last year, it rained off and on, and was in the other parking lot. this year was overcast, cool, and in the bigger lot. they roped off an area that i heard held about two-hundred and ninety spaces. i think by the time we left for lunch, there was maybe half that of the show cars, but the majority were the kind we like.

i haven't been out shooting much, so it was nice to have a perfect day for shooting, without the sun and heat. i always remark how tired i am all week, sitting on my ass at a computer, but give me a car show, and i can spend a good six hours walking around, crouching up and down, and be happy as can be. don't even feel too sore after, though my ankles to get a bit stiff if i sit too long, but that probably has more to do with my shoes than anything else. and it really tells me i need to get off my ass and move more often, and burn off some of this gut that seems to be sticking to me, the older i get.

anyway, it was a well organized show, and quite a few guys came over to chat with me. all very nice people. it was really good to see lots of clubs interacting, though there were a one or two, whose members just sat in a huddle watching, and frowning, and i guess, hanging tough. i'm sure i gave back my best resting bitch face, which is apparently my default look anyway. i think i didn't bother with their cars, hood was up and the other, nah, i just didn't need their pop up in the shot.

talked to a guy who told me a long story about how this dodge used to be his car, but events in his life forced him to sell it. at least he sold it to someone he knew very well, a guy he helped to raise, i think he said, so he knew it was in good hands. still, it must hurt a little to be so near, yet so far from something you loved.

it's a nice car. seen it before, and it's probably up here somewhere else, if i bother to look.

wasn't a whole lot available food wise this year, so since we hadn't eaten breakfast, called it a day around twelve-thirty, before our headaches got too unbearable...

flat top, four door

i was told that this is a rare impala; that it was engineered to be a convertible, by just removing the roof; that somehow this one was ordered, and then no one picked it up, so the roof was never removed. and rarer still, that it has four doors.

i like the back window that curves around to be the side windows. and the fins. always the fins.

fingerprint

i feel icky. officially my two week vacation has begun, and i expect to be catching a cold any moment now. i work my butt off, day in and day out, and almost every time i take a break, i catch a cold. must be the release of tension and adrenaline. the stress of driving is a big factor too. took me two and a half hours to get home yesterday.

didn't feel up to going to mooneyes this morning. figured i could go later in the day, but i basically only left the house to go get some lunch, and really didn't want to do that either.

whittier had their xmas parade today. goes right past the house. usually they gather outside the bedroom window, and wake us up, but this year, they staged it further down the street and around the corner. 

still, crowds of little kids squealing, yelling, singing, and playing music aren't conducive to sleep anyway. we got up, turned on the tree, and peeked out the curtains once in a while. neighbors were outside heckling the marching bands and beauty queens, but that's to be expected from forty year old wanna be frat boys.

so, hoping if i take a few days, taking it easy, i'll be up to my road trip mid-week.

for now, going to play with my pictures, watch the old cars passing by, on their way to the cigar bar or other bars uptown...the show must be over.

i love hood ornaments. pontiacs are always a target. even the ones with newly installed amber faces, but i prefer them in plain metal, painted metal, and plastic. the older the plastic resin is, the more likely they are subject to crackage (not the butt kind).

i suppose like skin, they dry out, become brittle and get this really interesting texture. and each is unique in the patterns, so i suppose i would be able to compare similar shots i've taken, to see if i've shot the car before, without ever seeing the rest of the car.

like, totally arrrr

i guess i need to think about finding a dress for a wedding. it's only next month. plenty of time. ugh. girl clothes. i hate shopping. been so long since i've had to wear a dress and heels. no idea what to do with this stupid hair. and makeup. i fail at being a girl.

at least i'm not high maintenance. lucky for my better half.

anyway, he's going with me. says he's bringing his camera. he actually likes watching me play dress up, but that's another story for another day.

i've seen this car around a few times now. shot it a couple of times, and now i'm bored with it.

i think i like these pictures from the first time i saw it at mooneyes open house, when i was still all, like, totally, wow, dude. still had some enthusiasm for it.

the details are really fun. a pirate theme going on. nuke the pontiac hood ornament, and put in this skull. should probably paint the screw in his nose black, so it doesn't show so much. maybe people with macro lenses shouldn't shoot up the nose shots?

i liked the pinstriping of pirate wenches, and the stick shifter inside. lots of details. nice paint job. and low, so low on the ground.

badger

saw this special deluxe at the fleetline fest. better half also managed to get this far in the parking lot, and spoke to the owner. asked him about the badge on the grille. since my better half seems to never post anything much anymore, i will take the opportunity to relay a short story here.

and of course, a week away his details are getting fuzzy.

guy found the badge on what was left of a grille in a junkyard. pulled it off and took it up to the office to ask how much it was.

dude in the office didn't even know what it was, and wasn't sure what to charge. better half can't remember how much he paid, but probably undervalued, since the dweeb didn't wait for the manager to get back. online, they seem to go for a couple hundred bucks, in the original blue velvet gift box.

says the historical value is in that it was an item chevrolet would give to employees / salespeople / owners that served in the war...one of the world wars, not clear on the first or second. i'm thinking more like the first.

also said the shades over the headlights helped to mute the glare of the lights from enemy aircraft that may be flying overhead. why give them a target?

anyway, some of the badges i see on grilles are quite interesting, and i'd never asked the why or where they come from, but my better half has no problem chatting people up, so he usually picks up these little tidbits of trivia.


baby blue

got an owner interested in seeing a picture of his car. i only shot a couple pictures of it. people got in the way here, in the staging area. 

later in the day, i passed it a couple of times, but the trunk always seemed to be up, and people were around it, so i didn't shoot it again. maybe some other time, some other place. 

it's not a bad shot, but i think it could have been better.

check another promised car off the list...

valley high

gonna post this, because i had it ready to go. i did make it uptown to the show today, and i'll start posting some of those soon, after i move from out of the front of this fan, and into a cold shower.

i'm way behind posting on recent shows. just been too busy and not home enough.

this one was from san fernando last month. love this show—oldies car club is very efficient about getting things organized, and moving the cars in. plus, they've let me in early for the three or four years i've made the trip up there.

pretty much have decided, since my better half mostly hasn't been able to join me at car shows lately, that if i can't find decent parking, in a relatively safe looking neighborhood, i'm not hanging around. luckily, i haven't had to leave one yet. there are other places i can be, which is the great part about socal and the los angeles area.

i think this is one of theirs. was in a line of their other cars, in the last parking lot i made it to before i was done. not sure which i liked most—the car or the hood ornament. liked the pop of the red, of the wheels, and the subtle pinstriping.

©2024 kathy gonzalez