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better late than never

after being at work for a week, following a two week vacation, i decided to sleep in. my better half was up and running early, as he usually is, and had already been out for a walk, before i got out of bed. he was then off to do some shopping as i sat and read flipboard, emails, and tried to wake up.

better half got back a little after noon. i decided i wanted to go to a car show. i’d known that huffarama and the bomb club show were both going on.

having moved away from whittier has makes it more difficult to get out to as many shows as we’d used to go. ultimately decided to go to the bomb club show at santa anita, as it was closer, and it was already early afternoon.

he said he’d like to join me, so we both got about preparing our gear. fortunately, there was still juice in the camera batteries from vacation, though one of the cameras needed the date and time reset, from disuse.

after taking the quickest route, per the gps, we arrived close to two in the afternoon. had run into traffic, and it seemed to have taken forever.

i guess he hadn’t gone with me last time, during one of the summer blasts, so he was happily surprised at the location and turnout. i really loved that it was overcast and cold. it gets so hot in the summer, that i usually am out the door by noon, before i melt in the heat. was only sad that we hadn’t gone earlier.

we ended up not leaving until close to seven in the evening, when cars were driving out through the tunnel. we made one more turn around the grounds. better half was playing with a couple of lenses he hadn’t used in a while, so was enjoying shooting the cars, lights, and people.

saw this chevy sitting with his lights on, waiting for his friends to join the line to get out.

we recently took a two week vacation back east; a few days in chicago; a few days in dc. weather was perfect, and rain only came to both cities, the days we were leaving. overall, it was a much needed break, and was great. we only got short changed with our feet giving out much too soon each day, from so much walking.

i’d returned to find that some asshole had stolen the catalytic converter from my car, which i’d parked in front of my mother’s house. the neighbor has cameras, and found they’d done it during the first week we’d been gone, about five-thirty in the morning. needless to say, many expletives later, i’d had triple-a confirm my opinion, then began with the insurance company.

so, i’ve been busily getting estimates for the repair all week, only to have the insurance company declare it a total loss, and mark the title a salvage. a week of arguing with them about an otherwise perfectly functional car with new tires, has made me very tired. i’ve decided to get it fixed, for a settlement lower than i would have to just scrap it. i should have just fixed it in the first place and saved all the headache insurance has cost me.

the car show was a lovely diversion.

the hotness

i had a couple of reasons to be in temecula last weekend.

i’d mentioned the ramble on the ranch show a couple of months ago to my son, who lives out there.

at that time, it would be taking place after the due date for his second kid, so hey, convenient reason to pop in and see the little critter.

we had it set up that i would carry a go bag, if the wife should go into labor before the time that her mother could take time off from her day job to go help out.

i was visiting, about a month before d-day, and figured i’d just leave my bag there, so it wouldn’t have to bounce around and bake in my trunk.

well, the due date came and went. finally, they set up a date to induce, on friday, the fifth.

so i took the day off from work, to watch my granddaughter, while they went in to the hospital.

then they got scheduled for ten p.m. that night. they called before heading over; they got bumped to the next morning, due to other women that needed priority inducements, and there weren’t enough beds. please come tomorrow at eight a.m.

then bumped again, for the same reason on saturday morning. finally, telling them, they’ll try to schedule again on tuesday, if baby doesn’t show up on it’s own. mom was bummed, of course. she’s ready to meet this little person.

by this time, the mother-in-law was able to be there to help with things, so, i went to the car show, as originally intended. i was there at five p.m., and parked nearby under the shade of a tree. i opened my car door to about a hundred-degree oven-like heat.

keep in mind, that i haven’t been out much to shows lately, and i don’t tolerate heat so well anymore, which equals a recipe for fun. i pulled my gear out of the trunk, and walked a couple of rows over to the show in the parking lot.

i’ve never been to this show, but have seen pics. vail headquarters is more of an historic park, with storefronts surrounding a little plaza. it’s been around since 1867. they have car shows at least twice a year, during the summer and at winter holiday time. cars park up in the plaza, and a shit-load more are out in the parking lot, and some out the back of the area.

my son sent me a text saying his wife would like to get out of the house, and after their daughter woke up, they would head over and we could get pizza for dinner from the shop there.

i started shooting a few of the cars in the parking lot, watching more and more cars pulling up.

problem was i was sweating profusely. my arms were turning red, so i supposed my face was. felt it was awfully soon to be getting a sunburn. i felt my heart beating quickly.

then i started getting the first sensations of “i’m going to pass out.” not good. no one knows me here.

i went as quickly as i could to my car. i had water in my trunk. i threw my gear in the trunk. didn’t even put the camera away, just set it down, grabbed the water, and got in the car. turned the air conditioner on for bit. thought, if i pass out, the doors are locked, no one will notice.

that wasn’t working. i looked like hell when i peaked in the mirror. i’d tied my hair up. my face was super red. i wasn’t sweating anymore, and i felt swimmy.

i figured it wasn’t good to sit idling with the air on, so decided to move the car, and get into the kohl’s store.

left all the stuff in the car, even my purse; my id was in my camera bag, which i didn’t want to draw attention to, so i left it, and stumbled to the store. people were already sitting in the chairs just inside the door. shit.

so i looked for the bathroom, so i could splash water on my face. saw some furniture for patios in the back corner and sat down for a bit. i’d turned the wrong direction, and the bathroom was in the other corner, but i needed a minute.

the air conditioning was not helping much, but it was better than sitting in my car. wanted to move before security came over to see what i was doing, just sitting there. i think i sat for five minutes, then found the restroom.

the water from the faucet was warm. i tried another, not much cooler. better than nothing. splashed my face, my arms, my neck. i was bright red.

i went to a stall, closed the door and took my shirt off for a bit. i finally felt my pulse slowing down.

i am guessing i was starting to have a heatstroke. never had one, didn’t know anyone that had, so how should i know? looked up symptoms on my phone. yup yup yup, going down the list.

decided to go over to the plaza, and find more water. about that time, my son sent a text to say they’d arrived and were parking the car. i told them i’d meet them by the pizza place. previously, they’d parked at the back, so i headed there, where i found a slight breeze and the additional show cars.

turns out they’d parked out front. i spotted my son walking through the crowd. his wife, her mother, and the kid coming up a few feet behind him. he strode over saying he liked the vibe.

i got a hug, and told them i think i’m having a heatstroke, and i need water. we went inside and got in line. we were about to order, when the phone rings. a nurse is calling and saying they have a bed for her now. she wants to leave, but she’s hungry, so they tell her she can go ahead and eat and then head over.

they ordered pizza to go, but it was ready so quickly, we decided to just eat some there. i felt a bit better after food and water.

told them i’d stop by the house to get my bag after. i stupidly thought i’d take a few more pictures.

off they went to have a baby. off i went to grab my camera bag. dumb, i know. told them i’d just shoot the cars in the shade. or else i’d be seeing them at the hospital…

i shot for about forty minutes, before i judged that i should stop while i still felt i was ok to get back to my car. i glanced at the parking lot, which had gotten quite full by then, and sighed. i just couldn’t consider them.

i’ll go back if/when they do a holiday show. cold, i can deal with.

here’s one of the later shots. i was having to do a lot of waiting for people to move out of the shot, so i was getting more frustrated by this time.

nice cadillac. not a lot of room to maneuver to shoot the side or the back end, so the front will just have to do.

oh, yes. i have a gorgeous new grandson, named levi.

rumor has it

i really should get back to posting more often. just noticed i hadn’t posted since i was sick with covid. can only imagine what my friends are saying, with me not writing, not being a quiet fixture on the edges of the car shows, my camera perched on the tripod.

apart from just enjoying the company of my better half, have been busy doing some home improvements, and slowly turning into a potato (potayto, potahto, tomayto, tomahto). i guess i have some lingering symptoms from being sick, and get tired quickly, and often enjoy getting dizzy, like a listing ship, when i walk. not really conducive to taking pictures, carrying equipment.

we have been going to the mall, trying to get my better half to his ten thousand steps a day, in air-conditioned comfort, since it’s been averaging about ninety degrees outside lately. some days, i get around one lap, before i get parked in the food court, while he continues on for an additional three or four rounds.

also down to the last few weeks, waiting on the arrival of a second grandkid, this time supposed to be a boy. that will put me out in temecula in august…maybe i’ll finally get out to vail headquarters—i believe i saw a flyer for an evening show.

whatever.

if i can get over the dizziness, i am thinking about driving up to some of the friday evening shows, in whittier, garden grove, etc. my company is giving us half-day fridays, so i would have time to get to where i’m going before weekend traffic gets started.

for now, i only have pics that are, at best, several months old. so flipping through them, here’s a chevy in a nice yellow on a relatively gloomy day out at a park in norwalk. pretty sure i had a quick chat with the owner, since he is in the other pictures i took. he was sitting behind me when i took this one.

sick

the second day out in riverside, i ran into an old acquaintance.

i believe i met gary, who owns this lovely chevy, as well as that turquoise ford in the background, back when my kid was studying out at ucr. so, what. about a decade?

it was nice to see this car again. i believe it was out for repairs the last time i’d run into him.

i suppose i should also post a shot of his other car, only i’m a bit under the weather just now.

been traveling for the last couple of weeks, on the east coast, followed by a terribly long train ride from DC to chicago, then chicago south through texas and along the border, a total of four nights on amtrak.

so much time rocking and rolling, that when we’d have time to hop out and get some fresh air, i felt like a sailor on dry land, at least i thought that was the reason i was reeling. nope.

apparently, i caught the covid, so here i am, hiding out in my room, for at least five days. just feeling terribly sick. haven’t been this sick since 2017, when my dad was in the hospital for a valve replacement surgery.

weekend in riverside

here’s a brief selection of images from the riverside show and go last weekend. started with friday evening cruising around several blocks of downtown riverside, followed by more of the same and competitions on saturday. i have a few more pics, i or my better half promised to upload…as soon as i can get the time.

compared to the last time i went, this show had more than expected. lots of cars that i was interested in, to balance out the newer cars and hot rods that i could care less about. saturday’s cars overflowed the streets. i think they may have actually sold out, with six hundred cars cruising and parked along the route.

since we stayed at a local hotel, we were able to come and go as we wanted. it also allowed me to skip the sunrise shooting i’d typically want to get, since we’d gotten the sunset pics the night before.

better half ended up staying in the hotel on saturday while i went out, as he’d hurt his back. he literally couldn’t move without searing pain. figured it was best to just let me go and get my ya yas out, before it got too hot. he waited for the ibuprofen to kick in, but it really didn’t help. think he has a slipped disc.

we took it easy for the afternoon, when it really got too hot for me to deal with at the show.

got up early on sunday, and out of the parking garage, just before the gate guard got there…free parking for the weekend! yippee. and off to see a doctor…

can't stand it

here’s a beaut from a month ago, out at pomona. managed to frame this up by itself, but the other cars are reflected in the paint. wish they’d take the auto club banners down.

recently, i took my mom out to dinner. on the previous visit to this restaurant, it had started raining lightly, then gradually harder, as we looked out the window. she worries that her hair will become a mess, and that someone she knows will see her. that’s never the case, and who cares? she vaguely looks like queen elizabeth, same hairstyle.

we dashed out to the van, her hair survived under her umbrella. all was right in the world.

this last visit, though…yes, it was supposed to rain, but supposedly a bit later in the evening. figured we’d have enough time to eat there and get back to her garage, no threat to her hair helmet.

as we ate, the sky got darker and darker. and then the skies just gushed a tumult of water, down on the cars, the street, the building, the sidewalk…of course the umbrella was in her van. she walks slowly, with a cane.

we waited a bit, hoping it would let up. our food done, and no sign of let up, i offered to run and bring her car from the handicap spot just right there, basically backing it up and lining up with the curb on at the front of the building. there is a small overhang, and i’d hoped that would be enough to get her in the vehicle without getting too soaked.

i don’t care if i get wet. i’d go full shawshank, if it was my car, and no one was waiting for me, really throw my hands back and get soaked.

turns out, it didn’t matter. between the building and the van, the parking lot levels down in the middle, i suppose to drain water out in case of rain.

this deluge had overwhelmed whatever drainage was there, and basically there’s a river to swim to get to the car. so i ran, head down to the van in the handicap spot. i thought i could possibly jump across most of the river, and maybe save my sandals from inevitable water damage, but either i can’t jump anymore, or it was wider than i thought. it was deep enough, my foot went totally beneath the water. and cold too. great.

i blipped the unlock button on her key fob, and opened the door.

only, there was a man in the driver’s seat. and he screamed like a woman. he grabbed the door handle and pulled it shut, the water flying in as i’d surprised him. stupidly, i’d opened the door of a van that had been parked right next to my mom’s.

momentarily shocked, it took another moment to go, duh, and yell sorry to the poor guy, then run around to the front of the correct van, right next door. enough time to get thoroughly soaked.

then had to wait to back up, due to a passing car. by the time i’d backed up to the curb, my mom had hobbled out from under the overhang, which really didn’t keep her dry. at least she didn’t have to wade across the river, but her precious hair was truly well and done…soaked and droopy.

she laughed when we looked at each other, and as i told her how i’d scared the crap out of that other driver, while i drove her home.

sunday

made it out to the swap meet last week. not being in the area anymore makes it harder to rock out of bed even earlier to get to shows anymore. better half solved that problem and put us up in a hotel the night before, just a few blocks away. we followed a couple of classic cars around the backside of the fairgrounds, and then around the side to the public entrance.

i guess he figured i needed to get out and do something fun. well, he also wanted to see if there were parts available for his car, not that he’d know what he’s looking for. he makes fun of me, as for as many times as we’ve been to the swap meet in the past, i’ve never really made it over the parts side of the show…just always in with the cars, shooting pics. it’s what i do.

anyway, we got there a bit after the gates opened. bundled up, as the temp was in the upper thirties, i think. i always ponder whether to wear a jacket, much less a coat, as i overheat, then would have to carry the thing around or take back to the car, which is just a waste of time and perfectly good light.

with the sun still a glimmer on the horizon, i was just warm enough after hiking over to the show area, that i briefly considered taking the coat off. i guess it’s just as well i didn’t. standing there taking longer exposures, i did sort of feel the chill.

as the sun started to rise, this beauty started to glow.

i have a bunch of new pictures, and not a lot of time to play with them. usual story.

different volks for different folks

not my usual car. in fact i don’t think i’ve ever posted a slug bug up here.

but i’m a sucker for sun rays, and when i’m at huffarama, and the sun is coming up, and there’s nothing around ready to shoot at that moment, i just gotta take the shot.

it’s a bug. it’s a convertible. it’s lowered. it’s shiny. trying my best to be enthused. can you feel it?

my ex had a bug project car. it was cool. big, custom engine hiding in the back, custom interior, big tires, chrome rims. he let me pick the color—a mint aqua green—he even let me drive it. pretty sure i’ve mentioned it before, but i was the one that got the fix-it ticket, as it was too low to the ground, and the windows were tinted too dark.

been preparing to get my taxes done. better half over in the other room turbo taxing. says next year he’ll have my tax person do his as well. eventually we’ll file together, i suppose. still filing separately after all these years.
been working a lot and just tired at the end of my work day, so if i work up the energy to take a walk, i should get a gold star. mostly recovered from my slip and fall, and slowly working back into doing daily walks. so easy to just get stuck in the lazy-boy watching you tube all evening…
haven’t been to a show since huffarama, but thinking about going to something in the next week or so. guess pomona isn’t until march…oh well. i better charge my batteries. pretty sure that camera is dead, and will need all the settings and time reset, as i haven’t touched it in so long.
finally bit the bullet and went to ikea for a new desk. couldn’t find the screws for my old one that i’d had since college…they’re in a bin, in storage, where the desk has been for about a decade, and i just can’t find them. we’re back to working from home for the last few weeks because of the cootie surge, so might as well get my setup off a card table.

it was an accident, i tell ya

the end of our journey down route 66 had us out at the wigwam motel in san bernardino. cute, but kinda crap part of town. homeless people hanging around just outside the fence, having to be chased out by management. small room, as expected inside a “teepee.”

just so happened to be less than ten minutes from huffarama, the day we check out. time crunch, as we have a rental car to return in the afternoon, but we still managed a few early hours after talking our way in.

this was one of the first pics i shot. the finish on that gold one…like buttah.

better half got boxed in on street parking xmas day. car in front of him right on his bumper, and in front of a fire hydrant.

he called the cops. they dispatched an officer. better half pleads his case. officer asks where he was going on xmas day? he says, i have family to go visit. officer seems perplexed. why would you want to do that?

officer finally just says he’s not giving writing a ticket on xmas day. even for parking in front of the fire hydrant.

these cops really just don’t want to enforce the laws here. too much paperwork.

better half misses whittier pd, at least they’d show up and tow cars for violations. and he would get his schadenfreude on.

slipped

i remember this back end from the viejitos show in anaheim. i was there super early, before the club members even showed up. this was one of the first few that morning.

i do like the years with the big fins at low angles. i should have pulled in closer and distorted that thing more. maybe another show.

been at home taking care of myself. slipped and fell in a puddle of water and landed right on my butt. just in time for xmas.

was going to go to ramble on the ranch in temecula this past weekend, but unfortunately, i wouldn’t have been able to lift my bag and tripod. my back is sore sore sore. skipped it, and didn’t even get out to see the grandkid out there either. :(

they tell me nothing is broken, just bruised bones, and will take time to heal.

mostly hanging around home or at my mom’s. took her out to dinner yesterday for her bday. happy bday mom!