pale whale

it's a big one all right. these old cadillacs are pretty and curvy and big.

finally made it to a regular show, an old standby, my comfort zone. had to go to long beach anyway, and bob's isn't that far from there. hey to angel, who always seems to be there, and doesn't hesitate to come over and say hi when i'm there, as well as the brothers with the old chevy. and then there's richard...who can bite it.

i haven't been in a few weeks, and now that it's warmer and the sun is up later, i am kinda disappointed that there weren't more cars. i think the mercifuls club has adopted this show, as the majority of the cars seem to have their plaque in the window.

the lot just used to overflow with cars, all the way to the back lot. now they've just been all clustered up in the front lot. maybe i just didn't stay late enough. i would have preferred to catch the sunset, but i also needed to eat dinner and have time to play with a picture.

i even decided to leave, thought of going to the show over at the spires, and threw my stuff into the trunk. then got a phone call from my better half. while sitting in the car, an old beautiful original chevy pulled into the space next to me. i was going to get my camera out again after i got off the phone, but he moved it to another spot, and so i didn't.

free at last

i am both relieved and feeling some loss. my son played his last baseball game yesterday. hitting .351 and 32 RBIs for the season. not bad. he will graduate from college in a couple of weeks. i've been going to his games since he was eight years old. it feels weird to know that my weekends will no longer be scheduled around his games. mostly it just feels weird knowing that is just another step in letting him grow up.

he'll probably still have to make the decision to continue on to law school or say yes to a pro team if they pick him in the draft. big choice, and glad it's not mine to make—it's his future now, so i'll just be there to support him whichever way he goes.

but getting back to the car shows is something i can still look forward to. found this show in fullerton, before heading to a baseball game [of course]. had a momentary scare while shooting this car. seriously thought i'd killed one of the two cameras i use at the car shows. already maimed one and killed one lens from overuse. turned out i just had forgotten to switch a couple of settings, since i'd been also using it to shoot the baseball games.

ya, i didn't stay long at this show. owners seemed a little too pretentious, maybe that's not the word, but it wasn't clicking with me. this was the day for hot rods and stuff; the next day was "concours d'elegance" —yes, maybe pretentious is the right word.

from the lack of free parking to the "free shuttle," which turned out to be a standard van for too many people, i knew it was one of those shows that i typically avoid. and yes, i've known about this show for years and managed to skip it. i'd never even gone to the museum, though my college professors used to recommend it for art gallery review assignments. not as many cars as i thought there would be, but i think the concours was probably the busier day. lots of hoods up, many very fine cars, but not many that made me want to take a picture.

i have a couple more i'll share, but there will be additional stories of owners being themselves, to put it nicely. and maybe i should wait a while so i can do the "say something nice, or don't say nothing at all," and get it out of my system. but that's boring.

caboose

wow, has it really been almost two weeks? work, a conference, and baseball have kept me MIA long enough, right?

so at least once a year, i can talk my bosses into sending me out and about to get some training on the software i use everyday—to keep current, to learn from the people that develop it and the tech gurus that teach it—this year i chose a 3-day conference in san francisco, with a couple of extra days thrown in.

as usual, time leading up to being out of the office is crazy busy in the office trying to not leave jobs hanging or to be handed off unnecessarily. then the way to early trip to the airport, the kiss goodbye, then waiting for the plane.

i love san francisco. but it kinda sorta sucks when you're on your own. my room wasn't ready when i got there before 10am, so had to check my bag and kill several hours. walked around the westfield mall over on market by the end of the cable car line. never really knew it was as big as it is. even had a movie theatre inside, and that's where i blew a couple more hours watching whatever it was that was starting at the time. meh.

you know how it is when you go out of town, where there are moments that stick in your head, pictures frozen in place. here are few from several rides on the streetcars: an old chevy; a long line of low-riders—a club i assume—waiting at the stop light on third street; two "men," one wearing 6-inch clear acrylic stilettos running down the sidewalk, and the german tourists on the other seat obviously commenting to each other about them; the clearest sunset, sky glowing reds and yellows over the golden gate. ya, didn't have my camera with me for any of these, so they are just taking up space in my head.

and the conference, it was very good. hard to find me one that makes me feel challenged. and depending on which seminar i sat in, i either learned a lot or learned a lot and felt like an idiot. anyway, my head hurt from all the info by the end of the three days.

and here, i'd like to thank all the guys that have taken time to chat with me the last couple of years at the car shows. i've always been such a wallflower, hoping to fade into the background, please don't call on me for an answer in class...my original social ineptness has been greatly improved by your conversations and storytelling. it really helped me during the conference, and where i'd usually try and avoid the set-up socializing events and networking sessions, instead, i went to the meetings, and sat at the dinner table. still awkward, but i did manage to ask and answer some questions to the other attendees.

they even had made available free printing of business cards from the same place i order my own sets, so i had more of them printed up, and had some to trade with the other people. other people mostly had standard business cards, or had missed the deadline to order the free ones and had none. so mine, with the cars on them, helped to break the ice and start the conversation about my hobby.

even better, at one particular lunch break, i found someone who reminded me of myself at an earlier age: hardly acknowledged that she had company, didn't say a word, avoided eye contact, ate quickly, and got away as soon as she was finished. i've come a long way, but i'm still going to be a lifelong introvert.

also, my son's baseball season is winding down. now just three more games and he may be on his way to law school. unless he gets drafted at the beginning of june...waiting is the hardest part.

it was all good. but i have missed my cars. and when i got home, my better half had decided to build a new monster computer, and i do mean monster. the thing is big enough to fit small children inside, or maybe park a mini cooper. well, maybe not that big. anyway, he'd had to borrow my computer to download software, and then the internet connection was whacked...so couldn't post if i wanted to for a couple of days. time has been very limited.

____

well, here's to getting back to my old routine, hitting up more shows, and meeting more people.

this one is from cinco de mayo in riverside, at the show and go. i'd seen it driving around the circuit. and then it was gone. i wandered about the side streets taking lots of pictures, passing others by (close your hood!), and discovered it parked way out in a side parking lot over by the courthouse, or was it a civic plaza? someone asked if it was mine...no, but wouldn't it be nice...why do people ask if a car is yours just because you use a tripod to shoot the picture? anyway, no owner around, so helped myself to shooting it. cute little matching trailer, isn't it? not quite sure what year it is, but it was so shiny.

nudge nudge, wink wink

as i said, i'd been at the show on saturday, but never did spot my sort of bud, gary and his car. on sunday, with fewer cars, it was easy to spot him and this car. i stopped and shot the car nearby, as he was busy spit shining it, and well, the hood was up.

finally walked over when i caught his eye, to say hello. he immediately went around to the front and closed the hood, proclaiming, "kathy's here...hoods down." yep, he's been reading my blog for a while, and knows what i like.

then he had the nerve to say, just kidding, you don't need to take a picture. come on, gary, you have a pretty car, and the hood was already down...i'm gonna take it.

he waited patiently while i took a few shots, and chatted a bit. hey, he said he'd won a trophy for the third year in a row...something like top 40...i don't know exactly, i'm not familiar with the categories. congrats dude.

now i gotta go pack a bag. off to san fran in the morning for a few days on business, then back for a weekend in fullerton for baseball stuff. meanwhile, my better half has to stay behind and miss me lots. so ya, no posts for a few days, and i won't have a car up there, so i can't get to the few shows in northern cali. so it sucks.

flying rat rod

quick post since it's late...seem to be starting every post lately that way...too much to do, too little time.

i had a busy weekend. i did make it to riverside. ended up for an hour or so both saturday and sunday at the riverside show and go. saturday on purpose, sunday to entertain some visiting relatives. saturday was great, about 1000 cars; sunday, only a few hundred. my buddy gary (hey blog lurker!) was there on sunday, and said if people didn't win or think they won a trophy, they either didn't show, or had already left.

well, there were still more than enough to satisfy my relatives, and we all ended up satisfied. i have more pics to post, though not of all the cars i saw...too many hoods were up! lol.