one little indian boy

i saw this hot rod several times at the pep boys show before they put an end to it. it was always parked too close to other cars and often the owners were all sitting around in front of it, so i never really got a shot i liked of it. i did get an ok shot of the hood ornament once.

found it this time over at the buena park elks lodge. i think the show only started a few weeks ago. i'd never been there, so i pulled into the lot and parked near the entrance in an unmarked spot. there were the typical reserved spots at an elks lodge, like one for "knights" and such.

i got out of my car, opened the trunk and started getting my camera set up. loading batteries and cards, cleaning the lenses. finally pulled my bag and tripod out, closed the trunk and was ready to go.

then from across the lot, one of the grand poobahs asked, "are you an elk?" took all that i had not to come back with a "do i look like an elk?" type answer. i told him no, and then he advised that the parking lot was for elks only, i'd have to move to the street. would help if they'd put up a sign at the driveway. way to roll out the welcome mat, oh holy moly one. might as well have told me to piss off.

so, i heaved all my gear back into my trunk and moved the car. almost considered giving this show the finger, but figured i'd already wasted time and gas finding it, so i might as well take a quick turn around the lot. fortunately, i got there early enough, there was plenty of space right across the street. unfortunately, i got there early enough, there wasn't much to see. kinda disappointing. several cars that used to go to the garden grove main street show, a couple i see at cypress, and only a few i've never seen. one guy i spoke to did say they usually get about 60 or 70 cars. i've heard that before, and i'll believe it when i see it.

i didn't stay long, as i was heading to ruby's halloween show right after.

wtf is an elk anyway, and why would anyone want to be one? do they wear the big hats with horns like fred flinstone and barney rubble? secret handshakes? what's with the silly names for the exulted leaders? guess i'm not old enough to want to be part of that club anyway. i'll stop now before i get into trouble.

mine's bigger

there's just gotta be something about a guy with a big engine. don't think i've ever seen one so errr...tall. i can't believe he drove this to the show...how could he see where he's turning? kinda freudian. probably plays guitar too. i joke when i say that black drive belt is for the squirrel to run on, but that's the way my mind wanders, probably needs at least two of 'em. anyway, i ramble...

i had a busy weekend; one day in riverside, next day in ventura. found this 1934 ford hot rod thing at the corona elks lodge annual show (i can't recall the exact name). not overly huge, but one of the 'elks' did stop by to tell me that their first show only had about 8 cars. this one had filled their lot...about 20–30 maybe, i didn't really count. had never been there before. i'm not sure what people thought of me, no one really bothered to ask. not even the usual question: you with a magazine? that's fine, i get more pictures in a shorter time that way, and that's better on a hot day, like this one.

they had an interesting barbeque made out of or made to look like the front end of a 56/57 chevy. i didn't partake, as i'd already eaten. only stayed for about fifteen minutes, then a short stop in whittier.

and i've just realized that i've now posted over 100 cars here. yippee.

rolling amethyst

i finally got the front of this car.

first saw it at pal joey's show at the santa elks club in march. i shot the back end while my husband did the other side – kind of like a car sandwich. he still wasn't satisfied with his shots, so i continued on to other cars. by the time i came back around for my shot, the owner was in the car and driving away.

and that always has been the case ever since, until last weekend at original mike's. i got there early. the owner was polishing and polishing this 1940 ford coupe. he was still polishing it when i took this shot, but you can't see him from this angle. he stopped long enough to take my card that had the back end shot on it and pocket it.

anyway, its a nice, shiny car. keep polishing...

duke's baby

i've seen this 1950 oldsmobile 88 fastback at several shows now. this was last year at the ruby's in whittier show. the owner (i'm pretty sure his name is duke for some reason) spoke to me briefly at the geezers show at the garden grove elk's club back in march. said he was the original owner, and had bought it brand new back in the day. it looks like it drove off the line today, if you ever get to see it in person. just remarkable condition.

it's funny looking through these images from last year—maybe the second car show i'd ever been to with the camera—to see so many of the cars that i've gotten to be very familiar with in the last couple of months. actually, i think some of those shots that day are better than what i've been getting lately, since it was september, the sun was setting earlier, and there were really cool clouds blowing across the sky that night. i do remember it being so very warm that night, and packing up early.