what's up?

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.

unplanned, i promise

sooo, we recently returned from a short vacation—not quite a full repeat of last year’s trip—just up the coast to portland, and across on a train, to chicago; then back in a car on route sixty-six this time.

we knew it was going wonky from the get-go. i’ll have to write up our tales of woe, the trials and tribulations, crap weather, and the fun and food we had sometime. but for now, i’ll just say, we saw a lot of new things this time, and stayed in some of the places on route sixty-six.

seriously, wasn’t thinking when we’d booked the wigwam motel in san bernardino, on our last night before heading home. i was riding shotgun in the rental car, flipping through instagram, checking out car show flyers, as i do.

i’d written off a few shows while we were out of town. then my brain started working. huffarama. san bernardino. the day we are checking out of the wigwam. turned out to be a nine minute drive away.

better half accused me of planning it that way. swear i didn’t.

it was just before seven a.m., when we arrived at a gate at san manuel stadium, and the kid there said we needed to go around to the other side. that gate turned out to be where the cars were going to be going in, and the guys in the couple of cars that were first in line there, said the other photographers were already inside, and had gone to the gate we just left.

so back around we went, and told said kid that we were sent back to this gate. he let us in, and were directed to park in the furthest end of the parking lot for vendors. we paid our admission when we walked back over to where the club guys were, and got to shooting. the club guys didn’t remember us, even though my better half had given one of them a free print of his car when they had been out to the uptown whittier car show several years before. i think the one guy thought we were from texas because of the plate on the car.

of course rey was already inside shooting. that dude is everywhere and knows everyone. lol.

attending this show was unplanned, so we didn’t have all of our gear or bags or lenses, but we did have our tripods and wide angle lenses, and a limited amount of time to shoot. still had to get the rental car down to the airport, so gave ourselves three hours to see what we see, allowing for drive time, emptying the car, and filling the gas tank. we hadn’t even had breakfast yet.

i liked the sun hitting this beauty early in the morning. it just feels quiet. i’ve shot this car before, but usually it’s up against a building, or surrounded by other cars.

this is why getting out at sunrise is my favorite. and also my bane…i just want to sleep in on weekends anymore.

anyway, we left about ten-ish. and we did get the car back with about forty-five minutes to spare.

now if i can only find the time to get more than a couple of the shots worked up and posted. and look through all of the vacation pics too.

the backstory

my parents have been getting phone calls over the past few years from people trying to trick them into sending money. you know, bottom scum trying to rip off the elderly.

first time it happened they almost fell for it. a guy called pretending to be a relative traveling in mexico, needed money to pay the federales to let him go. they stressed out about it for a bit, but then checked with the relative's family on his whereabouts. he happened to be home, happy as can be.

well someone called again yesterday; my mom answered. claimed to be my nephew, though didn't really mention a name.

actually, she was expecting a call from one of my nephews, who will be coming to visit next week. besides that, neither parent hears that well, so any guy sounds like they could be any of the nephews on the phone.

the guy chit chatted a bit, speaking of things in general. then got to the point: he and his girlfriend were in some trouble in mexico (why is it always there?). they had wrecked a rental car in an accident, but they were ok. they were at the counselate and just needed nine hundred dollars to take care of the car and get home.

since it had already taken a familiar turn, my mom had been playing along, throwing out random untrue info, giving a random name for the girlfriend, just to have the guy take them and run with them.

i guess the guy finally figured out she knew he was full of crap, and hung up.

my better half would have had a field day with this guy, just as he does with any telemarketer. depending on his mood, he might just tell him to hold on while he got his checkbook and just putting the phone down for a long time, to blowing an airhorn into the phone.

not sure which way i would have run with it. maybe an excited omg, stay where you are, what's the address, i'm on my way...nah, not gonna get excited about a jerk like that.

wonder if they hacked the aarp database, and just start calling random geezers, knowing they'll find a few suckers to send cash.


love the curve of a good back end. dressed in black, with just a touch of decoupage.

thing

home sick today, or i should say, at my mom's, being sick. wish i was at my own house, but my kid is living in it...but that'll change soon enough.

pooring rain outside, and i have a craving for tacos and/or carnitas...i don't know why, or how to solve this dilemma.


i've shot this car before. always think it's a ford because of the shape of the headlights. then i post it, and people thankfully drop me a message like, "you idiot, it's a merc."

seriously, that's fine. i don't know what all the cars are, or the years, but cut me some slack, i just like to shoot them. if i get it wrong, let me know. makes it easier to find them if it's identified correctly.

no mad

i really hate going to walmart. well, i hate shopping, but walmart is a special hell. i'll go there maybe three times a year, usually just tagging along with my better half, who is a frequently visitor there.

tonight, he wanted to pick up a space heater, since he is about ready to call for a young priest and an old priest, to exorcise the ghost of the ancient wall heater in our room, which doesn't work, and the landlord won't fix it, but it is just perfect for hot flashes.

our last space heater went to his mom's room after her own heater crapped out. gotta keep the little old ladies toasty warm. myself, i prefer piling on the blankets, and adding or subtracting clothing as necessary.

anyway, walmart sucks. from the people zooming the wrong way in the parking lot, not stopping at stop signs, to people selling tamales out of their back seat. nah. didn't really see any outstanding 'people of walmart' oddities, so that entertainment was missing.

we wandered around the store, picking up items from his mom's shopping list. better half wanted hair goop for his long hairs (because he has hairs like a woman). turns out, they lock up the fancier stuff, in hair goop prison. then you have to hunt down an employee, who inevitably doesn't have the key with them, only to be told that if you aren't done shopping, they will have to leave it a particular register. same with razors. 

we wander around some more, do not find any heaters at all, which was the whole point of the trip. will either buy one online or i'll pick one up down in orange county, where most homes have built in air conditioning and heating, so more likely will have one in the store.

up to register fifteen, to free the prisioner hair goop. longish line, relative to the others. shopper currently being rung up, is staring blankly at the cashier for a minute after being given the total for her purchase. blink blink. then she slowly starts to dig through her purse for a credit card. fuuuuuuucccccckkkk.

after waiting for five minutes, the cashier lady is turning off her register sign, and we are being told go to the next one. better half is asking about how is he going to get his hair goop. he is assured that they will get it for him. he was ready to throw a tantrum he said. i asked if he would also add throwing himself on the floor and banging his head around, like his niece did the other day. he thought that might be a little too much this time.

i just want to leave. it's getting late, and i still want to post a picture. haven't been to many shows lately, so haven't really got anything to write about, and nothing else is pissing me off, so this will just have to do for now.

------

haven't posted one of these in a while. mostly because i haven't seen one in a while. or one as nice as this. not quite sure i like the cadillac lights sticking out like cold temperature indicators, if you know what i mean, and they're just asking to have a baseball bat swung at them.

skirt

still recovering from the weekend. note to self: stay away from chipotle. bad idea to eat that burrito then drive out to the middle of nowhere the next day. omg. was never so happy to see the golden arches and their clean bathrooms...not for the food.


currently in solvang for the night. roadtrip almost over. raining lightly outside. eyeballing the fireplace, but not quite sure how to work it...better half usually sets that up. ya, i know about "apply flame to log." it's the open the flue or turn the key i'm not sure about...i'd like to wake up in the morning.


happy birthday mom!


not sure why i liked the side of this bel air so much. the curves maybe.

fellas

been a busy weekend and have't had much time to even turn my ipad on. solo road trip up the coast and back with my son's wedding in the middle.

i have a beautiful new daughter-in-law, and a wonderful family--her parents, sisters and brother--can't get better than that. to make it perfect, my daughter and her boyfriend were able to be there...a rare treat to have both of my kids in the same place.

also lucked out and had perfect weather, between storms.

also, a long story short, i did not take any of my own pics of the wedding. last minute rushing around plus teetering on high high heels after marching to hell and back the day before, made me a bit wobbly, and i decided to be safe and leave the gear in the room. there was a photographer and videographer there anyway.

and when i tried to take a shot with my phone, it seized up and died on me. i guess i was meant to just enjoy the day.

san luis obispo for a night, then a few in san fran. currently in monterey, then on the road again tomorrow. i'll be home wednesday, i think. missing my better half. at least work is keeping him busy with a crap ton of overtime.


saw these guys' cars before out in riverside, and here, again, at huffarama. actually spoke with one of the guys from fellas car club...can't remember just now if he owned that purple truck, or another that i've shot from a previous show.

he was quite nice, and i think, really, the only person that did say anything to me at that show. i was probably wearing a scary face as usual. sorry...

chopped

dear specific whoever is reading this blog and hitting the refresh button repeatedly, you get to the other pages by scrolling down, and using the numbers at the bottom to navigate through these pages, or go to the search tab.

there are two hundred and nine pages, at this point, so it might take you a while. if you're looking for a particular car, send me an email, i'll see if i've done anything with it, and maybe i'll put it up. i'm just afraid you're going to wear out that f5 button on your keyboard...i don't get any brownie points for page views, and neither do you...you'll just get frustrated.


i've got things to do, and will be away again tomorrow, so i'll just put this chopped bel air up for now. don't think i've seen anything like this one before. wonder how far they are going to take it.

huffarama

quick post. better half needed me to rip my computer apart to make room for xmas decorations and rearranging furniture. had this pic ready to go when he asked. probably be down for a couple of hours.

i'll write more when i get the puter running again...made it out to the bo huff show yesterday...it was a good show...dead sled guys--thanks for letting me in early!

special

saw this buick on the edge of the grass, by some vendor booths, in chino. didn't remember seeing another one, so set up to take a shot of it.

owner turned out to be one of the dead sled guys. i think he said he recently bought this car. told him i didn't think this would be considered a sled-type car. what do i know.

had a cracked window, which i only noticed when the owner started talking with some other guy about getting new glass for it. that guy said he could get the glass, but that he doesn't do installation. what's up with that?

i like the front chrome on this.