better half and i made it out to the city of hawaiian gardens twenty-first car show last weekend, at fedde sports complex. just barely.
co-sponsored by compas, tovars and murguia’s car clubs, we were invited to come by the night before by one of the club members, while attending another car show the week before. he told my better half we could take pics of club cars, without lots of people milling about.
being a friday evening, we waited a bit before facing an hour of driving in traffic to get there, planning to arrive just before sunset.
i had also spent an hour at the doctor’s office in the afternoon, having some radiation done to fry a tiny tumor in the back of my head. i equate it to the death star, with beams coming together to a focused point, to shoot a laser only to the part that needed frying. didn’t really see the beams, but i like to imagine it that way. technology is great—able to get off the table, and go about my day without any noticeable effects. hopefully, the thing is dead, or in suspended animation, and won’t be bothering me any further—at least for the next ten years they say.
when we arrived, we decided to park at the curb, rather than inside behind the open parking lot gate. didn’t want to get locked inside, since it was getting late.
we walked through the lot and through the gate towards the baseball fields. passed by the stage that was set up for the next day’s entertainment, which had a band playing a full concert to a handful of spectators, who i assume were club members. there even was a lit up dance floor up front, with one lady dancing to the groove. the singer wasn’t bad. better half later heard they were playing a concert for the neighborhood, hoping to attract attention to the show.
there were several food trucks selling food for the few people, presumably club members.
beyond that area, along the winding sidewalk and the baseball outfield, we found only about ten cars. shrugging, we set up our gear and got to shooting those few.
better half was greeted by albert, who hadn’t remembered inviting us, which was fine, as better half hadn’t remembered he was the guy that invited us. lol. all good. he apologized that there weren’t more cars. no big deal, even one old chevy is enough to make it worth the drive.
better half got his pics, but did spend more time chatting with a few of the people there with their cars.
i kept shooting until the field lights got shut off, section by section. it’s a city facility, so understandable after park hours.
albert brought us media passes before we left, so we could get in as early as we wanted the next day.
back in the car, we decided to head back to our old hood in whittier to grab a late dinner before restaurant closing time. made it there just after nine p.m., finishing up just after closing time.
another hour drive home, and dowloading pictures onto the computer, i crashed out in bed about one-thirty a.m.
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we intended to arrive at five-thirty or earlier, for roll-in. didn’t leave home until a little before five, but with no traffic, it was only a forty-five minute drive.
parked where we were told to park, and headed in on about three hours of sleep.
there weren’t hundreds of cars lined up to get in that early, like at some shows, but there were plenty to start on. they expected about three hundred cars by opening at ten, to fill the two large fields inside the fence. there are always other shows going on at the same time, in los angeles, so you can never be sure which will have a good turnout.
the fields had been carefully marked up with painted lines marking out parking sections, fire lanes and walkways for show cars. very well organized, and plenty of the host club members directing where groups of cars should park.
the sky remained overcast for the entire morning, and stayed cool enough to really enjoy shooting pics until about noon, when i hit a wall, where i knew i just couldn’t continue. felt myself wobbling around cars from exhaustion, and was afraid i might whack one with my tripod.
by the time we packed up and headed home, the fields were full, but still had some space available for more. there were plenty of people enjoying the show, but i never had an issue with feeling crowded by people walking through my shots too much.
the sun came out on the way home. it was a good day.
