better half and i decided to go to the azalea festival show last weekend at the south gate golf course.
used to wake up early and be there before the sun rose, to get that early morning light on the cars waiting to get in the gate.
then there were a couple of years, where my better half couldn’t go, while he was taking care of his mother. i’d go, but there weren’t as many cars; then the gate guards wouldn’t be persuaded to let me in to take pictures before the official open time.
then another year, i went on my own again. before the sun. in the lot, in the dark before six a.m. before the people running the show and the vendors. before anyone bothered to show up, to line up, to get in. almost left, after sitting for an hour, but then, i’d already waited, so waited some more. not much went in the gate, didn’t wait until start, as they again wouldn’t let me in, so i left.
same thing last year, with my better half. we shot all the cars that bothered to be there, until they all went in, and decided it wasn’t worth the wait, and found a much better show elsewhere.
this year, same deal, but we didn’t get up early, got there after ten a.m..
i was worried we wouldn’t get a place to park. it wasn’t an issue; we were right in the lot.
we were stopped by one employee, asking if we were with the band. nope. better half strode right in the gate where the cars enter, so i followed. i thought for sure that employee would stop him, but they just walked the other way.
where once the golf course was crammed with cars to the outer fences, there were only a few rows. a stage was set up across the way, and a live band played later on.
the vendor’s truck had overpriced food, while outside the course, at the main street front, there were boy scouts selling a reasonably price breakfast for a reasonable amount of food.
also, whatever happened to the carnival part of the festival? there was just a baseball game going on in that field.
we stayed only two hours and shot everything we wanted. chatted with an old acquaintance, who said they search the cars for booze and drugs, don’t allow barbeques, or outside food, which pretty much will eventually kill off this show.
ended up in norwalk, at an easter basket drive, with a whole lot more cars.
here’s a chevy with a really amazing paint job. better half chatted with the owner for a while, who said originally he only wanted a solid color paint job. the painter convinced him it would be too plain, and that he’d be back, he went with it and here is the result.
one of those cars, where you wish you carried a ladder, because i am just too short, and the tripod isn’t tall enough.
i wonder what my better half’s pics look like, or if he’ll post them on his blog.
i don’t think we’ll be back to the south gate show.
we had thought about going to the true pride show yesterday, but those plans also changed. my younger brother had been visiting my mother for the past week. he had been dropped off, while his wife was out of state, and so we ended up in san diego, driving him home, and staying in the area for the night.
it was a good break. our jobs have been very stressful lately, with more work than usual, and we were just exhausted, without realizing it.