what's up?

better leather

harley davidson heritage softail

ahem. let's get to last week's whirlwind through the whittier uptown carshow. i've got several to prepare for those few people who asked me to post pictures of their cars.

as i mentioned before, i only had six hours out there, and i still didn't get around to everything. had to get to the train station, and i've been gone most of the week.

it seemed mostly organized this year, though i don't remember checking what time they started rolling the cars in from staging. i was busy, going from flower to flower to flower...i mean car to car to car, trying to shoot as many as i could in my short amount of time.

was out there at five-thirtyish a.m. where were you?

found this motorcycle down in the rick's parking lot, the owner nearby keeping an eye on his bike. he offered to move it, nah, i'd find it later for other shots. this is how i found it, so leave it be.

there was so much detail on this bike, that it seems to be less about the harley itself—which is pretty nice, shiny and pinstriped—and more about the leather.

everything decorated in an aztec theme, with the usual characters and patterns you'd expect. skillfully done and fitted, i asked the owner about it. 

he said he'd save himself a buttload (he didn't exactly use that word, my edit) of cash by taking it down to mexico himself versus paying a guy here, to basically do the same thing.

he had to point out that there was a little felix the cat medal/figure on the side. probably thought i'd appreciate that since i was wearing my felix the cat chevrolet shirt. if he hadn't mentioned it, i wouldn't have noticed it, it was low, on the side next to the wall, and there was so much other detail to look at.

anyway, really nice work here.

and the skies opened

1929 ford

yo, gary! here's your car!

i met gary several years ago, when i was first out shooting cars. he had a bel air back then. i think he said he still has it, but now i only see him once a year, maybe, and at the last couple shows, he's been putting around in this emerald ford. it's a jewel. but it ain't a chevy.

took a few shots of it here, at the chino corn feed run, not long before the rain started. ya, gary, i think someone up there was targeting your car.

the other shots were so similar to what i shot at another show, that you might think i masked it out and dropped it on this street.

i like the distortion of this shot; the car just seems more threatened by whatever that wormhole in the clouds might be.

----

one more day in sd. classes all day today, followed by a few hours at petco park. my friend was unable to join me, but i have no problem watching baseball in a stadium on my own. i like to sit way up at the top, as close to behind home plate as possible. just more fun up there, and climbing all those stairs is just good for buns and thighs, right?

on track

1962 chevrolet impala

sucks. whittier uptown car show is today.

and i had to leave.

we got out there about five-fifteenish and started shooting right away.

it was all about right away. i had set my alarm for ten, to head back home and have some time to download pics, take a quick shower, and have lunch before heading to the train station.

as my better half expected, i started negotiating with myself as it got closer to ten. reset the alarm for ten-thirty, then eleven. gave up the downloading of pics, to get a little more time in. finally did pack it up at eleven, though i did also consider catching the next train, three hours later.

walked back to the house, got my not cold shower--it was hot out and it seemed unable to make anything cooler than lukewarm--but was better than nothing. ran around and grabbed the last items i needed to pack, and headed out the door.

didn't even open the camera bag, pictures will have to keep until i get back. it says the card is almost full, and i burned through one battery in about three hours, and some percentage of another. so either, i really did move hella fast between shots, each shot is a really big file, or i forgot to reformat the card last night. i know i reformatted, so i'll just hope that i just took a lot of pictures.

pretty much had used my main camera until it died last summer, and the twin to that one is on it's last legs, so i switched out and used two new camera bodies i earned with the chucky cheese point program we have at work. i call it that; its their reward thing they use instead of just giving cash or bonuses. the atta boy program.

saved up enough points and fortuitously, the cameras were on sale. hoping the shots came out all right. i'm sure they did. i think i got some good ones too.

better half dropped me off at the station, bought us a quick lunch in the little cafe, and he's heading back home, and back uptown to take more pictures. so say hey to him if you see him, and know that i'm so jealous.

found this impala at the vfw a few months ago. it's much too nice to be stuck here in the corner by the storage container and/or trash bins, but they do provide a nice color and texture contrast, i thought.

edamame

1939 chevrolet master deluxe

at my kid's house today, hanging with his dog beast. dog made a mess, tearing up a baseball he found on our walk. i went to pull the vacuum from the closet, and bin thing that collects the dregs it sucks up fell right out and landed right on my big toe.

so, me limping around yelling fuckity fucksticks and whimpering, made the dog run and hide, thinking he had done something to be guilty of.

i didn't quite see stars, so much as wanted to pass out. it bruised pretty quick and my toe is throbbing and makes me jump every once in a while. spent about an hour with a bag of frozen edamame on my foot, because there was no ice. thinking flip flops for work tomorrow, screw the dress code.

got a lot of work to jam into one day. then i'm sure two hours of traffic, only to miss ruby's car show again. gotta pack a bag for a week in san diego for work. saturday morning, up at five, and down the street for the whittier uptown show. we'll spend the morning shooting pics, then i gotta leave for the train station.

gonna be a hot day. not sure they moved it up from the usual august date to avoid the summer heat, but seems its coming along with the show. oh well.

love me a master deluxe. its the grille and headlights that make me happy. latin gents' car...they finally got a few of their cars in at chicano park this year. it was a good day.

photo op

1953 chevrolet bel air

back from vacation, way more tired than when i left. at least tomorrow is a holiday, so i have one more day to recover.

as usual, my better half and i have said, after marching all over the place, miles a day, for a week, we should try to keep it going, and i expect that will last about a week after we get back to the work routine, and the summer heats up. we did about four miles today. thinking of climbing the hills nearby tomorrow, though my better half might not go, as he did trip a couple of times while out being touristas, and his knee is kinda sore.

i'll probably just sleep in. i am really tired and sore. i need to sit in a hot jacuzzi or get a massage or something. i imagine one of those things would help.

this was the first car i shot at the relay for life show.

shot it from this side, because the owner was sitting on the other side, and was trying to focus on the car. the plaque in the back window was for the classic dreams club, and said bakersfield...long drive for a benefit show.

apparently, he was curious what i was doing, or shooting for, and then wanted to be in the picture. oh, ok. i guess.

most guys would then come around front of the car, and do some pose, or throw down some signs or something. this guy just stayed behind the car, and there he is just over the hood, some kind of strange hood ornament.

next time, just be in the picture. get out front, like you really mean it. own it.

heading home

hood ornament

from a pontiac at the chicano park show. not sure that i got a good shot of the car itself, but i do like it's chief.

we will be on our way back in the morning. hopefully an easier trip than the adventure getting here.

today was an early morning march past the iwo jima memorial, through the back gate of arlington cemetery, and up to the tomb of the unknown soldiers. it was seventy degrees out when we got to iwo jima at seven fifteen in the morning; by the time we climbed the hill past arlington house, it was close to ninety, and we felt it, in shirts wet with sweat.

after the changing of the guard ceremony, there was a wreath-laying ceremony, but we were already heading down the hill toward the visitor center, and the metro station. took the train out to the end of the line, then tired of waiting for the bus, caught a taxi to the air and space museum's udvar-hazy building, to see the discovery space shuttle, airplanes, and 3d movies. and to enjoy the air conditioning.

about three-twenty, we caught a bus back to the metro station, and were back at the hotel in about an hour. after all that, we decided we were too tired to do another baseball game. oh well.

so, to the airport tomorrow, laundry on sunday, kicking back on monday. short week at work, then i'm off on a train to san diego for a week.

next time we should take a two week vacation, just not all in one place. i like to travel, it's just a bit expensive, so short weekend roadtrips will do in between.

say uncle

1952 pontiac

i'd never seen this pontiac at any of the shows i've gone to. knew other cars would get in the way soon enough, and so i took a few shots while the owner was still polishing it. i do that sometimes, just shoot low, from the opposite side they are working on. if you're low enough, it doesn't matter if they stand up.

owner was telling my better half, later in the morning, that he had gotten the car from his uncle when he passed. i think the uncle had told the owner as he was growing up, that he would leave the car to him when he died. he said his uncle retired from his job not so very long ago, and passed only a few months later, and kept that promise.

it's a beautiful car, i thought.

still visiting the east coast, but apparently keeping west coast time. sleeping in late / staying up late. kinda screws up finding dinner when a lot of places are closed in the city. fortunately, there is a very tasty pizza joint less than a block away, a la pieology but not, open late.

no set plans, since i grew up not too far away, and we seem to vacation here in dc once a year. it has rained off and on the past couple of days, but i love it. today and the next couple will be in the eighties and sunny.

talked my better half to getting out of town, took the metro out to old town alexandria, rode a free trolley down the main street to the waterfront. walked around the artists' colony at an old torpedo factory, then walked up the street a bit to find food. seemed to be food of all kinds to choose from, but just settled on seafood. it was good, we ate too much, and were too full to even use the two for one coupon at ben and jerry's in the tourist guidebook. oh well.

decided to take a water taxi back over to georgetown. this one ran a recorded soundtrack babbling on about various buildings and historical points of interest along the way. mostly my better half stood at the front of the boat taking pictures of airplanes overhead, flying in and out of reagan national airport, which has a landing strip right damn next to the river, so no pressure on pilots to touch down on pavement and not water. must be fun in winter, when the snow and wind freezes the river and ices the runway.

landed the boat in georgetown, and took a ten minute walk back around the watergate hotel and through georgetown university, to the foggy bottom metro station. back to the hotel to dump our cameras and chill for a bit.

then to end the day, took the metro out to nationals stadium, to watch them play the mets. down inside the metro station, the sheer number of people passing through as game time gets closer, is monitored by some seriously grim anti-terrorist security guys, with bomb sniffing dogs, and dudes carrying m-16s. the station is just outside the park...when you come up from the underground station, there's the stadium.

we run the gauntlet of people selling counterfit team logo crap, scalpers looking to buy tickets, homeless people asking for money. we needed tickets, and there was a line of about twenty people at the main windows, but my better half went around the corner, to what appears to be will call, but were actually just additional ticket windows, and had no wait at all.

we like to sit up at the very top rows of seating, up behind home plate, those were sold out, so we were up just off center on the third base side. that side is shaded from the setting sun for an evening game, and up top, you get a breeze coming up off the river, which is also a few blocks away.

it was a good game, several homeruns were hit, and the home team won 7-4.

the stampede back down to the metro feels like cattle into the chute. they need people whose job would be to jam as many people as possible into the train so the doors can close, packed like sardines.

anyway, a few more days to go. no idea what we'll do each day until we go out the door. and that's just the way we like it.

trippin'

1948 chevrolet stylemaster panel truck

saw this chevy panel truck at the duke's display at relay for life. this was one i shot fairly early after arriving.

i passed by later, and the owner lowered it down, and leveled it out, but there were more cars, pop ups and people to contend with, so those. shots are just ok, but not my favorites.

so we're finally taking one of those elusive/dreaded things--a vacation. and of course, it's all been a little bit off since it started yesterday.

been busy all month at work, leading up to it. worked late on thursday, trying to get the big stuff mostly done, to spare coworkers a lot of pain. that forced me to stay down at my mom's for the night, instead of packing, etc., as i had planned. then worked at the office in the morning, and raced home at lunch time to work four more hours from there, to finish out the clock, and miss friday traffic. did my time, and got packing.

better half worked at home all day, and had also been working like crazy before the trip. he didn't pack or get the supermarket shopping done in advance of the horde of family coming down to keep his mother company while we're gone. also means we don't get to see the two babies of the family, who are both now walking. it's a trade off.

after much running around, i got us going out the door just before eight p.m., to catch a red eye. he thought it was a bit early, but it turned out to be a good thing. traffic around lax for last mile before our exit was terrible. we had to drop off the car and catch one of the shuttles to our terminal. the shuttle took it's sweet time getting to the garage, but we still ended up with the recommended couple of hours to spare.

enjoyed the airline pilot on the shuttle ride from the garage to his flight, entertaining the captive audience with historical knowledge, as well as hitting on a random travel agent headed to new york.

checked the bags, got through security fairly quickly. didn't even have to remove our shoes, which is a plus, because i don't even want to think about what the sticky stuff on that linoleum is every other time we've had to go through security. just no.

had about an hour until boarding, and started noticing delay times dominoeing through flights ahead of ours. our crew was on a delayed flight coming from san fran. ultimately, we were listed as the last flight out, leaving at one a.m.

then came the announcement that the flight had been cancelled, due to the crew being timed out on their shift or one of them not feeling well...depends on who you wanted to believe. that was followed by the mad rush to the counter for rebooking. briefly thought of just heading home, but then they put us up in a hotel, to get a few hours' sleep--it was two-fifteen a.m. by then--before we had to be back at seven.

we'd settled on a one-stop trip, instead of the direct to the east coast, which would have meant just sleeping in the terminal. so i'm sitting here in san fran typing away, waiting for our connecting flight, while my better half is getting his ya-yas out, geeking out watching planes and shooting a time lapse of the runway and the really awesome clouds.

©2025 kathy gonzalez