1952 chevy deluxe
another car from yesterday. owner was sitting on the far side of the field, under a pop-up tent. asked if i’d shot his car. had to point it out…”that one over there.”
hadn’t. shot the truck, but didn’t turn around for this one at the time. went back over before i forgot. liked this shot the best, i guess.
1952 chevy deluxe
spent a few days in france. i like the feel of it, can almost imagine living there, but then i don’t think i would. they do have large, beautiful open space parks, where you can really relax, listen to music, eat a croissant, and drink an expresso, if you are so inclined. i am not a coffee drinker, so coke works for me. and when they do not screw up and give me diet or zero, it is the same stuff we drink. they do not seem too big on using ice here though...have only had it in my drink once or twice in restaurants. really strange.
finding i do not have enough time or energy at the end of the day to get to writing here, but i am trying to post vacay pics on instagram, if you have any interest. not that person to foist them on unwilling viewers, and this space is just for my car shots anyway. i suppose i should be taking pics of their cars, but they just seem a little odd and nothing special, aside from their size.
have already been to venice, italy, and stayed in a very nice home, with far too many stairs. we’re airbnbing everywhere, btw. perhaps i should write about just the homes. common so far is the size. spacious, but economical in the use of the space. they have modernized the centuries-old buildings they are in, and have all moden conveniences, including wifi everywhere, hence i can post my pics.
we seem to me walking about ten miles a day, so i’ve gone from about a thousand a day to twenty-five thousand pretty quick. i’ve adjusted, with a lot expletives. the backpack doesn’t get any lighter, and though it really isn’t very heavy, i’m getting too old to be hauling stuff around on my back. i am using almost everthing i did pack, so i didn’t overpack.
sounds like others are waking up and/or back from a morning jog. i should have gone out for morning pics, but i hadn’t set an alarm.
hopefully i’ll find a moment to write about venice and florence before we move on...two more stops before going home.
stopped at a weekly monday evening show at sonic in anaheim a few months ago. surprisingly crowded, but i managed to find pockets of cars with no people milling about, even if it is next to a clothing bin. still a nice car.
1952 chevy deluxe convertible
been having hot flashes. nothing new; i've had them for a few years, and thought they'd stopped finally. but here they are again. hot flashes on hot days, and i want to be like pedro and shave my head, because it was hot.
pretty sure i'd look a bit funny with no hair. i like being able to hide behind it, or tie it up when i want. really wishing i hadn't let the hairstylist cut so much off last time, but it's growing back out.
anyway, i want to go to shows this weekend. i will get to at least one. thing is, i have people wanting a piece of my time here, and at my house, and at my mom's. so, shuffling, juggling, prioritizing, however you want to term it.
i do not feel good, but i'm pushing through it, and ignoring it most of the time.
was leaving the show at chicano park, and came across a club and some few solo riders parked in the street by the market and apartments. i liked how this chevy was parked, probably deliberately, next to the big arrow, pointing out a nice car—shoot this one. ok, i did.
1952 buick eight
pretty sure i saw this one last week at in-n-out, before my trip. figured i just post this one from last year’s uptown whittier show, since i just saw a flyer for this summer’s show in a store window recently.
so highly polished, like they poured liquid shellac all over it.
———-
so i drove over one-thousand, one-hundred miles over the last two days. i’m feeling that i should have split it over three. today i get to unload the rental truck, but that somehow sounds easier than loading it was, though my arms are pretty tired from just holding the steering wheel on the truck.
of course, the worst part of the drive was going through los angeles. traffic could have been worse, since it was easter sunday, later in the evening, but it was moving, even if it was slow. thank goodness the dodger game had already started, so we weren’t stuck in that traffic.
knew we were back in california, just by the sudden decline in the road quality. washington and oregon seem to actually spend money on their highways. maybe because the weather up there makes it critically important, but california roads are just shit all the way down. sure there are stretches of road that are smoother, and maybe those counties cough up the money for it. but the majority of the way, especially in the right hand travel lanes, are bumpy, potholed, tire eating grinders.
i am surprised that none of the kid’s tarantulas or spiders died from the stress of all that bouncing. she had the snakes in pillowcases, and when she had to leave the dog in the car, would put them in the truck, so the dog wouldn’t stomp or chomp on them. they creep me out, even in the bags, and i only imagined them getting out and slithering around my feet while i drove, so i always made sure i gave them back before we got going again. i can only wonder what we looked like handing bags back and forth between truck and car.
had to hold up the line at the cali inspection stop, to open the back of the truck and have the inspector peek in. no fruit, or drugs, or guns, or whatever they look for, but at least he was nice enough about it.
i also had to drive through a weigh station at one point. never had to do that before, and that guy was a little snippy because i didn’t know i needed to drive three miles an hour while they weighed in motion. got yelled at by the invisible office worker via an intercom.
otherwise, i think every other weigh station in the state was closed for the day, so what was the point? i could have loaded up a shit ton of bricks, drove a lot, ruined the roads, and they’d never know. or what is the point of those stops anyway? guess i’ll have to ask the one trucker i know.
i do remember seeing someone northbound in norwalk, with a broke down white thirty-nine master deluxe. tow truck was there, and with all the road construction on that part of the freeway, i know that was a pretty tight place to have to take care of that type of thing. but really, my first thought was whether i’ve taken a picture of it before...
1952 chevy deluxe
quick post, gotta get to bed. been a long day, and i didn't even go to work.
owner of this car caught me on my way out of the show. nice green car sitting in the shade of the trees. why the birds didn't hit the show cars, like they got mine, i'll never know.
this was parked next to some reflections car club cars, but i'm not really sure if it is part of the group.
i was getting overheated, and in need of something to eat right about then. but i'll still shoot the cars on the way back to my own car. my better half knows if i say i'll be there in a minute at a show, i'll be ten or more, as i've stopped to take pictures on the way.
1952 chevy deluxe
still working my way through all the pictures i took saturday. briefly thought about going to a show or pomona on sunday, but i was pretty tired, and i had stuff to do and relatives visiting, so stayed put.
i'll share a few stats from my day uptown:
thanks to the club that invited us to their xmas party this year. i'll think about if i want to get dressed up in girl clothes, and let you know. could be fun.
i think i have one or two more pics i promised, so here's one. pretty color, pretty car. i think this is the same color i picked out years ago, for a project car my ex was building.
1952 chevy deluxe
sleeping in sounded real good this morning. really thought about it. for five minutes. then got up and got ready to head over to signal hill.
smeared sunscreen all over my face and arms, expecting the blazing sun that just seeks out my pasty white skin, or rather already sun-damaged skin. sunscreen makes me look more ghostly, or ghastly, especially later when i start to sweat it off.
stuck my phone in my back pocket, grabbed my camera bag, and a bottle of water. brought my pinstriped hat too, just in case. parked all the gear by the back door.
thought i'd take one more pit stop before heading out, since i never know what facilities will be available at the shows. so i go to drop trou and hear a plop...i hadn't even sat down yet...shit shit shit...the phone...in the back pocket. totally forgot about it. fortunately, i hadn't done anything yet, and blocked the fact that i was reaching into the toilet, and went after the phone. ewwww.
so, a couple of seconds in the drink, and the phone still worked. or at least i thought it did. actually, everything except the sound, that is. negates the whole point of a phone.
siri never liked me anyway. but the bitch wouldn't read me the directions anymore, so i had to write the directions down and/or keep peeking at the screen.
and i was going to stop for a donut on the way, but i left so early, the shop i would have stopped at wasn't even open.
apart from those little tragedies, the rest of the morning was perfect. got my favorite parking spot for this show, was there before the sun came up, and it stayed overcast and cool until i left at ten. seriously, the sun started coming out as i drove away.
the sultans are all very friendly and organized. and for a change, one of my better half's fans chatted with me several times, not quite gushing, but extremely pleased, about a print he had been gifted a few years ago. it is a very nice shot of the guy's car. i was there the night he shot it. but my better half wasn't there, had stuff he needed to get done, and perhaps get called in to work, so i've passed his regards and happiness on to my better half.
it's a good show, a good variety of cars, plenty of chevys. it's good to see some different cars once in a while.
oh, and their, ahem, facilties, were the taj mahal of porta potties, really a portable building. oh so refreshingly cold from the air conditioning. it was warm outside, and to open that door to the frigid air, was divine. and three separate stalls inside, and sinks with the automatic faucets...so fancy.
hoping my phone will dry out by morning, or i'll be making a stop at the apple store tomorrow.
this car belongs to one of the sultans. when i got there so early, member cars were the only cars there. and this one was clean. and beautiful. i wouldn't mind a car like this. my hair is an unruly mess anyways, so a convertible would be nice.
happy eighty-ninth birthday to my mother-in-law. let's have cake!
chevy deluxe
just a quick thank you to the guy and his friends that let my better half hang out with them for a while, as i spent time taking more pictures. the sun came out, it got hot, and he was done. i hope you enjoyed his jokes.
and thanks to the imperials guy at the gate, who let us go early. i know the show didn't officially start until eleven, but it really is the best time for shooting pictures. always cross my fingers that we'll be able to get in, versus being out on the sidewalk shooting the cars driving by.
been a long day, another hard week ahead. gotta get to bed.
Update
on 2016-07-13 00:49 by kathy
edward [owner] writes:
A weekend with the wife turned into a purchase of this car; instead found this vehicle, a gentleman from San Francisco had just purchased it from an estate sale. The man had it running— keep in mind stereo-type project car—picture this, all primer beige with red stock rims, black front grill and rusty, missing outside moldings, etc. and interior 2 bench seats with torn headliner...not a nice sight but a nice canvas to start with.
The owner at the time had a 1964 Chevy Impala that needed interior work to be done to complete his own project, which was why he was selling the 1952 Chevy Styleline Deluxe.
My wife is a trooper, my better half—lol. She has been through it all with me she and loved the car. She gave me the Green Light to make the purchase but under one condition: that I started the vehicle and didn't stop until it was completed, because she didn't want it to go through the process, then stop in the middle and let it sit without completion... Oh, also I owed her a real weekend get away in San Francisco again. LOL
A 4–5 year build but well worth it. My wife and I enjoy the shows, the cruising, and the stories told...Thanks again to Kathy and her Husband. See you again out there—good times!
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.
1952 chevrolet
i have a craving for lasagna today. so i've been busy making the sauce all afternoon, and just now have finished layering it in the dish with all the cheese, and got it in the oven.
better half chopped the onions for me. i think the doubled the garlic that the recipe called for, so, i may be sweating odiforously for a day or two, thanks to him.
have also watched the old cars drive by today. saw a really beautiful mint green bel air drive past the window earlier. walked uptown and saw an old merc drive by.
drove over to whittier boulevard at lunch, and saw an intriguing old gray chevy of some sort waiting for service of some sort or oil change, down by the ymca.
saw this completely glitter covered chevy at frisco's on friday. i think the light hitting all the facets of glitter at different angles fooled the sensor on the camera a little, so it's blurrier in some parts than i like, and others, the glitter disappears.
owner says at night, it looks like nothing. just flat paint. hard to imagine, but i guess so.
i don't think i'd do this to a car of my own, glitter isn't really my thing, but it is different. and it caught my eye.